Hillbilly Heaven

Hey there you all!

My southern accent is getting to be more on the hillbilly side, kinda twangy if you know what I mean. Meanwhile, I'm in Hillbilly Heaven. Thank goodness for Internet because I still have no phone or TV, and phone only when I go across the mountain into Marion.

I've been busy playing with my neighbor and CG host, Jay. Maybe I should clarify that, playing cards, Skip-Bo to be exact. If we don't play then I'm on the computer playing Spite and Malice or Rummy or walking Magic and Snoopy.

Saturday a bunch of us went to pick huckleberries and boy are they good with breakfast cereal. They are in the same family as blueberries only smaller. Another fun thing is going to Flat Ridge (don't get too excited now) where the ladies in the community cook dinner and serve it buffet style. There was a huge crowd when I went, must have been close to 30 people for dinner. Afterward the locals picked up their banjos, mandolins, fiddles and guitars and played bluegrass music but only after the chaplain from Grayson Highlands St Pk stood up and sang 3 or 4 gospel songs, without music, good thing he had a good voice. The very best part was when a fellow in his 80's got up and danced with his tap shoes on, I think they called it soft shoeing, that's the very best. It's a good thing I'm so shy or I would jump up and display my graceful ballet skills, it would really go well with the fiddles, don't you think?

The weather has been wonderful but a little damp. Nights are always cool, lightning bugs are still lighting up at night, Goldfinches are flitting around in the mornings, mice and now a rat have been sharing the RV with us, there are gorgeous butterflies, Robins and Whipporwills calling to each other, curvy mountain roads with babbling brooks and little waterfalls are everywhere, beautiful new wild flowers of every color are popping up every few weeks, webs in the wild cherry trees are crawling with caterpillars (which I could do without since it causes droppings to land in your hair), leaves are beginning to change color already, millepedes are in the shower stall (which means I'll really need a shower before I go back in), distant mountain views covered in haze, apple trees covered in apples that are waiting to be picked are growing wild all around the countryside, the smell of freshly cut grass is always around along with smoky campfires choking me, katydids and crickets sing all night long and wonderful, interesting new friends, that's what I've found up here.

My friend Nell and I were invited to Betty's for a delicious dinner on Wednesday evening. The next day Nell and I roamed to Meadowview for a delicious organic lunch then on to Saltville to get our hair cut.

I've finally been given a key to the trail camp where I can do my laundry and get this post written.

Thanks to all who are reminding me that it's been over a month since the last post. I just don't know how that happened, sometimes time just gets away in the blink of an eye and at other times each day seems to drag on and on. I kept thinking about what I should post but just never felt like doing it.

Thanks to my neighbor, friend and CG host Jay, I have become addicted to a card game called Skip-Bo. Luckily or unluckily, whatever, I have a very similar game on my computer by Hoyle called Spite and Malice. Therefore I can play anytime I want, with or without human players for as long as I want which means until early in the mornings when I don't have to work. On rainy days I even take the computer to work and play. Bad girl!!

We've had a very mild summer, only two really warm days inside Green Cove Station and most nights still I'm under a blanket, in fact just a couple mornings ago, Magic woke me up as she was cold too and wanted her blanket. Those are the mornings I don't want to get up. One day in the middle of July, I came home from work to find piles of hail stones in the CG. See below.

Just this past week in what started out to be a beautiful morning the clouds began to build up and as a result several families biking down the trail got drenched. This is bad for them but very good for business when they all buy dry shirts, sweatshirts and jackets. One Sunday alone we sold 19 ponchos. Couldn't believe it when we even sold winter gloves too. The elevation is over 3500 feet when they start the descent at White top MT. and with all the shade and mountain breeze, by the time they reach us, some are very cold as they didn't come prepared. We sure sell a lot of long sleeved T's.

You can see some drenched Florida families in the next two photos. They were from Miami and were not expecting to get drenched and cold. We set up a heater for them and they were very grateful.





As you can see, a little rain didn't get them down.

Most of the "regulars" are men that love to ride the trail. This group of jollys are either members of the Friends of Mount Rogers Club or Virginia Creeper Trail Club and they were a happy bunch.

This is Tim, he is a former Forest Service Firefighter and now volunteers on the VCT (Virginia Creeper Trail) to help visitors who have injuries or bike malfunctions. He plays the guitar, writes and sings beautiful Bluegrass Mountain music. He's very knowledgeable about the area
and is very kind to give us directions to places we want to go.

This is Ryan, our weekend EMT on bike patrol, at least he was over the summer. He's now in the process of moving back to college where he will be graduating in December. He has already hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and plans to bike all the way to Oregon after graduation. Ryan always wears a smile and we will miss him.

Ryan and Tim taking a break at GCS. (Green Cove Station)


On the way to work we came across several calves that had sneaked out of their pasture. When we met them they were trying to get back in but couldn't find the hole, on our way home from work they had been joined by several adult members of their herd and were still roaming the neighborhood.



This is Lawrence, 77, who has logged 143,300 miles on the VCT since 1995. He is well known as "The Legend" around here. Lawrence rides uphill for 33 miles then back downhill for another 33 miles at least 5 times a week, stopping at GCS on the way downhill to eat his lunch which is always a peanut butter and apple butter on whole wheat bread along with a bottle of water and a Snickers candy bar. A very amiable fellow who enjoys having his picture taken with visitors.

This "hunky" man is Kerry and this is the third time I've seen him. The first time, I was astonished at the resemblance to the pictures of my father-in-law in his earlier years. I mentioned it to Kerry and told him I would like to photograph him but when he returned I didn't have the camera. Fortunately this day I had brought it and he very graciously posed for me. What a man!! After meeting men like this does anyone wonder why I've extended my stay here?

Today August 13, I drove over to Wytheville to meet Bob and Janet, my bro and sis-in-law at Ruby Tuesdays. As usual we had a great time and again I hated to say goodbye.

On the way home I took some pictures of the countryside. I only traveled the back roads since I didn't have to speed. It kept me smiling all the way back to the RV, it was so beautiful.

Isn't this a beautiful horse?

How would you like to stay at this beautiful historic B & B in Wytheville?

Scenery along my way back from Wytheville.

July 4th Weekend

Finally got a couple of good shots with Fred and his flock, only now, since I took these photos, his flock has grown so I guess I'll have to try again.

He looks happy doesn't he?

With Magic and Snoopy loaded in the car, we took a 4 hour ride to take more pictures on Independence Day since we had nothing else to do.

The wild flowers that grow up here are just gorgeous and I wanted to share them with you.

These first one are wild roses growing in large clumps around the countryside. Some are almost fuchsia.

I don't know what these are called but they line the highways in abundance.

These are rhododendrons, blooming in pink and white. They line the creeks with profuse blooms, grow along the horse trails and literally cover the mountainsides. I've never been in the mountains while they were blooming before but what a glorious sight they are. They've been opening up for at least a month and are starting to shed their petals now I'm sorry to say.

No idea what these are and have found them in only one place.

This creek flows along part of the Virginia Creeper Trail. By the way, I'm finally going down the mountain this Wednesday with my boss and some coworkers. Lots of scraped bodies and broken bones come off the trail so keep your fingers crossed. We're constantly handing out band aids to the injured and several ambulances have been called in as well. Ryan, one of the mountain patrolmen is going to give my bike a good checking out this Sunday before the ride.

Another view taken from top of the ridge. I haven't mentioned the orange day lilies that have popped up everywhere along most roads.

This is Fox Creek Horse Camp, packed to the hilt with horse trailers over the holiday weekend. There are many horse trails around here along with bike trails and hiker trails, people come from all over to hike, bike, and ride horses.

This is the parking lot at White Top Station where the ride down the mountain starts. These people brought their own bikes and will get a shuttle at the bottom in the town of Damascus or Abingdon, depending on how far they want to ride. It's about 18 to Damascus and 34 to Abingdon.

This is one of the bike shuttles, they are pulled by vans which carry the people to the top. Many times the bikes get flat tires or other boo boos and when they reach our station, Green Cove, they have to call whichever shuttle company they used and have them come and switch bikes or repair the tires. It's only 3.4 miles to us. Seven miles down from us is Taylor Valley, where the Creeper Cafe waits for the hungry. It's famous for their chocolate cake.

This and That

This is Fred, the beautiful fluffy Great Pyrenees who lives next door to Green Cove Station. He faithfully guards his friends, the flock of six sheep, when he isn't napping up in the corner of his private domain, a large green field covered in grass and yellow wildflowers. It sounds ideal but I'm very upset that neither he or the sheep have any shelter from the hot sun or various other elements presented by Mother Nature. It broke my heart last week when we had a terrible thunderstorm and he sat on top of the hill all hunched down as the fierce wind drove the rain onto him while the thunder crackled overhead with tremendous booms. Then wouldn't you know it, it started to hail. He looked so miserable. When the storm was over. He went to his favorite place to nap which was covered with mud, he was a mess when he got up. I'll keep trying to get a good pic of Fred and his charges.



The two bikers below are Vernelle and Keith, husband and wife, both retired Army Sergeants. They were a very nice and ambitious couple who spent the night in our campground one night last week as they were biking from Culpepper, VA to Napa Valley, CA on the Transcontinental Bikeway. You can find out more about them from their website http://www.2sergeantsbiking.com/w.2sergeantsbiking.com/ .







They were kind enough to set up my campfire so all I have to do is strike a match now. They felt sorry for me after seeing how my miserable little fire never took off. Good luck and safe travels to the both of them.
















This is Dave and Sam who were hiking with a group of Boy Scouts. They hailed us down one morning as Betty and I were on the way to work. They were needing a way to get back to their car at Grayson Highlands State Park as Dave had had some irregular heartbeats the day before and wanted to get checked out by a doctor. Carrying a large backpack up these hills sure wasn't helping so they climbed into the back of my Honda CRV which already had my bike and a 40 lb bag of dog food in it, but they managed. When we got to Green Cove Station we found them transportation. Dave was a computer programmer and Sam was a large animal veterinarian, both from North Carolina. Two really nice guys.


I probably mentioned that my new friend Nell and I bought electronic mouse chasers. Well it seems mice have moved into her car as she found out one day while driving and a mouse walked across the outside of her windshield. This just cracked me up when I heard about it. Can't you just picture it?


There never seems to be a dull moment up here. This is the last day of my 4 days off this week and I haven't done too much. Jay, the campground host taught me how to play Skip-BO. We're practicing so we can beat his friend Wallace. Nell, Betty, Jay and I all played yesterday afternoon. Thursday I had my eyes checked out and don't need new glasses, afterwards Betty and I met for dinner at the Tuscan Restaurant in Marion. Tonight, Nell, Betty and I are going to Jerry's for dinner, that's where all the hikers eat so we'll see how it smells. Ho ho!



I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. By the way, we've had seven beautiful days without rain so I guess I'm not in Oregon after all.

Eerie Lights in the Night

Almost a month up here and I still haven't seen much. Rain rain and more rain. I have 3 leaks to take care of now and will take the coach to Johnson City today.

I took a ride with Nell, a campground host to see how long it took to drive to Hickory and she took these photos with her Blackberry. On the way down we saw lots of Christmas Tree farms and went through Boone and Blowing Rock, 2 cute little tourist traps. We stopped at Lowes and bought electronic bug zappers and mouse chasers. No more signs of mice here but Jay had killed 8 before he left for NM. It was a beautiful and curvy drive, on our way back we jumped on the Blueridge Parkway for a while and took the groundhog photo and the view of the mountains.

On Thursday I was going to headquarters to pick up my mail. When I stepped out of the car I heard "Hi Trish" it sounded like Bob, my brother-in-law, I turned and IT WAS! What a terrific surprise as well as terrific timing. My sister-in-law, Janet and their son, Jerry were there too. I showed them where I was staying and then we went to the Log Cabin Restaurant in Volney for dinner. It was so great to see them. They were on the way to NC for the family reunion where I joined them on Saturday. Pictures to be posted eventually.

I woke up the other night and saw an eerie light moving around the room. Finally it dawned on me that it was a lightening bug. I caught him and put him out the window.

Looking out the door at Green Cove, we saw two deer then a third in the field below the Christmas Trees. Another day I was watching the flock of sheep on the hill next door when one saw Fred, the Pyrenees dog, and baaa-ed at him. Then the sheep walked up to Fred and they touched noses. Really! They must really like their protector. Pictures soon.

We had a terrible day yesterday, it stormed all day and only 18 people came into the station. A very long day.

Lucky for me it's not raining this morning. Stay tuned.

Green Cove Station,

This is Sunday, May 31, 9:05 a.m. as Pat and I were on our way to work, needless to say, we were delayed.

The ground was saturated with all the rain we've had and lots of trees were falling over when the wind picked up. May is supposed to be one of the wettest months here and I believe it.

Cars had already started to back up when we arrived and people were getting out of their cars to watch the progress being made by the forest dept's one man crew, Evan who just happened upon it. The weight of the tree had hung up the only chainsaw and everyone that stopped was asked if they happened to have one.


Someone had an ax and the crowd started taking turns whacking away at it. To my surprise, even the man wearing a suit took his turn. An ax on a tree this size would take all day so someone turned around to go get more chainsaws. Meanwhile, Evan freed the chainsaw and quickly did a number on the tree.

Some of the onlookers, like Pat and myself stayed in our trucks and cars, others stood around and watched, while the he-men did the work. Even the one wearing shorts with cowboy boots. It didn't take long after Evan got it sawed up, thanks to his helpers. We made it to work just 15 minutes late.

This is Green Cove Station where I work 3 or 4 days a week. We open at 10 am and close at 4
pm. seven days a week. Saturday is the busiest day with Sunday next. Green Cove station was built in 1914 by the Norfolk and Western RR. This branch of the RR line ran from Abingdon, VA to W. Jefferson, NC. It was called the Virginia Creeper because it took so long to go up and over the mountains. The little building was bought by Wm, Buchanan, the station manager, telegraph operator, general store operator and Postmaster in 1934. The last train came through on March 31, 1977 and the station and store closed shortly thereafter. Finally it was donated to the Forest service, lock stock and barrel so it would be maintained and used for visitors. The original items for sale at that time are still on the shelves and are facinating to look at. It's definitely a step back in time and I'm amazed at how many young people enjoy looking and appreciate the old items on display.

This is the view looking out the front door and it's just beautiful. It's one of many Christmas tree farms in the area covering the many rolling hillsides. The little trail on the right leading up to the stop signs is part of the Virginia Creeper Trail, where the RR tracks once were. It's leading up to Whitetop Mountain, about 3.1 miles away and goes to Abingdon in the other direction, a total of 34 miles. We have a lot of regular bikers going up and down the mountain weekly and one man, Lawrence Dye, 77 years old, who does it 5 times a week taking 7 hours to do it. The bike shops in Abingdon and Damascus take shuttles of bikers with their bikes up to Whitetop where they then ride down the trail to the destination of their choice. I brought my bike and plan to do it myself while here. I'll take photos on the way down.
We have two bikers, Tim and Ryan who patrol the trail ready to repair bikes, offer first aid or give any help or information needed.

These are some of the shelves with the old merchandise still remaining on them.

These are some of the very old display cases used back many decades ago that we use to display our goods for sale. Our big sellers in this season are candy, sodas, water, gatorade and trail mix. We also sell t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, postcards, cameras, chapstick, etc.

We are very close to the Appalachian Trail and sell those shirts as well.

This is just one of the old stoves here, the other is in the what was a waiting room for the train station. By the way, it usually snows here in April.

This is another view from the station, it really is beautiful here. We drive a 48 mile round trip to work here and the drive hasn't gotten old yet. I've seen one deer one the way here but a couple of days ago there were three just below the Christmas trees across from the station.

On the other side of the building is a fenced in hill where a Great Pyrenees named Fred watches over six sheep. He sleeps most of the day in the shaded corner, photos coming soon.

This was the night of Pat's going away party. In this picture are Jay, the campground host at Raccoon Branch, Pat, and Les, the campground host at Fox Creek Horse Camp. He's going to take me riding after his wife brings another horse from NC.

Back row from left are Tim, the guitarman and singer of mountain bluegrass and also a bike patrol member, Mary Ann, wife of Jay, Jay, Pat, and Les. Front row from left is me, boss Sue, main boss Sara, friend Nell another campground host at Hurricane, Carol and J.D., the other couple of workers at Green Cove and David, another host at Hurricane.

Boyd loved to take photos of bugs, etc. So for him I am including this wormmy creature that was at our campsite

and this catepillar with the pretty markings which was walking? across our picnic table.

Is this Virginia or Oregon?

Hmm, did I miss a turn and wind up in Oregon?? It sure is wet here, it's rained all but two days and I've been here a week already. It's certainly not the kind of weather we have in Florida. One minute it's raining and the next it's sunny and then it's raining again. Weird! We're at 2800 feet and they say that mountains make their own weather and there are a lot of mountains here.

One good thing is that there is very little thunder so far.

This is the bridge that crosses the little mountain stream, guess I should have zoomed it for you. Anyway it is for bikers and hikers only, no horses allowed. If it quits raining I'll take the dogs over there and see where the path goes. I haven't seen any snakes yet. But there are chipmunks here and small red squirrels that the locals call "Boomers". I'll try and find out why.

The little stream from up on the bridge. The water is so clear. Remember this is not taken in the sunshine.

Magic and Snoopy love it outside but like me out there with them so that's where we spend a lot of time.

Today is my 3rd day off and tomorrow is the last day off this week. I'll work from Sunday thru Wednesday then get off 3 days. Sunday after work there will be a cook out right next to me as a going away party for Pat. He's the man who trained me and I hate to see him go. We have had a lot of laughs together while working. I'll take pictures of my new friends then too.

Raccoon Branch Campground at Mt Rogers NRA

So long, Strom Thurmond Lake, as always it was a peaceful and picturesque visit and the camp hosts were very pleasant. Modoc CG will definitely be revisited in the future.

After a brief goodbye to my Aunt Gussie we were on I-20 headed to Columbia, SC where I would fuel up and spend the night at Flying J.

It was a pretty peaceful night considering trucks were coming and going but they slowed down after awhile as usual. I spent the morning at Fort Jackson getting necessary stuff done, like car registration (since mine was expired), pharmacy and commissary. Then I headed to our property in Ridgeway and unhooked the car again so I could go and spend the afternoon at the courthouse. Just as I drove up the realtor arrived and we looked the place over. It's finally for sale.

That evening I stopped by to see my good friend and neighbor, Delores. We had a nice visit and I got to meet her daughter Val. I think we would be good friends if I had stayed there, I liked her a lot. Just before dark, another friend and neighbor, Eric, came down and visited for a while. I'll miss these great folks when I sell the place.

I left around noon the next day and headed up I-77, and over to Hickory where my nephew, Mike met me. After a nice visit we unloaded a lot of genealogy stuff plus a lot of puzzles for his Mom and Dad. I was trying to lighten my load before reaching the mountains which were right ahead. It was really nice of Mike to take the time to come and meet me and I appreciated it.

I drove way past my usual stopping time and when I started looking for a campground I ran into a little trouble. I was on hwy 321, a great 4 lane highway and I saw a sign that said "camping next exit" so I got off there. There were no more signs to the CG so I turned around (luckily there was a place big enough) and got back on the road. I passed a WalMart and should have gone there at Erwin, NC or TN but I didn't. The next camping sign was something like Nokiechucky CG on the Nokiechucky River. That sounded nice so I headed for it. Wrong decision!!! The road continued to get narrow and narrower. I met a couple of people and they assured me that the CG was just down the road away. Just down the road away, right! The road turned into one lane with a river, six inches if that far, from the right side of the road, the left side was a rock wall, one huge, really deep pot hole ahead that I had no choice but run over and then I saw it. A 9 foot cement wall on the left side of the one lane road just at a bend in the road where I had to drive between the cement wall and river which now was right next to the road. I couldn't see what was ahead but I couldn't turn around either. Blood pressure rising, stomach in my throat and my heart racing, I inched forward, waiting for one of my wheels to fall into the river. Whew!!! I made it! No pull thrus, I wasn't going to unhook for one night so I had to turn around and go back through hell's highway again. This time I was afraid of not only falling into the water but of clipping the jutting rock wall. Needless to say I managed to get out of there safely but I also learned a lesson. Check it out with the car first! even if I have to unhook. I drove to Bristol VA and spent the night at WalMart with some other RV's.

Only about 50 miles from Marion and the scenery was gorgeous. I tried holding up my camera and snapping a few photos but they didn't turn out. I reached my exit, #45, and headed south on hwy 16. It kept getting prettier and prettier.

Somewhere on this mountain was my destination.

This is the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area's Headquarters building. It's really a beautiful building and everyone inside was just as nice as could be. I had to stop there and let them know I had arrived and introduce myself. I filled out some forms, received lots of brochures, time sheets, work schedule and other papers then I followed my boss to the campground where I will be for the next 3 1/4 months.

As we turned into Raccoon Branch I was thoroughly knocked over by the beauty of it.

Just exactly what I had hoped for! Large spacious sites with a creek running through it and lots of trees and shade. It was almost full when I drove in since it was Memorial Day weekend. There were a lot of tents set up on one side of the campground but as we made the loop to the second half of the CG it was mostly fifth wheels and trailers.

My campsite is below. It's surrounded by lots of grass, has woods to the side and behind it, there is even a trail through the woods that Magic and Snoopy love to go into. When I sit outside, I can hear the water in the creek, so relaxing.

The pictures below show what my view is off to the drivers side and the little creek that is just behind me. On the other side of the creek is the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.

This is everything I had dreamed of and more. The day after I got here, Saturday, I drove around but forgot my camera. I went into the next campground up the mtn and met the camp host. She too was by herself and we hit it off right away. I think we'll be doing lots together.

I passed some beautiful rhododendron in dark pink and purple, I've never seen these before. The locust trees are in full bloom in the campground and they smelled wonderful. There were several horse camps, one I saw was full of horses, dogs, kids and trailers that housed both the horses and people, separately of course. There were other places under trees where people parked their horse trailers for the day while they rode through the trails. I passed the Appalachian Trail parking lot that seems to always be about full while their owners hike the trail. Dogwood trees are still in bloom, big magnolia blooms are popping out of wild magnolia trees. Wild flowers everywhere are just bursting in colors from yellow, white, pink, purple, blue and everything in between. Hawks were gliding over the road, crows hopping around in the trees, red winged blackbirds sitting on the fences and the beautiful little bluebirds flitting across the road. My eyes could barely take it all in and my senses were reeling in delight at all the colors, sounds and smells. As I drove around it dawned on me that there was a big smile on my face and it also felt as though it went clear to my heart. I think it'll be a beautiful summer.