Story and photos by Patricia Apelt (unless otherwise indicated)
Leaving Bristol Virginia/Tennessee behind us, we headed East on Interstate 81 to the turnoff for Abingdon – about one-half hour. Turning into the parking lot of our hotel, we carried the packages purchased in Bristol into our room, turned the air conditioner up on HIGH to start cooling the room while we ate, then walked across two parking lots to get our favorite diner — Moon Dog Brick Oven. After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we turned left and crossed over I-81.
We are now on Route 58 and traveling The Crooked Road. To quote the website: “covering 19 counties, four cities, and over 50 towns and communities where heritage music is celebrated year-round. With nine Major Venues, over 60 Affiliated Venues and Festivals, and over 25 Wayside Exhibits, visitors have many opportunities to experience one of the richest music traditions in the world. This is where America’s music was born…and lives on!” Early musicians would ‘do the circuit’, traveling from one town to the next, then back again, playing the festivals, fairs, taverns, or anywhere else they could find work.
This part of Virginia was settled mostly by the Irish and Scots back in the 1700’s. They brought their music with them and it is that musical heritage that has lasted and evolved into what we now call ‘country music’, ‘hillbilly’ or ‘bluegrass’. With their fiddles, banjos, hand drums (bodhráns), and guitars, these settlers would provide the entertainment for social gatherings, private parties, and their own enjoyment. That tradition is continued today.
A few words of caution. Long sections of “The Crooked Road” are just that—VERY CROOKED, mountainous roads. There are many switchback curves, where it is impossible to see oncoming traffic, and many steep inclines! It is sometimes just a two-lane road with no center lines, and so enclosed by trees on both sides that it seems dark even at noon. Most of the scenery is beautiful, and our destinations are well worth the trip, but do not plan on driving these portions of the route at night or in heavy rain or fog. Conversely, there are long portions along this route that are just like four lane divided interstate highways, and these are as safe as can be expected. You can reach any place mentioned in this story by taking other routes, so if you want to visit the area, but not deal with the dangerous portions, plan your trip with alternate routes in mind.
Damascus
The first town we come to is Damascus, where almost every other store is a bike rental shop. This is a major hub on The Virginia Creeper Trail and the town enjoys providing bikers and hikers with bikes, backpacking supplies, food, shopping for souvenirs, and overnight lodging.
There is a reason they call Damascus Trail Town, USA. It’s criss crossed by the Appalachian Trail, the Virginia Creeper Trail, the Trans-America National Bicycle Trail, the Iron Mountain Trail, and others. It lies within easy distance of hundreds of miles of other multi-use recreational thoroughfares.
The town is so steeped in trail culture that it hosts a yearly celebration of the Appalachian Trail. “Trail Days” draws tens of thousands of people every year and is known as the world’s largest backpacking event. Also, the “Mountains of Music Homecoming” is a nine-day celebration of the communities in Southwest Virginia – their heritage music, cultural assets, and outdoor amenities, and features Crooked Road concerts in more than 30 communities throughout southwest Virginia.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Leaving Damascus, we soon enter the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which is in the Jefferson National Forest. At 5,729 feet above sea level, Mount Rogers is the tallest mountain in both Virginia and West Virginia. Because it is a National Park, there are no houses or roads allowed on the mountain, and only Rt. 58 cuts through a small part at the South end of the park. Here Route 58, (the white line in the background of this picture) is very narrow and runs between the creek and a sheer cliff on the other side.
You can see the rock face of the cliff straight ahead. To the left of the creek is another steep hillside, leaving just enough room for the creek and the road.
Green Cove Station on the Virginia Creeper Trail
Soon after leaving the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area, we turn onto Route 600 for a couple of miles to visit Green Cove Station, which is now another rest stop on the Virginia Creeper Trail. A rail station along the Virginia Creeper Railroad about 1914, the building was also a post office, general store and telegraph office. The last train stopped here in 1977, but the building remained a general store for a few years more. It was restored in the 1990’s as a U.S. Forest Service Visitor and education center for the Virginia Creeper National Recreational Trail.
In the pictures above, you can see the steam engine used to pull the coal trains and a few passengers back in the early 1900’s. This is a picture of a picture, so it is a bit blurry. To the right is how it looks today. Picnic tables are to the left, restrooms in back right, and general store to the far right just out of the picture. From here the Virginia Creeper Trail follows the old railroad bed for several miles in both directions.
Moving on to Galax, Virginia, home to the largest “Old Time Bluegrass Fiddler’s Convention” at the REX as well as the beginning of the New River Trail. Be sure to stop in at the Visitor’s Center in Galax. They have jars of the most wonderful apple butter, made from the fruit of apple trees supposedly planted by Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman). Yes, he was a real person. They also have The Galax Smokehouse, where we enjoyed a very tasty lunch.
Fairy Stone State Park and the Staurolite Crystals
We choose to travel a few miles further down the road to Hillsville, Virginia, where we had reservations for two nights at an inn. Hillsville is actually on Route 221, so the next morning we had to head back toward Galax a short distance to pick up Route 58 for our daytrip. We went first to White Top Mountain and the Grayson Highlands State Park. (Fee required) Here there is a wonderful museum in the Virgil J. Cox Visitor’s Center, with lots of history of the area, as well as an interesting weather station in the park.
Both Mt. Rogers and White Top (second highest mountain in Virginia) are so tall they have their own ecosystem. The weather on both mountains is compared to southern Canada and there are flora and fauna found nowhere else in Virginia. The day we visited it was 68° with a mist of rain at the higher elevations. At home, our family was suffering in 100°+ heat.
From Grayson Highlands we were back on Rt. 58, driving under The Appalachian Trail at The Meadows of Dan, then on to Route 57, up to Fairy Stone State Park. (Fee required.)
Built by Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) during the Great Depression, Fairy Stone State Park is a restful destination for bikers, hikers, campers, fishermen, horseback riders, water sport fans, and ‘just passing through’ tourist like us. A rather unique spot on the North American continent, Fairy Stone park is also the place where the so-called “Fairy Stones” are found, which is reason enough to visit.
One Legend-The Cherokee Indian Tribe version-tells us that one day long ago, the ‘Little People’ (Fairy People) appeared to the Wise Men of the tribe and told them of the torture and death of The Messenger of Peace (Jesus). The Cherokee people were so upset by this story that they all sank to their knees and started crying. Their tears hardened as they fell and became stones.
Another Legend from the white peoples of the region is very similar but tells of a time long ago when large groups of fairies roamed freely in this area. When elfin messengers from far away came to them and told of the death of Christ, the fairies all began crying and their tears became the Fairy Stones found in the park today.
A bit of factual information is that these ‘stones’ are actually crystals formed of staurolite, which is composed of iron, aluminum, and silicate. Theses crystals are hexagonal, and singles often intersect at forty-five-degree angles to form Roman, Maltese, or St. Andrews shapes. The crystals were formed from pressure and heat during the time when the Appalachian Mountains were being pushed up from the earth’s crust (some say about 400 million years ago). There is one small area just outside the gates but still owned by the park where you can go and perhaps find a few Fairy Stones for yourself.
The Lost Underwater Town of Fayerdale
Another highlight of Fairy Stone State Park is one that you can’t actually see. It is the underwater town of Fayerdale, now covered by Fairy Stone Lake. Once a thriving coal mining town served by the same railroad at Green Cove Station, the whole property was given to the state to become one of the first and largest State Parks in Virginia.
On our way back to Routh 58, we took a very short side-trip on Route 8 to Woolwine, Virginia. There we found a truly old-fashioned treasure! A covered bridge built in 1914. Spanning Jack’s Creek, the 48-foot bridge is no longer used, but is maintained by the county for its historical significance. Jack’s Creek flows into the New River just a little further downstream.
Back on Route 58 to the Meadows of Dan, we enter onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is beautiful scenery every mile, very little traffic, and lots of crisp, clean mountain air coming through the open car windows.
We stop to visit Maybry Mill along the way and have a delightful meal at the restaurant and gift shop there. Built about 1910 when the parkway was just a ‘back country road’, this mill served as a blacksmith shop, cabinet maker shop, lumber mill, and flour gristmill for the many-talented owner, Edwin B. Maybry.
Shot Tower near New River Trails State Park
Returning to Hillsville after a full day of sight-seeing, we settle for a quick dinner at the nearest fast-food place and turn in early. The next morning, we take Route 52 out of town to the Shot Tower State Park.
Overlooking the New River, the Shot Tower was built more than 200 years ago to make ammunition for the firearms of the early settlers. Lead from the nearby Austinville Mines was melted in a kettle atop the 75-foot tower and poured through a sieve with precisely drilled holes, falling through the tower and an additional 75-foot shaft beneath the tower into a kettle of water. On the way down, the lead was shaped by gravity into a round ball just the right size for the muskets used at the time. Guests may climb inside the tower, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, but is only open on scheduled days in the summer. Otherwise, interpretive signs provide details. The grounds are open from dawn until dusk and the parking lot is open year-round. Admission to the tower is free, however a daily parking fee is requested.
At the base of the tower, a path winds down to the river and the New River Trail State Park. This 57-mile-long linear park offers horse rentals, river tubing, hiking and biking, fishing, canoe and kayak rentals, camping and cabin rentals. Unfortunately, none except the hiking and biking are accessible from the Shot Tower grounds. However, Foster Falls is only a mile or so away along the trail, and has a large camping complex, complete with all the amenities mentioned above
Note: A small fee is required at all State Parks, but if you plan ahead, there is an annual pass that will get you in to all the State Parks in Virginia for less than paying for each individually.
Afton Mountain Scenic Overlook
Leaving the Shot Tower, we go back down 52 until we can take Route 62 and then onto Route 77 to I-81. Traveling North on I-81 was not as hot as the trip South but was still warm enough that we did not want to stop to see anything. Meeting I-64 right where we started this trip, we did stop at the Afton Mountain Scenic Overlook to take a few pictures.
Virginia is for Lovers
Thus, we have completed a rather lengthy loop through a large portion of the beautiful state of Virginia. Our slogan is ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ – lovers of history, mountains, seaside beaches, the arts in all forms, good eating, good music, and many other diversions. Whatever form of recreation you love, we probably have it. Come visit sometime – we would LOVE to have you!
If you travel on The Crooked Road, you can follow these routes, or come off of I-81 to any of them. If you would prefer NOT to drive the twisting Rt. 58, one suggestion might be to make Abingdon or Blacksburg your home base and cover these places on day-trips.
Please take the time to explore all the places mentioned and any others that strike your fancy, as well as take lots of photographs. The scenery is rural for the most part and very lovely