March 26 – April 18, 2026 Most Recent Posts
Driving To and At My 2nd Favorite Animal on the River
Greenfield Mountain Farm Rainbow Springs Hiking and Kayaking
Virginia
As is my usual trip north I did a 3 night hop to Virginia staying in Walmart parking lots in St. Mary’s Georgia and Walterboro South Carolina but this time something different in North Carolina. Rather than stay in the Walmart parking lot in Roanoke Rapids for free I stayed at Carolina Crossroads RV park so I’d have both electricity (overnight low 38 degrees) and a dump station. For this I paid $69.40 to bring my own house and bed to use their electricity and water. This is why I don’t go to private RV parks unless I can get at least a weekly rate and preferably monthly to get the per night cost down to something reasonable. BUT tonight was not a Walmart night so I’m thankful there was an alternative near by.
When was at the end of my 826 miles, I traveled down the narrow, curving, hilly white knuckle county road that leads to the 3/4 mile farm lane.
I thought I was home free. But just as I came around the last bend through the trees to where it opens into the valley, there was a tree across the road. It must have fallen in the last day or so since I’d had the lane checked before I left Florida. Too big to lift but luckily a neighbor was home and had a chain saw to help. I was too busy carrying logs to think of taking a picture. Sure wish I had. I’d thought this was going to be a trip back without incident. Oh well…..
But here we are, Winnona in the barnyard and me in the farmhouse.
The welcoming committee.
Beautiful skies looking out to the lane I came in on.
Later that night, looking the same direction, a bright nearly full moon over the mountains
One of the reasons I spend spring in Virginia is the beautiful flowers and trees. The dogwoods are in bloom around the yard
Also on the edges of the field
and in the woods.
Another reason I’m here is that I haven’t seen the ones I love most since December. Carrie and the kids arrive on April 8th.
I spent the next days doing my taxes and cleaning up the house from 5 months of being gone. The floors look like an invasive asain lady beetle graveyard. No pictures of that horror I don’t want to remember.
The day after they arrived we took our flashlights to hike the Blue Ridge Tunnel. This was right down the kid’s alley.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel opened to rail traffic in 1858. It lies beneath Rockfish Gap where Interstate 64, US Rt 250, The Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline drive through Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail converge. It’s amazing that it was built by Irish Laborers and enslaved African Americans using hand tools and black powder. At 4273 feet it was the longest railroad tunnel in the US when completed.
It’s pretty dark in there.
The entry ways are brick and the tunnel is rock.
With the flashlights off you couldn’t see anything. Even with them on if you pointed them to the ground you could only see where you were walking. You had to point them up to light up the tunnel like the photos above and below.
Not sure how this would be after a heavy rain. You can see the water on the right the day we came and it hadn’t rained for a few days.
Is this the bright light at the end of a tunnel everyone talks about?
Celia sleeps in what was Carrie’s room in the alcove bed David made for her. It has a trundle bed for overnight sleep overs. I think we are creating a 3rd generation of readers. It’s wonderful!
Colin creates with duplos and Celia with blocks. Carrie was so careful with her toys that they are still around for her children to enjoy.
We started out on Saturday morning for the Kite Festival but were really disappointed to learn it hadn’t been held in 3 years even though AI had told us where it would be on this particular Saturday in April in 2026. Be very careful to seek a source other than AI for anything important.
We ended up at Spruce Creek park instead which after a bit of disappointment sulking turned out to be great fun.
Colin forges ahead, his big sister is not so sure about deeper water.
Back safely to the shallows.
The park has kindly placed chairs around for waiting parents or whoever.
Another reason to be in Virginia for the spring – the Virginia Bluebells have just begun to appear.
He STILL doesn’t weigh enough.
The park has one of the greatest play spaces I’ve seen and I didn’t get any pictures but this one. It’s the top of an old cupboard with doors and drawers and hooks and pots and pans and is labeled The Mud Kitchen using water from the creek and sand to create.
The box Colin is in is usually filled with sand which you dip out standing on the outside but apparently it hasn’t been refilled in a while. So since he couldn’t reach, he just resourcefully climbed inside. Huge mistake on my part not to get pictures of the muffins they made. Next time!
After all that cooking, it’s time for ice cream at Black Bear Creamery on the way home.
Celia playing detective looking for clues.
Colin working with the drawing books.
The results of his efforts. Multiple tries on the butterfly but ultimate success. I love the giraffe.
The detective looking for more clues.
What a lovely picture of the farm Carrie took on her walk with Colin through the woods to the pond.
We prove you can read anywhere.
Colin seems more interested in the art of Georgia O’Keeffe than Celia.
On another day we went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The farm is located down in the Rockfish Valley behind Colin.
We checked out the the 1890’s preserved farm and the Humpback Rocks visitor center which wasn’t open yet. No doubt due to funding shortages.
After checking out all the farm buildings even though we could not go inside, we hiked over to the Humpback Rocks area.
After deciding the hiking there was too busy we drove on down the parkway a bit and hiked a while on the AT.
Back home, there were more games including this architecture puzzle which had 6 houses to put together. Turned out to be harder than we thought to get all the details matched up.
Colin’s fancy train station.
Then I taught the kids how to play solitaire. Celia did pretty well when she tried it herself.
But Colin was more interested in playing War and beating the pants off of me. Wish you could see his grin.
The time went by all too fast but this is for sure my main reason for hanging out in Virginia. That and the wonderful blooms.
After they left the purple Iris put on a show.
All the insects were crazy about the Rhododendron and Azalea
Mountain Laurel is related to the Rhododendron. Both are in the Heath family.
So many buds on the Peony which is just beginning to blossom
Next up is a side trip for me without Winnona to Black Mountain, North Carolina.
