Walter and I started the day at 7:15 a.m., we headed up Interstate 64 towards Staunton. I saw the car with the furthest away license plate before we even made it to Charlottesville - It was a VW Bug from Alaska, pretty hard to beat.
After getting off the interstate and onto some of the more scenic routes we were climbing on that just like roller coaster hard left and right hand turns then few hairpin curves some roads guardrails didn't made me think of traveling Harlan before they fixed road. We were listening to the radio station, Allegheny Mountain Radio, which had most unusual motto is "Making Dew in the Mountains" it was a riot. They even had a group who came on calling themselves the Airheads, we think that this is almost a anything goes station - as it is just local information and very little music. Around noon it was story hour and a woman began reading a book on air, which was really neat.
We passed these cattle on the road before we turned onto Route 220. They appeared to have just been fed. It is not something that we normally get to see, living so close in. So I thought I would get a picture of them having their breakfast.
Walter and I drove around the Homestead to take a look. We found it was one-mile around the place until we could get to the front entrance of the hotel.
There has been a resort on this site since 1766. The present building was constructed on the original site in 1900. It is huge! I haven't a clue as to how many rooms this place has, but I found out that the pool there is fed by a hot spring.
We drove around the grounds. They were amazing. You could see the stocked fish pond and carefully manicured lawns. The golf course was beautiful.
They were in the process of constructing rock walls, bridges, and rock facings around the drain pipes. The upper part of the property was being developed and they were adding a huge pond with a waterfall feature.
I spent an hour soaking in The Jefferson Pools, (they were called the Warm Springs Pools for over 200 years) located on Bath Lane, Warm Springs (Bath County). The women's pool was constructed in 1836, and they have retained the buildings almost in their original form since that time. The men's pool began operating in 1761. So they have been there for quite some time. You can see in the picture of the water the awesome colors produced in the mineral deposits left behind as the water flows into the bath.
The water was terrific (a pleasant 98-degrees) and relaxing. My skin was so soft afterwards. Since we arrived after 1 p.m. clothing was optional in the Women's Bath. I was surprised to actually see that there were several women who had availed themselves of this option. The water was 4'10" deep with a river rock bottom. The rocks were even warm. They had set up an overflow area where the pool drained out with a small bench where you could sit in the jet of water spewing out and get a mini massage.
I got a really beautiful t-shirt as a souvenir of the trip - from the Jefferson Pools. It shows the check-in building, gazebo over the spring source and the Women's Bath in the spring. It is quite "perky".
I told Walter later that put 15-20 women in what is essentially a huge bathtub and it is amazing that the information that you can find out. As we were talking on the way home bits of information would come up that I had learned while in the "tub".
We stumbled across this waterfall quite by accident, I noticed a couple on the side of the road an looked back to see this fabulous waterfall. It was off Route 220 South of Lake Moomaw. I estimate that the waterfall was about 40-50' tall. The photographs can hardly do it justice. It was a breath taking site. A truly remarkable creation. The Lord did a wonderful job on this one. Maybe the Disney company saw this when they were coming up with the movie on Pocahontas - since they used a tall waterfall in their program and there aren't any on the coast.
Our journey home included a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were making the mad dash though the parkway to get some scenic photos before the sun set, while on our way back home.
Fork Mountain
Sunset
Moon Rise Over the Slacks
Moon Rise Over the Slacks
The sun fading behind the mountain.
After getting off the interstate and onto some of the more scenic routes we were climbing on that just like roller coaster hard left and right hand turns then few hairpin curves some roads guardrails didn't made me think of traveling Harlan before they fixed road. We were listening to the radio station, Allegheny Mountain Radio, which had most unusual motto is "Making Dew in the Mountains" it was a riot. They even had a group who came on calling themselves the Airheads, we think that this is almost a anything goes station - as it is just local information and very little music. Around noon it was story hour and a woman began reading a book on air, which was really neat.We passed these cattle on the road before we turned onto Route 220. They appeared to have just been fed. It is not something that we normally get to see, living so close in. So I thought I would get a picture of them having their breakfast.
One area off Route 220 just South of Monterey, VA had icicles hanging from the rocks on the side of the road. They reminded me so much of the rocks heading into St. Charles in the winter time when I was little.
Walter filled up his water jug at the natural spring that was on the road side across the road from 'The Tannery', which sits off Germantown Road.
We had lunch at the 'Varsity' which is a cross between a diner, bar, gift shop, and game checking station. It is also apparently the social center for the local residents.
It is located directly across the road from Bath County High School. It is filled with school memorialbilia from as long ago as 1932. They have display cases for every sport, activity and even banners for all the local teams. One trophy displayed even had a mouse attached - turns out they had won a Technology award in 2002.
The food at the Varsity is great! I had a freshly made Reuben sandwich and the sauerkraut was divine. It definitely did not taste like it had come out of a can - but more like it came out of a mason jar that someone had put up. Yum.
This gourd server was in the gift shop portion of the Varsity. It is a dried out gourd, stained and sealed, with a napkin inside to line it. The price tag was $73.00. WOW!
We passed by this church several times - it is located behind The Jefferson Pools. What is so unique is that when you look closely into the front window you can see stair cases climbing on either side to the second floor. It was beautiful.
This is the Grist Mill Square area in Warm Springs. The first image is the Warms Springs Spa which sits across the street from the square. A mill has operated on the site of since 1771, the current mill was built in 1900 and now houses a restaurant.
The rest of the square is a complex of buildings that were once used in conjunction with the mill, one was even a feed store. They have now been converted into guest room. It was here that Walter stayed during his visit last summer. His room sits directly across from the Warm Springs Post Office. He was able to sit on the porch and watch folks come and go as they picked up their mail.
From there we went on up Rt. 39 to the Confederate Breast Works overlook. The view from there is terrific. I believe that we are looking into the mountains of West Virginia at this point.
This is an overview located on Route 39. It looks back into Virginia.
Walter showed me around the Homestead. We went up to the architects home at the top of the mountain and took some photos. He really enjoyed showing me where they had stayed a year ago. A really neat place.Walter filled up his water jug at the natural spring that was on the road side across the road from 'The Tannery', which sits off Germantown Road.
We had lunch at the 'Varsity' which is a cross between a diner, bar, gift shop, and game checking station. It is also apparently the social center for the local residents.
It is located directly across the road from Bath County High School. It is filled with school memorialbilia from as long ago as 1932. They have display cases for every sport, activity and even banners for all the local teams. One trophy displayed even had a mouse attached - turns out they had won a Technology award in 2002.
The food at the Varsity is great! I had a freshly made Reuben sandwich and the sauerkraut was divine. It definitely did not taste like it had come out of a can - but more like it came out of a mason jar that someone had put up. Yum.This gourd server was in the gift shop portion of the Varsity. It is a dried out gourd, stained and sealed, with a napkin inside to line it. The price tag was $73.00. WOW!
We passed by this church several times - it is located behind The Jefferson Pools. What is so unique is that when you look closely into the front window you can see stair cases climbing on either side to the second floor. It was beautiful.This is the Grist Mill Square area in Warm Springs. The first image is the Warms Springs Spa which sits across the street from the square. A mill has operated on the site of since 1771, the current mill was built in 1900 and now houses a restaurant.
The rest of the square is a complex of buildings that were once used in conjunction with the mill, one was even a feed store. They have now been converted into guest room. It was here that Walter stayed during his visit last summer. His room sits directly across from the Warm Springs Post Office. He was able to sit on the porch and watch folks come and go as they picked up their mail.
This is an overview located on Route 39. It looks back into Virginia.
This is the "Tower" at the Homestead. It is the house that Walter & the crew stayed in last summer when they were doing work in the area. Walter stayed on the top floor of the house. His view was even better than what I was able to take from the lawn. The house is amazing. I love the pergolas and the open views from the house. The view from the Tower is fantastic. You can see the top of the Homestead in the middle of the view.
Walter and I drove around the Homestead to take a look. We found it was one-mile around the place until we could get to the front entrance of the hotel.
There has been a resort on this site since 1766. The present building was constructed on the original site in 1900. It is huge! I haven't a clue as to how many rooms this place has, but I found out that the pool there is fed by a hot spring.
We drove around the grounds. They were amazing. You could see the stocked fish pond and carefully manicured lawns. The golf course was beautiful.
They were in the process of constructing rock walls, bridges, and rock facings around the drain pipes. The upper part of the property was being developed and they were adding a huge pond with a waterfall feature.
I spent an hour soaking in The Jefferson Pools, (they were called the Warm Springs Pools for over 200 years) located on Bath Lane, Warm Springs (Bath County). The women's pool was constructed in 1836, and they have retained the buildings almost in their original form since that time. The men's pool began operating in 1761. So they have been there for quite some time. You can see in the picture of the water the awesome colors produced in the mineral deposits left behind as the water flows into the bath.
The water was terrific (a pleasant 98-degrees) and relaxing. My skin was so soft afterwards. Since we arrived after 1 p.m. clothing was optional in the Women's Bath. I was surprised to actually see that there were several women who had availed themselves of this option. The water was 4'10" deep with a river rock bottom. The rocks were even warm. They had set up an overflow area where the pool drained out with a small bench where you could sit in the jet of water spewing out and get a mini massage.I got a really beautiful t-shirt as a souvenir of the trip - from the Jefferson Pools. It shows the check-in building, gazebo over the spring source and the Women's Bath in the spring. It is quite "perky".
I told Walter later that put 15-20 women in what is essentially a huge bathtub and it is amazing that the information that you can find out. As we were talking on the way home bits of information would come up that I had learned while in the "tub".
Our journey home included a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were making the mad dash though the parkway to get some scenic photos before the sun set, while on our way back home.
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY
Fork Mountain
Sunset
Moon Rise Over the Slacks
Moon Rise Over the Slacks
The sun fading behind the mountain.
This is a panoramic that I created from about eight different images. This was the last view that we had before dusk and we weren't able to get any further scenic shots.
At dusk we had a close encounter with three deer, and later on there was a fourth one that we came upon.
You have to look very close in the photo to see them. The picture was virtually black when I took it, but I was able to pull out the image somewhat. There is one deer next to the tree in the center and a second following into the frame. The third one had already made it further up the side of the mountain.
As dark fell we scurried down the mountain as quickly as possible. Walter doesn't like to drive on unfamiliar roads after dark. I don't blame him, and with all the deer possibly close to the road on the Blue Ridge Parkway it was safer once we were back on the interstate.
From the time we left Afton Mountain it took us an hour and a half to get back home. That is pretty much a wrap up of our 13-hour journey. I had a great time and enjoyed the relaxing day.
At dusk we had a close encounter with three deer, and later on there was a fourth one that we came upon.You have to look very close in the photo to see them. The picture was virtually black when I took it, but I was able to pull out the image somewhat. There is one deer next to the tree in the center and a second following into the frame. The third one had already made it further up the side of the mountain.
As dark fell we scurried down the mountain as quickly as possible. Walter doesn't like to drive on unfamiliar roads after dark. I don't blame him, and with all the deer possibly close to the road on the Blue Ridge Parkway it was safer once we were back on the interstate.
From the time we left Afton Mountain it took us an hour and a half to get back home. That is pretty much a wrap up of our 13-hour journey. I had a great time and enjoyed the relaxing day.
1 comment:
You got some beautiful shots. I'm anxious to see the rest.
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