Meandering Road Trip

Old truck along the roadside on 360.

This past weekend Mom & I headed out on a journey to visit our cousin, Wanda, in Hillsville. Now when we head out on a trip it isn't your quick trip down and back no, we wander and meander our way about.

It is amazing the things that you can see on just a four hour trip. 

We decided to begin our journey by taking 360 West to 58 West then on to Hillsville.

We stopped along the way to get some pictures of plants, ponds, bugs, buildings and such until we reach South Boston.

Goats milling around the sculptures
in Bob Cage's Sculpture Farm

It was about that time that we came across Bob Cage's Sculpture Farm! Amazing.

The field was filled with an huge assortment of sculptures with an added bonus of a donkey, burro and bunches of goats. They were all hanging out and playing around the sculptures.

We had a grand time taking pictures of the animals interacting with the sculptures. There was a couple of kids fighting with one another, leaping at one another and butting heads a few times.

Bears!
This could be interesting.

Further down the road we got to Lover's Leap lookout, spent some time there taking photos from the overlook. The rhododendron were also in bloom and the light was just right.

As we were getting ready to leave that was when we saw the bear crossing sign!

With cameras in hand we went on a bear hunt.

Needless to say we were disappointed when we didn't see a single one.  The sign LIED!

We finally made it to our destination in the early evening. Off then to visit with Wanda.

The Darlings - Mayberry RFD

After a dinner out with Wanda, we all headed across the state line to Mt. Airy. It was a dual purpose trip, I had purchase to make and we got to visit several of the attractions there dealing with The Andy Griffith Show.

We were even allowed to go into the mock up of the Courthouse/ Sheriff's office. It was a time capsule of television history. They even had a brick with a sign above it, "In Memory of Earnest T. Bass".

There was also several of vehicles from the series, the Darling's truck, a taxi, and Wally's tow truck.

Day Two

The second day of our journey started with a visit to Carroll House to spend some more time with Wanda. Instead of a couple of hours it turned in to nearly half a day.

Southwest Virginia Farmers Market

We were given a tour of the facility, took loads of photos of several of Wanda's friends and learned about all the activities that they were involved in.

Finally breaking away we stopped at the Farmers Market. The vegetables and flowers were beautiful.

Mom even found some new flowers for the deck and  her Hummingbirds.  I'm looking forward to new pictures from Mom featuring the flowers and the Hummers.

Our final major stop was the New River Trail Park at Foster Falls. As we were checking in we found out that it was the park's 25th Anniversary - a free day of parking!!

Cycling near
Foster Falls

We headed straight for the river and the falls, and were we in luck. The weather was beautiful. There were wild flowers in bloom and the Canadian Geese were on the water with their chicks. It was interesting to watch them swim against the current - both parents keeping the chick between them - buffering them from the current.

There was a Boy Scout troop from Mecklenburg, NC, camping and cycling throughout the park. Mom spoke to several of the boys who said they were there working on their cycling merit badge. They all appeared to be having a grand time.

We finished up our journey home by traveling back along 21 and 460, back to 360 and only tracing our path for only about 45 minutes.

More Photos from Our Meandering Road Trip