9/25-26 Heading South/Roanoke/Blue Ridge Parkway

9/25/2018 Tuesday

Heavy rain this morning as we leave Anita & Kevin's house.  We opt not to explore the Catoctin Mountain area and Cunningham Falls in Maryland.  We'll save that for a future trip.  Instead, we head for I81 South. Finally out of the rain as we approach Roanoke, Virginia.

We stop here for gas and to fill our propane tank at a U-Haul spot - always a good bet for propane. Then we go downtown to check out a pinball museum we'd read about.  Downtown has been re-done a bit and seems quite nice with flowers, shops, restaurants and a trolley.

 Apparently we aren't far from Virginia Tech.

 The Pinball Museum is in a large complex called Center in the Square.

There are 61 machines at the museum, going back to the 1930's.

  Most all of the machines are functional, so we had fun wondering around and playing a game here and there.

 Some early games had only one flipper, some newer more complicated ones had four. Some had great graphics - and lots of bells and whistles.

We played some in college, though Greg was the "pinball wizard".  Here is the real wizard, who keeps all these machines working.

We move on to the nearby town of Salem where we were thinking of staying at Walmart.  We pass a Lowe's (Home Improvement, not the Lowe's Grocery Store found in some areas) and decide to check there, as it is in a quieter, less congested area and we've stayed at Lowe's before.  The manager gives us an ok, so we have a leisurely dinner at a nearby Applebee's and enjoy a quiet night - with good wi-fi!


9/26/18 Wednesday

A comfy 65 degrees this morning at 7 AM, though it is a little foggy.   We grab a quick breakfast and wind our way up to Bent Mountain where we join the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The fog begins to burn off and we have some great views at stops at places like Devil's Backbone, Trail's Cabin and Rakes Mill Pond.

(That's Greg out there looking for a good view.)

We see quite a few tumble-down barns and buildings in our travels.  It always makes me wonder about the people who once lived there and why the buildings were abandoned or ignored.... if those walls could talk!

Next stop is Mabry Mill, which was built in 1910.  A beautiful spot we've visited before.  We walk the trails which show signs of recent rain but none today.

At Groundhog Mountain there is an overlook, as well as displays of the different styles of fences found in the area.  Most are/were made of hickory.

Beautiful scenery along the way.

Next stop is the Blue Ridge Music Center where there is a small museum and where local musicians perform daily at noon.

 Today we are entertained by Bill & Maggie Anderson, who, they say, play traditional music that they like.

They start with Carter Family numbers which we recognize - Wabash Cannonball, Keep on the Sunny Side and more.   Maggie is playing an instrument called the Dobro, invented by 2 brothers from Czechoslovakia.

 Maggie has been in the top 10 players in the world for the last 11 years. (She has won 10's of dollars, Bill jokes.)  The appreciative audience waxes and wanes and after a while, we wane.

We soon cross the border into North Carolina and stop at Cumberland Knob for a short hike. A few trees are just beginning to show some red and yellow and we enjoy seeing a variety of fungi.

Traffic is light today, but in a few weeks it will no doubt be bumper to bumper when the "leaf peepers" arrive.

We decide to stop at Julian Price Campground.  The campground, especially the roads, are in need of some major TLC,  but the sites are ok and they do have hot showers.   Despite  the dampness from recent rains,  Greg gets a fire going for a while, till more drizzle arrives.  We cobble together some dinner and relax inside.