Day 4 - Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail

Saturday, June 15^th – our 11^th Anniversary

Today is our anniversary, and we are going to spend it doing what we love most (other than each other, of course).  Doing an outdoor activity!

The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 34 mile " retired " railway corridor of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad, which winds down through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Whitetop to Abingdon, Virginia.  It has numerous restored trestles, and crosses the Appalachian Trail. Norm and I will mountain bike down 17 miles of what is touted the prettiest section.

One of the many restored tresstles

  We set the alarm clock for 6AM, checked the weather and discovered it was due to be 48 degrees at the top! Yikes! Did I bring warm enough clothes?  It is almost summer.

 Since it is considered to be the best rail-trail in the east, and among the best in the United States, we decided we better catch the first shuttle to avoid the crowds.  It was an hour drive, so we left at an early 7:15.

There were many informational kiosks along the way.
The trail was extremely shady, so it was quite cool. 

 The road up the mountain was extremely narrow and steep, and the shuttle ride was a pleasant experience in and of itself.  When we finally made it to the top, the air was quite cool as we headed down the mountain on a trail that was perfectly groomed.  Norm and I both prefer more of a technical and physical challenge, ( and I prefer some danger ) but as we mostly coasted down the hill, we enjoyed the streams, waterfalls, and rock outcroppings along the way.  We passed over almost 20 trestles, stopping to enjoy the rapids flowing below while taking advantage of the warming sun when available.

Since we worked up an appetite coasting down this trail, we took advantage of a trail-side café and had lunch along the way.

 

We drove the hour back, took another nap, then enjoyed a delicious grass fed beef pot roast I had cooking in the crock pot all day for our romantic anniversary dinner. Life is good.

As we now sit, Norm is watching the Bruins playoff game, and I am catching up with this blog.

This a one of several fly-fisherman we saw taking advantage of the great trout fishing here.
  This is one of many platforms built to allow the handicapped to fish as well!
How fabulous is that?