Virginia Coast Trip

We started out with a trip to see my parents in Virginia where my daughter and grandchildren would also be. We planned a six day visit with an open ended trip afterwards. We ended up traveling 22 days going through Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington DC. It was a great trip all the way around and we saw many a thing!

Day One:

We left home and drove to Bristol Virginia where we stayed at Sugar Hollow Park for the night. We had stayed here before. It's a beautiful campground at a good price right off Hwy 81. We got in early enough for a walkabout before dinner and one to follow.

Day Two:

We got up and headed Monticello which I had done as a child and Lora had never been. We toured the house with an impressive guide and then toured the grounds on our own. We caught the Jefferson talk which was very cool. This guy knew his history! We headed out and made it to Mechanicsville in time for dinner which was prepared by mom. We took dad and mom home to see how they decorated and then went back to Lynelle's. Melanie and family flew in with her usual hour late arrival and I picked them up at the airport at 12:30pm. A late night for us, but regular time for them.

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Washmorgan Hollow TTA

 Mark led a group of 17 hikers from 6 TTA chapters at Washmorgan Hollow Preserve area. The wildflowers were spectacular. This area is a 73 acre natural area in Jackson County and is owned by the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. The narrow winding ridges are separated by steep slopes that drop between 200 and 300 feet to the bottom of the hollow.  A waterfall is at the end of head of the hollow. It flows out of Washmorgan Hollow into Roaring River just below where the confluence  where Spring Creek enters Roaring River. There are large sycamore trees along the stream. The State Natural site says a large population of Synandra grows here in the spring. We didn't see that but did see so many other wildflowers. It was such a beautiful area and watching everyone find the different wildflowers was so fun. After this hike Mark took us to a privately owned area to hike the family farm. We saw 3 waterfalls and so many more wildflowers. Thanks to Mark for the great day of hiking with so many TTA friends and family. 

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Piney River - Cumberland trail

Lora and I went to the Piney River Segment of the Cumberland trail checking out wildflowers. It was a beautiful day to be out. We hiked out to the suspension bridge and back.

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Roaring Creek Segment of the Cumberland Trail

Lora and I headed down to the Roaring Creek segment of the Cumberland Trail. We just hiked along the creek checking out the flowers. We followed the roadbed to the end and headed back before the rain set in.

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Old Stone Fort/Short Springs SNA

Joan and Will led 21 hikers on the trails at Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, Started out cold with everyone bundled up, well a except for one brave hiker wearing shorts, (not Craig) The wildflowers were showing their beauty today, the Virginia Bluebells are aways a treat to see.  The Duck River had flooded the area where the bluebells were and they were a little rough looking. But still beautiful. They grow where the Duck and Little Duck River come together.  

After this hike, I went to Short Springs SNA to see what was blooming on the Wildflower Loop. There were beauties everywhere! A really vibrant dark pink Spiderwort amongst all the dark purples. The loop was full of blooms, especially the red and white trilliums. Also found Jacobs Ladder. 

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Rock Island SP

We headed over to Rock Island Sate Park for the day. We parked at the Great Falls overlook and hiked up to the Collins River Nature trail. We ate lunch on a bench overlooking the Collins river. After we returned to the car we drove over and hiked the Bluff trail. We checked out the picnic area #2 overlook before we left.

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North Chicamauga Creek SP

Today was the first time back at North Chick since they made it a State Park. Basically they put up signs and took away parking that they were already short of. The flowers were out and the weather was hot. 

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Prater and Wheeler Farms

 

Lora and I decided to hike when it was too hot. To early in the Spring to be in the 80's. We went to the Wheeler Farm and then hiked Prater Farm. We got to see some turkeys that we didn't get pictures of. I got a quick swim in to cool off.

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