 |
| The route north |
Thursday August 11 2022
We left home at 8:30 in the morning having packed the RV and
truck the night before. Stopping at A&A storage, we hooked up the RV and
were pulling out at 9am. Nine times out of ten we depart at 9 am, we must be
creatures of habit we don’t really plan it; it just works out that way.
We will take our preferred route to Greensboro, but this time we drove the truck
and RV to Lucille’s house. In the past we have stayed in a nearby RV park or
drove to Martinsville Virginia and then backtracked with the truck
to Lucille’s. The parking area in her townhouse community is a little tight but
we had no trouble turning around and parking. This will be our preferred
stopover plan from now on.
 |
| Lucile's home in Greensboro North Carolina |
Our two or three hour stop has pretty much the same script
each visit. We discussed; medical malady’s real or imagined, children and
grandchildren, other assorted family members living or dead, and the Bray
family cemetery. In fairness, Lucille and Millie are the main overseers of the
cemetery so there is always something to discuss about that, the rest is just
what sisters do.
It’s less than fifty miles from Greensboro
to Martinsville
and we arrived there in the afternoon of that same day. Michelle was not in the
office but the campground owner told me to go park in our site and pay her whenever.
He always remembers me as a repeat customer and well it’s just an easy going
kind of place.
 |
| Backed up to the river at Indian Heritage CG in Martinsville Virginia |
After setting up on a riverfront site (76) we drove into
downtown Martinsville
and met two of Millie’s nieces (Sisters, Jennifer and Donna) for dinner at a
new restaurant called Roosky’s. I’m going to give them an A for effort, the young
crew was very attentive and professional, the ambiance had much to be desired,
it seems like an overly large empty space. Millie said she thinks it used to be
a furniture store. The food was prepared and presented very well; I’m just not
used to the shrinking portions and higher prices that the senile old man in the
white house is serving up!
After dinner we followed Jennifer to a cabin in the woods.
Her husband and his brother purchased adjoining properties that total about 50
acres. It’s the ultimate men’s playground. At the end of a long gravel lane is an
old building they have renovated and made into a clubhouse. The property
consists of a creek, hills, forest and pasture. They’ve got tractors, mowers,
quad runners and a small arms range, what’s not to like here! Butch and his
friends meet there most every Friday night for card games and good ol boy camaraderie.
Jennifer is organizing a Bray family reunion to be held at
the cabin in September or October. The tentative date is October first.
Friday August 12 2022
We had a few items on today’s agenda. First we went a
graveyard monument maker in nearby Ridgeway. We got some epoxy to repair flower
urns on one of the graves in the Bray
Cemetery. We also
inquired about general information on markers, cost, placement procedure and
such. Like it or not none of us is getting out of here alive, and this has to
be dealt with sometime.
 |
| One of Millie's kin has a marker much like this one, we have ordered a new one to be placed in front of the original 1913 granite stone. |
Next was a drive by of the Bray family home place which was
owned by Millie’s brother Ernest until his death about a year ago. The new
owners have remodeled the exterior of Ernest’s house. Down from his house the
family home and adjacent store are still the same. Millie always says the
family house looks bad, I think no matter what its condition, it will not be
the home she remembers from her youth.
 |
| You can't go home again {Thomas Wolfe} |
Next was a drive out to the cemetery on Plantation Drive outside of Axton. We
were surprised to see a large pine tree from the neighbor’s property had fallen
into the cemetery. It may have damaged the fence but it looks minor and
repairable to me. We’ll find out when we remove the tree.
 |
| Pine tree choses final resting place in Bray Family Cemetery |
We decided to continue our trip to Raccoon Branch
campground, but will cut the trip to five days and then return to Martinsville to deal with
the tree. We have contacted Chris Henderson (Bray connected by marriage) and he
will meet us there to cut up and remove the tree.
Back in Martinsville
we shopped for an electric chainsaw at the Rural King farm store. High end and
High priced saws was all they had so we went across town to Harbor Freight
Tools where I purchased the larger of the two sizes they carry. It has a 16
inch bar and will do everything I need it for at home. I’ve been thinking about
selling the large gas chainsaw I now have and getting one of these, so this was
the impetus to buy one. All this transpired before we heard back from Chris and
he said he would bring his saw, but two saws will make short work of the tree.
PS: I carry a 4K generator in the back of the truck and 100 feet of extension
cord to run my saw, I’m like a boy scout, always prepared!
Last stop for the day was at Jerry’s Pizza, which was
recommended by several people. It was a very good experience, nice décor, simple
order and serve process, very clean dining room and the pizza was excellent!
The office was still open when we got back to the campground
so I paid for our stay and made reservations for our tree removal duties next
week and tentative reservations for the reunion next month.
We capped of the evening with a walk along the river and an
old movie featuring Morgan Freeman and Keanna Reeves. I forget its title and it’s
not worth looking up for this blog, it was a lousy movie, we gave it a 2.5 and
a 3.
Saturday August 13 2022
Today was departure day, I didn’t record the time but I’m
sure it was 9am, how could it be anything else! We traveled west from Martinsville on hwy 58 or
Philpot highway as it is locally known. I think Philpot was the area senator
from long ago. About halfway from Martinsville
to Galax the road becomes narrow and windy as it climbs a mountain peak,
culminating at a scenic overlook called Lover’s Leap. The area at the crest is
buzzing with activity with lots of earth moving equipment carving what appears
will be a straighter road over the mountain. I hope they keep the local road as
a scenic overlook.
 |
| Lover's Leap near Meadows of Dan, Virginia |
On the western slope the road becomes a four lane divided
highway and soon you come to “Meadows of Dan”. Unfortunately most travelers miss
the village because the big four lane bypasses it. We always take the business
route where the ½ dozen or so businesses are thriving. It is very popular with
the many touring motorcyclists who ride these mountain roads as well as local
support and “in the know” hills travelers.
 |
| Motorcycles are a very common sight here |
The Blue Ridge Parkway pass here and the very
photogenic Mabry Mill is close by. Meadows of Dan also has a commercial
campground for RV’s with hook ups, something none of the National Parks
Campgrounds on the route have.
 |
| Mabry's Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway |
I see I’m on a tourist spiel here so I must also
mention Primland, the upscale golf resort here. One last tidbit, the
Appalachian Trail originally passed by Meadows of Dan before it was moved to
the west, it’s a shame, the hikers would welcome a break from the dense forest
to pass through this spectacular landscape.
 |
| A favorite stop |
Our first stop was Nancy’s
Candy Factory where we bought fudge and chocolate covered pretzels, the battle
of the bulge never ends! Next we walked up the hill to the country store for
some produce. I noticed that all the commercial buildings in the village were
occupied by some sort of business. I was glad to see this unique little oasis
being successful; there are too many identical shopping centers with identical
franchised businesses.
When we got to Galax we detoured south for a few miles to
shop in a Pottery type business. Millie wanted to buy some sewing notions in
the fabric building. I browsed thru the outdoor pottery and the craft supplies
building, buying nothing.
Back on the road we refueled and planned on parking
somewhere and eating lunch in the RV but after sampling our candy purchases
while driving we decided to just keep going to the campground.
Most of the route is well known to us as we travel this way
a couple times a year to visit Millie’s sister Betty in Konoroock. Because of
the closure of our favorite campground (Grindstone) we now camp at Raccoon
Branch, another National Forest Campground. It is very small with only four
sites having electric and water hook ups and another dozen primitive sites with
no hookups. It was obviously built a long time ago, probably by the Civil Conservation
Corp during the Great Depression back in the 1930’s.
 |
| The most unlevel site we've had the travel trailer on. |
Anyhow it works for us; it’s nice enough and even has paved
roads and camp sites. There is a hiking trail that goes to a 3600 foot mountain
peak and we plan to hike it while here. The only real detriment is the noise
from passing vehicles on the road that goes by the campground. There is
forested buffer but they are very close and the area is otherwise whisper quiet
so you notice every time someone goes by.
Sunday August 14 2022
We got the griddle out this morning and made a big country
Breakfast, Eggs, hash browns, homemade chicken scrapple, toast and coffee.
Mighty good eating!
So that we wouldn’t feel guilty after the large breakfast we
decided to hike the trail from the campground to the top of a nearby mountain.
Well, it was a steep uphill trail and we were not sure how long it was, so we
paced ourselves accordingly. When we caught sight of the summit we were
probably 200 feet in elevation from the top, but the trail snaked around out of
sight. We didn’t have a map so there was no telling how much longer the trail
was, so we decided that for us old folk prudence was the better part of valor
and we stopped. Besides we had to walk back down the steep grade and that was
sure to tax the opposite sides of the joints we abused going up. Surely our
breakfast calories were used up by now!
 |
| A favorite picture |
On the way to visit Millie’s sister we stopped at Grindstone
Campground, it has been closed all year because of a septic system failure and
will probably be closed for two more years. It was very sad to see it in such
neglected condition and overgrown with vegetation. A classic example of how
little our government cares about its citizens, three years to replace a septic
system!
Millie’s sister Betty and her husband Paul live on twenty
acres outside the village of Konorock Virginia.
Paul is advancing through the stages of Alzheimer’s, but he still knows both of
us and only asked me if I missed going to work about a half dozen times.
We enjoyed a meal with them in the afternoon and I did a
small job for them afterwards. There was a fluorescent light fixture in a shed
out back that was infested with paper wasps. It was an “Oh S&%T” moment
when I opened the case and the inside surface was alive with wasps. I was
standing on the top rung of a ladder at the time and for a second I wasn’t sure
what to do until I realized they were not going to attach me, not yet anyhow.
I slowly backed down the ladder and got a can of wasp spray
from a nearby work bench. Incredibly they were still not flying; maybe it was
the cool mountain temperature. The spray took them out and they never did
attack me; they just scurried around the huge nest until the poison took effect
and they dropped to the floor.
On the way back to Raccoon Branch campground we detoured
down a windy three mile single lane road. We wanted to check out another
National Forest Campground, this one called Hurricane Campground. Like most of
these camps it was old, but this one seemed to be kept up very well. It is
mostly for tent campers and probably gets a lot of use because the Appellation
trail runs by it.
While at Betty’s place we found out the tree in the cemetery
has been removed by the owner of the property behind it. There is no cell
service in most of this mountainous area of Virginia, but Betty has a land line phone
and internet. We will more than likely cut our stay short and head home instead
of returning to Martinsville.
That will be tomorrow’s decision, it’s movie time now.
Monday August 15 2022
Millie and I have taken to a “on the fly” mindset when
traveling. While we do start our travels with an itinerary, we have no problem
changing the plan midstream. And so it was at 4:30 this morning. We were both
wide awake and I said “If we were going home today, we could get up now and get
an early start”. Without any hesitation Millie replied “Why don’t we do that!”
.jpg) |
| On the road again! |
We had done what we set out to do, our need to stay for the
cemetery tree removal was no longer valid and rain was forecast for the
mountains all day today. With that we stepped out of bed and went into our
departure routine, each of us performing our designated tasks.
We work independently, no speaking or instructions needed,
except for double checking some of the critical tasks. We had a slight delay
with the outside prep because of an early morning down pour of rain but we were
ready to pull out at dawn.
 |
| The route home |
We had all day to get home so we decided to drive local
roads the whole way; we especially wanted to avoid I-77 which is always heavily
traveled. The ride home was pleasant and for the most part rain free. We made
four stops, two for fuel, one rest stop break, and a final one to eat a meal.
We ate in the RV at a small roadside park at Brownsville on highway 38, its one of those
hidden gems we use often.
It was good to be traveling and good to be home. We know
we’re blessed to have both, wanderlust to explore and a house to come home to!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
