NATURAL BRIDGE VIRGINIA

 In 1774, by grant of King George III,  Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres along a tributary of the James River, known as Cedar Creek. Included in this purchase was the "Natural Bridge".   Thomas Jefferson writing of this geological marvel said:  "So beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light and springing as if were up to heaven, the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable.  It is really the most sublime of Nature's work."

The Natural Bridge is located 30 minutes north of Roanoke just off Interstate 81.  It is the centerpiece of  numerous interesting destinations for tourists and hikers in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  It is over 215 feet tall spanning the Cedar Creek.   It is now a State Park of the State of Virginia.   We visited there one October afternoon and beheld of one's of Nature's most unusual sights.

Arriving in the early afternoon we found the parking lot at the visitors center overflowing with sightseers.  The Park Ranger posted at the entrance informed us that this was one of the largest crowds of the year.  Not caring for a social hike, we opted to drive up the road to the Blue Ridge Trail.  It is a four mile loop trail through mountain meadows leading up to the Red Knob.  Not very scenic, it was nevertheless a great workout for the Fat Bald White Guy and his Faithful Hiking Companion.

Unfortunately, the best view was at the trailhead!   It is a nice hike and good for the exercise and we were no worse for the experience but at Red Knob Overlook we were greeted with a cleared mountain top that still left the surrounding mountainside obscured from view.

While resting my dogs at a trail bench I took a shot of the only real view of the mountain range to the east. 

The best thing about the hike was that it provided time for the crowd at the Natural Bridge to thin out.  We enjoyed the walk in the woods but would not recommend this as place to visit for scenery.  Though I do like this picture of the golden fall forest we walked through.

Returning to the Natural Bridge Visitor's Center we were pleased to watch a steady stream of visitors leave. While waiting for my Faithful Hiking Companion to retrieve our admission tickets,  I was reminded that Virginia is for Lovers!

The Cedar Creek Trailhead is located behind the visitor's center down over 150 steps! It is an out and back 2 mile trail that follows the Cedar Creek beneath the Natural Bridge and terminates at a waterfall.  It is well marked and well maintained.  There is a replica Monacan Native village, a cave and a hidden river.  It is a trail that is very handicapped accessible as well.

The stairway down to the trailhead allows for some interesting views as well.

One of the sights is a tree that looks like it came from the movie set of the Wizard of Oz.  In truth it is a tree that is over 1600 years old that died in the 1980's.

At the base of the steps is a rather ornate miniature waterfall and frog pond.  Nearby is a trail office building with restrooms and concessions.  Not far from the trail office is the feature attraction of the Park.  The magnificent Natural Bridge is just around the corner.  A truly astounding sight that stops visitors in their feet as they take in the majesty of Nature's architectural genius.

The horizontal limestone bridge span is ninety feet long.  A cobblestone path follows the banks of the Cedar Creek allowing visitors to stroll beneath the bridge.  The rocks forming this bridge are dated to be over 400 million years old. There are many theories to the formation but Geologist Edward Spencer theorizes that the bridge is the remnant of a underground river.  In fact evidence of that exists on  the site as a hidden river was exposed over a century ago by miners and can be seen on the trail about a half mile up the trail from the bridge seems to confirm that theory.  Another theory says that this bridge was created by the Great Flood described in the story of Noah and the Ark.

The man in gray trimmed in orange is the Fat Bald White Guy standing beneath the bridge.  The size is ginormous!   On the other side of the bridge is a small amphitheater allowing Park Rangers to interpret the scene for visitors. Late in the afternoon, the crowd thins and the trail is far less social and the scenery less obstructed.

Cedar Creek is a very picturesque adornment to the Natural Bridge.  Looking upstream from the small bridge near the bridge, a splash of color intermingles the flow of the stream.

Further up the trail is a replica Monacan Village.  Though closed for repairs we were able to get an understanding of what it must have been like for Natives to live along this creek in the shadow of the Natural Bridge.  It is believed that George Washington as a young surveyor explored this area.  In fact there are two inscriptions "GW" at the site, one of which contains a surveyor's mark leading historians to believe he was on the site.  Legend has it he climbed the rock wall and even threw a rock over the span!

The trail terminates not far from a two tiered cascade waterfall.  The trail overlook provides a great vista from which photographs can be taken.  Unfortunately, it is not close enough to hear the roar and feel the soul in the waterfall but is nonetheless very picturesque.

Like all waterfalls, ever picture brings a different interpretation of the scene.  Like everyone else there today, I took many pictures, each different but all beautiful. The waterfall is named "Lace Falls" as the water flowing from the lower cascade looks like a lace doily lain over the rocks.

While the fall colors are not as vibrant as a photographer I would like to see, the color is subtle and provides a wonderful back drop for the scenery.  Nothing on this hike proves this concept more than photographs of this waterfall in the late October of 2020.

The Cedar Creek provided many opportunities for photographs of the fall foliage.  My favorite was taken behind the Monacan Village featuring a wonderful reflection.

This should be a bucket list hike.  The Cedar Creek Trail is a very easy two mile trek.  Without the Natural Bridge, it would be a great family hike.  The Natural Bridge is something you must see to fully appreciate.  It is massively majestic.  It is a testament of Nature's artistic mastery.  Everywhere you look on this trail is a postcard in the making.  All you have to do is stop and take the photograph.

Rating this trail is easy...access is a 10....just a few miles off Interstate 81....the trail is a wide sidewalk of cobblestone and crushing rock...10...the scenery is something you cannot compare to any other trail....it is unique...10....now one note....stairs...there are over 150 stairs from the parking lot in front of the visitors center to the trailhead....easy to go down but a real thumper when you leave....making the effort to view ratio...perfect!

We plan to return soon.  Natural Bridge Virginia features a wonderful old hotel which can be a great place to stay to hike the peaks nearby and visit the caverns.   Stay tuned!

We missed a unique feature of the park.  Certainly the Natural Bridge would make one think of a scene from "The Lord of the Rings".  And true to form, there is a quote inscribed in a rock which is perfect.

Don't pass by the wonders of nature that surround you.  Take time to walk away from your cities, your worries and the pressures of your life.   You see there are "hidden paths that run west of the moon and east of the sun"!

ZALOO THE NEW!

THE NEW RIVER IN ASHE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

On a September Sunday, the Fat Bald White Guy, his Faithful Hiking Companion with Billy Buck, Awesome Possum, Whitdawg, Grayboy & the Big D.  We set out to canoe the New with Zaloo's Canoes!  Not exactly a hike but a real good view of the oldest river in North America as it snakes through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Ashe County, NC.  Located off NC 16 about 20 miles from North Wilkesboro, Zaloo's Canoes offers a convenient online registration and wonderful customer service. Great family trip destination!

 Zaloo offers a 5 and 10 mile trip down the South Fork of the New River.  You can choose between a kayak or a canoe.  Since we were carrying youngsters we selected three canoes.  The New River in this section is narrow and shallow with an easy flow current.  You have to paddle through a few rocky fast spots that are more a nuisance than a ride on the rapids...perfect for a lazy canoe ride through some amazing mountain scenery. https://zaloos.com/

The river meanders among both the new and old.  Not far from the Zaloo Outpost is the upscale development Jefferson Landing.  Well manicured river banks and large homes loom over the river.  Impressive and interesting, they are a reminder that the river is not what it used to be.   But just as spectacular as the new construction is, there are remnants of times long ago when this river was not a tourist destination but a home to mountain settlers.

We had visited the Wooten/Cockerham mill a few years back.  At that time the access was limited as it was today.  It is a spectacular old mill.  The sign says a mill has been on this site since 1775!

The mill features a water wheel beneath the mill.  I have never seen such a configuration in any of the grist mills I have visited in this state.  The mill is begging for someone to renovate it!  It is a example of the engineering marvels of settlers in a remote mountain wilderness and needs to be preserved. 

Nestled amidst beautiful yellow riverbank flowers is an old farmstead that features a large barn and a few outbuildings.  Oh the stories that old barn could tell!  Near the end of the trek is a very interesting gabled house.  These relics are a reminder that this river was once home to a thriving community. 

As interesting as buildings along the riverside are, it is not the reason you should canoe the New.  This river is one of the oldest rivers in the world.  Flowing north into Virginia and West Virginia, it contains some of the prettiest natural scenery in the eastern United States.  The river changes as it flows northward.  This is but a small portion of the natural canvas upon which a masterpiece is painted daily.

The morning haze had not yet lifted from this riverbend as we approached.  Around every bend there was a new spectacular scene. The lazy river just allowed us ample time to take it all in. 

My favorite scene was across the river from Jefferson Landing.  On the river bank was a large river oak whose branches hung over the river.  It was a sentinel guarding the river bend ever watchful of all who passed. 

Make this trip a bucket list item for you!  It is a trip anyone can do.  Ride a canoe, paddle a kayak...heck float in a big rubber tube.  You have to see this river and experience the majesty.

 

"The river seems a magic thing.  A magic moving living part of the earth itself" - Laura Gilpin. 

Ranking this is easy....a solid 10....easy access...great scenery...perfect effort to view ratio.  Heck the Fat Bald White Guy is now a River Dawg!

Billy Buck and Big D loved it!

So did Whitdawg and Grayboy!

But Awesome Possum is now officially a River Princess!

Props to my Faithful Hiking Companion for being the photographer today...it was a great way to spend a September morning...how blessed am I!

 

"Ask a river where it comes from? You will get no answer. Ask a river where it is going, you will get no answer for the river lives inside this very moment; neither in the past nor in the future, in this very moment only."- Mehmet Murat Ildan

 

JOYCE KILMER NATIONAL FOREST AND YELLOW CREEK FALLS

 TAPOCO LODGE

Outside of Robbinsville North Carolina on a lonely stretch of Tapoco Road is this gem of a hotel.

https://tapoco.com/.  The Lodge was constructed in 1930 by the Aluminum Company of America which was working on hydroelectric projects in the region.  The Tallahassee Power Company-"Tapoco" was part of this project.  The Lodge was finally renovated and open to the public in the 1990's.  Check it out...great place to stay!

YELLOW CREEK FALLS- Just up the road from the Tapoco Lodge is a short trail taking you to a series of falls. We visited there late in the evening and had to rush our hike to beat the sundown but nevertheless found a wonderful mountain creek full of rapids and waterfalls.   

The waters flow from a larger waterfall that we unfortunately did not get to see.   The larger falls are at the end of a 3/10ths of a mile trail. I include a picture from the site Romantic Asheville. 

 https://www.romanticasheville.com/yellow-creek-falls

Downstream is a series of smaller waterfalls and rapids that create a steady roar as the water cascades over rocks flowing into the nearby Cheoah River.

The creek contains smaller rapids that are interesting as well, each forming an ever changing waterfall.

This is a great short trail to visit if you are staying at the Tapoco Lodge or are otherwise lost on Tapoco Road!

JOYCE KILMER NATIONAL FOREST

A few miles from the Tapaco Lodge is the famous Joyce Kilmer National Forest. 

 Joyce Kilmer was a famous poet who was killed in World War I in 1918.  He is most famous for a short poem entitled Trees. The National Forest is a 3800 acre forest preserves dedicated as a memorial to Kilmer in 1936.

             I think I shall never see

                A poem as lovely as a tree

                A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

                Against the earth's sweet flowing breast

                A tree that looks at God all day

                And lifts her leafy arms to pray

                A tree that in summer may wear

                A nest of robins in her hair

                Upon whose bosom snow has lain

                Who ultimately lives with rain

                Poems are made by fools like me

                But only God can make a tree

The main trial begins at the trail map sign adjacent to a parking lot.  The trail bridge nearby had been closed so the lower loop was closed and all hikers were forced onto one narrow trail. 

The trail led up a deceptively steep trail that on the hot and humid morning was more that enough for the FBWG thumper.  The trail is also very well traveled and marked.  We met many other hikers coming and going along the narrow trail throughout the morning. 

Early in the trail is a neat bridge crossing a mountain stream.  The bridge may be easily the

most photographic feature of this otherwise very boring trail.  The trail is really a pretty typical North Carolina mountain trail through the woods.  It is devoid of interesting features. It is a nice hike but I was very disappointed with the scenery but liked this bridge!

I have learned that the lower loop was "renovated" by the explosive removal of dead trees in 2010 in a manner that was supposed to imitate a "a natural windthrow".  I guess that is what I saw..

At the intersection of the figure eight loops there is a large rock and a small memorial to Joyce Kilmer. It is from this point on that larger trees appear near the trail.  One of which is featured at this stop.

Further up the trail are larger trees but in truth I was so bored with the trail that we decided to turn around...I guess the tree poet was not in me that day.

Joyce Kilmer National Forest is a great forest preserve but I was looking for a bit more in a trail experience.   We will return next time and I will give it another chance so I am not going to rate the trail. But I will offer a verse from the Joyce Kilmer poem "Folly":

                O the folly of the child

                The ready courage of the fool

                Lord, crush our knowledge utterly

                And make us humble, simple men

                And cleansed of wisdom, let us see

                Our Lady Folly, let us see

    The air is like a butterfly...with frail blue wings...

    The happy earth looks at the sky... And sings! 

                            - Joyce Kilmer