As much as I like my palm trees the mountains were a really nice change.
We arrived in Chilhowie in time to find a restaurant, call the folks at the B&B where we were staying...eat ...and make the music. Dinner was ok, nothing special and Keith and Gail (the B&B owners) met us at the restaurant to show us the way to the Lion's Club for the music.
We left the restaurant in such a hurry I didn't make my pit stop there...so I need to at The Lion's Club...and this is what I found in the Ladies Room....hummmmm, make you wonder what someone was thinking when they built this.......gave me a good laugh, I wasn't in the big city anymore!!!
The kids had never heard anything like this before and they seemed to enjoy it.
Around 815p or so we decided we'd better head up the mountain to the B&B before dark. Keith and Gail led the way and it was beautiful.
We passed by this view on the way up.....WOW!!!
We finally saw the sign to the lodge....a welcome sight, we'd been in the car most of the day, we were ready to stretch out and relax
We all slept great and were ready to go the next morning...breakfast was....eggs, grits, bacon, sausage, biscuits (jams/jellies/peanut butter, honey)milk, juice and fruit. This would surely get us by for a while on the trail. They had bikes we could rent so we went outside to pick the ones that best suited us. We loaded up and off we went. Keith dropped us at the top of the trail....
Keith turned us lose and said he'd meet us at Green Cove, about 6mi down the trail, just to make sure all was well before he went back down the mountain....so nice, we loved Keith and Gail.
So long White Top...it was time to ride!!!
The Trail goes all the way to Abigdon, but we were only going to Damascus....maybe one day we'll come back and ride the whole thing.
These mile markers were all along the trail....very cool...very old
Loved all the informational signs along the way....
Not far down the trail we stopped and walked a short ways to this view....farms and Christmas trees, and mountains....not a bad view. This was actually private property. A few times there were signs posted that the next few miles were "private property..be respectful"....then you'd see a sign that you were re-entering National Forest...
The old folks on the ride.........
The youngsters on the ride......but we all did very well....
These signs were all along the trail, especially if the trail intersected with a road or some type of trail....just to keep ya from getting lost...
Coming in to Green Cove Station....Keith is standing there waiting on us....
Green Cove Station was a busy stop...back in the day....and still a very fascinating one....
Looking back at the trail we just came off of.......
Denny wants to check out the insides.....it was waaaaay cool.
The inside of the station had been left like it was many yrs ago...even some of the items for purchase had been left on the shelves....
Medicine's and scales for weighing....it was just so neat.
There were some new things like t-shirts, drinks and candy for sale, but for the most part it's the way it was left.
1965.....I was 4 years old........so this wasn't too old....right????
It was the post office too.....
In a few back rooms there were some old tools...these rooms probably sold tools and other needed items back in the day.
The sign didn't come out very well, but this is a fire bucket...you put water in it to help put out fires. Wow...glad we have a better way of doing that now.
Really cool old article with the a picture of the train that ran on these rails...
The front side and back side of the Western Union window...........
Sometimes ya just wanna know where you are......
Time to do some more riding.....8 miles to lunch and 14 to the end of the line.
Beautiful barns.... and now we are beside Whitetop Laurel Creek....it goes from being a calm stream to small white water rapids and back again....see the little bridge made of rocks....
This old bridge has some pretty uniques hardware in it...
Christmas Tree farms everywhere.........we were told they are all cut down by the end of Oct and shipped out.
Might have been good lodging at one time....but not now....but if someone restored it...WOW!!
The Creek was so nice, and many time you could hear it but maybe not see it...it also helped keep it cool. It was in the low 80's but we were fine. It was a Tuesday and there was very little traffic on the trail, kinda spoiled us!!
Times of yesteryear........
All bridges had numbers...not sure how many we crossed....but was lots...
Thanks for the heads-up we might see Bear and Elk....but all we saw were some deer. They were too fast for pictures, but was cool to see them.
Now the little Creek is a bit stronger....we were told many would stop and swim. We didn't, seemed a bit messy and we didn't bring towels or anything, maybe next time.
Built to last....Yep, the Appalachian Trl crosses this one several times...at one point it goes under one of the bridges on the Creeper Trail...those hikers are tough
These are old cross-ties that were tossed or fell in the creek when a new bridge was built...
Rode through this little area...looks like a cool place to stay.....
We know we're heading in the right direction......almost to Taylor'sValley....
some Chocolate Cake....we did get one piece to try it....not sure I'd call it world famous, but the Chocolate Milkshake was awesome. Good burgers and fries and off we went. We had told Keith we'd be in Damascus around 2p and we were running behind. There'd just been too many things to stop and see, had been a really great outdoor day. It was even better cause our cell phones DID NOT work....woohoo....mine became a camera....totally ok with that!!!
One of the old train cars had been bought by a club and made into a work out place, there was some nice equipment in it...
We saw some folks fishing and signs that warned only artificial bait could be used...no live bait.
Back into the National Recreation Area....
Interesting........
We made it to the end.......17 miles and no accidents. Keith and Gail were waiting on us....was nice to get in van A/C.....
The trail is 35 miles long...from Whitetop to Abingdon.....we'd done about 1/2 of it at 17miles, maybe we'll come back and finish it one day....we had a blast. We were told the next leg is up and down hill so a bit more work....hummmmm.
It had been a wonderful day, but was good to be heading back to The Lodge. Keith and Gail took a few side trips showing us another BandB, a few towns and some beautiful scenery. When we got back, we got the bikes unloaded, and we all plopped on the coach. Gail offered 4-wheeler rides of their property so Shea, Chad and Ash went for it...Denny and I elected to sit on the porch and enjoy the view and a coke....
Shea and I were going to head into town and buy something to cook but Keith and Gail said they had plenty....so we pitched in some $$$ and some snack things we had and we all had a great dinner together. Grilled pork chops, baked beans, corn and baked potatos, and salad....YUM!!
Was nice of them to offer this....we were a bit whopped and it was nice to not have to leave.
there"...and they did.
It's an old Methodist Church...no electricity and no longer any services. You can rent it for $50 for special events. The door is left unlocked, Keith said that was easier than folks breaking in. Seems hikers use it to get in out of the rain, heat, cold...etc.
Beautiful old church bell....wish we could have rung it.
It was getting later so it was darker inside since there's no electricity...but it was gorgeous with all the handmade wood pews and podiums
No counrty church is complete without a matching out house!!!
When this was used as a church the pastor lived next door and the school was next to his house.
I was hoping you could see the old farm equipment behind the school, but they're hard to see
The front of the school house......many yrs ago........
This was a really cool stop and something we'd have never seen if they hadn't been willing to be our tour guides. Next stop...top of White Top Mountain.......
It was a little bumpy but a great drive up.....
It was windy and chilly at the top....where did Chad's arms go??????
Now the moon is a bit higher in the sky.....
From up here you could see 4 states and all of a sudden your phone worked....i started getting txts from pictures I'd sent earlier....but as soon as you head down, no more signal..that's ok.
It was windy and chilly...we forgot to bring our jackets...oh well, it was amazing.
What a wonderful close to a great day. We headed back to the lodge as the sky was getting dark and looking like rain. Keith picked up a few hikers on the way down and we droped them at a gas station. They had started the Appalachian Trail in Ga and had hiked over 400miles. 2 guys and one gal...she was from Venice, FL just 30 min from us in Sarasota...wow, small world. They wanted to do the whole trail but at over 2100 miles they were now thinking halfway at about 1100 might be good enough for this trip, then maybe do the rest later....good for them, they're tougher than me. We got them to the gas station/store just before the rain came...lucky for them....and did it pour...Keith was going very slow for a few miles, but it did let up and we got home just fine. Then we all played dominos and had a great evening. Chad tried out the hot tub to soothe aching muscles and we all took showers and hit the bed....another good nights sleep.
The next morning was french toast, eggs, bacon, ham, milk, juice, fruit....YUM!!!
A few last shots on the way down the mountain headed for the interstate and back home. We went home a different way because we thought we might stop and go through Rock City on the way home, but the weather kept looking bad...so we gave up and just got some dinner and rented Disney's...Frozen....and enjoyed that with Mom.
So long White Top...until we meet again...it was a wonderful trip..........
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