Humpback Bridge on Dunlap Creek.
Today saw a lot of this..
...and this...
..this too. Hey look! Sun!
Enfield Rd and the top of today's last climb. Nearly 80 epic miles of this today.
Robert E Lee still buried here...
....Stonewall Jackson too.
Sounding like a broken record but it was another great day. The route planning was good and spent nearly all day on the most random and scenic back roads.
Route 60 is the most direct route today. Route 60 is full of logging trucks and everyone else stuck behind the logging trucks. I avoided Route 60.
Left my sweet digs at The Greenbrier and soon started the first of 3 big climbs today. Actually, the climbing isn't really so tough..the passes through the Appalachians here top out at 2500' or less but then you go down to start again in 10 miles. I really like the climbing and go out of the way to find more climbing so avoiding Route 60 was well worth the effort. The mountain roads are paved but narrow, so narrow there's no room left to paint the lines it seems. The rare driver, a car passed every 20 minutes or so, always careful and cooperative. Got the wave too. I like the wave.
Spent most of the day in thick green forest speckled with fall colors here and there. Navigation was much easier today...Virginia DOT was nice enough to install accurate road signs so I didn't miss a single turn today. Much better.
Tonight in Lexington, VA...the 6th "Lexington" I've passed through on this ride across the country. Lexington is a small town but full of rich history, most of it Civil War history. Robert E Lee is buried here. Stonewall Jackson too. Despite the recent nearby unrest they haven't dug up Lee's grave yet but, interestingly, the Confederate Flag is not allowed to fly within Lexington city limits any longer.
I must have slept through 8th grade US history and totally missed the Civil War chapter but now, decades later, I am fascinated by it because it's all around me. Fitting as this journey began following Pony Express which evolved from the same era save a couple of years.
Tomorrow 80 miles, one last big climb over the Blue Ridge Mountains, to Appomattox where Lee surrendered the war.
The pictures are so good, really feel like I'm on the journey with you. I love how adventurous you are! Missing you though ❤️
ReplyDeleteLove reading this and the pics too! Amazing trip. I'm not sure if you slept through 8th grade or were too busy goofing off with Jeff :) Big hug.
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