VIRGINIA, SWEET VIRGINIA



Meadows of Dan, VA

Prelude
By my own admission, I have been a real pain in the ass these last few weeks. Multiple circumstances of life had been occuring with way too much frequency to turn me into a real cranky S.O.B., not the least of which Ma Nature wrecking havoc with my travel plans. All this was being taken out on my wonderful wife and unsuspecting canine family.
So, the plan for Memorial Day weekend was to stay home and do some fun, non-motorcycle, day trips with Roo. But ah, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry when a three day holiday weekend calls for bright sunny skies and cool temps in the mountains. Ruth saw her opportunity to rid herself of a curmudgeon and, with no prompting from me, said "Go. Go ride. Go camping. Go to hell (she's Irish, she knows not what she says), JUST GO! PLEASE! So.................

Friday, May 25, Up to the BRP -  265 miles
Oh man! Up early, the ST had been packed, fueled and ready to jump out of the start gate for two days now. My destination on this trip is Willville Motorcycle Campground in Meadows of Dan, VA. I haven't been here in three long years for various reasons, but now the stars were aligned and pointing to Virginia! Wheels were rolling by 8:30 AM, and me and MyST were on our way. I wanted to spend a good amount of time on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but also on some faster secondary highways to get to camp quicker. So off I went taking the "faster" roads to Lenoir, NC, then headed north to Blowing Rock, NC and picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway. I then took the Parkway all the way into Virginia. Fantastic!




Blue Ridge Parkway

There are so many cool and interesting sites along the Parkway that depict the Appalachian way of life back in the 19th century, like this:



The "church"



Jesse Browns cabin

 Riding north on the BRP toward Virginia reminded me of the trip Roo and I took in 2006, riding the Parkway from end to end, Cherokee, NC to Waynesboro, VA. One of the places we stopped to eat was Doughton Park. This was a campground, an Inn, and a restaurant which served up pretty decent food for Parkway travelers. As it would happen, both my stomach and my watch were telling me it was time to eat lunch right when I reached Doughton Park. But, much to my disappointment, the whole facility was closed due to federal budget cuts to the National Park system. Very disappointing.

The restaurant where Roo and I ate on our 2006 tour



This is what greets you there now.

 Pulling into the now empty parking lot where weary travelers could find respite for the night at the Inn, I rolled the ST into a shaded spot under a beautiful, old, tree. It is here that I retrieved my home packed lunch from the ST's panniers and sprawled out on the grass to eat.

Lunch eaten, a little nap taken, and off I go across the parking lot towards the building that housed the Inn. A nature break was in order, so I headed for the rear of the building so as to be unseen by any wayward travelers who think the Inn is still open. Much to my surprise, I wasn't the only one back there taking a lunch break. I was as much a surprise to her as she was to me, so much so that she tucked tail and ran, leaving her lunch behind!

At first she just looked at me and winked (really). Then, as I raised my camera to take her pic, she turned and beat hooves. Must of thought my camera was a gun. Had she been in that situation before? I wonder. Nature break concluded, I wandered to the front of the Inn and shook my head at the sign of the times.



The sign of the times-don't let our National Parks go.

Back on the road, I point MyST north and continue on to Virginia. Beautiful scenery, twisty tarmac and cool temps make riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway an experience like no other. I pass Little Switzerland, NC then the Linville Gorge, and before I know it I'm crossing the state line into Virginia. I can't stop to take a picture of the sign (no shoulder), so I continue on towards Meadows of Dan. The topography changes abruptly also. The Parkway in NC goes through rough, mountainous terrain with sharp dropoffs and cliff sides all around. Crossing into Virginia the earth levels out, becomes more pastoral, and the Parkway stretches out into long, lazy, sweeping curves that beg you to sit back, relax and soak it all in. This is Virginia.
Forty miles later my exit for Meadows of Dan signals me to get off the Parkway and head to my campground for the next two days. Just half a mile down the road and I finally reach my destination after seven beautiful hours on the road!





Now this is a sign I love to see!

Willville is a small,beautiful motorcycle campground nestled in the middle of NoWhere. But, this NoWhere has fantastic motorcycling roads and absolutely beautiful scenery.



Entrance to the campground.

What is a campground without campground dogs to greet, escort, and entertain you during your stay? Willville did not disappoint. This is Maggie..................


and this is Milford, Maggies son (yes, Maggie is the Momma).

Aren't they beautiful? They were a hoot to watch playing with each other and made me homesick for my dogs back home.
I scouted out a tent site and began unloading the ST and setting up camp. When I arrived, I thought I had come upon a Honda Gold Wing rally, as those were the only bikes I saw. But as the afternoon waned and evening came on, other bikes started rolling in: more Honda's, Harley's and BMW's mostly. I met one interesting fellow who rode his 1982 BMW (yes, the year is correct!) from West Virginia to Albany, NY and back down here to Virginia. All those miles without a single glitch on that old bike!
Another interesting fellow I met was staying at Willville for at least a month to recover from his cross country trip from New Mexico to Virginia, before heading north and then west to return home. Now, many riders do cross country trips all the time, but not many are 78 years old! That's right. Seventy-eight! And he looked every bit of it too, if not more! To top it all off, he was very, very hard of hearing, and he was doing all those miles on a Kawasaki Ninja sport/standard motorcycle! My hero. Nice guy too, a real hoot to sit down with and listen to (no need for me to talk 'cause he couldn't hear anyway).
Here are some pics of the campground.




I take more pics of my bike than anything else-I'll spare you....



Nestled in the woods in the middle of NoWhere, VA



The Pavilion



The fire-pit; evening gathering place is off to the right



Oops! How did that slip in? Home away from home.



It's been a very long day. Good night Milford.

 Saturday, May 26 Fancy Gap, VA  & The Squirrell Gap Loop - 214 miles
On the ride up yesterday I noticed a really cool looking establishment with bikes parked out front everywhere. So this morning, it's back south on the Parkway for about 6 miles to Fancy Gap, to check this place out. Six beautiful Parkway miles later, I pull into the parking lot of Rap's Orchard Gap, a 1950's and 60's food and entertainment destination for motorcyclists and car enthusiasts at MP193.5 on the BRP.
www.rapsva.com . Motorbikes were parked everywhere, so I parked the ST and walked around bike shopping. I actually ran into a couple of guys who were also camping at Willville.




Front view of Rap's

Nice, long porch for hanging out and watching bikes
and sports cars pull up. Those chairs are really comfortable too.

A small contingent of the bikes parked at Rap's



Guess who? Sorry. Can't help myself.

I didn't take any shots of the interior of Rap's. Too many people milling about. Black & white tiled floor, 1950's soda fountain with a live soda jerk, 50's and 60's memorabilia everywhere. After a  refreshing drink at the soda fountain, it was back on the beaST heading north again on the BRP to ride my favorite loop when I'm in this area: the Squirrell Gap Loop. 

The Squirrell Gap Loop starts right in "downtown" Meadows of Dan on Squirrell Gap Road. This road parallells the BRP before jogging left and descending through Squirrell Gap. The descent through the gap is mesmerizing. The road is not very technical, but the sweepers are very fast. With breathtaking scenery all around, it would be real easy to lose focus, misjudge a corner, and become part of that breathtaking scenery you admired so much. I pulled over to take some photos of the Gap, knowing that once I got rolling, there would be no stopping for pictures:



Looking at the ridgeline along the Gap



Squirrell Gap

One last photo before putting the camera away until I reached farm country in the valley below. The road does a lazy snake to the left in the pic below, then dives sharply to the right into the Gap. Whoaa! I felt like Slim Pickens riding the A-bomb in the cult flick Dr. Strangelove! Hope the ST knows what she's doing!



This is the last bit of straight tarmac for a while. After that slight
jog left is a sharp, downhill dive into the valley below!
Slim Pickens ain't got nuttin' on me......yeeee hawww!

 Moments later, the road straightens out again and I am surrounded by beautiful farm country. I almost, almost, turned around to ride through the Gap again, but my stomach was grumbling for some lunch. Besides, I had another, twisty road to ride to get back to the BRP and lunch; VA Hwy 8 to Tuggles Gap.



When riding a motorbike in the mountains, this visual
brings a smile to every rider's face.

The prelude to the climb on VA 8 evokes a sense of peace and serenity as the road gently sways you through beautiful farmland. Then you notice that the farms have abruptly disappeared, and just as quickly the road is now flowing through lush forest, still gently guiding you through the trees, lulling you into a false sense of security. You then notice the sign above, seemingly popping out of nowhere, and immediately the road takes on the persona of a pissed off snake. This has now become a second gear road, maybe third for real brief periods. When they say 20 MPH, they mean 20 MPH! Not a straight piece of tarmac is to be had all the way through the Gap, but what a blast! This has really worked up my appetite even more! Finally, through the Gap, my lunch destination pops out through the trees.

 Tuggles gap Restaurant and Motel, right off the BRP. Back in 2009, when Roo & I were heading to Staunton, VA for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association Rendezvous (STAR) www.ridemsta.com , we stayed overnight in this very motel. They've done quite a bit of remodeling since then, but at the time, it was, well, let's say "quaint." However, the food in the restaurant was very good, and still is today.



Tuggles Gap Motel. Is Anthony Perkins skulking about?



The ST parked in front of the very room Roo & I stayed in 2009



Lunchtime! A whole gaggle of Harley's and MyST sitting
by herself as if to say "I'm not with them."

 After my late lunch, it was time for my usual afternoon ride on the BRP. I rode north on the Parkway for about an hour, just soaking in the beauty of the late afternoon. Turning around, and heading back towards camp, I had one more stop to make before calling it a day: The famous Mabry Mill.



They say that this is the most photographed site on the BRP.
That's what they say.



 Mabry Mill was a very busy gristmill back in the early 1800's. It eventually expanded into a blacksmith shop and saw mill to better serve the early settlers here at the time. The National Park Service took over the decaying mill in the 1930's, and restoration to preserve the history of this area was begun. Buildings from all around the Fancy Gap area were taken apart, brought to this mill site, reconstructed and restored by skilled craftsmen to what they looked like in the early nineteenth century.

By now it was getting late and I was bone tired. Another long day in the saddle with lots of serpentine roads was in the books. I mounted the ST and rode a short five miles back to camp as the sun was setting on the BRP. As I entered Willville, my welcoming commitee was waiting up for me:




"Where've you been?"
Hello Maggie darlin'.

 Evening around the campfire was great. Drinking good wine, everyone relating their riding stories of the day, lots of laughing, and thankfully, no threads started on the topics of religion and politics. It always amazes me in my travels how certain biker types always revert to religion and politics in conversation, and others talk about, well, motorcycles and travel. This group was the latter.
A few glasses of wine later and it was time to make my way to my sleeping bag. It was a long, exhilerating and satisfying day.

Sunday May 27 Meadows of Dan, VA to Simpsonville, SC -  258 miles
Everyone was up early and packing. What a beautiful morning! Nothing crazy to report here. I did take a slightly different route home. Instead of riding the BRP all the way back to Blowing Rock, NC, I took it to Sparta, NC then rode south to Hwy 268. This is a really fun road with lots of sweepers and a few technical curves thrown in to keep you honest. It snakes it's way throught the Yadkin Valley in North Carolina which is absolutely beautiful. A brief lunch stop in Lenoir, NC, then back on the road for a great ride home. Seven hours after leaving Willville I pulled into my drive with Ruth running out to greet me, and once in the house, a triple canine greeting awaited me. The perfect ending to a perfect weekend.