Jackie's Birthday Ride

The morning started cool with a light cloud cover. We enjoyed our complimentary and delicious breakfast at the lodge which is served a bit late for my eager time schedule. Breakfast and dinner are included when staying at the Ft. Lewis Lodge which is really convenient due to its isolated location. It meant a kind of late start to the day, but worth it.

 

 

From Fort Lewis we headed south first taking a few roads I had not enjoyed for quite a while. The lovely single lane winding paths lead through the forest, along rushing creeks, and out into rolling farmlands and hills. Reaching VA 39 we turned west and enjoyed some of the curvy sections to Warm Springs. Turning south again here, we continued on US 220 to make a stop at Falling Spring Falls, always a pretty spot to enjoy. The small roadside park sits just as the road starts to enter one of its twistiest sections. The falls were running strong.

 

 

 

Heading south from the park through the fun curves we turned west again to arc around Covington, WV, on back roads to avoid passing through the big town. We passed under I-64 to pause at the Humpback Covered Bridge. This unusual arched covered bridge sits in a nice park. It's a good rest stop.

 

 

Next, we made a diversion south to avoid getting on the interstate, one of my goals - stay on the smallest roads. We first headed southwest on Dunbar Creek Road (159) then turned northwest onto WV 311. We crossed through a very odd tunnel which has two separate lanes, one for each direction. Our lane ran through a giant culvert passing under some railroad tracks. It was pretty cool, I will use this route more often in the future as it is so unique.

 

 

I got fooled by a misaligned road sign just after the tunnel and made a wrong turn. The pavement quickly ended but we continued on gravel as the map showed it eventually went through to connect with the road we wanted next only to get stopped by a coal train. It was not a good place to turn around and we waited a good 15 minutes for the endless train to pass. A short way beyond the gravel road became a gravel path and we were forced to backtrack.

 

 

Once back on VA 311 we quickly reached Tuckahoe Road, the route I wanted. It starts as a barely a paved path through the woods that gets narrower and narrower. You're always expecting it to go unpaved but it grows in size as you approach town to emerge right in the heart of White Sulfur Springs on Main Street. Turning west on US 60 we stopped for lunch in Lewisburg. We stumbled into a really great place to eat, the Stardust Cafe, and had a fine lunch. Lewisburg is an intriguing town. We are planning to return in the future and spend a day or two there exploring it and getting to know it better.

 

 

After lunch we made a small circle west of town to ride through the Hearns Mill Covered Bridge. The roads leading to it are small and rough in spots but it's one of the few old bridges you can ride across. We then looped back into Lewisburg.

 

 

From the center of Lewisburg we turned north on US 219 for the longest run of the day. It's a long and varied ride with open stretches crossing fields and farmlands interspersed with tight twisty fun sections as you go through the mountain passes. Stopping in Marlinton, WV to gas up, though it was getting late in the day we decided to continue north to reach US 250 for our route back east towards Ft. Lewis. We passed Snowshoe, then wound along WV 66 passing the Cass Railroad. No trains were out today. Reaching VA 28 we turned north again. Along the way we stopped at the Green Bank Astronomic Observatory to see the huge radio telescope.

 

 

Leaving the telescope it started to rain. We headed east again on US 250. It was enough to get us wet but I suspected when we crested the mountain it would be clear on the far side and that proved to be true. We ultimately stopped just before turning south again to reach the lodge to say goodbye to Tom, who was headed home to Richmond. We enjoyed one of our favorite roads in the area, Bullpasture River Road to return to the Ft. Lewis Lodge. it's a beautiful ride through a long valley and woods along the river. We saw many deer, herds of them out in the fields, and were thrilled to see a very large bald eagle who flew alongside us for a while.

 

 

 

We arrived back at the lodge just as the bar was opening, grabbed a quick shower, then enjoyed the rest of the evening with a good dinner and time around the fire to tell stories.

 

 

It was a very good day, everyone enjoyed the ride, and Jackie had a great birthday.

 

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Jackie's Birthday Ride - Tuesday

Wednesday August 16, 2022 

 

Our ride from North Carolina up to the Ft. Lewis Lodge in Virginia did not go as planned. We hit the Blue Ridge Parkway early expecting to cover most of the distance north on it then divert onto back roads for the remaining 100 miles. Coming out of Asheville we started to rise up into the clouds. It soon got worse. Visibility was poor and light rain made travel hazardous. Still, we persevered on the park road.

 

 

By the time we reached Little Switzerland, I had to stop to clear my visor and glasses. From then on we crept along seeing little but the yellow line on the road. There were several close calls with other vehicles.  A mower in a tunnel that was nearly invisible was quite frightening.

 

 

I realized we were on the Lynn Cove Viaduct only because the surface of the road changed. Visibility was near zero and we were forced to stop for a while hoping it might clear up. The fog was so thick we didn't realize there were other cars in the overlook for a while, until an engine started, then other cautious drivers appeared out of the mist to chat with us.

 

 

 

We had to abandon our plans of doing most of the riding on the parkway, progress was too slow and we had a long way to go. We limped into Blowing Rock then made our way to Boone to head north on US 421. Even so, the fog came and went for quite a while. Ultimately, we ended up running a long way east to I-77 then north to I-81 taking the main roads all the way to the Fort Lewis Lodge.

 

 

Our friends were waiting when we arrived and we soon made our way to the bar and then dinner. It was good to see everyone again. 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we look forward to Jackie's Birthday Ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ate breakfast at the lodge then said goodbye to our friends as they headed home. Jackie, Yermo, and I hit the road. We started with Westminster Road again then cruised west on US 39 to Marlinton, WV. There, we topped our tanks and turned south on US. 219.

 

 

Reaching Hillsboro we veered off US 219 onto Denmar Road which wound out into the hills and woods. A missed turn put us on tiny little side road which  became smaller and smaller until it was just a single lane trail winding through the woods. Ultimately it rejoined Denmar Road at the Locust Creek Covered Bridge. The bridge was built in 1888 and restored in 1958. We stopped for photos and to appreciate the site, and then continued south on Brownstown Road which reconnected to US 219.

 

 

We then continued south into Lewisburg to stop for coffee and a light lunch. Again, the food was quite good here, we'll be back to Lewisburg, WV, in the future.

 

 

From Lewisburg we went east on US 60 to White Sulfur Springs turning south on Tuckahoe Road to enjoy the tiny path through the woods again and then get a photo of the twin tunnels on US 311 which I had missed doing yesterday. From there we continued south on 311 for a short while.

 

 

We were looking to make some time as we had a decent way to go to reach Tazewell, VA for the night. Reaching WV 3, we turned and followed this long fast road over to Union, WV to pick up US 219 and continue south again. Along the way we made a brief stop at the Indian Creek Covered Bridge.

 

 

Continuing south on US 219 we rolled into Pembroke, VA to meet US 460. Turning south we went about 3 or 4 miles to Narrows to cross the big river and continue on VA 61. VA 61 took us all the way across the state to Tazewell. Rolling it up to the old jail, it was just as we remembered it and we checked in without problem.

 

 

As there are few options to eat in town, we return to the familiar Front Porch Restaurant and enjoyed a decent meal and some good wine.

 

 

Tomorrow it's time to head for home.

 

 

 

 

It rained a little bit overnight and things were wet this morning and a little cooler. Still the skies did not look too bad and we found our breakfast around the corner at the little coffee shop in Tazewell. After breakfast we parted ways with Yermo and Jackie and I headed south.

 

 

The ride out from Tazewell on VA 91 is familiar all the way to Hayters Gap, we use it often. Nice single lane unmarked roads all the way. From there, we detoured onto some new roads that led through long winding valleys for quite a ways. Green Valley Road led to a short run on 4 lane US 58 then Big Moccasin Road took us much of the distance. The roads remained small and unmarked but generally in good condition and we made good time ultimately using TN 71 to complete this leg of the trip.

 

 

Drawing into Gate City, TN, we rode through town then diverted north to continue our trek west from I-26. The road started off nice enough, then got smaller, and finally turned to gravel. Unsure of how long the gravel would last, we started down it to see if it went through to the next road. It wound out into the countryside along a river gradually getting rougher and rougher as we went. Jackie did well with the gravel and things went fine until the road ran into the river. That was enough. The water was deep and murky, the road looked much more primitive across the river, it was time to turn around and backtrack. Our plan changed .

 

 

Knowing heavy rain was expected by the time we reached home, the sensible thing to do was get on I-26 and make the best time we could on the interstate. We hit a few sprinkles here and there but dodged most of the rain clouds. The sky screw darker and darker as we approached home and the rain started as soon as we pulled into the driveway. It has been a good trip and we had a good time with good friends. Hope we can do something like this again with them.