This is a retrospective blog of my seven-week exploration of Virginia along with a journey through the Shenandoah National Park and on down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Cherokee, North Carolina. 'Retrospective' means simply that it wasn't written during the trip, but is being written in hindsight a little over a year later. Baaswell Sheep accompanied me and is writing the blog in the way he's done my later blogs, since he's so good with the color commentary. Unfortunately, since I didn't plan for this blog back them, my pictures are limited to the major attractions, but I'll try to make those galleries a little bigger than I do in my later blogs.
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So, we weren't going to stay six nights in Clifton Forge, but my companion couldn't find a decently priced room in Lexington. He'd wanted to spend a couple days there the previous week and had a similar problem. So, as they say, sometimes you have to go with the flow. The bed and breakfast here was so nice and comfortable that he just inquired about adding two more nights to our stay and they worked it out for us.
Today, my companion worked from the bed and breakfast for a good while, and then we set out to explore the Island Ford cave near Covington. He'd done the research and it was open to visitors without the need for permits, so he was going to go in as far as he felt comfortable, letting common sense be his guide. Well, we got over there, and the three available parking spaces were all filled, so we had to just keep going on out to Covington. He ended up at the library there again and got ahead on a few more tasks for work before we went to dinner.
Relatives had told us this was a great place for Mexican food, so we gave it a try and were not disappointed. My companion got the taco plus two enchilada plate and I enjoyed the cheese enchilada and the chips and salsa.
We had to go by the cave on the way back to Clifton Forge, and this time all the cars were gone, so we stopped and my companion went inside (I stayed in the car by the cell phone in case he did anything stupid.) He says there's a big room to start with, and then in the back of that room the smaller passages began, but they were damp and slick, so he knew better than to try to go any further without proper spelunking gear. Even so, he still got some good pictures.
More of a river access than a park, there are a few picnic tables hear and a little bit of a walking area, and the views of the Jackson River are quite nice, and a great way to finish out a day and our visit in the Clifton Forge / Low Moor / Covington Area.
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