Link on Sam Snead added 1 Aug 15; he grew up and learned to play in this area.
West Virginia had been 1 of the 3 states remaining on my Bucket List -- until I realized that US33 from Harrisonburg, VA, was very close to the Spruce Knob, high point in West Virginia. At first it appeared it would be too cloudy, but as I approached the turnoff to US33W I noticed some clearing and quickly decided to head west. [Photos taken on 29 Jul 2015]
Just past a truck brake check point at the top of the unnamed pass I stopped to put new batteries in my digital camera and noticed several types of butterflies on the blooming thistles and other flowers.
Zooming in the black & blue butterflies stand out much more than the few yellow & black butterflies which reminded me of the black swallowtail butterflies on the California Coast.
Since the peaks seemed to be disappearing behind the clouds I took this shot. Spruce Knob (4862') atop of Spruce Mtn is somewhere behind them.
A first attempt to photograph Falling Springs Falls. Unfortunately the camera zooms in on the trees rather than the falls behind them.
Rotating the camera 90 degrees only produced a small improvement.
Moving to the right I finally got a better photo of Falling Springs. Farther down the road I learned there is a road to Fallings Springs -- which explains why I thought I saw people near the base of the falls.
Though the Cumberland Gap is at the far southwestern end of Virginia, this sign indicates that early settlers used other routes.
A shot to the left.
And a view of the valley along the Jack River [now the Jackson River?].
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Links:
- ColoradoGuy's photos of Spruce Knob -- and others
- Falling Springs Falls -- among others
- "Slammin' Sammy" -- Sam Snead
Routes:
W 29 Jul Actual Route: Harrisonburg, VA, W/M - Franklin, WV, - Monterey, VA - Covington, VA, W/M
Th 30 Jul Actual Route: Covington, VA, W/M - Eagle Rock, VA, Lib - Troutville - Burglund Outdoors
F 31 Jul Actual Route: Burglund Outdoors - Eagle Rock, VA, Lib - Covington, VA, W/M
F 31 Jul Actual Route: Burglund Outdoors - Eagle Rock, VA, Lib - Covington, VA, W/M
Sa 1 Aug Actual Route: Covington, VA, W/M - Lib - Waynesboro W/M
Su 2 Aug Actual Route: Windchester, VA, W/M - Lowe's - Walmart
M 3 Aug Actual Route: Winchester W/M - Lowe's - Harpers Ferry, WV, NHP - Charles Town McDs - Charles Town W/M
T 4 Aug Actual Route: Charles Town W/M - Dollar Tree - Winchester, VA, Lowe's - Winchester W/M
W 5 Aug Actual Route: Winchester, VA, W/M - Lowe's - Capon Bridge, WV, Lib - Romney - Keyser W/M
Th 6 Aug Route: Keyser, WV, W/M - BackBone Mtn, MD, - Grafton, WV, Lib - Grafton W/M
Finding Campgrounds:
- RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
- Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
- Free campsites website
- Info on finding BLM Campgrounds
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