Tuesday, August 14, 2012- Climbing Mountains in Virginia

Damascus, VA to Ft. Chiswell, VA (73 Miles)

 As I was riding out of Damascus a city worker stopped me to ask about today’s ride. He said you have a mountain climb a short distance out of town and he said it was a tough one. Plus, there is a prediction for a big thunderstorm today and he hoped I would not get wet. I thanked him for all his “good” news and headed out.

Climbing is not my favorite thing to do, but riding in the morning is a wonderful treat. The first 30 miles of the day are always enjoyable, even when climbing. The air is so fresh, and crisp. Today, the climb was in dense forest mountains where you have the added smells of wet forest, occasional flower scents. Also, you hear the rushing water from the creek that is flowing next to the road.  As you make it over the mountain with a fun downhill, it opened  to a rolling meadow area, followed by another wooded mountain climb. The second half of the day was through rolling farming and pasture land with a welcomed slight downhill run most of the way to the campsite.

Tonight we are staying at the Ft. Chiswell RV Park in the city with the same name. It was one of the best campgrounds we have stayed at to date. Restrooms were very clean, air conditioned laundry room and even cable TV. It is amazing how you grow to miss some of the simple things in life. With low humidity and moderate temperatures we also enjoyed sitting outside in the cool breeze of the day. We will be moving on to Christiansburg, VA tomorrow.

 The Appalachian Trail crosses the road near Damascus, VA

 Cool Mailbox

 A Cemetery with a view!

Entering the Jefferson National Forest