Blacksburg, Virginia

June 18 – 21, 2022

Blacksburg was about family. And a special geocache.

Jane’s cousin Rosemary (Rosie) Higdon lives in Blacksburg. Jane’s brother Jon and sister-in-law Nancy drove up from Chattanooga to make the weekend a mini family reunion. Oh, and the fun included Rosie’s Golden Retrievers Peak and Willie and Jon and Nancy’s Shih Tzu Carly.

Rosie grilled hamburgers and hotdogs served up with salads, beans, chili and a selection of incredible baked goods for desert.

Sunday morning Jon and Nancy explored the area and found the Sinking Creek Covered Bridge built in 1916.

Dave and Jane headed for Virginia’s oldest geocache in the Jefferson National Forest about an hour from Rosie’s house.

We had expected a strenuous hike and we got about eight miles worth. Another geocacher found Virginia’s oldest to be an easier find than Washington’s oldest. We thought Virginia was the harder of the two–in fact the hardest find we’ve made.

We enjoyed a few wildflowers along the trail.

Temperatures in Blacksburg were pleasant with lows in the high 40’s and highs in the 70’s. We had turned off the heat when we left the trailer for our hike but hadn’t thought to turn on the air conditioning for our cat Kaela. That necessitated a dash to the trailer before meeting the rest of the family for a delicious meal. Kaela, we’re sure, appreciated it.

Monday was set aside for more exploring the area. We drove to Mountain Lake, a beautiful resort near Pembroke, Virginia at about 4,000 feet elevation and one of only two natural lakes in Virginia.

We’ve had a variety of playpens for Kaela since our first year on the road. They fade, the zippers fail, and the canvas tends to get worn where we slide it under the RV out of the rain. We found a playpen made for babies but appropriate for pets and Kaela tried it out our last night in Blacksburg.