Day 24: Tuesday, May 3, 2011

43 miles to Buckhorn, KY

We rode in miserable pouring cold rain today.  The only highlight of the day was when we saw Don and Bronnie on their way to the campground.  Everything was soaking wet once we finally got to camp.  Thankfully we were met by Bob brandishing hot cups of Cocoa.

Day 23: Monday, May 2, 2011

29 miles to Hindman, KY

We took a short ride today because our good friends Don and Bronnie came to visit us.  What a delight to have visitors on the trip and Bob was thrilled to have someone else to talk to other than me and Vincent.  And of course, Don was able to answer lots of camper questions that have come up during the trip.

Twin Fun Finders

Here's a great craft to bring in your RV
Bronnie spinning 

Day 22: Sunday, May 1, 2011

48 miles to Bevinsville, KY
We crossed into Kentucky today.  We saw the most unusual site:  a horse was standing at the side of the road just munching away.  When he saw us, he was quite curious and stood and watched us bicycle up the highway.  In fact, he was so interested, he stopped eating!  We've seen lots of horses, but none quite like this.

Too busy staring at Cathie to chew the grass in his mouth.

Day 21: Saturday, April 30, 2011

37 miles to campsite at Breaks Interstate Park

We had a beautiful day for bicycling.  We had planned 7 hours for the trip since the route looked so steep and curvy when we drove up with Bob the other night.  Surprisingly, we finished it in 5 hours which meant we had more time for relaxing.   We are looking forward to getting into Kentucky, although the ACA map shows that it will be even more climbing than VA.   Bring it on, we are ready!!

One of several stands of poppies we passed.

Day 20: Friday, April 29, 2011

We decided to spend today at Breaks Interstate Park.  It is just too beautiful to pass up.  The park is sponsored by both Virginia and Kentucky.  We hiked the trails and went to several of the overlooks to view the 5 mile gorge that plunges to 1650 feet.  This area is called the “Grand Canyon of the South East” for good reason.  We also saw the coal train as it traveled through the tunnels loaded with tons of coal.

With all the rest days, I have had some time to work on the counted cross stitch piece.  Here is the progress to date.

Day 19: Thursday, April 28, 2011

49 miles to Honaker, VA (including a 9 mile detour to bicycle around tornado damage)
Our stay in Calleb’s Cove last night was very fortunate since we were protected from the brunt of the devastating storms that came through the area.  Glade Spring, about 5-10 miles from where we stayed suffered significant damage and 4 people were killed.   The damage was incredible and we passed one ridge where all the trees had been stripped from the area.  Fortunately, there was no damage to any of the houses we passed.  We had to reroute because one road was closed with downed trees and power lines.    We bicycled over Clinch Mountain and once we reached the other side, the weather was beautiful and the lay of the land quite different.  I clocked 41.7 mph going down the mountain today.

Bob had a better day although he had to spend nearly the entire day driving.  Route 81 was backed up because of the storm and his ride to pick us up was very long, even though we were only 38 miles from Breaks Interstate Park.  Said 38 miles takes about 1 ½ hours to drive due to the steepness and curvature of the road; a great preview of our next ride.  We will be biking into the campground and Bob won’t have to come pick us up or move the trailer which will make life much easier for him.  We move into Kentucky next and have to find some decent sites to camp.

Tornado damage in Washington County, VA

Day 18: Wednesday, April 27, 2011

We took a day off today to reassess our future camping spots and give Bob a chance to de-stress from the last couple of days.  We spent some time in Damascus which has built significant tourism around the Appalachian Trail (AT), The Virginia Creeper Trail and the creeks that run through the area.  The AT culture is very evident in the area as a significant number of hikers come off the trail here to stock up and meet with their friends and families.  We heard lots of stories about “trail magic” which ranged from being asked to spend the day resting with a member of the community to offers of a place to sleep for the night.  The town celebrates Trail Days the weekend after Mother’s Day and based on photos we saw, thousands participate.  As many of you know, Vincent has talked about walking the AT for years and he jokingly said he was ready to stop bicycling and start hiking!  I am sure the experience of seeing the hikers will inspire him to plan a trip in the future.