# 65 The Virginia Creeper Trail

Note: I apologize for the last post that may have been displayed, I accidentally hit publish instead of saving it and signing out.  It was a very rough draft.

We have been located at Fort Chiswell RV Park in Max Meadows for the past 3 months.  Our intentions were to visit family and then ease on down the road.  We have always heard that full-time RVers make plans that are in "jello" meaning that plans are never firm and can change at a moment's notice.  That is exactly what happened to us and in this circumstance, it was good that we could extend our stay for as long as we wanted.

When I decided to begin this blog, it was to document our travels, especially highlighting the places we enjoyed.  I also know we have family and friends that we do not see very often, they learn how we are getting along by reading our blog.  After we arrived in Christiansburg to visit Ronnie's Mom, sister and brother-in-law we realized that Ronnie's Mom was not doing well.  We made the decision to stay and spend as much time as we could with her.  Ronnie and I are so sad to say she recently passed away.  We continued our stay in the area for her memorial service and to help Ronnie's sister with some tasks.  We have so many cherished and special memories of her.  We will hold them in our hearts always.

We left Max Meadows and traveled just 30 miles south to the Interstate Campground in Chilhowie, VA.  Our plans were to bike the Virginia Creeper Bike Trail.  We had researched the trail and knew we wanted to bike the upper section which is 17 miles, mostly all downhill.  The weather forecast predicted rain so we packed our rain gear and headed towards Damascus.  We caught a shuttle there which took us up to the start of the trail at Whitetop Station.

We arrived around 12:30pm.  No rain so far.

Whitetop Station is the beginning of the trail.  This is the highest point at 3576 ft.

This sign describes how the trail is the old railroad bed of the Carolina-Virginia Railroad.

The trail ride was cool and a little damp from yesterday's rain.  We saw just a few bikers so it was quiet and peaceful.  We also saw 4 deer and heard a turkey's call.

Green Cove Station just celebrated it's centennial anniversary.  Inside were interesting displays of history, artifacts from when the Station was in use and a gift shop.

There are 100 trestles and bridges along the entire trail.  I lost count how many we rode over on this section.

The sun came out and it was a nice day after all. Part of the Appalachian Trail travels along the Creeper Trail too.

The trail travels along a mountain stream with many waterfalls. 

Along the bike trail, we came across the Creeper Trail Cafe. We just had to stop and enjoy "the world's best" chocolate cake.  It was delicious.

We hardly peddled as the trail was all downhill.

This is the last trestle before you reach Damascus.

Whew...   We made it back in one piece around 5:30.  I don't know why we felt so tired as we hardly peddled at all.  Without a doubt, this was the best bike trail we have ever enjoyed.  Would we bike it again?  You bet, but not until about next week, it is our backsides that need the rest.
More later..