THE CROOKED ROAD LEADS TO TEXAS

After being cooped up all winter, spring has finally arrived and I have some time off from work so I decided to hit the back roads and see what’s around the bend.  One of my favorite drives has been and always will be the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it is right in my back yard. It is a place I can go to unwind, to enjoy the ever changing view, and to meet people who have for one reason of the other found themselves traveling the treasure of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

FLOYD COUNTRY STORE

So on this sunny Saturday Morning I headed south on Route 8 for a quick stop in the Town of Floyd. Floyd is one of the jewels of the “Crooked Road Music Trail.”  Every Friday night the sounds of bluegrass music can be heard the historic Floyd Country Store. Every Friday Night local pickers gather at the Store and the street come alive with people “Flat-Footin” and dancing in the streets.  Spending a Friday night at the Old Country Store remind minds me of the Saturday nights on long ago at the “Frog Level Service Station” in my home town of Tazewell, Virginia; just on a larger scale.  There is nothing like “Pickin’ & Grinnin’ and dancing in the streets.

This Saturday morning the streets of Floyd was relatively quiet, with locals spending time at the farmers market and visiting with friends and neighbors.  Before head up to the Parkway, I decided to

have breakfast at the Blue Ridge Restaurant on Main Street.  The Blue Ridge Restaurant is a throwback to what many of us call a simpler time.  You still get a menus and a waitress still takes your order and after a few minutes you think you are a regular. I had eggs, bacon, grits (yes I like grits), homemade cathead biscuits and coffee, for slight more than $5.00 no including tip. The food is good and the servings plentiful. 

Have finished breakfast I was ready to continue my journey, joining the Parkway at Adney Gap, and a few miles later I arrived at the most photographed place on the Parkway; Mabry Mill.  It was too early in the year for the Mill to be open, but the beauty of this pristine spot is free and I joined a few other travelers in snapping a few photo.  Beginning in May and extending through October, the mill, gift shop and restaurant are open, but today the parking lot was largely empty.  During the summer the restaurant is a great place to eat, however it is rather small and sometimes the wait is long, but from past experience the food is very good and worth the wait.

Mabry Mill was built about 1905 by Ed and Lizzie Mabry. The Mill, waterwheel and flume was all built by hand. In 1908 the grist mill was doing a substantial business and Ed decided to expand his business and built a saw mill.  For several years the Marby’s operated their business with Lizzie operating the grist mill and Ed’s working the saw mill. The Mabry’s operated the grist mill, saw mill and blacksmith shop until the late 1930’s when Ed Mabry died and Lizzie moved away.  The property was obtained by the National Park Service in 1938 and the property was completely restored for the first time in 1942 and has become the most photographed place on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

After snapping a few photos at the mill, it was time to continue my journey south. A few miles south of the community of Meadows of Dan, I arrive at a hidden gem, the Mabry Trading Post. It is truly a throwback to the “good ole days.” I always stop here when I am traveling the Parkway just because it reminds me to slow down and enjoy the moment, and it is one of the few places that I can still get a cold peach pop.

Just a ¼ mile up is the Beautiful Mayberry Presbyterian Church. This is one of the original 6-rock churches built by Robert “Bob” Childress. Reverend Childress preached at Mayberry from 1924-1956 during which time he wrote his

popular book, “Man Who Moved a Mountain.”  I first read this book many years ago while in high school and read it again last year. Over the years I have visited and photograph all of them. They are all beautiful in their own right but in my opinion Mayberry is the most beautiful.

Today, I hit it lucky and a couple members of the congregation were preparing the church for Sunday Service.  I spent the next hour talking to them and was surprised that they had relocated a few to rural Patrick County from Chicago where the attended a huge mega church. As members of the small congregation my hosts surprised me with their knowledge of the area and the history of Reverend Childress and all of the rock churches.  The allowed me to take a few photo inside the small country church which a pleasant surprise.

By the time I finished my church visit, and arrived at Groundhog Mountain it was lunch time.  Before leaving home I had pack a few sandwiches, chips and drinks and decided to enjoy lunch at the Groundhog Mountain Overlook.  While having lunch I met a family from Kansas who was spending the next two month exploring the historic sites of the east. Their two children ages 12 and 14 are home schooled and the history of Virginia is going to be a treat for them. They were traveling in a 38-foot motor home and was planning on traveling the parkway all the way to Afton Mountain but after talking to me they changed their plans and planned to leave the parkway in Roanoke and head up to Natural Bridge where they would overnight before hitting Natural Bridge and the Historic sites of Lexington the next day. While it wasn’t on their original agenda I think I convinced them to stop off in Staunton and Visit the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace and Museum before heading across the mountain for tours of Monticello, Ashlawn-Higlands and Montpelier. 

After visiting with my new Kansas friends it was time to continue my trek south to Fancy Gap where I decided to leave the parkway and head up to Hillsville on old Route 52 where I ended up in the tiny community of Austinville.

Austinville is located on the banks of the New River in Wythe County. The community is named for Stephen F. Austin, who was born here on November 13, 1793. Shortly after his birth, the Austin Family moved to Missouri where Stephen spent his youth.  In 1825 Stephen migrated with 300 families and settled in Texas.  Stephen F. Austin along with Sam Houston, who was also born in Virginia near Lexington, are two of the most important figures Texas History.  I guess you could say, “Texas was born in Virginia.”

Located on the banks of the New River is a small park near where Austin was born. The actual site has long ago been reclaimed by nature, but there is a monument here that will forever commemorate the birth here of The Father of Texas.

By the time I was ready to leave Austinville the sun was getting low in the western sky so it was time to head home bringing an end to a most enjoyable day.