July 20, 2009
We left NC on July 13th and started for VA in a light rain. Heading out on I-40 East, we picked up Route 220 North in Greensboro. Somehow we missed the a sign and ended up on Route 29. Thanks to Deb's quick navigation skills, we were able to take Route 58 West out of Danville, VA which brought us back to 220. Thankfully, the rain had stopped. We followed this Route all the way to Franklin, VA where we picked up SR 122 towards the park. It was a beautiful drive through the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge lined with productive farms and small towns. Along SR 122 we passed the Booker T. Washington Nat. Mon. and through the town of Burnt Chimney where a sign stated it was first inhabited in the 1750's. After turning onto SR 608 we headed South through more rolling farmland to SR 626 and entered Smith Mountain Lake State Park.
Smith Mountain Lake itself was created in 1960 when Appalachian Power built a dam on the Roanoke River in Smith Mountain Gap creating the 2nd largest body of fresh water in the state. Construction of the dam was completed in 1966, and in 1967 the power company donated the first parcel of land for the park along the North shore. The state bought the rest of the park land over the next six years and it opened to the public in 1983. (The pictures above are of a small cove area of the lake.)
The park is in a setting of mature hardwood forests and is very well kept. For its size, it offers a broad variety of activities including camping, swimming, boating, hiking and interpretive programs. We were able to obtain the last pull-through site that was level, nicely paved with crushed limestone and, mercifully, very few insects. We could book for only four nights and the campground was almost to capacity for our entire stay, including the primitive sites. This started to make sense after Deb told me she saw a news piece that RV sales are booming right now. People have decided it is cheaper in the long run to vacation in an RV as opposed to staying in motels and eating constantly in restaurants. The only odd surprise was the lack of wildlife. Other than a few squirrels, there were very few birds and no signs or tracks of animal species you would expect surrounding a lake ecosystem.
Our time passed quietly. We read books, Deb took a few photos, I did some writing and we hiked on a short trail. It was a very peaceful stay and, for me, one of contemplation about our nation's history. As I looked into the lush hardwood forest surrounding our site, my thoughts kept going back to the settlers of the small towns we passed through who lived in the area over twenty years before the Declaration Of Independence. What would they think of the area now?
Update you from somewhere down the road.
Photos by Deb
copyright 2009 Lane A Geyer
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