Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505090018
SECTION: DISCOVER NRV PAGE: DNRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Bus tours occasionally visit Pulaski's variety of antique and art shops on one of their stops. The New River Cruise Company based at Claytor Lake has been tying its cruises in with packages that include trips to the Barter Theatre in Abingdon or the Factory Merchants Mall in Wythe County.
But there is no reason why people who already live in the New River Valley cannot put together their own vacation packages.
Interested in sampling a variety of fine dining? Those cruises aboard the Pioneer Maid also feature meals using authentic recipes from the kitchens of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and other historically significant Virginians (reservations available by calling 674-9344 or toll-free 1-800-419-0378). International cuisine in an Old World atmosphere is available at Le Chien Noir in Floyd County (593-2865). You can eat where the cast and crew of the "Dirty Dancing" movie did at Mountain Lake Restaurant (1-800-346-3334), or sample a variety of restaurants at the Norwood Center at 1115 Norwood St. in Radford where one cafe offers rooftop dining in warm months. If you want to listen to live country or Western music after dining, check out All Country in downtown Pulaski on selected Fridays and Saturdays (980-8082).
How about shopping? Malls range from the New River Valley Mall at Christiansburg to the Factory Merchants Mall at Fort Chiswell, but speciality stores abound as well. Downtown Christiansburg, Radford, Blacksburg and Pulaski, for example, all offer a potpourri of antique stores and a glance at a phone book's yellow pages provides an instant itinerary for each of those places.
The same applies to art gallery shops, or off-the-beaten-path sites like the New River Arts & Crafts Guild at Pembroke where some 60 artisans operate a retail shop or the Newport Village Emporium with similar wares. On-going exhibits are also featured at the Flossie Martin Art Gallery at Radford University (831-5000) or the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley in Pulaski (980-7363).
For the culturally minded, the region also has a surprising number of museums, including the Andrew Johnston House Museum & Research Center at Pearisburg in a building used as temporary Civil War quarters (921-1050), Montgomery Museum & Lewis Miller Regional Art Center in Christiansburg (382-5644), Museum of Geological Sciences at Virginia Tech (231-6029), Museum of Natural History in Blacksburg (231-3001), Raymond F. Ratcliffe Memorial Museum at the Pulaski Train Station (980-1991), or Wilderness Road Regional Museum at Newbern (674-4835).
Those museums can provide glimpses into regional history, as can the displays in the historic Pulaski County Courthouse; the Giles County Courthouse built in 1836 (921-2525); three scenic covered bridges in Giles County over Sinking Creek (921-5000); Mabry Mill, an operational grist mill built in 1910 just off the Blue Ridge Parkway; Smithfield Plantation, the oldest intact Blacksburg residence (951-2060); the turn-of-the-century Wintergreen Farm with woodworking and blacksmith shops (745-4420); the Christiansburg Industrial Institute, started in 1866 for primary school-age black children and supervised in the 1890s by Booker T. Washington; the Cambria Historic Institute where the Christiansburg Depot was built in 1868 to replace one burned by the Union army; historic churches including the Christiansburg Presbyterian Church dating back to 1853, and historic sites like the scene of the 1808 Lewis-McHenry duel, the last legal duel fought in Virginia, or Solitude, the oldest structure on the Virginia Tech campus marking the site of the 1755 Draper's Meadow Massacre.
The massacre itself is depicted as part of the outdoor drama, "The Long Way Home," performed Thursday through Sunday from June to December (731-3656). Live theater can also be seen in productions by Playmakers and Co. (382-0154) and periodically by the award-winning Pulaski County High School Players, judged the top high school acting troupe in Virginia in 1995. The town of Pulaski offers a variety of weekly live musical performances at Jackson Park during the summer (980-1000).
More active vacationers staying in the New River Valley can hike, bike or ride horses along the New River Trail which passes through several Southwest Virginia counties and has a terminus outside Pulaski (699-6778); go canoeing, play golf or tennis, swim or do other activities at Castle Rock Recreation Area (626-7189); fish at the White Rocks Recreation Area in Giles.
The Huckleberry Trail, a paved recreational path that eventually will connect Blacksburg and Christiansburg, offers spots for hiking and biking. The New River Valley also boasts access points to the Appalachian Trail (maps available at the Blacksburg Ranger Station at 110 Southpark Drive).
The area boasts several shops where bicycles can be rented.
Montgomery County has 19,200 acres of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests that offer camping, hunting, picnicking, fishing or hiking at places like Pandapas Pond, an eight-acre body of water surrounded by a milelong hiking loop. The county also has its own 90-acre recreational park between Blacksburg and Christiansburg with a swimming pool, fitness and nature trails and picnic area with cooking grills. Pulaski's Gatewood Park (980-2561) also offers camping, fishing, boating and picnicking.
New River offers water recreation opportunities, as does the 472-acre Claytor Lake State Park in Pulaski County. Park visitors can go swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing or lounge on a beach. Campsites and cabins can be rented. Golfers can tee off at the Draper Valley Golf Club (980-4653) near the Pulaski-Wythe county line.
The valley has a number of distinctive bed-and-breakfast facilities, including one - the Count Pulaski - that offers occasional murder mystery weekends.
So, there you have it. Go ahead and put together your own vacation package. You won't even have to leave the area.
by CNB