Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505090044
SECTION: DISCOVER NRV PAGE: DNRV-14 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some of the best places in the New River Valley require little more than a tank of gas to get you there.
That's what the editors at the Roanoke Times & World-News gave me - a full tank of gas. It was up to my imagination to make the day memorable.
Packing a blanket, two books, and a light lunch into my old but dependable Jeep Cherokee, I headed to the place many folks go when it's warm and sunny around here - the New River.
My route started on Prices Fork Road as I left my house and headed for the water. On the way, I looked (as I always do when driving past this area) to see if the Beasleys were home.
Luck was with me. They were there!
I stopped in for a short visit. Daniel and Tammy Beasley were enjoying a warm Easter Sunday outside their McCoy home, playing with their young German Shepherd, Kudra.
We caught up on each other's lives - a great thing to do when you've got extra time on your hands - and talked about the future. Daniel, an old high school and college classmate, showed me the flowers behind his house while Tammy got me a cold glass of water. We looked at pictures of their wedding and laughed about past memories.
It was a nice visit - and it didn't cost a penny!
From there, it was back to McCoy Road, and on to the river, which was crowded with anglers and sunbathers enjoying the afternoon sun. Music from someone's car stereo blasted country songs. A group of people stood around a smoldering campfire, laughing and talking.
I stopped at a pull-off and got out of the truck. My goal: Identify some of the flowers found growing along the river.
The task was easy. Flowers were everywhere. Blue ones, pink ones, yellow ones. Big tall plants like Wild Mustard and little ground-creeping blossoms like spring beauties adorned the riverside.
While the river was nice and the water tempting, I was looking for more solitude and decided to drive onward.
Taking a right on Virginia 605, I followed the winding country road to Virginia 42. From there, it was a left onto Virginia 601, where the pastures and open meadows of Clover Hollow seemed the perfect place for a picnic.
Pulling onto a turn-around by the side of the road, I got out my lunch, blanket and book. Butterflies fluttered by. Cows in a faraway pasture munched on grass. I ate my peanuts and took in the views, enjoying the day too much to bother with my book. Only three cars passed during that 40 minutes.
I had a priceless afternoon in Clover Hollow. In other words, it was free.
I spent the remainder of the day driving on unknown roads, the Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer as my only guide. While hiking or biking is great on public lands, driving offers a good alternative since much of the scenic land you'll see is private property. And it's also a way to give visiting relatives who might not be into strenuous outdoor activities a good idea of what the New River Valley is really like.
My last uncharted road was 6-foot wide, gravelled Virginia 643, a steep climb up and over Little Walker Mountain. The drive started out beautifully from the Alum Springs community, but the farther I went (thank goodness for four-wheel drive!), the more trash I saw. It was disappointing to see so many rotten couches, soiled mattresses, old washing machines and refrigerators lying along the side of the road. Sadly, these makeshift Appalachian dumps are all too common to the area.
Needless to say, I would not recommend this road to those seeking New River Valley beauty. Even the tremendous view of the Robinson Tract section of Pulaski County, seen from a large rock outcropping at the top of Little Walker, was spoiled by spray-painted rocks, broken beer bottles and other debris from leftover late-night parties.
However, with that road subtracted from the equation, the remainder of the day's excursion was a pleasant one, with a perfect mixture of sight-seeing and exploration only minutes from home.
by CNB