Virginia Creeping Along

We took a vacation this weekend to the Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon, Virginia. If you haven't been there with your family, we highly recommend it. On the way up, we drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here we are on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee:



The Creeper Trail is an old railroad bed that...you know what, just read the historical marker:



The thing that all the cool kids do at the trail is rent bikes, get in a van, and get dumped at the top of a mountain, and ride down the trail. Since you're pretty much coasting downhill, anybody who can stay upright on a bike can do it (just watch for saddle soreness the next day!). Distance? It's 17 miles from the White Top trail head (where the marker above is located) to Damascus, VA, and 17 more miles from Damascus to Abingdon. Yes, we just rode to Damascus - our posse included Brian, Jenny, Jenny's Mom & Dad, Jenny's sister Madelyn & her friend Whitney, and Brian's Dad. The scenery was breathtaking. Here are some shots from the trail:

Jenny & Brian:



Diane, Jenny, Robert, & Pops, about 100 yards down the trail...NOT resting already, we promise:



The stereotypical American general store, which much to our chagrin, was closed. Our Snickers run would have to wait:



Madelyn & Whitney, on a cool-looking boulder in the middle of a stream:



We'll post more pictures of our trip later today.