Climbing Humpback Rock on the Blue Ridge Parkway just 6 miles from the Fenton Inn.

 A panoramic view from the top of the one mile long hike up the mountain.

The hike is fairly steep, but not very long, so a few breaks for water at one of the many benches along the way, and the top is in sight. Most of the lower section of the trail is very wide with gravel surface. About half way up, the trail changes to a more narrow climb, with sections having steps or climbing over large boulders. It can be a bit slick in the rain, so wear good shoes with some traction. The best method is to take someone much slower than yourself on the hike. That way you will get plenty of rest waiting for them at each switch back of the trail and they will do all the complaining for you through the steeper section. By the time they reach you, you are fully rested to scramble up the next section.

The reward for the hike is to get to the top and enjoy the view out over the Shenandoah Valley . The rocks are sloped at about 45 degrees, remnants of some ancient collision between the continents a half billion or so years ago. The rocks of the valley are limestone from a long lost ocean and they are going under the igneous rocks of the Blue Ridge Mountains right below your feet. The uplifting of the two layers are why the mountain top rock are pointed up and to the west all along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A view of the rock layers, a half billion years in the making. These are the oldest mountains on earth, predating all but the simplest life forms. By contrast, the valley limestone is formed by a build up of complex life forms that used calcium to make shells at a much later period. These mountains have seen an ocean as big as the Atlantic Ocean, come and go from this view, seen dinosaurs, and multiple ice ages. Monican Indians roamed these mountains for a few centuries. Two hundred years ago, Peter Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's father) surveyed the area, giving us such names as Devil's knob and backbone after finding it unsuitable to farming. In the 1930s, work crews put in the Blue Ridge Parkway and at that time, much of the land around had been clear cut. It is a lot to take in in just one view.

October at the Fenton Inn

A new door with a bit of October themed to it. It has a full moon over a covered bridge over a river.

 

On the bridge are two riders, the headless horseman and Ichabod Crane. The riders move from one window to the next, for ever chasing and being chased. Hold on to your hat … and head, Mr Crane. 

 

Below the bridge is a keystone archway. It looks like someone should be hiding there. We will have to check back at night and see.

Another view of the covered bridge.

  Pumpkins and three scarecrows at our picnic area near the drawbridge.

The first signs of fall are in the Dogwood tree. Different types of trees decide it is time to shed their leaves as much as a month apart. The hickories tend to be a bit pessimistic about the winter storms about to arrive. They grow slow and strong, waiting until the spring is in full bloom before starting any leaves and dropping them at the first hint of cool weather. The Poplar trees are ever the optimists, holding leaves until the last minute, and budding out early in spring. They grow fast and tend to lose a lot of branches and tops to the ice storms or early snow. Rather than sulk and give up, they will regrow from the roots if need be, still budding optimistically early and holding on the their leaves through the fall. Two different ways to deal with winter's adversities, both thriving on our sunny mountainside.

Devil's Grill Restaurant

We had Dinner at the Devil's Grill on Wintergreen.  It is just 4 miles from the Fenton Inn at the top of Wintergreen at the Golf Club.  There are a number of places called Devil's Knob, Devil's Backbone, Devil's Grill etc in the area, and apparently it dates back to the original survey done by Peter Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's father).  While surveying on the Mountain they lost a horse off a cliff and so had a bad day while naming the area.  Plus it was considered poor land for farming tobacco (He never envisioned ski slopes or a golf course at the time).  

The start of the golf course on the top of the mountain (there is a second in the valley called Stoney Creek).  It is a fairly difficult lay out, with sharp turns and elevation changes.  

The newly added outside dinning area at the Devil's grill.  The top of the mountain can be quite a bit colder than in the valley, so dinning out in summer is a treat.  

The menu is very fresh and well made.    

My wife got the Korean Barbeque which was also quite good.   

I ordered the pan seared trout with pilaf.  The unique flavor with bacon and plum was a good surprise to the side dish.

The cauliflower soup was a little over spiced.

The baklava was a fun finish to an otherwise healthy and low fat meal.

After a short cloud burst of rain, the sun came back out before setting.  

Hummingbirds at the Fenton Inn

A view out the bakery window to the hummingbird feeder.  About five females have discovered the feeder and an occasional male.  Hummingbirds are highly protective of their favorite flowers and will chase each other away from the feeder.

We have many flowers in and around the village.  Spicebush and yellow tiger swallowtail butterflies are the most common larger butterflies.  The occasional monarch will pass through and never seems to have time to sit long on their journey north or south.

More flowers around the village.

The hummingbirds can use their tongues to empty the feeder over the day.  They can eat more than their body weight in nectar each day but lose 10% of their body weight each night while sleeping.  Flower nectar, like our feeder nectar, is sugar and water with very little else.  Much of the hummingbirds diet is actually flying insects and spiders, where they get the needed protein and vitamins to go with their sugary diet.

Looking up to the hummingbird weathervane on the tower of the hummingbird suite.  Hummingbirds evolved in South America and while most species are still tropical, some have adapted to live as far north as Alaska.  The Fenton Inn is as close as they will get to Europe, as they are native only to North and South America and migrate only over land where they can rest and feed frequently.  We hope they enjoy their summer in Bavaria in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Horseback riding near the Fenton Inn.

 

Just forty minutes from Fenton Inn is Star B Stables that is near Staunton, Va.  The property is large and well kept. You can make reservations for horseback riding lessons even if you never tried before. They accept children from 6 year of age.

Saddled up and ready.  The platform makes it easy to climb up in the saddle even for the novice rider.

Two pony tails, not sure which one is longer.

The trail loops around through the fields, woods and even a river, but the horses know the way back to the barn. Entire trails takes about one hour. Kids really enjoyed their first lesson.

Handmade Figured Maple and Cherry Dresser

This chest of drawers is made from a figured Maple that reminds me of fudge swirl ice cream, add to that the cherry accents on top and that it is joined together with biscuits (yes that is what they are actually called.)  and it sound more like an ice cream Sunday.  Even the handles and the attached hand plane where made from the same wood.

A closer view of the hand plane made from Maple and Cherry.  I left the final edge detail stop under the hand plane, as if the work was still just a few passes away from being finished.  I have made historic hand planes in different styles, but wanted this one to be a bit cute, with curved lines and more childlike proportions.  In the older styles of planes, the adjustments were from either tapping the wedge to lower the blade or the heel of the plane to raise the blade. 

If you look closely to the figured Maple on the plane, you can see two tiny worm holes.  Acid from the worms eating the wood cause the color staining to travel with the grain, producing the wild patterns in the wood. 

To join the top and side boards, I used a curving river of black cherry that runs up from one side, across the top and down the other side. 

To jazz up the bottom, I went with an asymmetrical twist of a standard double S curve that I have used countless times even in the background timberwork on the Fenton Inn Bakery.   This new twist is either a wave or a bird with wings out.  The sides curves stem from the off centered cherry that flairs like a tree trunk as it touched the ground.  I wanted to do something interesting with such nice figured maple that complimented the natural organic shapes.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail near the Fenton Inn

A short hike along the Appalachian Trail starting from the Humpback Rock Picnic Area, leads to a rocky cliff overlook facing the Wintergreen Ski Resort.  From this point on the AT you can see the entire ski area, the serpentine row of condos on Blue Ridge Drive and the new water tank that is used in the winter for making snow.  Just beyond Wintergreen Mountain is the familiar slopes of Three Ridges (the mountain we view from the Fenton Inn).  Beyond this in the distance is the Priest, which has Crabtree Falls at its base.  Each of the three mountain tops are about 4000ft in elevation. 

Here is the sign on the Blue Ridge Parkway showing where to park for the start of the trail. Drive into the picnic area and go all the way to the very back.  There you will find the Blue trail which connects into the AT in a short distance through the woods.  Turning left (North) on the AT takes you to the cliffs in about 40 minutes of fairly easy hiking.

The gates on the picnic area are closed in Winter, however the AT can still be accessed at Dripping Rocks rest area, just around the corner from the Picnic area.

While there are bear warning all around the Blue Ridge Parkway and Wintergreen, this picnic area is frequented by bear looking for left overs and picnic baskets.  As always, don't feed the bears or they can become troublesome.  We did not see any bears, but did see a number of large stones flipped over along the trail as they searched for ants.  About half their diet is plants, acorns and berries, the other half is insects, grubs and scavenging.  This is altered in areas where garbage and hand outs give them a taste for junk food.

The Blue Trail from the picnic area leads off through the woods.  The area is heavily wooded today, but is covered in stone walls of an old farm.  During the time of the Blue Ridge Parkway's construction in the 1930s, much of the land was still open fields.

A closer look at the trail head leading to the AT.

The AT, some 850 miles from the start in Georgia and 1200 miles from the end in Maine.  About 2000 people complete the trail each year reaching our area in June.

The AT trail marker at the intersection of the Blue trail with the AT.

The sign show distances to nearby landmarks.  A walk back to the Fenton Inn, which is 0.5 miles from the AT at Reeds gap, would be around 6.6 miles.

Another look at the view of Wintergreen. 

Night Sky over the Fenton Inn

Being in the mountains at 2000 ft elevation we can enjoy beautiful views of the night sky. Just another night  we had a very clear night sky  with a new moon, the stars, Jupiter and its four moons that were on display for our guests that brought with them a high powered telescope and knowledge of the night sky.

Jupiter was up directly over head as the night sky slowly darkened.  As much fun as the telescope was, the reclining chairs and the high powered binoculars were ever better.  I was surprised how many different satellites were passing over head each night, invisible with out the binoculars.  Most of the suburban and urban world has too much light pollution to see many stars and most days people are so busy with life to take the time to look up from their phones to take in the night sky.

The telescope set up to view the moons of Jupiter.  Being at medieval village, I couldn't help but think about the first views of the universe with the discovery of curved lenses.  Suddenly the inventions of the telescope and microscope showed the universe was vast beyond our grasp, and made up of parts smaller than we could imagine. 

Even in our high tech age, the light from a distant star, that traveled for a million years to get to this spot, is still exciting to see.

Natural Bridge

The journey to the Natural Bridge from the Fenton Inn.

Considered one of the natural wonders of Virginia, the aptly named Natural Bridge is just a hour drive from the Fenton Inn.  Two centuries ago, when the Blue Ridge Mountains were the frontier of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson bought the land with this unusual stone pass through.  It was about a two days journey from his Lynchburg estate, Poplar Forest.  The Natural Bridge would remain in private hands until just last year, when the park service bought the land.  Earlier attempts as a profitable roadside attraction had struggled in recent decades, in spite of laser light shows and even a wax museum.  All that is gone, leaving the short walk through the woods to a rocky canyon and the pathway to the natural bridge, a bit more natural than before.

A Monacan Indian village has been built upstream from the Natural Bridge, and helps visitors to see the wigwams and farming that would have been in this area.  The Monacans believed the Natural Bridge formed after they were cornered by their enemies and the rocks opened up to allow their escape, much like the parting of the Red Sea. 

The Monacan long house using Tulip Poplar bark and bent saplings for the frame.  With a single fire inside, the entire village could keep warm in winter.

 A view of the waterfall at the end of the canyon and where our pathway ends. 

Back in the days of black powder muskets and cannons, the success of a battle might hinge on having a good supply of bat poo.  Though technically it is from the bat urine.  Bats eat insects and have a very high protein diet, putting more nitrogen in their waste.  These salts when mixed with carbon from charcoal and sulfur make black powder.  Original recipes in the middle ages for black powder used human waste, preferably from a wine drinking monk.  So compared to this, the switch to bat droppings was down right sanitary as well as significantly more powerful for your cannons.

An unnatural bridge at Natural Bridge, that takes you to the bat caves.