Fall’s show of color, 2015

Sometimes the end of trip can be a letdown of sorts.  But not on this trip, our Fall Color Tour 2015. Even after seeing gold in West Virginia, touring built environments with pops of color at Tamarack and The Greenbrier, and stumbling upon great finds like covered bridges and state parks, we lucked into some surprisingly colorful, yet unexpected, vistas in Virginia and Tennessee with the reddest reds and “orangy-est” oranges of the trip.

Now travel agents with tight agendas and must-see checkpoints might not like working with us.  We like to ramble.  And talk to folks.  And gather info as we go.  So, you can imagine our pleasure when we found a man in a Virginia rest area who shared his love of places we hadn’t read about.  He even marked ’em on a map, and sent us on our way.

At the base of the falls – Falling Spring Falls, Covington, VA

And that’s how we found Falling Spring Falls, the most photographed spot in the Allegheny Highlands.  Located on Highway 220 just above Covington, the falls can be seen from a car, but you’ll definitely want to park and roam so you can listen to the roar, take pictures, and marvel at the sight Thomas Jefferson called “a remarkable cascade.”

Beautiful Falling Spring Falls drops 80 feet from an overhanging ledge.

The 80-foot falls drop from an overhanging ledge, and the walking path open to tourists takes you right to the edge . . . well, almost.

Because the falls drop from a ledge, it almost looks as if you’re viewing the Allegheny Highlands from an infinity pool. A natural one, of course!

The area surrounding the falls offers woodland views of lesser waterfalls and babbling mountain streams cascading over moss-covered rocks.  Add to that scene some colorful fall leaves, and you have the makings of frame-worthy photography when you get back home.

We were on a mission — to see The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. And the “getting there” was spectacular in and of itself.  We passed through (stopping a hundred times for pictures!) George Washington National Forest, ablaze for the season . . .

Fall color in George Washington National Forest, Virginia

and finally saw what we had heard about for years but had never visited:  the stately resort known simply as The Homestead.

Since 1766, generations of families have visited The Homestead, a place that can boast of hosting 23 U. S. Presidents and countless dignitaries from all over the world.  The Homestead will celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2016, no doubt packing lobbies and eating areas with guests remembering their first time at the hot springs resort as well as newcomers interested in starting a tradition.

Fall view of The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia

We found The Homestead to be welcoming and comfortable.  No doubt, if you love soaking in natural springs, playing golf or tennis, or relaxing at a world-class spa, you wouldn’t have far to go to indulge yourself.

The spacious, light-filled lobby at The Homestead.

Because The Homestead was booked for a wedding and two car rallies, the inn was at capacity, and we missed a chance to stay there. But we hope to return someday to this state and this romantic place.  (Virginia Is For Lovers, you know!)

As we left The Homestead headed home, stopping at rest areas like this one in Unicoi County, Tennessee, we noticed that many people had the same idea — just stand and take it all in.  After all, for autumn lovers, it’s nature’s finest show.

Visitors to a Tennessee rest area stand at the rails and take in the fall beauty.

Finally, crossing from Virginia into Tennessee meant we were home.  But not without another surprise:  tiny Rocky Fork State Park state park 30 miles from Johnson City with a winding one-lane road and some of the prettiest scenery East Tennessee has to offer.

We stopped often and listened to the silence — the perfect end to our Fall Color Tour 2015!

For more information:

The Omni Homestead Resort, 7696 Sam Snead Highway, Hot Springs, VA 24445; 800-838-1766; http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/homestead-virginia

Falling Spring Falls:  http://www.virginia.org/Listings/OutdoorsAndSports/FallingSpring/

Rocky Fork State Park: http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/rocky-fork

Other posts in Fall Color Tour 2015:

Looking for gold in all the right places:  Pipestem State Park, WV

West Virginia gold:  Fall at New River Gorge Bridge

Fall color inside and out: Tamarack and The Greenbrier

Travel theme: Below Humpback Bridge

The stately entrance to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Any fall trip through West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee can be considered spectacular if you hit the color change just right.  And catch the color we did during our Fall 2015 Leaf Peeper Tour.  Beginning with natural beauty at Pipestem State Park in West Virginia and continuing to Humpback Covered Bridge in Covington, Virginia, we saw nature at its golden best.

Humpback Covered Bridge near Covington, Virginia

But sometimes color bursts forth indoors, too.  Like it did in two of West Virginia’s attractions:  Tamarack in Beckley and The Greenbrier in White Sulfur Springs.

Tamarack

From Pipestem in the south of West Virginia, we followed I-77 north to Exit 45 where the iconic red peaked roofline greeted us to one of the finest collections of arts and crafts known as Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia.  

Peaked roofline of Tamarack greets you as you take exit 45 off I-77 at Beckley.

And best it is.  With juried artisans from all 55 counties in the state contributing  fine crafts, photography, glass, and foods, Tamarack is known globally for regional art and local cuisine.  

A colorful quilt forms the backdrop for a folk art boat at Tamarack.

The circular building guides you through areas of similar crafts — textiles, treenware, glass, furniture, apparel, jewelry, etc.  All colorful.  All quality. All handmade.

The central courtyard offers seasonal decor to enjoy while dining on regional dishes selected from the food court — like Chicken Pot Pie, West Virginia Rainbow Trout, or Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches.  Fall pumpkins — carved and painted — as well as what appeared to be an autumn goddess greeted us in a colorful show of the season’s best.

Made entirely of natural materials, this autumn goddess took center stage in Tamarack’s outdoor courtyard.

If you love fine arts and crafts, join the over half a million visitors per year at Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia for sights, sounds and tasty food.  It’s worth getting off the interstate to see!

The Greenbrier

Since 1778, guests have been coming to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to what is now known as The Greenbrier, America’s Resort to “take the waters” for good health. This National Historic Landmark boasts a storied history of hospitality and genteel accommodations for U. S. presidents, international royalty, and business leaders. With 710 elegant rooms, 10 lobbies, and more than 40 meeting rooms, The Greenbrier offers the finest in American accommodations on a sumptuous 10,000-acre estate nestled in the Allegheny Mountains.

The Greenbrier, America’s Resort

We, had The Greenbrier on our list of places to see in West Virginia, but specifically we came to see “The Bunker.”  During the Cold War of the 1950s, the U. S. Government approached The Greenbrier, asking for assistance in constructing and housing an Emergency Relocation Center to be used by Congress in case of war.  This amazing underground facility — exhibit hall, dorm rooms, and meeting spaces for both Senate and House — is now open for tours.  Since photography is not allowed during the tour (be prepared to surrender your phones and cameras), we can’t show you what we saw. But know this: The Greenbrier’s addition is an amazing facility that was hidden in plain sight (not even the residents of White Sulphur Springs knew the purpose) but kept ready in case of a national emergency. Well worth seeing!

Lobby in The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs

What our random strolls through the lobbies showed us was colorful, to say the least. Interior spaces at The Greenbrier are clothed in colors of the Caribbean — rose, mint green, white — colors you might expect nearer the coast.  And just walking through the beautifully appointed rooms makes you take note of the elegance of this luxury resort.

Our Fall Tour 2015 was replete with autumn colors outside, but an open crayon box awaited us inside Tamarack and The Greenbrier, 

For more information:

Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia, 1 Tamarack Park, Beckley, WV 25801; 304- 256-6843; http://www.tamarackwv.com/

The Greenbrier, 300 West Main Street, White Sulphur Springs, WV 24986; 855-453-4858; http://www.greenbrier.com/

The Greenbrier — Bunker Tours: http://www.greenbrier.com/Activities/The-Bunker/Bunker-Tours.aspx

Lovely fall foliage enhances the beauty of New River.

The second leg of our Fall 2015 search for gold meant leaving the beauty of West Virginia’s Pipestem Resort State Park for one of the state’s proudest prouds:  New River Gorge Bridge.  But getting there was a treat in itself.

Fall foliage at New River Gorge Bridge

As you know from some of our other posts, we brake for scenery — some planned, some random with a screeching, “pull-over-here” shout-out from one of us to the other.  Like the stop at Bluestone Dam where we chatted with fishermen dropping lines into rushing waters.  Catching anything? I asked.  Whatever’ll bite, one guy said, grinning.

Early morning at Bluestone Dam in West Virginia

Catching anything? I asked. Whatever’ll bite, one guy said, grinning.

We most always stop where lookouts are set up by the park service — like the overlook to Sandstone Falls.  We stop.  Get out.  Read markers.  Take pictures.  But here, we lingered.  It was the sound of rushing water and the frame of fall colors — a welcome delay.

Sandstone Falls, West Virginia

Next stop — our destination:  New River Gorge National River.  And after roaming through the National Park Service Visitor Center (highly recommend!) to take a look at the map and watch the video, we braved the wooden walkways and stairs (lots of stairs) with glimpses of the river on several levels.

Taking memorable pictures is easy at New River Gorge Bridge where there’s beauty at every turn.

And then the view opened up to what we came to see:  New River Gorge Bridge.  One of the longest (3030 feet) single-arch steel span bridges in the world, the New River Gorge Bridge rises 876 feet above New River — a structure that’s massive, elegant, and truly iconic.

New River Gorge Bridge, October 2015

We missed Bridge Day by a week.  But from what we’ve heard and read, thousands of visitors walk across the closed-to-traffic bridge to watch jumpers parachute and to enjoy the views from a vantage point not available any other time.  We stood a long while gazing at that bridge and then took our time climbing all those steps back up, stopping at almost every landing.  (Not tired, of course.  We just wanted to take in the autumn beauty!)

As we journeyed toward Beckley, another find presented itself:  Hawks Nest State Park from a beautiful stone overlook.

View of Hawks Nest State Park

As if one serendipitous find weren’t enough, a small sign on a random rural road in Greenbrier County directed us to the charming Herns Mill Bridge.

Herns Mill Bridge, Greenbrier County, W. Virginia

Adventures have a way of finding us when we 1) get off the beaten path and 2) keep our eyes open.  And, oh yes, it helps that we have good brakes!

Hope you’ll continue our Fall Tour 2015.    Next up:  Colors of The Greenbrier.

And if want to see fall color next year, remember this state:  West Virginia!

Travel spontaneously,

Bert and Rusha

Fall reflections — Pipestem State Park in West Virginia

It was a “seize the moment” trip, planned on the fly, with but one major goal:  find fall leaves during the third week of October 2015.  We had few days and even fewer dollars, but we were on a mission: How could we sightsee close to home in Tennessee and, hopefully, find the gold in “them thar leaves” that autumn leaf peepers rave about?

Well, it was easy.  Our route began in our hometown of Knoxville moving along I-40 to I-81 toward I-77 into West Virginia.  And even though our preferred places to stay when traveling in the States — B&Bs — were fully booked, we were able to spend our first night on this journey at a state park with more amenities than we normally find.

Pipestem Resort State Park, 14 miles north of Princeton and 12 miles south of Hinton on state Route 20, filled the bill and then some.  We passed on what looked quite wonderful — golf, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding or camping — and focused on one thing:  scenery.

Fall leaves at Pipestem

Positioned on a plateau overlooking a river gorge, Pipestem offers vistas from every room of the 113-room McKeever Lodge.  Fall color was just a seasonal bonus.

View from McKeever Lodge at Pipestem Resort

Pipestem also has an asset we’ve never seen at a state park:  an aerial tramway.  In fact, a ride in the tram is required (hang on to your suitcase!) if you stay in a room at Mountain Creek Lodge at the base. Or dine on gourmet fare in Mountain Creek’s elegant restaurant.

And while waiting for dinner (quite posh, we might add), we walked along the creek at the base of Bluestone Canyon, rewarded with lush fall color and the sounds of a mountain stream.

Finding gold near Mountain Creek Lodge at Pipestem Resort.

The next morning, our final search for gold (and greens, yellow, reds) ended at Pipestem’s Arboretum.  Backlighting by the morning sun turned visions of fall splendor into reality.

The slightly less than 24 hours we spent at Pipestem reaffirmed what we’ve known all along — state parks make for an affordable yet beautiful place to stay.  And, cheesy though it may sound, this was one golden place to visit.

On to another adventure!

Let us know if you have a favorite state park.  And join us for a few more stops along our Fall Color Tour 2015, four days filled with colorful leaves and so much more.

Rusha and Bert

For more information, check out Pipestem Resort State Park or West Virginia State Parks.

Fall color at Humpback Bridge near Covington, Virginia.

With some travel time dedicated to leaf peeping this fall, we learned of a destination quite by accident from someone at a Virginia rest stop:  Humpback Bridge near Covington. This 100-foot long single-span structure, Virginia’s oldest covered bridge, is four feet higher in the middle than on the ends — and thus the name, Humpback Bridge. Built in 1857, the structure has stood empty, almost abandoned, except for a time a farmer stored hay in it. Thanks to numerous civic organizations, however, it has been restored and preserved in a park-like setting.

Looking below the bridge at the rock base and Dunlap Creek.

Below the bridge flows (ever so slowly) Dunlap Creek, making this area even more picturesque.

Reflections in Dunlap Creek, below Humpback Bridge.

And underneath the bridge, old wooden cross-beam construction belies the detail and age of the structure.

Looking under the bridge at wood beams and what seems to be ropes just waiting to be grabbed!

We couldn’t help but ask a couple of passersby if they’d take a picture of us below the “hump” where, again, construction seems pretty fascinating.

Below the ceiling of Humpback Bridge, oldest covered bridge in Virginia.

At least we think so.

For more information on Humpback Bridge, click here.

For more examples of Travel theme: Below from Ailsa’s blog Where’s My Backpack?, click here.  

Looking for autumn color at Pinnacle Overlook in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Sometimes we travel near and far in search of adventures and great places to see, but actually there’s grand beauty in East Tennessee that we sometimes take for granted.  Thus it was on a recent weekend that we headed north about 60 miles from Knoxville to Cumberland Gap for a glimpse of what we hoped would be a spectacular fall view.

Although the colors haven’t turned brilliant yet, you can sense the beauty all around at Cumberland Gap from Pinnacle Overlook.

Established as a National Historical Park in 1940, Cumberland Gap stands at the entrance to three states:  Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.  Although it’s known as the gateway to the west — especially by the explorers who welcomed the site of a passageway through the Appalachians — Cumberland Gap National Historical Park could be called wilderness even today since 14,000 of its 24,000 acres are managed as such.

Even without the fall colors, the ridges and valleys are a sight to behold in the afternoon sunlight.

Our trip was “pre-fallish,” if we were seeking lush, rich autumn colors.  But definitely no disappointment.  Perhaps those who read this post and see the pictures will be able to schedule a trip for later in October when a patchwork of yellows, oranges, and browns will spread out over the ridges and valleys.

Touches of fall color dotted the mountains at Cumberland Gap.

Be sure to take the short, easy walk to Pinnacle Overlook and gaze across the landscape.

A spectacular view of the mountains from Pinnacle Overlook at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Then look down at the little town of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, and out towards Middlesboro, Kentucky.

You can look down on the little town of Cumberland Gap where overnight lodging and restaurants are available for travelers to the area.

And enjoy the flora and fauna bordered by aging split rail fences along the walkways.

On the return trip to Knoxville, take Highway 25E toward Bean Station where you’ll be rewarded with this view  — spectacular with or without fall colors.

View from Bean Station overlook on Tennessee’s Highway 25E — just a touch of color for now, but it’s coming!

We returned home, thankful that we’d spent the day in our home state yet wondering why we don’t do it more often.  After all, the natural beauty of East Tennessee is hard to beat!

Come see us,

Bert and Rusha

For more information:

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park: http://www.nps.gov/cuga/index.htm

Driving Directions: http://www.nps.gov/cuga/planyourvisit/directions.htm

Boomer Travel tip:  Much of the scenic area known generally as Cumberland Gap can be seen by car.  However, the walk to Pinnacle Overlook is an easy one, so we recommend getting out and walking the 600 feet to the viewing area.  You’ll be glad you did!