We were glad to get out of the hotel and back into our "own beds" in the RV. That's one of the joys of this kind of travelling...you bring your "home" with you, however cramped. There's no moving in and out of hotel rooms, and you're always sure just how clean it's going to be.
We jumped back onto the Parkway and had a short drive to our next stop, a National Park Service campground called Rocky Knob. We liked it much better than the last one. Our site was pretty, level, and very private. But best of all, I had two Verizon bars, so I could catch up on the bills, my correspondence, etc.
While here we visited an attraction called Mabry Mill. The mill and other buildings were built and used from about 1905 until 1935 by a mountain resident named Ed Mabry. A very industrious sort, Ed had a blacksmith shop, a saw mill, a grist mill, and a woodworking shop to supply himself and his neighbors. It's a lovely spot that our photograph doesn't do justice. The park service has done a great job of restoring and maintaining it. Ranger historians are available to demonstrate period crafts and operate the mill. We had a great talk with a ranger who was demonstrating chair caning. We asked if there was any local civil war history and he explained that the mountain people in Virginia had been very pro-Union. Not being slave owners they didn't have a stake in the outcome. They felt it was a "rich man's war being fought by poor people."
Mabry Mill has a wonderful little restaurant onsite. We had breakfast there one day and dinner the next. The breakfast was a highlight with wonderful country ham and a pancake sampler platter with buckwheat, corn, and sweet potato pancakes.
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| Mabry Mill |
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| My friend Betty would love this quilt depiction of the mill hanging in the restaurant |
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