Last weekend we went in search of waterfalls. I love going to waterfalls in the winter and early spring. Between the snow and the heavy rains, the waterfalls are more dramatic at that time of the year. The trick is getting there with bad road conditions that also come with that time of the year. We checked to make sure that the Blue Ridge Parkway did not have weather closures in the area we were going to explore and then headed to the mountains.
After stopping at Farm Bell Kitchen in Charlottesville for brunch, we turned off the interstate in Waynesboro. Instead of making the left that would put us in the right direction, we turned right to head to the Shell station indicated on the sign to fill up before heading up the mountain. As we drove the supposed two and a half miles to the gas station, things started looking vaguely familiar. In May we had attempted to stop for gas at this same station. As in May, we never found the Shell station. Luckily, there was another gas station on the way.
We followed small, winding country roads ultimately ending up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway looks very different without the leaves and greenery but it is still a beautiful ride. The winter mountains are gorgeous and there are more views available this time of the year. We soon arrived at our first waterfall, Wigwam Falls. The falls are right next to the road with no hike necessary. We followed the path closer to the falls, crossing a reconstructed logging railroad track. It was a beautiful waterfall, the weather was damp, but not raining, a little chilly but not cold and we were off to a good start.
Our next falls, Statons Creek Falls, was about 12 minutes away. We followed the GPS directions and turned off the Parkway where instructed. We followed a beautiful creek with lots of small waterfalls, but never found what we were looking for. I asked Chris how much further it was and the app said 45 minutes. Apparently, we must have missed the falls and the GPS redirected us in a big circle back to the Parkway. I was extremely irritated. Chris reminded me that these little (or big in this case) detours very often end up with us seeing something magical that we would have missed had everything gone according to plan. Within minutes we rounded a bend, just in time to witness a pair of deer crossing the road and gingerly picking their way down the side of the mountain.
Unwilling to risk more redirection, we decided to move on to Panther Falls about 35 minutes away. We thought we were making good progress when we turned on Panther Falls Road. It was a very small dirt road with a washboard surface, so we proceeded at a very slow pace. As we followed the road, we came upon a beautiful waterfall next to a curve in the road. I stopped to take photos. Shortly after the waterfall, we turned left. We were almost there when we came across a gate closing the road. There was a sign indicating that foot traffic was welcome, so we decided to hike the last 3/4 of a mile.
As we walked, the clouds broke apart, allowing more sun to shine through, illuminating the mountains in the distance. We quickly arrived at our “destination”. Instead of a waterfall, we had arrived at a circle at the end of the road. We could hear rushing water not far away. We found a trail and walked the short distance to the water. We found some rapids, but no waterfall. As we walked back up the mountain we heard the screech of a hawk nearby, catching a glimpse of him in the distance. The uphill climb took longer than our walk down had, and I mentioned to Chris that it felt like there was a warp in the space-time continuum. It seemed like the more we walked, the further away the truck was.
We arrived back at the truck to continue our journey, disappointed that we were unable to find another waterfall. Pleased that we were not backtracking, we made a left turn at the end of the road, as directed by GPS. As we came around a curve in the road it looked very familiar. We saw what looked like the same waterfall that I had stopped to take pictures of earlier. I could not figure out how it was possible that we were passing the same waterfall again. Now we really felt like we were in that space warp. After a few minutes, it was clear that we were definitely on a different road and it had been a different waterfall, but it was very surreal for a few minutes.
We continued driving over the river and through the woods, up and down the mountain, before eventually getting back to the Parkway. Otter Falls, also right on the side of the road, was very easy to find. It is a man-made waterfall, created by the damming of Otter Creek, but beautiful nonetheless.
Our last stop of the day was the James River Footbridge, the longest pedestrian-only bridge on the Appalachian Trail. We walked across the bridge and then back, enjoying the scenic James River.
When we set up the tent, after arriving at the campground, I noticed that it had a wet spot on it. I thought that was very odd, but figured it may have gotten wet from sitting on the ground. When pulled out the cot, it was also wet. Further investigation showed that everything on the floor of the truck was wet. I remembered getting in the truck to go to work on Thursday and noticing the back window was open. I thought that I had pressed the window open button on the key fob by mistake and didn’t think any more of it until now. Apparently, I had accidentally hit the button the night before. The window had been open all night in the rain!
Luckily, our sleeping bags, pillows and blanket were dry. We put a layer of trash bags on the cot before setting up our bedding. As we worked on the campfire, we heard a dog barking nearby. We remembered that when we stayed at this campground last year there had been a dog that barked incessantly all night. We had some concerns that it would be another sleepless night but the night was peaceful and quiet.
In the morning we had an unexpected visitor. A chicken was wandering through the campground. He hung out, doing his thing, next to our site as we packed up.
After enjoying breakfast at one of our go-to breakfast spots, The Pink Cadillac Diner, we drove 15 minutes to Buchanan, VA (the same town where we had unsuccessfully searched for firewood almost a year ago) to see the Buchanan Swinging Bridge. I enjoyed the sign with the bridge rules, one of which is that only three people may use the bridge at one time. I was not at all nervous to walk across the bridge but will have to admit that it was a bit eerie when the bridge started to move under our feet.
We spent the afternoon playing two rounds of disc golf at one of our favorite courses in Virginia, Peaks View Park Disc Golf Course.
Cost of trip – parking $3, two tanks of gas $60.45, campground $29.20, firewood $10.
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