Blogs
Whereas, the best place to walk is in the woods.
Whereas, Roanoke is surrounded by a bounty of woods and mountains.
Whereas, for scores and scores of weeks in succession over the second half of the past decade and now into a new one we have retreated to said woods.
Recently I was given the opportunity to take some photographs for the new coffee shop at West Lake Plaza, Solid Ground Coffee and Tea. This place is so new that my GPS didn't even recognize the address. I had to pull out my iPhone to find it. Solid G...
I went to Point Pleasant, W.Va. to check out Mothman, an A-list monster that appeared there in the 1960s – and in a Richard Gere movie 40 years later. I was impressed with Mothman's stainless steel, bulging muscle, anatomically correct statue in the m...
Growing up outside Chicago, snowstorms meant one thing: waking up early to see if school was cancelled.
Many a morning before the winter sun had even risen, my younger brother and I would rush into my mother’s room and turn on the local news, hoping t...
I don’t remember anymore when I first visited Highland County, Va. I know it was a tradition in our household to venture over three mountain ranges each March for the annual maple festival . But I never came here for the syrup. I came here for the mounta...
The first snows of the season got me in the winter photography spirit. And because of that, I took the liberty of going through my archives (I wiped the dust off my external hard drive and started browsing) for some of my favorite photos from winter....
Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 at Daleville to Carvins Cove overlook point and back. 6 miles.
With a son visiting from Pennsylvania and wanting a relatively short hike he hadn't done before, we headed to a convenient favorite for an AT tromp through ...
Another cold day, but predicted to be not as cold as the ensuing two, which as of this writing on January 11 has turned out to be the ensuing 10 at least – some of the coldest weather in Roanoke in a decade. With big ol' wind. And the snow from Decem...
From home in Southwest Roanoke to the Roanoke City Market area and back. About 6 miles.
On the morning after Roanoke's record-breaking 17.8-inch snowfall, we set out on a trek that involved no driving to get to the walk; just out the door and onto the s...
Sharp Top/Harkening Hill/Johnson Farm at the Peaks of Otter at milepost 86 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. 7 miles.
What a concept: Hike not just to the midpoint for lunch as always, but – for the first time ever in our nearly six years – an indoor lunch! On...
