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Day 58 - August 4 - Breaks Interstate Park,VA to Rosedale, VA - 43 miles Click on the thumbnails to view larger pictures.
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| We were up at 5:00 and on the road by 6:00. Today's
ride was even more difficult than yesterday. First there was a tough
2 mile hill to the entrance to Breaks Interstate Park. Then a 6 mile
roller coaster ride that brought back memories of the Ozarks. At
mile 24 we faced a challenge in the form of Big A Mountain, a long 3 mile
climb with a lot of 6+% grades. We expected a long descent on the
other side, but no such luck. It was another roller coaster ride
with another major hill just before Rosedale.
After the climbing of the past couple of days we were bushed. Rosedale looked like a good place to stop for the night. We first went to the newly opened Oaks Restaurant for lunch. To our surprise they still had a breakfast buffet available. Since it was late in the morning the owners offered it to us at half price. We ordered a pitcher of iced tea and dug into the buffet. It was great and just what we needed to take our minds off the mountains we'd come over. After brunch we went around back to the Oaks Motel to check in for the night, but the owners were at church. The folks at the restaurant said they should be home around 1:00 PM so we relaxed till then. After checking in, showering, and hanging out our laundry we went back to the restaurant to sit in the air conditioning and write our journals. The owners brought us a pitcher of ice water (no charge) and we sat talking to them for an hour or more. They asked a lot of questions about our trip, told us about just opening the restaurant, and invited us back to the dinner buffet this evening. When we arrived at the restaurant for supper, Clayton, the owner, offered to take us for a tour of the area. We all jumped in his SUV and off we went. It took about an hour to see everything he had in mind for us and by that time we were ready to eat. The dinner buffet was even better than the breakfast buffet. While we ate Clayton sat with us and we talked about the trip, specifically our route for tomorrow. He suggested a shorter route that eliminated having to climb over Clinch Mountain. We were all ears. From our calculations we should also be able to save 30 miles by taking his short cut. All we need now is a good night's sleep along with a nourishing breakfast and we'll be good to go. Clayton asked what time we wanted breakfast in the morning. We told him that we'd like to eat about 5 and he said he'd be there. We are overwhelmed by his generosity. |
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