The View from Buzby Beach

Shortly after we left the RV park yesterday, a car pulled up beside us at a stoplight and told us one of our trailer tires was going flat. I immediately pulled over and discovered she was right.  This discovery was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least. Whatever was causing it to go flat must have happened after leaving the campground, as I had inspected the tires before pulling out, something I always do.  After realizing what was happening, I eased the trailer up to a convenience store parking lot where we could park safely removed from passing traffic and analyzed the situation.  You may not know this, but campers are no longer sold with jacks and lug wrenches due to the number of times people raised one side too high and tipped over their rigs. Yeah, I know, right. And, alas, my truck jack, sturdy as it is, was not up to the task. Neither was its lug wrench. It was too big for the lug nuts on the camper wheel. Our camper is, however, equipped with a spa...

  As mentioned in my previous post, The New River Trail State Park is a linear park some 57 miles long running the course of an abandoned railroad right of way. The photo at the top of this post was taken with my phone camera using the panorama setting. On the right is the beginning of the trail. Yesterday, the missus and I hiked 2.6 miles north up the trail, starting at the southernmost point. This is a close-up of the Fries Mill that operated from 1903 until 1989. The town grew up around the mill. The dam that powered the mill is out of the picture to the left. A short way down the trail, these cliffs come into sight across the river. The New River is considered the second oldest river in the world and has spent eons eroding its path through these mountains. Geologists estimate the river " may have been in its present course for at least 65 million years." [1] The terrain on the near side of the river is relatively flat and, while tempting to build or farm on, is subject to...

  The missus and I are spending this week in the southern Virginia mountain town of Fries. This was once a mill town, as evidenced by the dam, the old textile mill building, and the small company houses that make up most of the older residences in the town. Here is what I learned about the mill. " The Fries Textile Mill was established in 1903 by Col. Thomas Fries, then the president of Wachovia Bank. He built the mill on a bend in the New River, which he had dammed in order to provide power for his new venture. The mill provided employment to almost everyone in the town of Fries and many others living nearby.  When the mill closed in 1989, it still employed 1,700 people ." 1 2 The southern end of The New River Trail is located a short way downriver from the dam. This trail is part of the Virginia State Parks system. " The New River Trail is a 57-mile linear park that follows an abandoned railroad right-of-way. The park parallels the scenic and historic New River for 39 ...