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First Tarp!

Well, we've tried two different parking areas, and two different attempts from the prescribed one and have not yet found the alleged 4.2-mile loop that takes you to the top of Fort Lewis Mountain from Bradshaw Road in Roanoke County.

Seven McAfee Facts

What is there left to say about one of the most popular and most photographed hikes in the area? Well, seven things that maybe aren't quite as common knowledge as the great viewpoint.

Old Footage of Sliding Rock in Pisgah Forest, NC

Two for the Trail: Same Weekend, Different Months

Kurt and Gail double down and head to two trails in one weekend, one to "Hey" Rock overlooking Carvins Cove and the other along the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Mount Pleasant: Why It’s a National Scenic Area

The Mount Pleasant National Scenic area was both exquisitely scenic and nearly empty on this warm Easter Day, with the sky blue and the wildflowers two or three weeks behind where we've walked in recent weeks.

Current Issue

Rain ain't getting to us under this highly sophisticated set-up.

First Tarp!

Well, we've tried two different parking areas, and two different attempts from the prescribed one and have not yet found the alleged 4.2-mile loop that takes you to the top of Fort Lewis Mountain from Bradshaw Road in Roanoke County.
McAfee Knob

Seven McAfee Facts

What is there left to say about one of the most popular and most photographed hikes in the area? Well, seven things that maybe aren't quite as common knowledge as the great viewpoint.
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Old Footage of Sliding Rock in Pisgah Forest, NC

Left: Green and full, Carvins Cove, April, 2011. Right: The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All watches the fog blow from the top of Flat Top Mountain.

Two for the Trail: Same Weekend, Different Months

Kurt and Gail double down and head to two trails in one weekend, one to "Hey" Rock overlooking Carvins Cove and the other along the Blue Ridge Parkway!
From the 4,071-foot viewpoint of Mt. Pleasant, the flattening-out geography of Virginia looking eastward reveals itself in pretty patterns of land use.

Mount Pleasant: Why It’s a National Scenic Area

The Mount Pleasant National Scenic area was both exquisitely scenic and nearly empty on this warm Easter Day, with the sky blue and the wildflowers two or three weeks behind where we've walked in recent weeks.
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Departments

At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.
Country Roads

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.

June 29, 2026
©Duncan Seaman
Country Roads

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.

June 29, 2026
Synchronous Fireflies
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

June 29, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS