Virginia

"Virginia is for Lovers" began in 1969 when the Tourism Corporation adopted the now famous slogan.  It started off as "Virginia is for history lovers," "Virginia is for beach lovers," "Virginia is for mountain lovers."    It eventually dropped the modifier and made it just as it is today.   150 signs adorn the state of Virginia.

STAUNTON, VIRGINIA

Staunton is located in the heart of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.  Staunton was one of the major "remote trading centers in the backcountry" by 1760 which transported vast amounts of grain and tobacco.  

Staunton became an industrial centre as it developed trade, the Virginia Central Railroad was built (1836), and factories sprung up that made carriages, wagons,  boots, clothing and blankets.  

 Then the Civil War began in 1861.  

During the war, the town became an important Shenandoah Valley manufacturing center, a staging area, and a supply depot for the Confederacy.

in 1864, Union General Hunter, in hopes of cutting the enemy off from supplies and communications, decided to burn the train station.  He arrived with 10,000 troops that destroyed the station, warehouses, houses, factories and mills, looting stores and warehouses.

After the South surrendered to the North in 1865, the town began to slowly recover and rebuild. 

Commerce grew around the Staunton Train Depot and today is known as the historical district of "The Wharf."   

Staunton is home to nearly 200 buildings designed by architect Thomas Jasper Collins in 1844-1925 during the Victorian era.

The Stonewall Jackson Hotel, built in 1924 and remodeled in 2005, is a historic hotel in downtown Staunton.   Stonewall Jackson was a Confederate General during the American Civil War.

The Marquis Building is one of the downtown's most elaborate buildings, built for former Confederate Captain J.C. Marquis.   It was a National Bank, an antique emporium and today is a cigar/tobacco store.

Staunton is the birth place of the Statler Brothers.   They were an American country music, gospel group formed in 1955, performing locally and by 1964 they were singing backup for Johnny Cash.  Originally they  performed at gospel churches and were known as the Four Star Quartet, and later the Kingsmen.

SUN TRUST BANK

Adjoining the 1903 Sun Trust Bank is a small museum displaying money and objects the Bank originally used.   

A main feature of the historical bank is the stained glass ceiling.

Downstairs is the very secure vault and three foot deep door.

THE FRONTIER CULTURE MUSEUM

The Frontier Culture Museum tells the story of the thousands of people who migrated to colonial America, and of the life they created.   The first pioneers cam during the 1600s and 1700s from communities of England, Germany, Ireland, and West Africa.

A small number of Africans were brought to Virginia in 1619.  In following decades thousands were brought to serve as enslaved workers on farms, plantations, mills and mines, in shops and households.  

This building is an exact replica of what the typical family house would look like among the Igbo people in the area now known as southeastern Nigeria.



IRISH FORGE

The Irish Forge is a blacksmith shop that stood in the province of Ulster (now known as Northern Ireland).  Blacksmiths were recruited from Ireland to help with a struggling economy and a need for skilled craftsmen.

Just as important as the fabrication of new items was the repair of old ones.  Much of the blacksmith's business was the repair of iron tools, broken plow shares, horse shoes, nails and cart ties.

A nail is being constructed.   The blacksmith is somewhat of a matallurgist as well.   He knew how hot to heat his iron for the type of application.    He had to know how to weld steel to iron and how to temper knives, axes and chisels.

A close up of the thatched roof.  The roof is constructed of dried straw, water reed, or other dried vegetation and layered to shed water away from the inner roof. 1740S AMERICAN FARM

These settlements were a blend of American born descendants of earlier generations and german, Irish, and West African immigrants.   Encounters and exchanges between these settlers and American Indians, combined with a difficult environment began the formation of American frontier culture.    This small little farm hosts tobacco plants.



1820S AMERICAN FARM

By now, farming was the dominant way of life which included grains and livestock, with the exception of the northern Valley which was predominantly tobacco plantations.  

Having sufficient labor was of vital importance, particularly during plowing, sowing and harvest season as agricultural mechanization didn't occur until the mid-1800s.

People now had household furniture, pewter and ceramic tableware, chests, table linens. Some homes had cast-iron heating stoves and clocks.

While we were enjoying the stories from the house character, this chicken . . . .

layed an egg in the old wooden bucket for the wheat grinder.

WESTERN STATE HOSPITAL 

(aka Western State Lunatic Asylum)

The first patient was admitted in July of 1828.   In the early days, it was like a resort-style asylum with terraced gardens where patients could plants flowers and go for walks.

By the mid 19th Century, this model of care vanished.  The facility became overcrowded and techniques such as "ankle and wrist restraints and straitjackets" were used.  Patients were forcibly sterilized and electroshock and lobotomies were practiced.

The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and the hospital vacated the premises to a new location.  The facility was converted to the Correctional Center, closing in 2003.  Today it is monitored with security, locked up and vacant.

GRAND CAVERNS
town of Grottoes, Virginia

The caverns were discovered in 1804 by a 17 year old, looking for a missing trap.    Originally called Amend's cave, named after the land's owner.   Two years later it was open to the public.   During the Civil War, the cave was visited by both Confederate and Union soldiers.  There are over 200 verified civil war signatures in the cave.  

Photos do not do it justice.   

The gorgeous flowstone formations when water containing calcium bicarbonate flows down the walls or along the floors of the cave.

54 degrees ad more than a mile and a half of expansive caverns.  

In 2004, professional caves found discovered a changer beneath Grand Caverns.   The opening is nearly 3 miles, 15 feet below and takes 45 minutes to belly crawl to reach the beginning of the cave.

Enormous stalactites descend from the ceiling and stalagmites erupt from the cave floor.   All these have taken millions of years to develop.   

Our guide was fabulous and each of the nine chambers is called a specific name - one is called the Grand Ball Room and dances were originally held in a portion of the cave during the 1800s.   The guide tells the story of when, guiding a group, an earthquake happened while underground.   Fortunately, no one was injured and the structures remained intact.

The largest is the Cathedral Hall at 280 feet long and more than 50 feet high.  

Looking down the chamber, a rock formation named George Washington's tomb stands directly in the middle.  From this perspective, it looks small.

It is actually about 6 feet tall.

Halloween was approaching and our guide and other staff, were plotting a scary night in the caverns, with people dressed as ghosts, a ballroom ghost dance and most lights out!

MONTGOMERY HALL PARK

148 acres SW of Staunton is a fabulous park with biking and hiking trails, soccer, multiple baseball fields, tennis and pickleball.

Tazz alerts me to wildlife, and most people would think she would be bouncing up and down, barking and going nuts.   Totally opposite, she notices creatures and stands and turns and looks back at me - yes, even squirrels most times.   She is my nature, photography buddy.

I capture a very elusive groundhog.   It is very large and the entrance holes into its underground network are large.

BACK AT THE RANCH ..... Walnut Hills Campground (15 miles from Staunton).

Walking around at night, lighting is fabulous, it is quiet out in the countryside and I hear something every night that sounds like goats or sheep bleating in the trees.

I stop one evening and ask the office staff what that noise might be. . . . one answer was "don't know" and the other "locusts ... maybe?"

Our answer came the next morning as we saw these .    .      .      .         .           .

Katydids!   Also called long-horned grasshoppers or bush crickets.    They are nocturnal insects so amazing we go to see them in full view at our trailer.  They are noted for their mating call.   Most are bright green but sometimes they include pink and yellow.

They, like crickets and cicadas, make the sounds by rubbing their legs or wings (as the Katydids do) together.

QUEEN CITY MISCHIEF & MAGIC

Sept 25-27 the historic downtown transforms into a magical village with themed shopping, dining and hands-on activities around Harry Potter.

A live chess game

There is wand-dueling, wild beast-taming puzzle solving and so much more.   

These are dressed up characters of Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall with a fabulous backdrop in a store.

A Harry Potter competitor

Voldemort and Snape- the two villains

And finally, Hagrid, the games keeper of the grounds of Hogwarts.

BACK TO REALITY IN THE PARK

The stink bugs have been showing up in the RV since we left Pennsylvania.   They originated in the East Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan) and believed to be introduced in 1998.  

Marc went to remove one from the outside of a window and it flew into his mouth.   Total 'yuck.'

They have scent glands that emit an offensive smelling liquid.   That is why people do not 'squish' them.

Unfortunately, in North America they do not have any prevalent predators yet.

I complete the story of this area with the Tin Shop at the Frontier Culture Museum

Next stop is Lynchburg and Boone 

PS - As most of you know, I am w-a-y-y behind on posting the blog due to lack of internet services and Marc drives too fast for me to keep up!    We are actually in Tucson, Arizona now and here until mid Feb.