Many find the Parkway their favorite place to escape the summer heat. Even here in early to mid August, Parkway meadows are filled with the beautiful blooms of summer that remind us that just about any time of year or season the Parkway is a wonderful place for those who live wildflowers.
On the northern end near Humpback Rocks typical summer blooms of Goldenrod, Butter and Eggs, Woodland Sunflower, Black Eyed Susan, Ox-Eyed Daisy, and Queen Anne’s Lace are all very evident. Morning Glory and Purple Headed Coneflower and a few Cardinal Flowers are being reported on the farm at Humpback. At the picnic area, Heal All and Yarrow are also common.
Many of the same species are found around the Peaks of Otter, Yarrow and Black Eyed Susan, Woodland Sunflower, Joe-Pye Weed and Appalachian Bellflower. Virgin’s Bower and Bull Thistle are also common. Look for the pale Touch Me Not between Milepost 80 and 85 and Butterfly Weed around Milepost 90.
Read the full wildflower report for 8/20/2010 at Virtual Blue Ridge.
Most visitors zip past the James River/Otter Creek area of The Blue Ridge Parkway in their cars headed to the higher elevations of the Peaks of Otter or Humpback Rocks. This is one of the few areas of the park that you will find straighter and flatter stretches of road that prompt people to speed by attempting to make time traveling north or south. The road here follows Otter Creek, one of the longest water courses within the park boundary and through the lowest elevations (649 feet) along the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. If a visitor would take the time to stop and get out of their vehicle, they would be rewarded by the nature and history that abounds between mile posts 60 to 64.
There are the obvious facilities in this section; the Otter Creek Campground with its new entrance bridge and Kiosk, the concession operated Otter Creek Restaurant, and the James River Visitor Center. But there is so much more.
The inquisitive visitor will discover the Otter Creek Trail. This 3.5 mile trail meanders along the creek and Parkway motor road from the campground to the visitor center. The trail is easy to walk and crosses the creek numerous times on stepping stones and pedestrian bridges. Sharp rock bluffs, mountain laurel, redbud, and bird life are abundant. At State Route 130 the trail travels through an underpass of the road. If you are observant you will see what appears to be a ditch that follows the edge of the trail. This is the remains of what was once a large mill operation that was obliterated when the present bridge for 130 was built.
The trail forks and makes a loop around Otter Lake. At the north end of the loop you will find the skeletal chimney and foundation of what was once the Nathaniel Sledd Cabin. This site is believed to have been the home of the first European settler in Amherst County, Virginia in the early 1700s. He was drawn to this location to trade with Native Americans for beaver pelts. Otter Creek was a heavily used travel route from the mountains above to the James River and above the threat of flood. Otter Lake did not exist at that time being built when the Blue Ridge Parkway came through in the late 1950s. Beaver still live in Otter Creek today. Hikers can see their handiwork in dams and the stumps and bases of trees that they have felled for food and construction materials. Trees around the trail have wire mesh around their base to protect them from the industrious rodents.
Beyond the James River Visitor Center you will find a remnant of our Country’s transportation history. On the opposite bank of the James River is a fully restored canal lock from the Kanawha Canal System that served as the main commercial transportation from the Shenandoah Valley to Richmond, Virginia before the Civil War. Looking up river you will be looking into the James River Water Gap, a geological feature left from a millennium of the river cutting its way through the Blue Ridge Mountains. This makes the James one of only two rivers that flow from west of the Blue Ridge toward the Atlantic Ocean.
So the next time you are driving through this area stop and get out of your vehicle and see what wonders await you.
Many people find the Parkway their favorite place to escape the summer heat. Even here in early to mid August Parkway meadows are filled with the beautiful blooms of summer that remind us that any time of year or season the Parkway is a wonderful place for those who love wildflowers.
On the far northern end of the Parkway near Humpback Rocks, Joe-Pye Weed, Morning Glory, Woodland Sunflower, Black Eyed Susan, Ironweed, and Queen Anne’s Lace are all very common.
Stroll through the picnic area at Humpback Rocks and enjoy the Yarrow and Heal All in bloom there. In the Rocky Knob/ Mabry Mill area, Milkweed and. . .
Read the full wildflower report for 8/6/2010 at Virtual Blue Ridge.
Just last week CNN Headline News featured a viewer video of a woman being chased and struck by a bison at Yellowstone National Park. In the video you can see that the bison is meandering across a paved parking lot minding his own business when a friend of the woman keeps approaching closer and closer to get a better look. The woman, even knowing better, followed her friend to get a better video.
To view the video in its entirety, go to the YouTube link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro7KMYmWjk0
You will note in the video that the bison gave several warnings that he was uncomfortable with the approach of humans. First he tried to move away and place a tree line between the threat and himself. When the person still came on through the trees the bison then lifted his head and looked at him with his head moving up and down. The bison then kicked his heals up lowering his head and the woman still kept filming him. Finally the wild animal stressed by the perceived threat had to revert to flight or fight mode. Since the threat had kept moving toward him even after he attempted to calmly make flight from the area he most likely felt he had no choice but to fight and attack.
These same behaviors can been seen in any wildlife you may encounter in a National Park even if it is a bear, deer, or chipmunk on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Always give wildlife their space. Revel in the opportunity to view animals in their native habitat, but do not crowd or stress them into instinctual reactions.
This incident once again illustrates the lesson I have told several times on this blog and in my book, “A Park Ranger’s Life”, that park visitors should always enjoy viewing wildlife from afar.
Here in mid-summer Parkway meadows are filled with the beautiful blooms of summer that remind us that just about any time of year or season the Parkway is a wonderful place for those who love wildflowers.
North of Roanoke, Virginia, which includes Peaks of Otter and the high elevations across Apple Orchard Mountain, visitors will find Milkweed, Yarrow, Ox-Eye Daisy, Tall Coreopsis, Queen Anne’s Lace, Black Eyed Susan, Woodland Sunflower and Tall Bellflower.
Visiting Mabry Mill or Rocky Knob you’re likely to find Butterfly Weed, Milkweed, Heal All, Jewelweed, New York Ironweed, Coreopsis, Deptford Pink and the beautiful tall Turks Cap Lily.
Spotted Knapweed and Joe-Pye Weed are new blooms this weekend around Mabry Mill. Rosebay Rhododendron is still showing some blooms but on the decline.
To find out what’s blooming in North Carolina and to read the full Wildflower Report for 7/23 visit Virtual Blue Ridge.
