Troutville, Virginia - 10/15/18

I'm glad we were able to camp under a covered pavilion last night because it rained quite a bit.

We rode through Lexington, Virginia, today.  Lexington is home to the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University.

Most of our miles today took us along streams and creeks.  The roads had very little traffic on them and it was very enjoyable listening to the soothing sound of the flowing creeks while we were riding.  Below are pics of some of these streams.

There were even a few small waterfalls to enjoy.

There were several structures along our route, some of which time has obviously gotten the best of, that I think appropriately reflects the rural environment in which we were riding (pics below).

There was this interesting grinding wheel sitting beside the road and Mike took a pic of it.

I went to Natural Bridge State Park and walked almost 2 miles to see all the sights at the park. It was all very impressive.

Pictured below is Lace Waterfall at the State Park.

Below is a pic of the natural bridge.  It is 215 feet high, 40 feet thick, 100 feet wide with a 90 foot span between the walls.  The Lee Highway, U.S. Highway 11, passes over it.

Below is the Monacan living history exhibit.

Below is a pic of the palisade, which was a defensive structure designed to protect the inhabitants from wild animals and territorial infringements.

Somehow, Bob wound up riding his bicycle on the Appalachian Trail, and the below pic was taken as he was coming off the trail :)

We are staying at the Troutville City Park tonight.  Below are pics of our camp sites there.  Again, we are fortunate to be underneath shelters.

I met Sean ( pictured below) who is also camping at the park.  He is from Seattle and is biking from Seattle to Yorktown, Virginia.  He has been on the road for about 2 and 1/2 months.

Total miles today:  60