Sunday, August 30 - Beautiful sunny day as we depart from Club @ Lake Gaston in Gasburg VA to travel to Thousand Trails Lynchburg Preserve in Gladys VA. Actually Gladys is near Rustburg and a more popular location at Lynchburg. We took time last year to visit Lynchburg and it has a lot of history and a great museum.
Puffy clouds adorn the sunny skies and looks like cooler weather. We passed through small historical looking towns, passed through some hilly and low valley areas on Rt. 40. Good two-lane road turned onto Red Hill (Patrick Henry) Road. Nearby Red Hill is the Patrick Henry National Memorial in Charlotte County, Virginia near the Town of Brookneal. It honors Patrick Henry, the fiery legislator and orator of the American Revolution. Henry's law office and grave are preserved at his small Red Hill plantation, along with a reconstruction of his last home. The Red Hill Road turned into a very narrow and hilly road and not made for the RV. Good thing no one was coming in the opposite direction. We saw a lot of farms or mobile homes on five acre lots, some in disrepair and some with nice landscaping. A lot of homes were built in the colonial revival architecture with strong columns on porches.
We arrived by 10:15 am (short trip) and started looking for a satellite-friendly site. The site we had last year was taken and the fellow said he was paid seasonally and leaving in October. It is becoming a real hassle for full-timers with big rigs to find sat-friendly sites that are not taken by six-month members. Ray convinced me to try getting satellite at a beautiful location close to the large lake below. 
We are surrounded by trees, but there is a clearing in the southwest direction. We backed into the site, plugged into electric and started the satellite location process. Within 20 minutes we were locked into satellite and started our housekeeping chores to set up. The weather here is 10 degrees cooler and tomorrow we are expecting 60 degree weather during the day. What a remarkable change from the heat and humidity at Lake Gaston.
Our site has many types of trees; some I recognize like the maple and oaks. Plenty of shrubs too. Looking forward to using the grill here as the site has a nice picnic table. Not sure how long the low temperatures will hang around.
Ray fixed up a fire in the pit to roast hot dogs. It was too funny! We left our long stainless steel grilling prongs back home, so he improvised. This is our first ever fire and roasting. The soot and black hot dog didn’t look too appetizing to me, so I took my time cooking the next batch, until the end looked like it was going to drop the dog into the fire. We will come up with something better for next time.
The coastal areas of Virginia and North Carolina through the month of August turned out to be much warmer than we expected. Most days were in the mid 90s and high humidity, just too hot to do much during mid-day. Even riding the Gold Wing was not fun after 10 AM. Our objective is to be in the Smoky Mountains during the month of October connecting up with family and friends to enjoy the fall foliage. So we have scheduled two stops before the mountains. One in Lynchburg, VA and one in Winston-Salem, NC area, both in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Lynchburg was a good move with an elevation of 700 to 900 feet which helped lower temps 10-15 degrees. I took advantage of the early morning temps being in the mid 50s and rode the Wing a number of days enjoying the local farm roads and taking photos. There are a lot of old barns and 
old farm houses in this area.
Things got rather interesting when I stop on the road still sitting on the bike and trying to line up a photo shot when I hear coming usually from behind me or from the side the growl from a very large dog, maybe a Sheppard, Pit bull, or pincher running at full bore toward me. Not wanting to find out what happens when these fanged creatures reach their target (Me), I vacate promptly. Hence I have learned to leave the bike running. Talk about protecting your territory, OUCH.
My one trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway was great, cool day beautiful clear blue skies. Just a taste of what is to come in Oct. and the Smokies. The parkway’s elevation near Lynchburg maxed out around 2500 ft. I missed the photo of the day, just as I exited a short tunnel a deer was standing on a nice grassy area only 10 ft. away looking straight at me.
I was expecting it to bolt hopefully not in front of me, but it just stood there and watched me go by. I watched my mirrors and it was still there. I turned around ASAP and as I expected it was gone. Oh well that photo is in my mind.
Marsha, Mitzy and I drove to Smith Mt. Lake, 50+ miles SW. This lake is very large with mill$$$ homes on the shore line, really a pretty area. Great drive and great scenery at the lake. We enjoyed the outing. The roads were made for cycles, next time I’ll include a ride to Smith Mt Lake.
Tuesday, September 01 - Beautiful morning and 61 degrees. Should be mid-70s today. Plan to ride out bikes and Ray took the Gold Wing out for a nice ride.
Wednesday, September 02 - It was 57 degrees this am. Coach was at 68°. Almost time to use the small portable heater to take the chill off.
Friday, September 04 - A cool 56° and the lake is shrouded in mist rolling across it. 
Beautiful sight. We went into Lynchburg to shop at Health Nut’s Health food shop (really nice owner who explained I could give Mitzy raw egg in her diet without a problem. He also suggested to give her organ meat cooked to help with Cushing's.)
Saturday, September 05 - We stayed home today working on projects. Warmer than it has been but people are swarming down the hill to the rec center with kids (grandkids) in tow to enjoy the pool. Park is almost filled up here on our Section C ridge. We met a neighbor that is from New Jersey and new to the motor home they purchased. Thinking of going full-time but he is still working. Sandy is retired from teaching school. She is a Sweet Adeline and travels by air quite a bit to be in productions or competition. Herb is an engineer.
Labor Day! Overcast and prediction of rain here in Lynchburg. Enjoying the cooler temps and tomorrow should be high in mid-70s. Ray took the Honda out for a short two-hour ride. These pictures are of a picnic at the pavilion across the lake for a corporation. 
Tuesday, September 8 - It rained a slow drizzle last night and the day was cloudy and cool all day long. Drove into Lynchburg to shop at Target and also stopped by Best Buy.
Thursday, September 10 - It is 63° this morning here in Lynchburg. Looking forward to moving to Advance NC and then to Boone NC for October before heading to Florida for the Winter.
Friday, September 11 - Around 9:30 am, we drove to see the Smith Mountain Lake State Park Huddleston, VA. It is about 40 miles from the park and the day was exceptional, with blue skies and lots of sun. Drove through Gladys on Gladys Road (Rt. 699). Gladys is in Campbell County, in the Lynchburg metro area. Once a relay station for mail brought on horseback. The elevation is 781 feet. As we meandered the very narrow road (at times) we saw plenty of soy bean fields about a foot high.
The road was so twisted and s-curved. I was not a happy camper as I terribly car-sick. We took South 29 through Alta Vista. The new Town of AltaVista was created in 1905 during the construction of the east-west Tidewater Railway between Giles County (on the border with West Virginia) and Sewell's Point in what was at the time Norfolk County. Leesville Lake, seen as we drove through Alta Vista, is a reservoir in Virginia the United States used for Hydro-Electric power generation in conjunction with Smith Mountain Lake as a pump storage project.
We arrived at Smith Mountain Lake State Park and found a beautiful scenic view from all directions once you reach the visitor’s office on the Lake. 
We saw the RV camp sites during our visit and they are very nicely kept. Large level graveled sites with water and electric, and dump station.
There's nothing better than living along a lake. The water draws us in with its promise of peaceful times and recreational family fun. Precautions have been taken to keep the land in its pristine state. Smith Mountain Lake is known as "the jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains". The most popular lake in Virginia, it has over 500 foot of shoreline.
Smith Mountain Lake was created to generate electricity, and to help manage water flows downstream and nearby. The damming of the Blackwater and Roanoke Rivers formed Smith Mountain Lake in a filling process that began on September 24, 1963 -- and ended almost 2.5 years later on March 7, 1966. Surrounded by mountains, SML's deepest point is about 250 feet, near the dam itself.
Historical Tobacco Barn still standing within the park. 
Some other time we would like to visit the surrounding lake communities. Bedford is 20 miles north of the park and Roanoke is 35 miles west.
Technorati Tags:
Smith Mountain Lake,
Lynchburg,
Virginia,
Brookneal,
Patrick Henry,
Target,
BestBuy,
Health Nut’s Health food,
Tidewater Railway,
Advance NC,
Boone NC
We saw a lot of blooming cotton fields, soybean, and corn fields that have dried out and look ready to be plowed under. The yellow corn fields will likely be ground to make feed for livestock and poultry. Some of it will be used for seed for future crops. The Crepe Myrtle trees and shrubs are everywhere in full bloom. The weather was very sunny and extremely hot and the coach heated up to 89 degrees by the time we arrived at our destination, even running the generator and front air conditioner.
We were set up by noon as much as Ray could with the heat. The rest of the outside chores had to wait until the sun goes down. The good news we are expecting rain and lower temperatures in the 80s by tomorrow.
Club Resort at Lake Gaston is noted for its 20,000-acre Lake Gaston with full service marina. Clubhouse is huge and has an exercise room, sauna, Jacuzzi, movie room, dining area and lounge. Family Fun Center has indoor heated swimming pool, shuffleboard, racquetball, tanning beds, 10-lane bowling alley, arcade room, exercise /weight room and snack bar. There is a fee for the use of these amenities.
This park does not cater to big rigs. Once you get beyond the clubhouse and Family Fun Center, the park shows its age, with narrow roads and a lot of permanent trailers, some very unsightly. We are in an open area so we can get satellite. We can get Verizon air card to work (4-bars), but no AT&T phone service.
Sunday, August 23 - Beautiful sunny morning in 70s, so Ray decided to take a ride around Lake Gaston. He did 110 miles, lots of farms and he saw the large Kerr Dam, which contains much of the lake.
The US Army Corps of Engineers operates this 50,000 acre reservoir and an additional 50,000 acres of surrounding land. In the 1950's, Kerr Reservoir, also called Buggs Island Lake, was constructed primarily to provide for flood control and hydropower generation.
Monday, August 24 - We drove into Lake Gaston to grocery shop and see the local area. Not much near the park. Temps are back to mid 90s. Too hot for Ray to do much outside even though the humidity is 79%, but not bad if you compare this to Florida.
Tuesday, August 25 - It is 67° outside and looks like another beautiful day in the high 80s, mid-90s. Ray is riding the Gold Wing today. Some of his pictures:
Wednesday, August 26 - Thermometer says it is 95 degrees outside our coach. I rode my bike all the way down the asphalt road to the lake/pool area. It was fun as the hills are not too steep for me to handle. We can’t use our BBQ stand because the ground is too unlevel for me to cook. The park's tables are very old and not usable. Oh well, maybe the next stop will work out better for steaks on the grill.
Thursday, August 27 - Woke up to beautiful sunshine off the lake. A huge bright globe of golden yellow. It is 68° and no breeze. We changed our reservations to leave on 8/1 instead of 8/4 since we have no cell phone service.
