I don't think any lodging on the
Blue Ridge Parkway can rival our
favorite: Grassy Creek Cabooses.
For solitude, novelty, amazing views, and
old-time atmosphere, they can't be beat.
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| http://www.grassycreekcabooses.com/ If you're looking for an Appalachian adventure, I encourage you to look into Grassy Creek Cabooses as you're "jumping- off point." |
For me and Judy, this was our umpteenth
visit with Donnie and Carol, our hosts.
For Jack and Thelma it was the second visit.
The winding drive with authentic RXR
signs welcomed us once again.
And far off Buffalo Mountain greeted
us once more. Can you spot it?
Imagine what it took for Donnie to haul
these cabooses on flatbed trailers to this
mountain, then refurbish the insides for
our comfort.
Some new touches adorned the area
around the depot building.
Jack especially loved the old water tower,
which brought back memories of his childhood,
with years of living near the train tracks.
Here it is: the depot, where Jack and Thelma
would stay. It's more spacious than the cabooses,
but they're all cozy and inviting.
Donnie has also restored an old dynamite
railroad car that was used in mining near
Virginia's New River.
The three cabooses are sentinels on the hill.
An antique railroad baggage cart.
The farm valley to our west.
I saw deer bounding along the bottom of
this valley one morning.
The caboose Judy and I stayed in.
Both sides of the cabooses have decks for
enjoying both sunrise and sunset, plus
calming breezes.
The middle caboose is surrounded with
dozens of rhododendrons. Can you imagine
them in full bloom?
Our grandkids all love trains, in fact we
had one set up just this week. So I took
some closeups to show them how the wheels
and tracks go together, etc.
The heavy-duty couplers have to hold up
under incredible strain, especially on the
old rugged runs through mountainous
Virginia and western North Carolina.
As a kid, I always envisioned myself as the
conductor, standing on the rear platform of
a caboose, swinging my warning lantern from
side to side. (That image took on a different
feel when I first heard North Carolina's legend
of old Joe Baldwin, a conductor who lost his
head in a tragic train crash, and is forever seeking
it, even to this day.)
The whole train system depends on the wheels
staying on the track. And even on my toy
electric train sets that was a challenge for me.
The cupola was the elevated observation
deck from which the conductor could view
potential problems and signal the engineer.
Even the insides of the cabooses and depot
are decorated with old railroad knick-knacks
and paraphernalia.
The view from the crest of Grassy Creek
Cabooses' hilltop just oozes "tranquility."
This is sunset of our first evening there.
Next blog will reveal the splendor of the
Appalachian sunrise that greeted us the next day.
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