Stop # 30: Swinging Bridge 666 on the Powell River

WOW!!  I visited Stop # 30 today.  My goal was "30 Stops in 30 Days - October 2013 in Lee County, Virginia."  I'm completing that goal on time, with this blog entry!  I'll keep on going to the many, many more stops I'd like to make, all here in Lee County; however, I will certainly slow down the pace while I play catch-up with some paperwork and such.  I sure did have a lot of fun and laughs with friends and family during my memorable "30 Stops in 30 Days - October 2013 in Lee County, Virginia" adventures.  Thank you so very much to all those who joined me along the way!

There are about a dozen public access swinging bridges in Lee County.  "Swinging Bridge 666" is located on State Route 666/ Swinging Bridge Road.  I have walked across this swinging bridge before, but today I only took a few steps out onto the bridge, once I'd climbed all those stairs.

I'm looking rather nervous already!

And I wandered around on a bunch of back roads, simply enjoying the scenery.  Lee County is a beautiful place.  "30 Stops in 30 Days - October 2013 in Lee County, Virginia" was a delightful adventure.

turkeys! 

Stop # 29: Fishing in Trout-Stocked Martins Creek near Rose Hill

Yesterday, Pat Houck and I headed to a trout-stocked section of Martins Creek near Rose Hill.  The weather was wonderful, no rain, switching back and forth between overcast and sunny, and warm enough to very easily enjoy being outdoors.  These visits to Martins Creek, whether it's catching crawdads in a shallow area or catching trout in a deeper area, feel like exotic vacations, practically in our own back yards ("staycations"), since Pat and I both live in Rose Hill.

You do need a fishing license and a trout stamp to fish in part of Martins Creek and part of the North Fork of the Powell River (Lee County's two trout-stocked streams).  The stocking schedule showed that the stream (Martins Creek) where expert fisherwoman Pat Houck caught a beautiful trout yesterday (October 29, 2013) was stocked on October 8, 2013.

Some photos I took yesterday during our outing:

Some photos Pat Houck took yesterday during our outing.... We were having WAY too much fun playing around with Pat's camera.

For more information about Lee County's trout-stocked streams, go to:

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/stock/

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/stock/October52013.asp

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/trout/area-maps/map5.pdf

Stop # 28: St. Charles Coal Miners Memorial Wall on the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail

While my parents were here on Monday, we toured along the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail, which is not only a trail, but also an official Virginia Scenic Byway.  My Grandpa, Frank Minor, who was pictured in a previous blog entry by the old house at Natural Bridge, was a farmer and a coal miner.  He worked in the coal mines at Stonega (Wise County, Virginia), Benedict, Bonnie Blue, Monarch, (all in Lee County, Virginia) and Glenbrook (in Kentucky, near Keokee, Virginia).  We traveled along the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail on State Route 606 from Keokee to Stone Creek and then on to St. Charles, back to Stone Creek, and then up to the Kentucky state line on Highway 421, all on the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail.

We stopped at the St. Charles Coal Miners Memorial Wall.

I took a few photos around the Town of St. Charles.

We went on up through St. Charles to where the Monarch mine entrance was, and Lone Mountain Processing is still there.  There was a train of coal there, upon our arrival.  

Apparently, it was getting loaded, in process, and it was all very loud, but exciting in its own way.  Dad thoroughly enjoyed the stop at the gate of Lone Mountain Processing!

Dad chatted with the guard and he told us that no mines are running in Lee County, Virginia at this time.  The coal we were watching being loaded at this processing center was coming  into Virginia on a conveyor belt from four mines operating in Kentucky.  Seems like he said the conveyor belt was running at least two miles distance.  

After we chatted with the guard, Dad pointed to a display there at the entrance outside the gate, an old coal cart, the type used back when my Grandpa worked in the coal mines.  

 

After we left St. Charles, we turned right at Stone Creek on U.S. Highway 421 and traveled up to the Kentucky state line in Cawood, heading toward Harlan.  I liked the signs we encountered as we came back into Virginia on Highway 421.

For more information about the Virginia Coal Heritage Trail, go to:
http://virginiacoaltrail.com/
http://www.virginia.org/CoalHeritageTrail/
http://www.trailsrus.com/vacoaltrail/lee.html
http://virginiacoaltrail.com/about