Virginia’s “Switzerland” Offers Rural Charm

If getting away means finding an idyllic spot with few people, Highland County is hard to beat.

With only 2,200 people, it’s the least-populated county in Virginia, and much of the East Coast. Highland is tucked away in the western corner of the commonwealth between the Allegheny and the Appalachian mountains.

The headwaters of the James and Potomac rivers are located here. The contrast between high, narrow ridges forested in hardwoods and broad, open valleys makes for spectacular scenery, as well as great places for hiking, biking, and fishing.

The county is best known for maple syrup, sheep and cattle farms, and a Barn Quilt Trail. As its name implies, it also boasts one of the highest mean elevations of any county east of the Mississippi River, which also makes it one of the southernmost places that maple syrup can be made.

Just getting to Highland County takes you through gorgeous territory. If you enter via State Route 39, you go through Goshen Pass, a photographic gorge in Little North Mountain formed by the Maury River.

Originally settled by Scotch/Irish highlanders and German immigrants, Highland is now an eclectic mix of native farm families and new residents drawn to the slower pace of life.

There is one time of year when life is a lot more fast paced in Highland County. In March, up to 30,000 people descend on this out-of-the-way destination for the Maple Syrup Festival.

But there is also plenty to do in the fall. The Highland County Fair is held every Labor Day weekend, and draws the second largest crowd. The fair features animal displays, carnival rides, truck pulls, and a demolition derby.

The Hands & Harvest Festival is held the second weekend in October, featuring arts and crafts as well as pumpkins and apple butter. This year it runs Oct. 8-10, and it’s a great time to see the county’s maple trees in fall color. You can also visit sugar maple camps, scenic back roads, and colorful barn quilt paintings.

Beginning in 2011, Highland County was the first county in Virginia to establish a Barn Quilt Trail, with nearly 60 designs on barns and houses throughout the countryside. With names like “Five Reds” and “Jacob’s Ladder,” each barn quilt tells a story, usually with special meaning about the owner, nature, family, business, or design.

When you follow the Highland County Barn Quilt Trail, you’ll wind your way through scenic back roads. There are also brochures with suggested driving routes, but it’s fun just to wander. Blue Grass, a tiny hamlet in the far north part of the county, is a great place for birders to head in the winter. If you’re lucky, you might spy a golden eagle, while bald eagles often gather along the Jackson River.

To further “tap” into what Highland County is most known for, try the Virginia Maple Syrup Trail passport program. It offers visitors the chance to visit eight sugar camps throughout the year, excluding the busy Maple Festival weeks and weekends, scheduled for March 7-20, 2022.

Visitors are invited to call ahead to the sugar camps, schedule a visit for a tour, taste their syrup, and get a stamp on their passport. After all eight camps are visited, you receive a t-shirt and bumper sticker, but the real incentive is to have more one-on-one interaction with the farmers who run the camps.

Doug Puffenbarger, a third-generation maple farmer, is one of them. Doug’s grandfather started their farm more than 100 years ago, and his father kept the tradition going until his passing two years ago. Doug, who also raises cattle and drives a school bus, misses his father and his help.

Now he taps 700 maple trees, and with his wife, Terri, turns maple sugar water into the magic of maple syrup. “It’s a lot of work, but a pretty good product in the end,” Doug said, adding that he puts maple syrup in his coffee, not just on pancakes.

Depending on the sugar content, it usually takes about 50 gallons or more of sugar water to make one gallon of maple syrup. Ideal conditions for syrup production are nighttime temperatures below freezing and daytime temperatures rising between 40 or 50 degrees.

When Doug was a kid, he said they would start tapping their trees in February and sometimes get sugar water through April. Now, with a warming climate, “you open taps at the end of January and are hoping you make it to March,” he said.

Because the Maple Syrup Festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021, some maple sugar camps, including Puffenbarger’s Sugar Orchard, decided to boost online sales. They ship syrup all over the country, from Washington state to Florida, Doug said.

The sugar camps still rely heavily on business during the Maple Syrup Festival, and Doug said that visitors are spread out through the eight or nine camps that participate so it’s not as crowded as you might think.

Chris Swecker, executive director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, said that is true for all the festivals. Because the county is 416 square miles, there is plenty of room to spread out. There is not, however, plenty of room to stay, so nearly all visitors make it a day trip.

Lodging is limited in the county, especially now, with the Highland Inn in Monterey undergoing renovation. The historic inn likely won’t reopen until 2023, Swecker said.
Swecker noted the chamber is always trying to attract more people to Highland County and added that the pandemic showed that many people can work remotely. “We have really good broadband for our area,” he said. And you can’t get much more remote than Highland, and part of him would like to keep it that way.

A native of the county, Swecker said he came back home after living in Seattle and was astonished as he was reintroduced to the quiet, the dark skies, and the beauty of the mountains. “It’s like taking a step back in time,” he said.

Learn more by visiting www.highlandcounty.org.

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By Shannon Brennan | Photos Courtesy: The Highland County Chamber Of Commerce

A Lynchburg family spends 2021 on the A.T.

On a whim several years ago, Josh Sutton and his wife, Cassie, decided to hop on a plane and travel to the Mount Everest basecamp.

“We had read a book that encourages people to take mini-retirements throughout their life,” Sutton explained. “Since I work in real estate and that leaves my schedule a little more flexible, we looked at flights and found it wasn’t too expensive to travel during the off-season.”

That adventure planted a seed that kept growing as the Suttons later became a family of three. Now, they are off trying to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail by the end of the summer.

Hiking the A.T. is no small feat. Spanning from Georgia to Maine, the approximately 2,000-mile trail takes even the most experienced hikers five to seven months to complete.

But what makes this adventure different is that the Suttons are bringing their 5-year-old son, Harvey, which would make him the youngest hiker to complete the A.T. if they finish.

And the Suttons are planning on it.

“Harvey is entering kindergarten in the fall, and we thought this was the perfect time to do something as a family,” Sutton said.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail has been a family goal for the last four years.

“We spent a lot of weekends training,” Sutton said. “At first, it would start out small by walking on the park trails with Harvey when he was really little and get him used to it. Then as he got older, we would try to go on a big hike every month.”

Alongside their years of training they also saved money. According to Sutton, the average hiker on the trail sets aside at least $1,000 a month. But you also must budget for expenses such as equipment, shoes, and transportation to hostels.

The Suttons started their trek in Georgia in January and were instantly met with snow and ice.

“It was pretty miserable at the beginning,” Sutton said. “I think in the early days we only saw the sun for about three days.”

At first, the trail was a ghost town. But now in the summer months, Sutton says they’ve seen a lot more hikers out and about.

“There’s all kinds of people out here,” he said. “There’s college students, retirees, couples, and people trying to do it solo. We’ve seen some of the same people as we move further up the trail. Most people can’t believe that we’re hiking with a five-year-old.”

But Harvey is taking it in stride.

“Some days I think he’s handling it better than me and my wife,” Sutton jokes. “He’s a champ. We play games with him like the ‘the floor is lava’ or freeze tag with other hikers. It keeps him motivated and focused.”

The family averages 13 miles a day on the trail and starts the day around 6 a.m. with a Cliff bar.

“We carry between [five to eight days] of supplies with us and restock every five days at hostels or in town,” Sutton said. “We carry tents, but on certain parts of the trail there are these three-walled pavilions you can stay in. Some of them have mice running around though and we try to avoid that. Most of the time we find a flat spot on the trail or near water where we set up for the night.”

Over the last several months, they’ve documented their journey through their YouTube channel and Instagram. Because of it, the Suttons have met up with some of their fans. They’ve also met others who simply want to support hikers on the A.T. through “trail magic.”

“It’s been great for Harvey to experience,” Sutton said. “Sometimes, you’ll find a cooler in the river with some extra sodas, or you’ll come off the trail and have people grilling up hot dogs and hamburgers for you.”

Sutton says that’s just what the trail community is all about.

“Everyone is always looking out for each other and paying it forward. It’s a really giving community. We’ve been in towns where people have offered us their cars to get supplies, which is funny because after 10 days without a shower, you’d think people would want to stay away.”

While the community aspect is something the family has enjoyed, another part is being able to unplug from their busy lives.

“When we first started, I was picking up my phone and starting to scroll through apps before I realized I didn’t have service,” Sutton said. “When we crossed through Lynchburg, I had to stop and check in on work and file taxes. It was overwhelming to get plugged in again after living in the woods. It makes you realize that maybe minimal living is the way to go.”

If all goes according to plan, (and so far so good) the Suttons will reach Maine by the end of the summer.

“No, we are not hiking all the way back,” Sutton jokes. “Our family is planning on meeting us at the top so we can celebrate with them and have some time with them to relax. Then we’ll rent a car and drive back to Lynchburg.”

Is this simply the first of many adventures for the family? Sutton says right now, they are simply trying to stay present in the moment.

“We want to finish this one first before we start planning again.”

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FOLLOW ALONG
Find the Sutton family on Instagram
(@LiveSutton) or YouTube (Live Sutton).

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Trail Tips

If you’re feeling inspired to hike the Appalachian Trail, we asked Josh what you may need to get started. Living in Central Virginia, you have a lot of access to great trails. But to become a serious hiker, there’s a lot to consider. Here are his top pieces of advice:

CERTAIN ITEMS ARE HEAVIER THAN YOU THINK—“If you invest in a high-quality sleeping bag, then that’s going to be about a third of your weight [in your backpack],” Sutton says, but added that a good tent and sleeping bag “are where you want to invest your money.”

DO YOUR RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT TO PACK. He suggests a water filter and clothes for all types of weather conditions—“It could start out really cold in the morning and then really hot by the end of the day,” he says. “You have to dress in a lot of layers and plan for rain or snow, depending on the season.”

YOU WILL NEED TO PLAN AHEAD AND TRAIN FOR YOUR HIKE. “When you’re hiking long distances, you’re going to consume more calories, so your diet is very different. You need to eat more dense food with a higher fat complex.”

TRAINING SHOULD INCLUDE CAMPING OFTEN AND IN VARYING LOCATIONS, SO YOU CAN ADJUST TO DIFFERENT TERRAINS AND TEMPERATURES—“That was something we would do very early on with Harvey,” Sutton says. “We’d get him used to sleeping outside and then in the cold or heat.”

GET USED TO SMELLING YOURSELF—“Everything is more enhanced on the trail and there are periods of time where you go without a shower,” Sutton says. “You adjust to more natural smells and then eventually, you can smell people who are just starting out, so you can smell soap before you see people. It’s a weird experience.”

19th Century Engineering Feat on Display

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel” is an apt metaphor as the world slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s also literally true for visitors to the Blue Ridge Tunnel between Afton and Waynesboro.

The restored Blue Ridge Tunnel opened to the public Nov. 21, 2020 and has been a popular hiking destination ever since, with more than 35,000 visitors by mid-March.
Visitors can see all the way through the dark tunnel to the other end, but need flashlights or headlamps to make their way through the nearly mile-long tunnel.

There are two trails to the tunnel (see sidebar on page 122), but parking is very limited so it’s best to avoid weekends for now.

Maureen Kelley, director of the Nelson County Visitor’s Center, said they are working on expanding parking on both sides, but when they began planning the $5.4 million restoration 20 years ago, they had no idea what a destination the area would become.

“When this was engineered in the early 2000s, we had only two wineries,” Kelley said. “We knew it was going to be popular, but, wow!”

She added that the opening couldn’t have come at a better time with the pandemic forcing people to spend more time outdoors. Current regulations ask visitors to wear masks if they are closer than six feet to others.

The tunnel itself took eight years to build, from 1850 to 1858, 700 feet beneath Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, an engineering feat envisioned by Claudius Crozet, a French immigrant who designed the tunnel and was its chief engineer.

While the tunnel is cool—literally an even 50 degrees year-round—the history of the tunnel and the manpower required to create it are the real story. Many say the workers’ toil and loss make the tunnel a sacred place.

The tunnel took about 800 mostly Irish immigrants, who literally left blood and bones inside, eight backbreaking years to build. In an era before dynamite, workers had to pound star drills into solid rock and then fill holes with volatile black powder and fuses. Once the powder detonated, the blast filled the work area with heavy debris.

Cave-ins and unpredictable blasts caused injuries, and at least 14 Irish died in the tunnel. About 190 workers and their family members died from injuries and infectious diseases, such as the 1854 cholera epidemic. Crews on either end toiled to achieve 19 to 20 feet of progress per month.

When the 4,273-foot Blue Ridge Tunnel was completed, it was North America’s longest railroad tunnel and remains the longest constructed with black powder.

Because the tunnel was unable to accommodate larger trains, it was closed in 1944. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway replaced the 86-year-old Blue Ridge Tunnel with an adjacent tunnel at a slightly lower elevation, which visitors can see is still in daily operation. CSX Transportation donated the Blue Ridge Tunnel to Nelson County in 2007.

That gift launched a regional public-private partnership, the Claudius Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel Foundation, composed of representatives from Albemarle, Augusta, and Nelson counties and the City of Waynesboro, as well as several local and state agencies.

For nearly 20 years the groups worked to restore the tunnel as a community landmark and recreational and educational resource. One of the biggest hurdles was stopping the flow of water seeping into the tunnel. Visitors are still greeted with a small waterfall flowing down the rock near the eastern entrance.

Crozet had predicted that the Blue Ridge Tunnel would be finished by 1853, but the unexpected hardness of the rock, especially greenstone on the east side, turned out to be an almost unbeatable opponent.

While the Irish workers, many escaping the Irish potato famine, were grateful for their $1-a-day jobs, they stopped work after cave-ins to protest the danger. Crozet hired about 50 local enslaved African Americans, who had laid the track to the tunnel, to help.

Renting out enslaved workers was a common practice at the time, but to protect their investments, the owners made it clear that their workers would not do the blasting. They cleared flooded ditches, repaired grades, helped build culverts, split stone into ballast, spread ballast, and otherwise readied the Blue Ridge Railroad for traffic. Two enslaved men died from a runaway railcar accident on the Blue Ridge Railroad line in April 1854. A third died in a handcar accident the following month, and the enslaved workers were withdrawn from the site.

None of the many hundreds of Irish men and 65 boys employed on the Blue Ridge Railroad could have accomplished their brutal work without the support and labor of wives, daughters, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers. The women gave birth in primitive conditions, swept shanty floors, gathered firewood, drew water from the springs, cooked, and sent their loved ones off every morning, not knowing if they would return.

Meanwhile, local citizens—most from Augusta County—petitioned the Board of Public Works three times in 1857, insisting that the Virginia Central Railroad finish the passage. Upset by criticism of his management, Crozet found employment elsewhere and formally resigned in January 1858.

The Blue Ridge Tunnel opened to traffic three months later on April 13, 1858. Though Crozet was not among the dignitaries who rode the first train through the passage, his professional expertise and visionary leadership were essential to the Blue Ridge Railroad and other lines built across Virginia in the 1840s and 1850s.

After strolling through the tunnel and imagining the death-defying work required to build it, visitors have a variety of nearby options. They can quench their thirst and hunger at numerous local breweries, wineries, distilleries, and restaurants along Routes 151 and 6 in Nelson County or in Waynesboro.

The tunnel is located near the conjunction of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Shenandoah National Park, with hiking on the nearby Appalachian Trail or at Crabtree Falls.
For a selection of four itineraries with other sights of interest, visit nelsoncounty.com.

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Go Deeper
Check out a new documentary, “The Tunnel,” produced by Ellen Casey Wagner and Paul Wagner, which debuted March 17 on American Focus YouTube.

Savor local foods & drinks produced in the southern gateway to the Shenandoah Valley.

It’s easy to find local foods and drinks on menus throughout Rockbridge County, Virginia, but you can also skip the middleman and go straight to the source. Get out and visit some local producers, from modern farms to historic mills, coffee roasters to craft breweries, cheesemakers to chocolatiers, and you’ll discover award-winning, crave-inducing items so high quality they make even the most refined taste buds swoon.

Wade’s Mill is the oldest continuously-operating commercial grist mill in the Shenandoah Valley. Local grains have been stone-ground the traditional way at this site since 1750. No wonder it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. “Until steam, the mill was the most efficient energy source,” says John Siegfried, owner and miller. He grinds an average of 300 to 400 pounds of grain a day and supplies restaurants in Lexington and other cities in Virginia and Maryland. Grits, cornmeal, flour and other treats—many made of heritage grains—are available for purchase. Explore three floors of historic milling equipment and museum displays.

On Saturdays at select times from April through December, the historic 21-foot iron Fitz overshot water wheel is demonstrated. To linger at this picturesque site, check into the overnight accommodations.

Lexington Coffee Roasters has been named one of the “12 Best Coffee Roasters in the U.S.” by Forbes and “Some of America’s Best Coffee” by USA Today. Its focus is on sourcing top-quality beans from Latin America and Africa. Visit the roastery on Route 11 to see the coffee roasting process, discover innovative brewing processes and equipment, and sip coffee and espresso drinks. Take home some freshly roasted coffee beans and order online when your supply runs low.

Craft beers, wines, and ciders flow in abundance in Rockbridge County with four breweries (all stops along the Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail), four vineyards, and a cidery. On Route 11, Devils Backbone Outpost Tap Room & Kitchen produces more than 120 different beer recipes, all based on European brewing traditions. Enjoy a pint or sampler flight alongside hearty fare at the bar or in the outdoor beer garden.

Great Valley Farm Brewery & Winery (Photo Above: Chris Weisler) produces Belgian-style ales and Cabernet Franc, Gruner Veltliner, Lemberger and Vidal Blanc varietals using ingredients from its 27-acre farm in Natural Bridge. Sip pints or tasting flights against panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In downtown Lexington, Heliotrope Brewery produces what co-owner Erik Jones calls “wild farmhouse beers” using local ingredients. “We even foraged a wild yeast to give the beer terroir.” The beer lineup will change seasonally and cover a range of styles including IPAs, saisons, pilsners, and lagers among others. Savor a 12-ounce pour from a stemmed glass alongside a creative pizza, made to order in the brick oven.

Rockbridge Vineyard & Brewery, a two-time winner of the coveted Virginia Governor’s Cup, produces small-batch wines in a range of styles. Vinifera, hybrid, and native vines grow on 17 acres. Sample through the portfolio in the tasting room then enjoy a glass of your favorite while gazing out at the breathtaking view of Shenandoah Valley. Lexington Valley Vineyard has been handcrafting red and white wines since 1999. Enjoy them by the glass or bottle while relaxing on the deck and gazing out at the 67-acre property. Jump Mountain Vineyard welcomes visitors to its 32-acre farm on Saturdays and Sundays. Enjoy tastings, wines by the glass, or stock up on several bottles of red and white varietals to savor at home.

Sip small batch cider at Halcyon Days Cider Company. This family-owned cidery boasts a stunning labyrinth orchard. Inspired by the legendary labyrinth at France’s Chartres Cathedral, 2,500 dwarf apple trees are planted in a circuit that stretches 1.7 miles from the center to outer edge. Wander through 50 different apple varieties, from heirloom American, modern American, classic Europe, and Central Asian ancestral apple trees. Step into the pavilion for stunning 360-degree views of the Alleghany and Blue Ridge Mountains. All hard ciders are made using Virginia grown apples in a range of tastes from tangy to spicy to sweet.

Cocoa Mill Chocolates has gained a national reputation for its indelible treats, all made Awards and accolades from The Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit, Chocolatier, U.S. Air Magazine, CBS Morning News, The Washington Post, among others. The chocolatier strives for excellence each step of the process—using fair trade chocolate, choosing natural ingredients and freshly hand-crafting confections for each order. Whether you bite into a truffle, gourmet bark, dipped fruit, chocolate-covered pretzel or peppermint, or other treat, trust that it’s made with high-quality ingredients and attentive precision.

Sweet Things Ice Cream Shoppe is Rockbridge County’s only homemade ice cream shop. Its retro décor may spark nostalgia, but its now-antique equipment churns out treats that modern equipment can’t replicate—including homemade waffle cones. “We’ve been in business since 1982, but our waffle irons date back to the 1950s,” says owner Chris Williams. And that aroma will get your mouth watering the moment you step into the door! The best-selling cookies and cream flavor ice cream is dark brown, not the usual white, thanks to the fact that this ice cream machine can crunch and crumble a whole lot more real Oreo cookies than modern machines. Flavors like mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, banana, black raspberry, and dozens more—scooped into cones, sundaes, shakes, and other treats—lure locals and visitors alike. Grownups, don’t miss the Guinness beer-flavored ice cream.

Try Wildlife Refuges Off-Season

Fall, winter and spring can provide the best beach time, especially when a pandemic requires us to keep our distance from each other.

Sunrises come later and sunsets come earlier. Dolphins still play in the waves and crabs scuttle across the beach.

For bikers, hikers, paddlers and surf fishers, the weather can be balmy or brisk, but not suffocating, and for birders, it’s the best time of year.

Virginia’s Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1938 to protect migratory and wintering waterfowl, supports up to 10,000 snow geese and a large variety of ducks and other waterfowl during the annual peak migration, usually in December and January.

The refuge encompasses nearly 10,000 acres of beach, dunes, woodlands of live oak and loblolly pines, farm fields and marshes, along with the freshwaters of Back Bay.

Located just north of North Carolina, this coastal refuge also provides habitat for threatened and endangered species including sea turtles and piping plovers, small shorebirds that are declining rapidly.

More than 300 species of birds have been observed at Back Bay, primarily during winter months. Mammals include river otters, mink, opossums, raccoons, foxes, and white-tailed deer.

Canals provide a glimpse of venomous cottonmouth snakes, swimming across the water, along with brown and northern watersnakes. On warm days, a variety of turtles, including red-bellied, painted, eastern mud, and snapping, may warm themselves on logs or lurk beneath the surface.

This slender strip of land is covered in common reeds, which can reach 15 feet in height, providing cover for many animals, including humans as they stroll along boardwalks.

Groundsel or sea myrtle, with lovely white flowers, attracts butterflies and other pollinators, and provides seeds for birds.

Wax myrtle, a traditional source of wax for bayberry candles, is a favorite of the
wintering yellow-rumped warbler.

On a visit in October, the refuge was full of yellow in the form of goldenrod and smooth beggarticks. Great Plains lady’s tresses, a spiky plant with white blossoms, and blue mistflowers, could be spied along the trail.

Entrance to the refuge is just south of Sandbridge, a long narrow barrier island, 16 miles south of Virginia Beach.

We stayed at an Airbnb at Surfside at Sandbridge, an RV resort, just north of the refuge and enjoyed views from our canal-side porch. For dinner, we ordered takeout from the nearby Baja Restaurant with its many seafood options. For a breakfast treat, the homemade doughnuts at the Sandbridge Seaside Market are not to be missed.

A short stroll from our Airbnb mobile home took us to the Atlantic Ocean, where only a handful of people splashed along the water’s edge, tossed in a fishing line, or flew kites.
A five-minute car ride took us to the entrance to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Outdoor trails are open a half hour before sunrise and a half hour after sunset, and there is no entry fee from Nov. 1 to April 1.

All vehicles must park at the visitor center, which was closed due to COVID-19. To protect wildlife, no dogs are allowed in the refuge.

From the parking area, folks can walk along boardwalks to Back Bay or to the ocean. You can also bike or hike the four-mile trail to False Cape State Park or continue to the North Carolina line for an 8.8-mile trek one-way.

Several adventurous types were backpacking into False Cape, where primitive tent camping is available for a complete getaway.

While at Sandbridge, we couldn’t resist a trip north to Kiptopeke State Park, where the annual hawk migration count was underway. To get to the eastern shore, you must traverse the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which is an amazing experience in itself.

The Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a four-lane 20-mile-long vehicular toll crossing that provides direct access from southeastern Virginia to the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware plus the Maryland and Virginia Eastern Shore).

Spectacular views of the Chesapeake Bay along the bridges also offer glimpses of brown pelicans and black-backed gulls, the largest gulls in the world. As you take two plunges under the bay in two separate tunnels, you appreciate the engineering required to disappear under the water as giant cargo ships ply overhead.

As you leave the bridge, you enter the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most important avian migration funnels in North America. This 1,100-acre refuge is the scene of a spectacular drama as millions of songbirds and thousands of monarch butterflies and raptors converge on their journey south. Favorable weather patterns push migrating species through the area in waves.

Numerous tree swallows swirl overhead and monarch butterflies float aloft. Protected habitats such as these provide critical stopover areas where birds, monarchs, and dragonflies can rest and feed before resuming their arduous journey.

We saw several sharp-shinned and a handful of cooper’s hawks and bald eagles at the refuge before continuing on to Kiptopeke. While it turned out to be a slow day for migrating raptors, we saw hundreds of pine siskins and a dozen red-breasted nuthatches, northern species which only venture south when there is a poor seed crop in Canada.

Another winter getaway awaits near the Maryland state line at Assateague Island National Seashore, famous for its wild ponies and the annual summer roundup at Chincoteague.

To our south, the Outer Banks of North Carolina are also thick with off-season delights. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge offers some of the best winter birding.

The refuge is 13 miles long and covers 5,834 acres of land, located on the north end of Hatteras Island. The bird list for Pea Island boasts more than 365 species; the wildlife list has 25 species of mammals, 24 of reptiles, and five of amphibians.

These refuges are among 567 National Wildlife Refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, many along the East Coast.

No matter what coastal wildlife refuge or state park you choose, you have many choices for outdoor activities, wildlife viewing, and the peace and serenity of open spaces.

APPOMATTOX NATIVE AND FRENCH-TRAINED CHEF TRANSFORMS A MAGNIFICENT NEOCLASSICAL HOME, ONCE IN A STATE OF DISREPAIR, INTO A ONE-OF-A-KIND B&B

Violet-eyed film icon Elizabeth Taylor knew how to make an entrance—on screen and off. In the grand foyer of the Truitt House in downtown Suffolk, I can’t help but imagine an impossibly bejeweled Taylor elegantly descending the shallow steps of the home’s exquisite floating staircase. She may have done just that when she visited the mansion along with her sixth husband, would-be U.S. Senator John Warner.

No doubt many distinguished guests have graced the building’s stately neoclassical portico—defined by six massive white pillars—since it was originally completed in 1909 by lumber tycoon George W. Truitt. Truitt reportedly positioned the house such that it would be the first thing visible to people disembarking at Suffolk’s bustling passenger train station, so perhaps he had a flair for the dramatic entrance himself.

Luckily, these days you needn’t be Hollywood royalty nor wealthy magnate to enjoy the Truitt House, which has been transformed into a one-of-a-kind bed and breakfast as spectacular as it is warm and welcoming. Its proprietor and patron saint, Ruth Baker, not only calls the house home—she occupies the third floor that was once a ballroom—she is its sole keeper, resident chef and delightfully loquacious host.

“This is where it gets real,” Baker tells me in the middle of the foodie’s dream that is her tricked-out kitchen on the first floor. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, Baker prepares gourmet meals here for her guests, occasionally her fun-loving French neighbors and probably anyone who asks nicely enough. She seems like the sort of person who would whip up a perfect beef bourguignon just because someone wondered aloud how to spell it. But this kitchen was far from dreamy when she first laid eyes on it seven years ago.

“He thinks the house found me,” Baker says of architect Seth Ballard of Ballard+Mensua Architecture. He was instrumental in restoring the grandeur of this hidden gem, just off Main Street in a town whose historic charm and peanut fame bely a growing culinary and cultural scene. If it weren’t for a virtual tour that mysteriously popped up on her computer and Ballard’s declaration that he’d never seen the home’s equal, Baker might not have made the leap of faith—she would probably call it a temporary lapse of sanity—that led her to purchase the delipidated 8,500-square-foot home for $440,000 in 2012.

She made a promise to her late husband before he passed away that she would pursue her dream of earning a culinary degree, and she did. Owning a bed and breakfast was next up on the Bucket List. She had four appointments scheduled to view properties in Lynchburg, near her hometown of Appomattox, when fate called her to an auction in Suffolk. The next thing she knew, she was the owner of a beautiful behemoth with distinctive echoes of Jefferson’s Monticello. Then came the list of repairs and replacements that soon proved longer than War and Peace.

Fast forward many nights without electricity, at least one mysteriously crashing chandelier and a revolving door of contractors who overpromised and underdelivered. She finally opened to the public in fall 2019. And then—COVID. When people asked her, and they often did, why she took on such an all-consuming and expensive project, her go-to response was, “I must be bat-shit crazy.” The phrase became a mantra of sorts, so much so that a friend gifted her with a framed plaque commemorating it. Faith and a sense of humor, she says, got her through. The stunning results speak to her tenacity as well as the talent and vision of Ballard, who also convinced her to establish a 501c3 nonprofit for the building’s long-term upkeep.

While the coronavirus pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for travelers and the hospitality industry alike, one could hardly ask for an enchanting getaway more friendly to social distancing—or friendly in general—than the Truitt House. “Spacious” is an understatement for a home with nine fireplaces. With accommodations for a maximum of 10 overnight guests in four bedrooms separated by a large landing on the second floor, you are welcome to luxuriate in comfort as far from others as suits your fancy.

All four bedrooms have stunningly renovated private bathrooms, bedecked in Italian marble—two in a cool, calming jade tone and two in classic black and white—accented by a pattern inspired by a quilt belonging to Baker’s grandmother. New Tiffany light fixtures with oblong crystals perfectly mimic the shape of those on the original bedroom overheads. Room prices range from $140 to $250 per night for the king suite with adjoining sitting room, handsomely appointed with overstuffed leather sofa and chairs and access to a wide, shallow balcony overlooking the home’s solid marble front porch.

The marble trim that surrounds the home’s base is one of its many unique exterior and structural features. Large steel supporting beams in the basement and elsewhere are virtually unheard-of in private homes of the era. The exterior walls are four bricks thick—or 16 inches—and had to be painstakingly repointed. Another marble porch outside the back door leads to the home’s original carriage house, still in a state of disrepair, but which Baker envisions someday being transformed into a restaurant.

The overnight guest price includes a cooked-to-order breakfast from the chef herself, a yogurt parfait with house-made granola if you prefer a lighter start, or whatever satisfies your dietary needs or heart’s desire. But believe me when I say you should accept Baker’s offer, as my husband and I did on our recent visit, of traditionally prepared Eggs Benedict—sinfully silky Hollandaise drizzled over expertly poached Happy Eggs, Wright Bacon and English muffins served with creamy parmesan polenta.

Chilled water, coffee and other beverages are available 24/7 in the butler’s pantry fit for a king. One of the most charming rooms in the house, it has been beautifully updated with custom cabinetry and countertops made from 200+-year-old Blackwater sinker cypress, while captivating original details such as the tiny double-door plate warmer built into the antique radiator harken back to meals prepared here over the last century. The warm wood and sun-lit Eastern exposure of the adjoining breakfast room beckon visitors for coffee and conversation any hour of the day.

The main area of the first floor features a huge formal dining room and living room, joined by the foyer to form an even bigger entertainment space that opens on either side to two terraces that flank the building. Fourteen-foot ceilings and Palladian windows large enough to walk through—or dance a conga line through as Baker recalls happened at a certain New Year’s Eve party—bathe the rooms in natural light and give the entire space an open, modern feeling. In the living room is a small musician’s mezzanine accessible by a tiny, winding staircase, from which performers once would have entertained party guests.

Perhaps the most fascinating room in the house is the octagonal study, aka library or “Decoy Room,” as Baker has dubbed it in honor of a single antique wooden duck decoy displayed there and given to her by well-known Eastern Shore collector Tommy O’Connor. The room’s floor, trim and mantle are crafted from incredibly rare curly pine, in this case thought to be sourced from a single tree and distinguished by its psychedelic burled pattern. An original oil painting permanently mounted above the fireplace, Art Nouveau light fixture, rich emerald green walls and four sets of French doors complete the ambience.

The study, like the rest of the home, is filled with an eclectic mix of furnishings, décor and conversation pieces. Inspired by Benjamin Moore’s Williamsburg Paint Color Collection, the interior walls and, in some cases, the ceilings have been given a colorful makeover from the beige-on-beige bland Baker inherited. Now there are brilliant golds, deep corals, comforting blues and various shades of Mr. Truitt’s favorite, green. She recalls many a late night perched on paint scaffolding with the help of friends who shared her wonder at seeing the space come to life, including decorator Jerry Freeman, General Manager of Artéé Fabrics, who provided expertise on the overall interior design.

There’s plenty to explore within walking distance of the Truitt House’s location caddy-corner to the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society. Don’t miss The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, The Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum, The Riddick’s Folly House Museum and historic Cedar Hill Cemetery. Check out Uncork’d, a delightful nearby wine shop, or head over two blocks to Nansemond Brewing Station to get your IPA or oatmeal stout fix. If outdoor adventures are your thing, plan a kayak route or hike through nearby Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge.

If you’re looking to eat out, and you should, Harper’s Table, Sushi Aka and The General Public are just a few of Baker’s recommendations. At the Truitt House, however, eating in is just as tasty a proposition, if not more so. Chef Baker will design a menu to your liking, priced accordingly, lovingly prepared and freshly served for you and your fellow guests.

When my husband and I visited, she was kind enough to treat us to a fabulous four-course feast that began with an amuse-bouche of tomato and nectarine with goat cheese and balsamic reduction and continued with a classic Caesar salad with anchovies that has absolutely ruined me forever on substandard restaurant versions. The main event was a fish dish called Filet de Truitte à La Grenobloise or Sautéed Trout, Grenoble Style, perfectly crisped in brown butter and singing a diva-worthy citrus high note of lemon and capers. She topped it all off with a Vanilla-Brandied Cherry Ice Cream Bomb with a crust made from cocoa, ground pistachios and graham crackers. The bomb indeed.

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Make your own dramatic entrance at the Truitt House this fall and beyond—and be sure to bring your appetite. The Truitt House is located at 204 Bank Street in Suffolk. Book a stay, request a gourmet meal or plan a special event by visiting TheTruittHouse.com.

Seven Unique Destinations for Virginia Beer Lovers

With Lynchburg experiencing its own brewery boom, you may have beer on the brain when considering your next weekend road trip. Belly up to this tour of Virginia breweries, all located in historic, repurposed spaces. We’ll take you inside old schools, a bus station, a movie theater, a barn and even a Western Auto.

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Bristol Station Brews & Taproom
41 Piedmont Ave, Bristol
276-608-1220, bristolbrew.com

Ken Monyak opened what is now called Bristol Station Brews & Taproom in 2015 at a former Greyhound bus station on Piedmont Avenue in downtown Bristol. The station opened in 1936, and, though closed for more than 30 years, it still features some original architecture.

“We were able to get the original drawings for the building,” Monyak says. “So we know what the original configuration of the bus station was.”

With plans in hand, Monyak began brewing beer at the former food counter and set up a bar at what was once a ticket counter. “We tried to put it back where it was in 1937,” Monyak says, “but with the thought process that it was being a brewery.”

Bristol Station’s most popular brands include Piedmont Pilsner and California or Bust, a New England–style IPA.

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Box Office Brewery
177 E. King St., Strasburg
540-233-3353, boxofficebrewery.com

Tom Price serves suds where couples once witnessed westerns and romances. Standing on Strasburg’s bustling East King Street, the Box Office Brewery occupies the former Strand Theatre, one of the oldest movie houses in Shenandoah County.

The front lobby was constructed in 1918; the theater was added in 1920 and remained open until 1959. Unfortunately, some walls caved in due to decay, says Price, the brewery’s co-owner. “We saved the old stage lumber,” he adds.

The owners also saved six murals plus 150 movie posters that had been discovered in the attic.

Today, the staff serves Curtain Call Coconut Porter and Goldie Hawn Ale on what looks like old movie reels.

“We saved every possible thing from the theater,” Price says. “And we try to stick to the movie theme as much as we could. It’s turned into a destination. And it’s been fun to watch.”

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Moon Hollow Brewing Company
4237 Prices Fork Rd., Blacksburg
540-505-2293, moonhollowbrewing.com

What was once a kindergarten classroom now serves as a beer bar for the Moon Hollow Brewing Company of Blacksburg.

Open since January, this brewery occupies space inside the old Prices Fork Elementary School, a building that has also been carved into apartments for seniors age 65 and up.

“We generally get more business from young parents and middle-aged adults,” says Liz Aker, a pourer at Moon Hollow. “And all of our beer names are themed to the moon and astronomical things and astronomy.”

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Wild Wolf Brewing Company
2461 Rockfish Valley Highway, Nellysford
434-361-0088, wildwolfbeer.com

In the beer-rich community of Nelson County, brewers count clear mountain water among the assets for making great beer. That’s certainly the story at Wild Wolf Brewing Company, where you’ll find a restaurant inside the former Rockfish Valley School, open from 1910 to 1939. The adjacent brewery produces such flavors as Blonde Honey, a customer favorite.

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Molly’s Bicycle Shop & Molly’s Blind Dog Brewery
4515 W. Hundred Rd., Chester
804-530-9022, mollysbicycleshop.com

Molly’s Blind Dog Brewery takes its name from a nearly-blind, completely deaf Australian Shepherd. “She is a dog,” says the brewer, Chad Ritter. “She’s here just about every day.”

In Chester, the staff answers the phone “Molly’s Bikes and Brews.” And the top-selling beers include Strawberry Single Track Blonde.

Open since 2019, this microbrewery sits inside Molly’s Bicycle Shop, which is housed in a re-purposed commercial building that was once a scuba diving shop, just a few miles outside of downtown Richmond.

“There are no walls,” Ritter says. “It’s bikes and beers right up in here.”

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Stable Craft Brewing
81 Livery Lane, Waynesboro
540-490-2609, stablecraftbrewing.com

Right in the middle of a horse farm, Craig Nargi brews beer in Augusta County. He bought the farm in 2006 and opened the brewery in 2016. He’s also transformed it into a wedding venue.

Look for a dozen beers on tap inside a barn. All the while, you’ll hear horses. “We still have an active stable,” Nargi says. “We still have horses. It’s still a working farm.”

Nargi grows five types of hops. “And we use all of our hops in our beer,” he says. “We use sort of a flat-base recipe. So we complement that recipe with different hops that the brewery wants to explore. It’s sort of like our hops are the brown sugar in a chocolate chip cookie recipe.”

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Twin Creeks Brewing Company
111 S. Pollard St., Vinton and
1 Old Salem Turnpike (Explore Park), Roanoke
540-400-0882, twincreeksbrewing.com

Twin Creeks Brewing Company operates two locations in the scenic Roanoke Valley. In Vinton, you’ll find the original brewery inside what was once a Western Auto. And, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Twin Creeks operates inside Explore Park at a historic tavern.

“They are about 15 minutes apart, but they’re completely different atmospheres,” says co-owner Andy Bishop. “The Vinton one is at a downtown location. And the one at Explore Park is like a very rustic, outdoor getaway setting.”

The Explore Park location opened in 2019 inside the Brugh’s Tavern, built in the 1700s at a site just off U.S. 11 at Troutville. The tavern was moved about 30 years ago. “There have been a couple of restaurants there over the years, but we are the first brewery,” Bishop says.

Now, the catchphrase says, “From Brugh to Brew,” Bishop says. “We make Brugh’s Brew and Brughgrass Ale.”

Virginia’s Pony Herds

Darcy Cole takes off down a trail on Assateague Island in Virginia’s far northeastern corner. Here, she hunts horses.

And when she sees one? She starts shooting. Over and over. With a camera.

This photographer captures the famous Chincoteague Ponies in pictures and promotes these ponies with calendars, an identification book, baseball caps and T-shirts that showcase their beauty—and their beautiful surroundings in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island.

“I’m trying to do this as a business,” says Cole. “But I would do this anyway, because I just like to be out there and watch them.”

Cole likes seeing the babies. As many as 70 are born each year among this breed, she says.

But it takes work. Cole is gone for several hours a day—about 300 days a year—on treks that range from six to 16 miles, venturing to see the northern herd that chomp on grass and salt marsh in a seaside oasis just below the Maryland border.

“I describe it more as a passion,” Cole says. “I document the herd. I take lots of notes, so when a mare has a foal, I can look back at my notes last year and can tell who the probable sire is.”

However, the origin of the Chincoteague Ponies isn’t as well documented.

One story says the breed stems from a Spanish galleon that wrecked off the coast, and the ponies came galloping out of the sea onto the island. Still more say the ponies originated from early Virginians who let their horses graze on Assateague.

Cole subscribes to both theories, saying she feels the ponies must have come from a mixture.

“We know for sure that there was a shipwreck,” Cole says. “And we know that new ponies started showing up on the tax records after that shipwreck.”

While the Chincoteague Ponies are her passion (dating back to 2013), Cole has twice trekked to the other side of the state to search for Virginia’s other wild pony breed.
“They have a lot of lookalikes that look like ours,” Cole says of the Grayson Highlands Ponies. “Their ponies are smaller, and they have some colors that we don’t have. And the terrain is very different. So it’s a real contrast between the flat terrain and the mountain terrain.”

The Grayson Highlands Ponies are an increasingly famous breed in Grayson County, just above the North Carolina border in Southwest Virginia. These rock hopping horses live in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and adjacent Grayson Highlands State Park in what you might call an inverse environment compared to the marshy sea-level sands of Assateague.

Not much bigger than miniature horses, the Grayson Highlands Ponies stand about four feet tall and forage for food by nibbling grasses that grow between rocky outcrops at elevations nearly a mile in the sky.

These ponies arrived in 1974, thanks to horse breeder Bill Pugh, who put the horses on the mountain environment to help keep the bald areas open.

Those bald areas—crossed by the Appalachian Trail—were created when large-scale logging took place in this area about a century ago.

“But there’s not near as much grass on top of that mountain as there used to be,” says Wilburn Ridge Pony Association President Brother Moore. “There are hundreds of acres up there that used to have grass, and it’s gone.”

According to Moore, their ponies are scattered.

“And they just go wherever they want to. They can go from Elk Garden plum to Troutdale. There are no fences to stop them,” he says.

The Chincoteague Ponies have become a tourist attraction over time. However, this year, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, large-scale gatherings have been canceled, and that means there will be few if any spectators at the annual pony swim, held on the last Saturday of July, when “Saltwater Cowboys” of the Eastern Shore round up Chincoteague Ponies to swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island.

In turn, the annual pony auction is being held online (July 23-29), as a way to continue a tradition that began in 1924, says Denise Bowden, spokeswoman for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.

The auction thins out the herd and raises money for the fire department. But, due to the coronavirus, the annual carnival in Chincoteague will not be held, resulting in as much as a $500,000 loss for the fire department, Bowden says.

Each year, like the “Saltwater Cowboys” of Chincoteague’s fire department, members of the Wilburn Ridge Pony Association round up the youngest ponies and then put them up for auction.

Proceeds from the auction help pay for the remaining herd, as well as raise money for local fire departments at Troutdale and Rugby.

Unfortunately, the auctions of the past few years have been plagued by varmints: Coyotes are often to blame for the killing of young ponies—between their births in spring and when the auction arrives during the Grayson Highlands Fall Festival in late September.

“Coyotes get the best part of them,” Moore says. “They’ll just be disappearing a few at a time.”

Either breed—Chincoteague or Grayson Highlands—have about 150 in total; those numbers are kept in control by auctions.

On sale, a Chincoteague Pony might fetch $4,000. One pony sold for $25,000 in 2015.

Grayson Highlands Ponies sell for a few hundred bucks. And one has gone for as low as $35.

“We used to have a lot of dealers come there and buy a whole load,” Moore says. “And now it’s just individual people buying one.”

You don’t have to be in the market for a pony to take in the beauty of these mysterious animals. But there are some words of advice from locals.

The small ponies of the High Country are given dietary supplements during winter. But they are often also given treats by travelers on trails—what’s considered a no-no among officials at Grayson Highlands State Park.

“We recommend that you do not feed them anything at all,” says Theresa Tibbs, an office manager at Grayson Highlands State Park.

Healthy snacks such as carrots and apples can have dangerous chemicals, Tibbs says. “So we ask people to not feed them. It’s on signs and in brochures.”

Another thing: These shaggy creatures may appear playful. But be forewarned, Tibbs says. “Even though they come up to people, they really are wild. And people need to respect that.”

BURKE’S GARDEN PROVIDES A QUAINT AND QUIET GETAWAY

A trip to Burke’s Garden is a trip back in time. Located in remote Tazewell County in Southwest Virginia, this farming community includes 14 Amish families who still rely on horse and buggies and foot-powered scooters for transportation.

Before you enter the valley, you are encouraged to get gas at the intersection of Virginia routes 61 and 623, where old-fashioned pumps require motorists to pay inside. There are no gas stations, or even stoplights, in Burke’s Garden. Route 623 winds through deciduous forests on the north side of Garden Mountain and is the only paved road into the valley. (If you come in the gravel road from the south, it’s suggested you bring a chainsaw.)

The name Burke’s Garden conjures a fertile place full of flowers and vegetables, and while there are some big gardens and a greenhouse, this unique spot in Southwest Virginia is mostly a cattle-farming community.

Vast fields for grazing extend as far as the eye can see when viewed from the southwestern rim of this valley, often called “God’s Thumbprint.” The valley is circled by Garden Mountain and sits 3,100 feet above sea level, making it the highest valley in the state.

My husband and I hiked the 1.5-mile section on the Appalachian Trail to Chestnut Knob for a spectacular view of the valley. The AT continues along the spine of Garden Mountain on its southern rim. The mountains around it rise to 4,408 feet on the ridge of Beartown Wilderness.

The oval, bowl-like valley was once the bed of an ancient sea. About 8.5 miles long and four miles wide, the valley resembles a large volcanic crater, but it was actually formed when underground limestone caverns collapsed. Limestone is reflected in the milky color of the streams that flow through the landscape.

If you are looking for a quiet getaway in a peaceful setting, this is the spot. A few folks have Airbnb rentals, including Tamra Blackburn, who lives just outside the valley. In late September, we spent a lovely three-day weekend in her “Cabin at Little Creek” with a view of the backside of Garden Mountain. Barred owls and screech owls serenaded us at night before we drove into the valley to enjoy one of the darkest skies in the state. The Milky Way shone brightly across the 180-degree sky.

Amish families don’t use electricity and the 300 or so folks who live in the valley are scattered. There are no streetlights or stadiums to pollute the night sky with too much light, making it a perfect spot for amateur astronomers.

We visited Burke’s Garden for its annual Fall Festival, held the last Saturday in September, which attracts nearly 10,000 visitors to this corner of the state. More than 100 vendors sold crafts, art, and food, while local bands played country and bluegrass at the Burke’s Garden Community Center.

Colorful pocketbooks, dresses, brightly painted pumpkins, and waist-high carvings of bears were among the homemade items for sale. Barbecue sandwiches, grilled corn-on-the-cob, warm glazed donuts, and hand-churned ice cream satisfied hungry visitors. Pumpkins, winter squash, mums, and honey were on sale at nearby Rolling Gardens Farm.

Sara White, who has organized the festival for the last two years, said she would like to see it grow even bigger. A native of Burke’s Garden, White said the festival, which just celebrated its 32nd year, used to have more local participants. “When I was little, everybody’s house had something set up,” she said. White would like to increase local participation again. Most of the vendors are from outside of the valley—from nearby hamlets or even West Virginia and North Carolina. Proceeds from the festival help pay for the bands and upkeep of the community center.

We enjoyed the festival, but we also liked the quieter day before, when we ate a buffet dinner at the General Store, run by an Amish family from Ohio. Skylights provided the primary light indoors as the sun sank behind the mountains, and chicken cooked in a smoker outside near the porch, where we ate. The store is full of jams, jellies, candies, and other items produced by Amish in Ohio, while the local, warm homemade bread melts in your mouth.

Mattie’s Place is the only other store and restaurant in Burke’s Garden, located off Gose Mill Road. Her selection of breads is even larger and her breakfasts and lunches are popular among locals and visitors alike. Bicycles are also available for rent at her store.

The Burke’s Garden Artisan Guild is a new arts cooperative that features handmade art of some 40 local artists including giant hex signs, colorful quilts, paintings, wood carvings, and other pieces. Many of the barns around the valley display hex signs.

The clearest symbol of Amish culture, however, is the horse and buggy, which serves as the primary means of propulsion for these people, who speak Pennsylvania German, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch. Schoolchildren use scooters to travel to and from their small schoolhouse in their traditional clothing.

In the 1990s, a small number of Amish families moved to Burke’s Garden, but later they moved out after being unable to purchase enough land and attract enough other Amish families to form a viable community. In recent years, the Amish have returned to Burke’s Garden and have a thriving community.

Long before their arrival, however, the area was occupied by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. Burke’s Garden was first surveyed by Europeans in 1748. One of the surveying party, James Burke, is said to have thrown away or planted some potato peelings while cooking around a campfire. A year later, when the party returned, they found a bumper crop of potatoes. The area was dubbed Burke’s Garden as something of a joke, but the name stuck.

In the late 19th century, agents for the Vanderbilt family tried to buy land for a large estate in Burke’s Garden. Nobody wanted to sell, and the Vanderbilts instead constructed their Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina.

A National Historic District, Burke’s Garden boasts a Lutheran Church dating to 1871, along with its 180-year-old cemetery.

Burke’s Garden is a popular spot in October, when the mountains blaze with fall color. Winter can be harsh and almost impossible to get in and out during snowstorms. It’s often 10 degrees cooler in this high valley than in the lower ones nearby, which can make it a lovely place to visit in the spring or summer as well.

Bird watchers will find spring and fall migrants as well as year-round residents, including bald eagles.

Whether you come to birdwatch, hike, bike, stargaze, or visit the Fall Festival, Burke’s Garden is a quiet retreat to a slower pace of life, where it’s perfectly acceptable to do nothing at all.

A 1963 Econoline serves as the backdrop to Debbie Sirockman’s desk at Virginia Found Goods, a giant warehouse filled with, well, just about everything. The difference between antiques and junk, she says, is that antiques are “authentic vintage.”

“Almost everything in here is one-of-a-kind,” Sirockman said of the stock in her warehouse, which she opened two years ago just outside of Altavista.

Displays of antique cameras, toys, kitchen items, tools, furniture, and countless odds and ends fill the warehouse.

The Econoline is not for sale. Neither is an old Airstream, but both are imposing props that entertain customers.

Her shop was one of several stops I made one November day as I ventured out to learn about the art of “antiquing.” Whether you want to make it a daytrip, or a weekend getaway, experts like Sirockman say authentic “antiquing” really is all about the hunt—and you might have to leave your zip code.

A native of New Jersey, Sirockman searches far and wide for her own treasures. Flea markets, garage sales, salvage, and estate sales are primary sources, from places as far away as Italy and Amsterdam.

At Lou’s Antique Mall in Amherst, my next stop, Nancy Simmons said their visitors have come from Russia, France, Wales, and England. The Russian visitor was looking for old soul albums, she said.

The mall concept allows a variety of dealers to work from one location. At Lou’s, Simmons said about 12 dealers sell a variety of goods, and each dealer usually has a specific focus. Lou’s has an even larger store in Danville.

Simmons said at their store, they have seen a resurgence in the furniture market. “Right now furniture is a big seller, especially the old oak,” she said.

The shop is full of large farm tables, buffets, Amish furniture, hall trees, and even an old ice box.

“Just about everything goes through a slump, then it comes back out,” she said. “People like unusual things. They love the jumble. They never know what they will find.”

That treasure hunt aspect is what keeps many people coming back, sometimes week after week, as dealers bring in new items all the time.

At Bell Treasures in Bedford, my third stop, I ran into vendor Terri Foster who is always adding new items to her booth. She’s been selling there for nine years. “I feel like you’re cheating if you find it on eBay,” she said.

Many people use the internet to get an idea of what an antique is likely to sell for, which is an excellent place to start, but there is nothing like finding something you want in person. It’s also easier to assess what shape an item is in.

Cheryl Reynolds, another vendor at Bell Treasures, said small things are popular in their two-level store. Primitive items such as braided rugs and dolls are popular, as are mid-century modern pieces. Quilts, crafts, vintage clothes, paintings, and toys fill every nook and cranny.

Because of its proximity to the National D-Day Memorial, Bell Treasures has a section of World War II items, including uniforms, and often gets shoppers who have visited the memorial. Reynolds said one young shopper from Normandy told her he had met his American wife at the memorial.

Bell Treasures also sees a lot of local shoppers who come in frequently because new items come in almost daily. Miranda Laucella, 22, was recently examining shelves and admitted she does more looking than buying.

“You never know what you’re going to find,” she said, noting that her mother got her into antiquing.

Art Dodd, owner of Estates Revisited in Lynchburg, worked for Estate Specialists until it closed seven years ago. When he opened his own store on Lynchburg’s Main Street, he had a good understanding of what sells. He is in the business of buying whole estates, as well as putting items on consignment.

Bedroom furniture, especially queen and twin beds, are popular, as well as small end tables, he said. For the kitchen, farmhouse tables made from reclaimed wood by a local carpenter can be ordered at Dodd’s store. Any furniture made from solid wood sells well because customers know it’s not going to fall apart, he added.

Many items in antique stores aren’t truly antiques, but college students and first-time apartment dwellers aren’t concerned with age, as much as affordability, Dodd said.

Glassware, including china, crystal, and stemware is very difficult to sell, as are any collectibles.

“Nobody’s collecting anymore,” he said. “The younger generation is into more minimal décor.”

While Lynchburg’s downtown has several antique shops, they all have their own niche. In addition to furniture and primitive cabinets, Dodd said vintage local artwork is popular, even if the artists are not well-known.

Vintage postcards and scenes of the city also sell well.

Regional books are in demand, including Allen Chambers’ Lynchburg: An Architectural History. “That’s the one everybody hunts for,” Dodd said.

Aside from the thrill of the hunt, antique shops provide the ultimate in reuse. Back at Virginia Found Goods in Hurt, salvage is big these days, Sirockman said, noting that corbels are popular. These shops also offer value—for example, a new door from a big box store can easily cost $400, while a solid oak salvaged door might only be $100 and last years longer, she said.

Sirockman said perusing is often times the point. People who spend a day visiting antique shops often want a single, smaller item or just enjoy walking down memory lane. Some search for pieces in a china pattern that matches one they inherited.

So whether someone actually finds a treasure they are looking for, an antique store is sure to bring back childhood memories and provide a peek at the past. “Sometimes it just therapy,” Sirockman said.