Days 23 & 24: Into Southern Virginia

Thursday, May 26 Addendum: There were those of you that heard about a tornado watch where we were.  Thursday there was one, but it did not interrupt our evening with friends because the storm was to the northeast of where we were.  It was interesting though that regularly scheduled programming on television was cancelled and there was constant weather coverage because of the area involved.  Friday morning at about 5 Chuck woke up to thunder and then thought he heard it raining--which it did do in great quantities.  Karen had ear plugs in and didn't hear a thing.

Friday, May 27:  We spent the day with our good friends Rick and Sue and their son Billy (Will).  It was just a day of listening, eating, resting, and playing cards.  This was the first day that the temperature was below 90--in fact it was below 80.  Rick and Sue have a very nice deck and we were able to sit and enjoy the sound of birds and the wind in the trees--so delightful after over 2 weeks of very hot and humid weather.  Many of you prayed for Billy (he spent 7 months in the hospital--7 weeks on a ventilator, with Covid).  He is making progress and was able to be off oxygen for 15 minutes and not have his blood oxygen go below 90.  This is so very good.  He is able to walk some without a walker.  His goal is to be back at work by the January 2023.

Saturday, May 28: We traveled from Charlotte, NC to near Roanoke, VA.  After lunch we found a waterfall close and decided to check it out.  The name of the falls was Cascades.  We followed a wonderful rushing river for just over a mile.  The hike was up rock stairs, through mud, running water on the trail, and tree roots on the very narrow trail.  It was fun but not for the faint of heart (400-foot elevation gain).  But a little over a mile in, we knew we would not be able to get all the way to the falls--over a mile further.  Chuck went down the way we had come.  Karen went a little further, was able to cross a bridge and be on the other side--she had to cross a 10-foot, ankle deep, stream with big rocks and fallen trees.  But then there was a wide trail with gravel all the way back to the parking lot-with the exception of about 5 places where 
there was water across the trail.  Having the sound of rushing water for that two miles did the soul good.  This is a hike we would do in its entirety if we were a little better prepared and had more time.  It was really very breathtaking.  In fact the part of Virginia we traveled today was all very eye appealing.  There were many tree-covered hills and traffic wasn't heavy.  The roads were like Highway 58 over Willamette Pass, curvy, but decent.