Hideaway in the Hills: A Mountain Vacation - Day Three

Hi there!  I'm catching up on some 'back dated' entries that I have saved as drafts in the background/editing area of the blog.  Might as well tidy up a bit while I'm poking around!

love and kisses,
HistoryDiva
April 26, 2017 

Day Three of our trip to the mountains, February 24, 2014.

Today we took in some more of the local color and did the 'tourist' thing...which totally means we hit up a State Park. 

Our first stop was....Blowing Rock State Park.

This place blows.  (See what I did there??)  I mean that literally.  The park is located at one end of a long valley that just funnels wind like crazy!  There is an old Native American legend about that rocky ledge you'll see in the upper left of the first picture, all about a brave warrior and a maiden.  I'd tell it here, but then you'd have nothing to Google later! 

It was a beautiful spot to be on a sunny, late winter afternoon.  But it was a bit on the 'seriously chilly' side that day...as illustrated below by my aunt who is wearing six or seven layers.

One of the other attractions in the area are what is know as the 'Church of the Frescos' locations.  Years ago an artist traveling in the area was commissioned by several area churches to paint religious frescos in their chapels. These are small, out of the way area churches.  The communities which support these churches leave the doors to the buildings unlocked so that folks can come in to view the frescos and have a quiet moment or two the lord.

The paintings are beautiful and moving...but to me, taking a picture of something like that just seems...wrong somehow.  So instead, I found a fantastically fun stained glass window which depicted the Ark and lookit...

STAINED GLASS TURTLES!!! 

One of my favorite highlights of all my family's yearly vacation road trip to visit the grandparents was getting to stop at the New River Gorge overlook in West Virginia. 

If you ever get the chance to visit, stop and take a look...it's the most beautiful, peaceful place I've ever been. 

So you can imagine my surprise when my uncle let me know that the river we were driving along was...the New River!  It was like running into an old friend unexpectedly and made my day.   

Our last stop of the day was Ashe County Cheese, a local dairy.

They store their milk in...GIGANTIC COWS!!! 

Day. Made.