THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609270087
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHEN HARRIMAN, TRAVEL EDITOR
LENGTH: 296 lines
DID YOU NOTICE the Harvest Moon the other night? It's a reminder that fall foliage time is not far away. Already it's cooler in Virginia's Piedmont these days, cooler still in the mountains.
Shadows grow longer, days shorter. Early mornings, fogs hangs in the mountain hollows. Suddenly it's firewood time again. Smoke drifts up and scents the air.
At higher elevations they look for the first frost any time after Oct. 1. That's when the show begins.
Mixed stands of red and yellow hardwoods blend with permanently green conifers, in warps and weaves, to produce a magnificent Oriental tapestry, acre after acre of it stretching across the landscape.
Perhaps you must really live through an entire fall season out in the country to even begin to describe the visual sensation.
Newspaper columnist Jack Kilpatrick, a longtime resident of Rappahannock County, did it well a number of years ago in his book ``The Foxes' Union.'' He writes:
``They say that our autumns are like wine, here in the Blue Ridge, and the simile contains both truth and poetry. Wines come in vintage years, some poor, some good, some great. A truly great autumn. . . is money in the bank. When the word goes out that our maples are brilliant crimson and the gums a Burgundy red; when the oaks and hickories and persimmons turn early; when the poplars and white walnuts carpet the country lanes in gold - then the hearts lift up, and so does the local trade. `Come sip our autumn,' we say. `This is a great one.' ''
But, with all due respect, there's no substitute for one's own eyes or a camera lens. This is a visual spectacle. You have to BE there.
The colors gradually move from the mountains toward our coastal flatlands, much as you'd pull a quilt from your toes up toward your chin, in a subtle process that can take until anywhere from late October to mid-November to complete.
Headquarters staffs at Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway are receiving hundreds of phone calls daily asking when the leaves will turn. As if this occurs on cue.
Best guesstimate: In an average year the peak season in the Blue Ridge runs about Oct. 10-25. Approximately.
Shenandoah's Skyline Drive seems to bear the brunt of the traditional urban-exodus, nature-embracing pilgrimage. Nearly 100,000 people, mostly from the Washington-Richmond-Hampton Roads corridor, converge on the park on each of several October weekends. Cars, bumper to bumper and puffing carbon monoxide, move at no more that 35 mph along the entire 105-mile drive.
There are other ways to see nature's show - almost as many, I suppose, as there are highways and byways and winding country roads.
Here are two of my favorites (if drive-by leaf-peeping isn't enough for you, I've included some interesting stops along the way): PIEDMONT TOUR
Rather than drive to the crests of the mountains, I prefer to wander instead through the foothills where I can see both the mountains and the rolling Piedmont vistas. This is a vague figure-eight trip north and east of Charlottesville.
From South Hampton Roads, head west on Interstate 64 and take exit 129 (just east of Charlottesville) to Keswick and Boyd Tavern. Follow Virginia route 616 a couple of miles, then turn right on Virginia 22. A short distance later, at Cismont, this becomes Virginia 231.
Stay on it for the next 50 miles or so. Most of the way it is called the old Blue Ridge Turnpike.
This is horse country. Rich people live here. All the farms - estates - have fancy names. At beautiful, brownstone Grace Church at Cismont is held the annual Blessing of the Hounds, an ancient custom begun in England. Nearby is Castle Hill (1745), home of Dr. Thomas Walker, an early explorer of western Virginia and Thomas Jefferson's guardian.
At Gordonsville look in at the mid-19th-century Exchange Hotel. The restored Greek Revival structure was commandeered as a hospital during the Civil War, and now it is a museum, open Tues.-Sat., 10-4. Info: (540) 832-2944.
Zachary Taylor, the 12th president and the seventh one a Virginia native, was born about three miles west of Gordonsville at Montebello. There's nothing to see except a historic marker. Taylor's family moved to Kentucky when he was quite young, and that state also claims him, as it should.
The stretch of Va. 231 from Gordonsville to Somerset is very winding. Take your time and enjoy; it's very scenic. Stop at Somerset and look over the collection of old steam- and gas-driven engines, tractors and sawmill. This little crossroads was once a significant railhead for logging operations in the mountains 20 or more miles to the west.
From here on the farms are smaller and the few large ones unpretentious. They raise things to eat, not to ride.
Traffic thins out. The ribbon road winds and undulates over the countryside. The dark Blue Ridge Mountains lie silhouetted against pale blue sky.
North of Madison, you enter what is known locally at the F.T. Valley, named for early settler and large landowner Francis Thornton. Here begin the best views of the morning side of the mountains. Lutherans may want to take a short detour a mile north of Madison to Hebron Church, the oldest (1740) Lutheran church in the South.
Virginia 670 just beyond Banco leads up the Robinson River to Criglersville and Syria, both recently devastated by Tropical Storm Fran - the second 100-year flood in just over two years for this area.
Syria is the home of the Graves Mountain Lodge enterprises. There is, foremost, the lodge itself; you can't get a better homestyle meal anywhere. (And you shouldn't count on getting one here without reservations. The phone number is 540-923-4231.)
There's also the cannery producing the jellies, preserves, apple butter and vegetable products marketed under the Graves Mountain label.
The Graves family hosts Apple Harvest Weekends Oct. 12-13 and 19-20. The apple sheds across from the Syria Mercantile Company have rows or crates and baskets of Yorks for pies and apple butter, Red and Golden Delicious for eating raw, and Winesaps for a pink-tinted apple sauce.
Virginia 643 at Etlan leads to White Oak Canyon trail and falls. It's time-consuming but worth it. The Etlan Post Office and General Store Too is a folksy attraction, too. Talk to the locals hanging out here. You'll find them as interesting, and probably amusing, as they'll find you.
Farther on, Virginia 601 takes you up the Hughes River to Nethers and the Old Rag Mountain (3,291 feet elevation) trailhead in Shenandoah National Park.
About 2 million people visit the park every year, park officials say, and 100,000 of them hike Old Rag. The 7.2-mile circuit, which takes 4-5 hours, has a rock scramble at its top that hikers find an enticing challenge.
Parking also is a problem.
By charging a $3 fee for each hiker over 16, the park hopes to recoup some of the cost to maintain Old Rag and attendant problems with sanitation, littering, illegal camping and trail erosion.
At the Old Rag tailhead, the trail to the right, an interesting alternative, leads up Nicholson Hollow, sometimes knows as Free State Hollow. You're in the real backwoods here. This was once the realm of Old Man Aaron Nicholson, a giant of a man, it is said - King of Free State Hollow - where ``nary a revenooer'' ventured. Here, for 35 years, he ``lived off'n the bark.''
``It's all my land,'' he used to roar, with a sweep of his huge arm. ``I surveyed - chopped 'round it myself - from peak to peak as fur as I kin see. .
Next stop: Sperryville, another apple-buying center. There are a number of roadside stands about. The Sperryville Emporium advertises itself as ``the shop that has EVERYTHING.'' It might.
Turn west on U.S. 211 and you're 15 minutes from Shenandoah's Thornton Gap entrance.
To complete this circuit, turn east on U.S. 522 and head for Culpeper and U.S. 15 south.
About six miles south of Culpeper on U.S. 15 is the site of the Civil War Battle of Cedar Mountain, also sometimes called the Battle of Slaughter Mountain and the Battle of Cedar Run. The latter name is often confused with the Battle of Cedar Creek; they are not the same. This is where armies under Stonewall Jackson and John Pope more or less accidentally clashed as they shifted into position for the Second Battle of Manassas. There's nothing really to see here, but Civil War buffs may feel some vibes.
At the courthouse town of Orange, take Va. 20 south about four miles to Montpelier, the magnificent, 2,700-acre estate of James and Dolley Madison - later owned by the du Ponts.
Montpelier is a newcomer to the historic tour circuit, since it was opened to the public only in 1987, three years after it was deeded to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Under the du Ponts' stewardship, and particularly in the hands of their daughter, Marion du Pont Scott, Montpelier became the quintessential baronial estate. The du Ponts doubled the mansion's size to 64,000 square feet, added a steeplechase course (racing first Saturday in November), racetrack, bowling alley and train station to the grounds, and imposed a decidedly 20th century look inside.
Getting in: Montpelier is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 16 to Dec. 31, and weekends only Jan. 2 to March 15. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 seniors, $1 for ages 6-12 (younger free). Phone: (540) 672-2728.
Near Barboursville (watch for signs) is the Barboursville Estate and Winery. This was another Jefferson-inspired mansion, although his touch is a little hard to recognize among the brick ruins.
Designed by Jefferson in 1814 for a friend, Gov. James Barbour, the Barboursville estate was considered the finest property in Orange County in its day, with a monetary value twice that of Madison's Montpelier, but the house was destroyed by fire in 1884.
The Barboursville Ruins and Winery, Barboursville. It is open for free tastings and self-guided tours; call for times. Phone: (540) 832-3824.
From here it's a short drive back through horse-country estates to Charlottesville. TIDEWATER TOUR
Closer to home - remember, leaves turn later here, usually in the last half of October - this tour begins at Yorktown Battlefield, where, for all practical purposes, our War for Independence came to a successful conclusion in 1781.
You can take two self-guided auto tours around the battlefield. Get a free map at the National Park Service's Yorktown Visitor Center.
The nine-mile Encampment Tour begins not far from the visitor center at Surrender Field, where British and German troops laid down their arms. The tour visits Washington's headquarters, a small cemetery where 50 Frenchmen are buried and the camps of the French regiments.
You're likely to see small herds of deer along the woodlines, particularly early and late in the day. I watched for minutes as a goldfinch took a long drink where the road fords a little stream near Washington's headquarters.
The seven-mile Battlefield Tour wends its way from the visitor center through modern-day intersections to such points of interest as the British inner defense line, the grand French battery, the second allied siege line and redoubts 9 and 10.
The beauty of this place of forests and fields is that it doesn't look at all as it did in the fall 215 years ago. You wouldn't want it to. Battlefields, siege areas, are ugly scenes. All the trees would have been cut for firewood and to open fields of fire. The area was similarly denuded during the Civil War's Peninsula Campaign.
Today it is beautiful and tranquil again.
After the battlefield tours, take the Colonial National Parkway through Williamsburg - always worth a stop, but don't do it now; we'll end up back here in time for dinner - to Jamestown. Stop an see the recent archaeological excavations that have uncovered the original 1607-10 fort on Jamestown island.
If you really want to get an idea of the natural environment the first settlers encountered on this swampy island, explore the eastern end on the 3- or 5-mile loop drives. This area hasn't changed much in nearly 400 years. It's so quiet back there, you can hear a leaf drop. There are interpretive paintings and signs along the way, and a rental audiotape tour is available at the museum store.
From Jamestown Island and Jamestown Settlement Park, take Va. 31 to the ferry landing and cross the James River to Scotland on the south shore ($4 toll). Be sure to look back and see much the same view the first settlers saw.
If you got an early start, you'll be ready for lunch about now. There's no better place in these parts than the Surrey House Restaurant (see story, Flavor Section) in the town of Surry. It's about four miles south of the ferry on Va. 31.
Just south of the Surrey House Restaurant, turn west on Va. 10. This little-traveled road meanders through the backwoods of Surry and Prince George counties.
An interesting side trip: turn north at Graysville on Va. 639 to Flowerdew Hundred Plantation, one of the earliest English settlements in the New World, established in 1619 by Gov. George Yeardley and named, probably, for the family of his wife, Temperance Flowerdew. A ``hundred,'' by the way, is a indefinite measure of land that dates back at least to Norman times in England.
There's a small museum displaying artifacts uncovered in many archaeological digs here, several old buildings and a rebuilt 18th century windmill. At this place U.S. Grant crossed the James on his way to besiege Petersburg. Admission charge. Info: (804) 541-8897.
Returning to Va. 10, continue west to Va. 156 (Jordan Point Road), turn north and cross the James. Just beyond the Benjamin Harrison Bridge is the entrance to Shirley Plantation, one of five showplaces open to the public along the north side of the James in Charles City County.
Following Va. 5, the John Tyler Highway, where trees spread a leafy canopy over the road, they are (from west to east):
Shirley, the oldest plantation, established in 1613. It is the home of the Hills and the Carters. Hill Carter, the 11th generation of the family, runs the working plantation. This was the home of Anne Hill Carter, mother of Robert E. Lee. Open daily 9-4:30; admission charge. Info: (804) 829-5121.
Berkeley, site of the first official Thanksgiving in America in 1619. Here were born Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and three times governor; and William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the U.S. Taps was composed here while Federal troops occupied the place during the Civil War. Open daily 8-5; admission charge. Info: (804) 829-6018.
Westover, one of the grandest examples of Georgian architecture in America, was built in 1730 by William Byrd II, founder of Richmond and Petersburg. Grounds only are open daily 9-6; admission charge. Info: (804) 829-2882.
Evelynton, originally part of the Westover tract. This plantation has been in the Ruffin family since 1847. The present house, built in the 1930, is on the site of the original house that was plundered and destroyed during Civil War skirmishes in the area. Open daily 9-5; admission charge. Info: (804) 829-5075.
Sherwood Forest, the only plantation owned by two U.S. presidents, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. Harrison was the ninth president, and when he died after only 31 days in office he was succeeded by his vice president, John Tyler. Tyler, who was born at nearby Greenway (four miles west), bought this estate in 1842 from Harrison, who inherited it but never lived here. Tyler moved here when his term ended in 1845.
The plantation continues to be the home of the Tyler family, currently owned by the president's grandson, Harrison Ruffin Tyler. The house, begun about 1730, has been expanded several times, symmetrically at either side, until today it is, at 300 feet in length, the longest frame dwelling in America. In several places it is only 12 feet wide. Open 9-5 daily; admission charge. Info: (804) 829-5377.
From Sherwood Forest, it is a short drive back to Colonial Williamsburg. Consider ending the day with dinner at one of the four restored taverns. Be sure to call for reservations: (804) 229-2141. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG
Our Tidewater leaf-peeping tour begins at Yorktown, visits the great
plantations and ends at Colonial Williamsburg, pictured.
Photo
You can pick apples off trees or out of crates at the Apple Harvest
Festival in Madison County, Oct. 12-13 and 19-20.
Maps
VP
PIEDMONT TOUR
TIDEWATER TOUR
Graphic
FOLIAGE HOT LINES
Virginia: (800) 434-LEAF (starts in mid-October)
Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park (540) 999-3500
Blue Ridge Parkway (704) 298-0398
North Carolina: (800) 847-4862
Maryland: (800) 532-8371
Delaware: (800) 441-8846
West Virginia: (800) 225-5982 by CNB