New Virginia fall travel planning website

The Virginia Tourism Corporation has launched a new fall travel planning website featuring destinations and events where loved ones or loners can celebrate the season.  Visitors looking to take in stunning fall foliage on a scenic drive can use http://www.Virginia.org/fall to plan the perfect trip. 

The new website features interactive mapping using GPS technology so visitors can search by zip code or locality to find the ideal fall experience.  

The wild pony roundup in Chincoteague

Ed Hagaman photo of pony and colt

Tens of thousands of people are flocking to Virginia’s Eastern Shore to watch the wild pony round-up on Assateague Island, held this Wednesday, July 27.

The Chincoteague volunteer fire department rounds up the ponies and herds them across the channel to Chincoteague Island. There some of the foals and yearlings will be auctioned off at their annual carnival before the swim back on Friday.

Made famous by the book and movie “Misty of Chincoteague,” the pony swim and auction began in 1925 when the town needed money to buy fire equipment after some devastating fires. Today it has become a national treasure and is often featured on Good Morning America.

The exact time of the swim isn’t announced more than a day in advance because of tidal conditions - the waters need to be “slack calm” to protect ponies born in the spring and early summer – but it’s generally sometime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Island Wildlife

In addition to being home to over 300 wild ponies, Assateague Island is famous for its magnificent birds, attracting birding enthusiasts worldwide to this vital resting and feeding grounds. Over 300 species of migratory or resident birds may be seen here.

One way to view the island’s wildlife is by boat – nature tours are available seven days a week between late May and early October. There are also bike and kayak rentals.

Or you can experience the wild ponies, birds, beaches and stunning sunrises and sunsets on foot. Greg Pels, past president of Richmond Camera Club, organizes photography excursions there several times a year. See his slide show of birds and beauty at http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/chincoteague-fire-department-rounds-up-wild-ponies-on-assateague-island.

Assateague Island National Seashore has over 37 miles of unspoiled beach and spans 48,000 acres in Virginia and Maryland.

The Graffiti House in Brandy Station, Virginia

"He smells a Rebel." It was hidden for 130 years, those signatures, drawings and comments by soldiers during the American Civil War. First Confederate and then Union soldiers wrote on the white plaster walls of what was then a pretty new building, using charcoal from the the fireplace as they recuperated from injuries or did admin duty.

Now dubbed the “Graffiti House”, the two-story frame building is a treasure trove of wartime graffiti and it’s open to visitors on weekends year-round. Lying five miles north of Culpeper, Virginia, the house was built around 1858 on the railroad tracks near what was soon to become significant events. The 1863 Battle of Brandy Station for one went down in history as the nation’s largest cavalry engagement with 17,000 of them doing battle leading into the Gettysburg campaign.

Confederates and Federals

Confederates used the building as a hospital for this and other local battles. Then the Federal forces came in and used the building as a headquarters during their winter encampment of 1863-64. Soldiers from both sides left their mark on the walls with inscriptions, signatures, drawings and messages to the other side.

After the war, the graffiti was covered with paint, layers of it over the years, and even wallpaper. It was discovered during a renovation in 1993. The Brandy Station Foundation purchased the property in 2002 and has since turned it into a tourist destination. Brandy Station’s Graffiti House is on the National Registry of Historic Places and is a Virginia Historic Landmark.

The Graffiti House is located at 19484 Brandy Road and is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday from April through October and Friday and Saturday in the colder months. There is an exhibit and gift shop on the first floor and tour guides knowledgeable in the building’s history staff the information center.

Return to Elk Hill, Virginia

The grandchildren of Lucy Green Duncan returned to the home where she lived as a child and young woman on Memorial Day weekend 2011. Seen above are (left to right) Susan Duncan from Chicago, Townes and Ellen Duncan from Nashville, and Susan and Townes' mother Anne Grymes Duncan Eberle.

Below three second cousins -- Townes, Susan and myself -- pose in front of the Pocahontas Bell cast by our great-great grandmother for the Jamestown Exposition of 1907 which remains on the Elk Hill property, now a home for boys. The estate was originally owned by Thomas Jefferson and was occupied by Lord Cornwallis. To us it was the place where our grandparents spent time with their beloved Aunt Sue Green Stokes and their first cousins.

Virginia announces it first bicycling map

A first of its kind map “Bicycling in Virginia” is now available for bike enthusiasts. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has free downloads of its official state bicycling map which describes setting, terrain, elevation and surface conditions for thousands of miles of trails.

Mountain bikers have numerous off-road opportunities in the commonwealth. The Mount Rogers Loop for seasoned cyclists, for example, crosses impressive mountain peaks with some trails climbing to an exhilarating 5,729 feet. And the Sherando Lake Loop in Augusta County has over a thousand feet of vertical climbing for serious bikers.

Virginia  also offers a scenic wonderland for biking in the mountains, as opposed to mountain biking, with hundreds of miles of paved and unpaved roads to choose from. The Virginia Creeper trail near Abington is one. It was once a railroad bed, developed as part of the “Rails to Trails” program, and crosses more than 100 trestles and bridges in its 35 miles.

The Virginia Capital Trail connects the state’s first settlement at Jamestown, the Colonial capital in Williamsburg, and the current capital at Richmond. This 54-mile trail along Scenic Byway Route 5 is being developed with interpretive signage and pedestrian amenities.
The U.S. bicycle routes 1 and 76 cover 838 miles in the state. Urban trails such as those in Northern Virginia are also detailed in the map.

Theme bike excursions include a music trail in southwest Virginia, a coal heritage trail, the John Smith trail, and Revolutionary and Civil War trails. One theme trail is The Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail, a 300-mile long trail that commemorates the experience of African-Americans, Native Americans and women from the 18^th through 20^th centuries in Virginia.

Facilities along the trails are detailed by VDOT in the map. To download a copy, go to http://www.virginiadot.org/bikemap/.

Calvary led charge for re-enactment events in Spotsylvania

Hundreds of Civil War re-enactors descended on Spotsylvania this past weekend for the Battles of Spotsylvania, 2011 Civil War Reenactment. Pictured above is a U.S. Park Ranger ahead of leading tours of Bloody Angle where thousands died in arm to arm combat.

A cavalry skirmish was the the first fighting event for the weekend. The battle cries began at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Following that was a dinner of white beans and cornbread, then period music by the 2^nd South Carolina String Band (famous for providing background music on the movie soundtrack for “Gods and Generals”). There was dancing like it was in the 1860s and a guided battlefield tour. Saturday’s events concluded with stories around the campfire.

YMCA Races

The local YMCA hosted three runs earlier on Saturday -- the Battlefield 5K, the Cannonball 1M and the Little Skirmish Tot Trot. These races get underway at 7:30 a.m.

Sunday was packed with events. The day opened with a non-denominational period church service followed by a cannon salute to veterans and men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces. 

The weekend’s main battle began at 1:00 p.m. when re-enactors, horses, cannons and guns converged near the Spotsylvania Courthouse Village at the corner of Old Battlefield Boulevard and the Spotsylvania Courthouse Bypass.

Cheroenhaka Indian tribe celebrates corn, bean and squash in an Inter-Tribal Spring Pow Wow

The Cheroenhaka Indian Tribe is hosting an Inter-Tribal Spring Festival Pow Wow in Southampton County, Virginia, about 65 miles southwest of Richmond this Saturday. Hailed as “a celebration of the three sisters”, the event celebrates “the dance of corn, bean & squash,” according to a tribal flier.

Cheroenhaka (pronounced Che-ro-en-ha-ka) is the traditional name of the tribe which it still uses and prefers. It means “People at the Fork of the Stream.” The Cheroenhaka lived on the fork where the Nottoway and the Blackwater Rivers join. “Na-da-wa” was a derogatory term applied to them by an enemy tribe when speaking with the English and the name stuck as Nottoway. 

The tribe maintains an informative website (see picture above - lovely music when you click on it) that describes their ethno-history, culture and traditions. A tribal motto is: “Quaker-hunte, EE Sun-ke Was-we-kr (Creator, My Heart Sees, Hears and Speaks).

In addition to the inter-tribal Pow Wow, the tribe holds a “Ke-to-ok-neh” (Pow Wow celebrating the Green Corn Harvest) the fourth weekend every July at the Southampton County Fairgrounds in Courtland, Virginia.

For details on this Saturday’s Pow Wow, see: http://www.examiner.com/day-trips-in-richmond/virginia-indian-tribe-celebrates-the-three-sisters-corn-bean-and-squash