To celebrate my birthday Karen and I headed to Roanoke, Virginia to hike the waterfalls along Hwy. 81. I planned to visit five of the twelve-must-see-waterfalls in this beautifully rugged area. We managed to find two, but they provided great hikes and sights.
To break up the 4-hour drive to Roanoke from Charlotte we did lunch and a wine tasting at Raffaldini Vineyards. This is a very popular place and arriving early on Friday meant we had it to ourselves.
Raffladini’s vines were all imported from Europe. Their wines are excellent and less sweet than most North Carolina offerings. The friendly staff loaned us a picnic basket to haul the assortment of cheeses, crackers, and antipasto we brought from home. A great start to a wonderful weekend. Bon Jovi!
Our first hike was about 4-miles, round trip to Cascade Falls just outside Shawsville, VA.
Due to the recent heavy rains from Hurricane Michael the water was raging and the trails were wet.
Mini cascades streamed down the mountainsides along the trail to the main falls.
A nice lady resting on a bench at the halfway mark to Cascade Falls warned us about the large stones with running water we would encounter on the way. “It’s slippery and you’ll get your feet wet.” She was not kidding.
The rush of water from Cascade Falls created a horizontal shower of mist near the base. It was best to take pictures from a distance to save our camera.
We ate dinner in Roanoke at Hollywood’s Restaurant & Bakery. For 17-years this eatery has been a local favorite for traditional dishes with a twist. We had fried green tomatoes on a bed of spiced grits with Cajun meat loaf that was as good as it gets. The owner, Mark Henderson said the name came from his friends jokingly calling him “Hollywood Henderson” after the famous Dallas, Cowboy.
We took a dirt road off the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile post 78.4 to hike the Cornelius Creek Spur to Apple Orchard Falls. On the way to the trailhead we passed seven truckloads of dogs and hunters loaded for the opening day of bear season.
We were very “bear aware” when we headed for the falls on a path that intersects the Appalachian Trail.
Precariously stacked slabs of granite line the way to Apple Orchard Falls. The menacing rocks added to our bear apprehension.
You know the ground is saturated when water flows from the base of a tree.
The Apple Orchard Falls hike was all uphill. The split cascade was magnificent. The falls got their name from a stand of trees that look like an apple orchard on the way in.
An uphill hike can make a trekker mighty thirsty. No problem when the falls are flowing this strong.
We were treated to a spectacular sunset on the drive back to Roanoke from the falls near Bedford.
Roanoke provided amazing waterfalls and breathtaking scenery. An added bonus was the Cuban Island Restaurant where we ate dinner Saturday night. I’ve sampled Cuban cuisine all over Florida and never tasted better. The owner told us, “I came here 26-years ago. I was the only Cuban in the Blue Ridge Mountains.” Her Viste Palomilla and Chuleta De Puerco were the best we’ve ever eaten.
We could not resist one more stop on the way home Sunday in the Yadkin Valley off I-77. Elkin Creek Winery is secluded and the rustic atmosphere is most relaxing. On Sundays you must call ahead to reserve a handmade “dough ball” if you want one of their exquisite pizzas. “No dough, no pizza for you!”
The wood-fired, brick oven and made-to-order pizzas are divine. We paired ours with their Bordeaux style blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Petit Verdot they call “Rossa.” Bravo! The perfect topper to a great weekend in Virginia. Happy Birthday to me.