Fairy Stone: Day 5

Hike to the Dam and Spillway
On Thursday, M and I discovered a trail just beyond the driveway for our cabin. We explored it far enough to find a couple little fairy houses and a large muskrat (?) house by the lake. It took some coaxing, but we got the family to go on one final hike Friday morning.

It ended up being the favorite hike for the week. Baby Q fell asleep. We discovered an overlook that appeared to have been built by the CCC in the 1930s. There was an animal print in the trail (deer?), and a tree that appeared to have been gnawed halfway through (beaver?).

Baby Q found hikes exhausting. He was a good sport, nonetheless.

The dam was small and earthen, covered with grass and blackberry bushes. There was a trail across the middle, then down to the spillway. The water level was low, the spillway was wide, and the drop-off short, so I felt comfortable allowing the children to explore a little. If I'd had a toddler, I would have been worried, though.

Peeking over the edge of the spillway.

Dad and M on top of the earthen dam. She is showing a clam she found.

Virginia Museum of Natural History
A cute little small town museum with a good display of dinosaur bones, we were in and out in about an hour. T was happy to get a pressed penny. It's his newest hobby.
Our family enjoys a good museum, but found this a little too small to be worth the drive. So of course we stopped by the next day on our drive home.
Why?
We forgot the stroller at the museum.

Floyd Country Store and Jamboree
On a map, the town of Floyd looks close to Fairy Stone. After driving on the prettiest roads that wound through the Blue Ridge, I was disillusioned, and a little car sick.
On Friday nights, Floyd has a Jamboree. We considered purchasing tickets for the inside show, but were afraid we would spend the whole time pulling the kids away from the open bins of candy.
On summer evenings, there are groups that play in the alley and park near the store, so that became our Plan B.
We bought ice cream from the Country Store, then listened to a group with several guitars and a double bass.
Baby Q wore his straw fedora, and got lots of attention from admiring strangers.