Once again, SW Va. gets stiffed…
The opening page to msn.com today featured 15 places in America where the changing leaves are glorious.
The recommendations ranged from the predictable, like Vermont and New Hampshire, to the unexpected, like Wisconsin and Ohio. Other places, like Oregon and South Lake Tahoe, also got the nod, as did the Smokey Mountains, found in Tennessee and North Carolina.
The only Virginia choice was Shenandoah National Park, where pollution has obscured the scenic views for years, and its major roadway, the Skyline Drive.
There was not a mention of the Roanoke Valley, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, the New River Valley or, dare we suggest, remote yet beautiful counties like Tazewell, Highland and others.
You can make the case that the Smokies are more beautiful than the Blue Ridge. You can make the case that even Wisconsin has pretty leaves. Any place with oaks, maples, poplars and other trees is bound to have pretty leaves.
But you can easily make the case that Roanoke offers not only access to autumn views — both on and off the Blue Ridge Parkway — but also has cultural amenities galore. We have indigenous music in Floyd and other spots on the Crooked Road Music Trail. We have Chateau Morrisette and other wineries for lovers of the grape. We have Smith Mountain Lake, which is glorious in its own right in the fall.
We have our rivers and our hiking trails and beautiful little towns and downtown Roanoke, which seldom fails to charm. The same goes for Roanoke’s Grandin Village.
All of these things are reasonably close to each other. Again last weekend, my friend from Greensboro remarked on the easy ride between Roanoke and Blacksburg for the Tech game, and the mere minutes it took to travel from her lodgings in Salem to the Rockfish restaurant on Grandin Road.
Earlier this year, when I did a story about area tourism for the Roanoke Times, I reported that the Roanoke Valley’s tourism promotion needs more money — a lot more money — to compete with other areas.
I also learned that much of the money it has is put toward the north and the midwest, to places like Washington, Maryland and Ohio.
I think more money is needed, and more of it has to be aimed south. Greensboro residents are closer to Roanoke than they are to Asheville, and a lot closer than they are to far western North Carolina.
But Asheville spends much more money than we do, and has much more to spend, owing to the way its tourism taxes are distributed.
I like Southwest Virginia’s beauty and the Roanoke Valley’s size and ease of getting around. I don’t want those things to change.
But I also don’t want a possible source of clean revenue to be overlooked.
It’s time the listmakers thought about Southwest Virginia when they’re telling the world about pretty places.
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
16 responses so far ↓
Joe,
My opinion is that I agree with you. I have lived here in Roanoke my whole life and I still think this is beautiful country. But you are right, we seem to get left out. With the mountains surounding us and close to 3 or 4 states, we are a good fit. I work for a non-profit and everything is geared for Northern Va and Richmond area. Most of our fundraisers are up there and finally after a couple of years, we have hired someone to get some fundraisers going and events in this area. Most people I know talk about this area and would love to live down here but this is not where the money is. I guess I will live and die here and be poor.
Oh I thought you was going to write about being bored with all your free time. I had to go downtown yesterday for my job and I went by the Roanoke Times. I thought of you.
take care
This is what I have been saying! Roanoke and its surrounds are undiscovered and those who find it are like the ‘49ers!
We are only 15 miles south of Roanoke and The Blue Ridge Parkway and have two mountain lakes - full of recreation, hiking trails, leaves dying in grandeur, Crooked Road toe tappin’ heritage music, Blue Ridge Culture!
Visit our website and weblog for information on the area and sites of interest right here in SW VA!
www.ClaiborneHouse.net and http://claibornehouse.blogspot.com/
Free for the looking……
If you desire to commune with nature ~ may I suggest a journey for your enjoyment.
As soon as you enter the Blue Ridge Parkway, on any summer’s day, you are in a new dimension. The world slows down as you cruise on a two lane road.
Shades of serene overcome your senses. Every tint of evergreen from bright to subdued fill your vista. All the blues range in a spectrum of sky to deep dark forest hues.
Lush flora form an arbor over your pathway with sunlight flashing through the tree tops. Weave through fields of glistening gold, sparsely decorated with conical bales of hay lazily drying in the sun. View botanical that are landscape portraits waiting for a picture to be snapped. Bright yellow Black-Eyed-Susans sway in the breeze. Delicate white Queen Anne’s Lace doilies float above the tall green grasses. A medley of mock orange and lavender blossoms scent the air with natural potpourri. Showy rhododendron flowers burst forth in pale pinks and whites crowding the roadsides.
Split rail fencing and woven slats of graying wood enclose cows of every breed and color. Shiny black bulls with white faces, chocolate brown calves with tan splotches, pale straw white noble beasts placidly munch on the gently sloping grasslands.
A multitude of fauna magically appear. Deer families graze at the edge of the woods. Hawk, crow and wild turkey dive and soar all around you. Field mice skitter across the road. Groundhogs sit up and take notice. Rabbits and squirrels play hide and seek among the trees.
Mountains rise up close and fall away in the distance, fading to hazy.
Thread your way along the Crest of the Blue Ridges and you will experience a spiritual awakening ~ all free for the looking.
Preachin’ to the choir, Pamela, but we enjoy it. Now to get the big-city folk to see it…
Pamela, if you could submit that colorful bit of writing to a travel magazine, we may get more attention. Very creative piece, almost a mini-road trip.
Would those big city folks really appreciate the slower pace of our quaint town? They would need to breath deep, slow down and look, really look! Turn off the pagers, cell phones. How often do those of us who live here really see the beauty outside our windows? I grew up in a small town, moved to the metropolis of Charlotte, NC and then here. I love it and am so very thankful that I finally live in the mountains. The big city folks might appreciate our area, but first they would have to slow down!
Maybe there should be a rule. Before any big-city types can move here, they have to demonstrate the ability to whittle. Slowly.
When I worked at the RVCVB, we’d have people who’d recently moved to the valley from big cities (most of them up north) coming in all the time, and every now and then we’d get to talking about what brought them to the area. I vividly recall one woman who told me she and her husband moved to the area because with $200,000 they could get a house that would cost them 3 times as much “back home.”
Then she complained about the lack of a local Starbucks (this was before the B&N at Tanglewood had opened).
Pamela thank you for your tour today. It was breath taking. You are an excellent writer and I hope you are sharing your gift of writing.
I love Roanoke and would not want to live any place else. You drive out in the mornings and look at the beautiful mountains to start your day and enjoy our beautiful sunsets in the evening.
Too many people are in too much of a hurry, not taking the time to see and enjoy what is obvioulsy here, even some who do & have lived here for quite some time.
I thought about a trip to the Mill Mtn. Zoo the other day and wanted to go alone so I could mingle with the animals as long as I wanted & just take it all in.
And Pamela … wow … your description, that really touches me. It’s been awhile since I’ve been and it’s definitely time I went back now. Places like this, So close to us and so unknown to others in the busy, busy everyday lives, need to take some time to breathe and open their eyes.
Mornin’ Joe, Thanks so much for posting my Blue Ridge Parkway passage. It means so much to a writer when readers enjoy the words one has put down on the paper into some order that is relatable. Thanks to everyone who commented. I enjoy your daily postings, as well.
Hi, Pamela,
My pleasure. Your words told the story. They deserve wider distribution.
Joe
The big city folk do see it. Thats why your suddenly surrounded by Noo Yawkers. At the location of my occupation, I can say that a full 55% of my daily customers are originally from north of Philly, 15% from west of Philly, and 10% are from south of Roanoke. That leaves a very small percentage of true-locals who come in.
And this is not a place geared towards any one group, other than one that has some money to spend.
But to be honest, I moved down here simply because I could afford a home, and loved the sky in the morning and that Star at night. The rest just made it even more worthwhile.
That being said, I do think there is near unlimited opportunity here, but the problem is convincing people to see it. One of the benefits of coming in from a different area, you have seen what goes wrong - and you have a good sense of how to keep that from happening. Weather it be business, neighborhood, or political - we are involved.
Had the Victory Stadium debacle been played out in a city up north, there would have been a midnight wrecking ball 6 years ago and the problem would be long forgotten by now.
But I ramble. Which is precisely why I have my own blog.
Joe, so happy to be able to see you are still here with us. I have loved your articles for several years. Please don’t forget the beauty of my native Bland County. I still “await the boatman”. Love and peace to you my friend. Parke Bogle
Thank you, Parke. I have not forgotten Bland County. I may get there to do a story I have in mind, but it’ll be on my dime, not the RT’s, and that makes a world of difference.
Glad to hear you’re hanging in there. The boatman is probably miles away.
Your friend,
Joe
Joe, I had a picture from Mark Williamson today of the brick he bought for me and placed at the foot of John Denver’s statue in Aspen. The proceeds from the sale of these bricks go to WINDSTAR. I still love that boy. Your greatest admirer, Parke Bogle
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