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You know you're in
the mountains, now. When you topped the pass at exit 19 you started
descending (slightly) into the New River Valley. The New River is the
second oldest river in the world. Virginia has created a State Park than
follows the New River for 57 miles. It's primary feature is the New
River Trail which follow an old railroad right-of-way (with the rails
and ties removed). Very popular with the bicyclists, any part of it is a
nice ride. From I-77 you can take exit 24, drive east on VA-69 to US-52
(about 0.2 miles). Turn left on US-52 and follow it to the trail (just
before the bridge crossing the New River.
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Hotels in Hillsville
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A little
warning
about I-81 - I-77 joins I-81 at exit 32, follows 81 west to Wytheville
and then separates from I-81 to continue north to West Virginia. It only
shares the highway with I-81 for 9 miles, but... frequently, when there
is a NASCAR race at Bristol, the Interstate clear up here can be like a
parking lot.
If you are northbound on I-77 and find, when getting to I-81,
that it is slow going, take exit 80 (the next exit) and follow VA-121
northbound to Max Meadows. 2 Blocks after you cross the railroad track
is Peppers Ferry Road. Turn left and follow it (also signed as SR-610)
to I-77 at exit 41 thereby bypassing all that traffic.
Cheap Gas!
Another little note - exit 77 on I-81 has several gasoline stations and
they are usually much less expensive (still not really cheap, but...)
than the others within 50 miles or so.
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Hotels in Fort Chiswell
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Wytheville
Visitors' Center - The Visitors' Center is downtown but easy to
access.
From I-77 northbound, take exit 73 (remember that at this point
you are still on I-81) and follow US-11 into town to 3rd Street. Turn
right, go 1 block to Monroe Street, turn left and the Wytheville
Convention & Visitors Bureau is mid-block.
From I-77 southbound, take exit 41. At Peppers Ferry Road turn
right and follow it into town. In Wytheville Peppers Ferry Road becomes
Monroe Street. The Wytheville Convention & Visitors Bureau is mid-block
right after you cross 3rd Street.
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There are
many interesting things to see in this little corner of Virginia. The
Visitors' Center web site lists many of them and you can get details -
and directions - from the folks in the Visitors' Center.
For more information, phone 1-877-347-8307 (toll free).
Historic
Downtown Wytheville - At the
visitors'
center you
can pick up a nice brochure and directions for a 'self-guiding' walking
tour of this historic downtown.
The Pencil
- In the decade of the 1950s, the owner of the Wytheville Office Supply
had a 30-fot long, "Big Pencil" constructed and mounted on his store
front overlooking Main Street (US-11/21). He had a dream; Wytheville's
Main Street would look like the English shops of old with symbols
denoting what merchandise was available in each store. Nice idea,
perhaps, but he wound up being very alone with his dream. He is gone,
now, bit the giant pencil remains.
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Hotels in Wytheville
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Big Walker
Tunnel - Between exit 47 and exit 52 at Bland is Big Walker Mountain
- a 3,770 foot barrier between Wythe and Bland Counties. It used to take
40 to 45 minutes to drive from Wytheville to Bland. In 1972, after five
years of construction (and some $30 million) the dual-tube Big Walker
tunnel was opened to traffic. The trip from Wytheville to Bland now
takes only 15 minutes.
Here are some websites with interesting information about Big
Walker:
East River
Mountain Tunnel - Between I-77 exit 66 in Virginia and exit 1 in
West Virginia is the 3,600 foot East River Mountain: a barrier between
Virginia and West Virginia. Another tunnel, opened in 1974. At 5,400
feet, it is not only longer than the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel but the
longest, twin-tube tunnel in the United States. You can read a short
sketch about it at
EastRiver.
And, emerging from
the East River Mountain Tunnel, your eyes greet the mountains of West
Virginia. |
