I like bluegrass music.  Scratch that, I love bluegrass music.  I could listen to bluegrass or old time music 24/7 and not get tired of it.  Yes, I test that hypothesis on Van and Alan regularly.  Luckily (and due to a lot of exposure in utero and while breastfeeding), Van is a fan as well.  It was only natural then, that we would check out The Crooked Road in southwestern Virginia (www.thecrookedroad.org).  The Crooked Road is Virginia’s Music Heritage Trail, which winds up and down and around on beautiful (and often crooked) roads, past a number of towns that have contributed to and continue to contribute to bluegrass and old time music.

The Crooked Road

Barr’s Fiddle Shop in Galax, Virginia

Goofing around in Abingdon, Virginia

Caboose in Abingdon, Virginia

The trail took us through some beautiful areas, including the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, and some great towns I’ve been wanting to check out for years.  The funniest thing we spied on our journey was a couple of official signs letting travelers know that there was a roadside table in a 1/4 mile.  The very presence of the sign caused us to laugh, but then we spied the tables.  They were not the picnic tables we expected, but dilapidated folding card tables with no seating!  And yet they had official road signs advertising their presence.  Unfortunately, the road was narrow by the signs so we did not get a photo.

We passed through a number of towns, including Galax, Damascus, Abingdon, and (the following day) Floyd.  I’ve been excited to see Floyd for years and I was not disappointed.  It’s a small town, but it was still larger than I expected.  We had a great time listening to Americana music at The Floyd Country Store and enjoyed a picnic lunch on a grassy hill in the center of town.  Though we missed the Friday Night Jamboree (purposely – given Van’s bedtime), we were still able to enjoy some live music before hitting the road for North Carolina.

The Floyd Country Store

Listening to Americana Music on a Saturday Afternoon at the Floyd Country Store