Pasture Talk

ompiling the Fairs, Festivals, Events & Family Fun for this issue and for NRV Map (coming soon) for the first time since 2019 was a delightful exercise in discovering what’s going on still and what’s going on anew. Festivals and fairs are such a vibrant part of community life. Tear out the pages, circle everything that looks like fun, which is almost everything, and place under a magnet on your refrigerator.

It was interesting that both writers Nancy Moseley and Emily Alberts chose Pandapas Pond for the first place to take kids under 10 years old and to take children where they can get their feet wet. Take it from me, there’s no age restriction out there. I have ridden trails in many places, and this is my number one choice. I am over 10 with a splash of 10-year-old from time to time. I may not like getting my feet wet in Poverty Creek, but my favorite activity on horseback, bar none, is walking through water. My horses get their hoofs wet with great audio and visual splashing steps. We horseback riders see folks of all ages at Pandapas, and most all the bicyclists, walkers and joggers are kind and considerate of the horses. If bikes are coming toward us, they stop at first sight and pull their bicycles off the trail. When they come up behind us, we move our horses off the trail so they can ride on. A horse walks about 4 miles per hour, and these mountain bikers understandably enjoy the speed component through the woods and the creeks. We are thankful to the bicycle groups and Jefferson National Forest people who keep the trails clear and open, especially after a storm.

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The whole trail scene in the New River Valley is awesome for having dedicated municipalities, volunteers and groups. The Huckleberry Trail now runs 15 miles between Blacksburg and Christiansburg with an educational 1.5mile Coal Mining Loop Trail at mile 5. The relatively new Gateway Trail connects hikers, bikers and horseback riders from the Meadowbrook and Glade roads intersection with the national forest trails out of Pandapas. The Dodd Creek Trail in Floyd is an easy 1.25-mile loop. The New River Trail is a wonderful rails-totrails wide path with railroad trestles, woodlands, river and pasture scenes. There are nice trails around the lake at Gatewood Park and many more all over the New River Valley.

Someone recently mentioned seeing more independent shops at Uptown Christiansburg (former New River Valley Mall), and I have stumbled on a couple new retail places. Amazing Grace Boutique & Café at 76 W. Main St. in Pulaski has charming gifts and good food. A unique candle and home shop named The Chandlerie opened May 2 at 127 N. Franklin St. in Christiansburg. It is a candle atelier and home boutique. One of our all-time faves, Pearis Mercantile, is worth the drive to Pearisburg.

Shop small, shop local and shop often!

Joanne Anderson ManagingEditor jmawriter@aol.com