Following the stream

The trail followed Woods Creek. The creek eventually flows into the Maury River.

Underpass

The trail went under a number of roads and crossed over the creek a couple of times.

VMI

On one side of the trail, you can see the back of Virginia Military Institute. On the other side, you can see Washington and Lee University. Washington and Lee has an enrollment of about 2,300.

Entrance

A more traditional view of VMI. VMI is the oldest state-supported military college in the U.S. Formed in 1839, it has about 1,300 students.

Obstacle Course

The trail followed an elaborate obstacle course. I had no problem with this one (just kidding). The school puts a big emphasis on physical fitness and competing in collegiate sports.

Town Of Lexington

It was somewhat of a dreary day, with the occasional downpour. There seemed to be a lot of shops with fancy kitchen gadgets. The town of Lexington has a population of about 7,000.

Pure Eats

The name of the Pure Eats restaurant plays off of the name of the Pure gas station chain. It supposedly has the best burgers in town. The gas stations are actually a cooperative.

Back of Stonewall Jackson's house

The confederate general Stonewall Jackson lived in Lexington from 1851 to 1861. At VMI, he was a professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and an instructor of artillery tactics.

Studio Tour

We decided to visit some studios through a special tour. The rain and mud meant I came close to having to get towed out of a couple of the parking areas.

SunnySide House

The Federal style brick house SunnySide was built in 1790 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was on the tour.

Creepin' with the Ants

Col takes a picture of some rather large ants, as captured by artist Mark Chittum.

A bit more traditional

Buffalo Creek Pottery produces wood fired porcelains and stoneware from its three-chambered noborigama kiln. They also had baskets and brooms for sale. The kilt and dog weren't for sale.

A lot less traditional

Wonderland Studio featured all kinds of odd woodland creatures.

Wonderland Studio II

Susan Harb creates found object sculptures, using everything from car parts to baby doll heads to rusty tin roofing.

Wonderland Studio III

The work of Devan Malore was also on display here, and I honestly don't know who made what.

Wonderland Studio IV

Second Run...

The Chessie Trail (no relation to the Bay monster) is in Rockbidge County.

Poop Run

The trail went through some fields that included hard-to-avoid patties made extra saucy by the rain. After the run, I retired my sneakers and socks into a 7-11 trash can.

Cleaner Spots

Other parts of the trail were in good shape, with the Maury River on one side, and rocks on the other.

Chessie IV

The trail goes between Lexington and Buena Vista. In the fall, there is a half marathon on the trail.

Chessie V

The Maury River once was part of an all-water passage that went from Lexington out to the Atlantic. The Chessie Trail is along a former railroad line that wasn't rebuilt after a flood in 1969.

Chessie VI

The Maury River flows into the James River in the town of Glasgow. It has flooded a number of times, most recently in 1995.

Fog at the Inn

We stayed at the Lexington Days Inn. It fell into that barely acceptable category.

Look at them City Slickers...

So, if you are traveling from Lexington to Buena Vista, taking Old Buena Vista Road isn't the best route. Following the GPS, I ended up winding around on dirt roads through pastures.

Lost in the countryside II

Playing with photo filters...

Lost in the countryside III

While it involved some dirt roads and some bad navigation advice from my cell phone, we did eventually make it to Buena Vista. The 10-minute trip took a good hour.

Southern Virginia University

Southern Virginia University is on a hill overlooking the town of Buena Vista.

Part of College

The university is owned by the Latter-day Saints. It has 729 students.

Buena Vista River Walk

Buena Vista River Walk follows Maury River and the railroad tracks.

View of Maury River

Buena Vista has a population of about 6,500.

Vulture Tree

I guess they were waiting just in case three runs in two days was a bit too much for me.

End of the Trail

Riverwalk makes a bit of an abrupt end, although you can see the railroad bridge across the way.

End of the Trail II

Logo

Unlike the Chessie line, these tracks are actually still in use by Norfolk Southern.

Side of Building

Side of building in Buena Vista.

More train tracks

More train tracks.