Date: 2015-05-21
From: Black Horse Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway

To: BearWallow Gap
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Thursday, May 21st The hike today was a nero for the Iceman as it was only 8.1 miles and it turned out to be more like a walk in Central Park, NY because it was mostly flat with very few rocks and roots. This type of hike may have been what a lot of hikers, who began at Springer Mountain, thought the entire AT was going to be like but after hiking several days quickly realized that it was nothing like a walk in the park and soon quite. The Iceman was grateful for the easy day because he will be doing another 17+ miles on Friday with a lot of vertical climbing. Today's hike took him across the Blue Ridge Parkway, a small two lane country road, twice and each time he was stopped by the Park Police. They wanted to know if he had seen a hiker with a goatee. They found a discarded backpack and were trying to locate its owner. The Iceman had not seen this fellow but hopes that he will be found and in good condition. The Sherpa and the Iceman packed up and left the Comfort Inn in Salem, VA after spending 7 nights there and moved on to Peaks of Otter Lodge which is on the Blue Ridge Parkway itself. The Lodge has beautiful mountain views and sits beside a small lake. The AT parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway for a great deal of it's length and that makes it convenient for the Sherpa to drop the Iceman off and pick him up without driving for too many miles. After dropping the Iceman off, rather late in the morning, the Sherpa drove to the Lodge only to find out that they had lost their power and the computers were down so she couldn't check in until 3pm. Well, there's always something new to see or do so after speaking with several employees of the Lodge and several helpful guests in the lobby she decided to investigate the nearby town of Bedford. Bedfords claim to fame is the National D-Day Memorial so that was the place to see. The photo here is only part of the Memorial. The tour guide, Walter, took 4 of us on a very informative tour of the facility and it was very emotional. Due to arrive at about 3pm were 400 motorcycles. These patriot people pay homage to our veterans every Memorial Day by visiting this site. This Memorial is dedicated to those who fought at Omaha beach on D-Day and the reason the Memorial is here in Bedford is because of the Bedford Boys. A story that influenced the way our government assigns men to the various companies and regiments from a town or family. You may remember the story about Private Ryan. There's no cell coverage at the lodge, only slow WiFi but it's better than nothing or else the Sherpa wouldn't be able to follow the Iceman on his tracking gadget or do a trail journal. The day was gloomy with a constant threat of rain but late in the afternoon the sun showed up and the temperature rose to about 70. The Millstone Tea Room and Restaurant was where we chose to have dinner and it turned out to be a great choice. The place was lovely and the fried oysters, North Carolina Trout, Cheddar Grits and the rest were delicious. Back at the dining room in the lodge we sat and listened to a fiddler and guitarist playing mountain music which was a very enjoyabe way to end the day.