Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

We drove through Roanoke and then walked through Salem, Virginia. This was a cool day (55 to 65 degrees F). It was also quite windy – 20 MPH winds.

We drove through Roanoke. Still we were lost several times and had to back track to find how Route 11 goes through the city. Walking and being separated at times would have been a nightmare.

Salem is a nice small city.  The downtown area is mostly 20th century, but well kept and busy with storefronts and restaurants. It is a good stroll through downtown. The highlight for me was Roanoke College (1842). A college is supposed to look like this. Red brick buildings, trees, walkways. It looks so peaceful and inviting.

South of downtown was a cursed golden mile. Actually it is west of downtown. Highways often wander through the land in various directions. A times today Route 11 went north, west, south, and east. Here is a photo of the golden mile. I hate walking along the sidewalk of these. I know there is economic good and such, but I just don’t find anything interesting here.

Highlight of the day – a large tree overhanging the Roanoke River south of Salem. As I approached it I was thinking, “boy, this is a great spot for a rope to swing on.” There it was, the imagined rope swing. It was as if someone had placed a marble and brass marker next to the road reading:

Fun here for generations

We are definitely out of the Shenandoah Valley. The ups and downs in Route 11 are several hundred feet high.

A sign of encouragement:

Bristol 135

This is the first sign on Route 11 I have seen that mentions the Virginia-Tenessee border town. It is one of our goals for October.