We stayed at Fiddler’s Roost Bed & Breakfast Cabins located just of Blue Ridge Parkway next to the Blue Ridge Music Center.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America’s longest linear park, runs for 469 miles (755 km) through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 441 (US 441) on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit.

Blue Ridge Music Center

The Blue Ridge Music Center is a music venue, museum, and visitor center located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, Virginia. The center celebrates the music and musicians of the Blue Ridge Mountains through concerts, exhibits, and programs that highlight living musical heritage of the Blue Ridge region and interpret its significance within the larger landscape of American music and culture. The site is operated through a partnership between the National Park Service and Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. The Music Center operates May through October. Free Midday Mountain Music acoustic sessions featuring local musicians are offered from noon to 4 p.m. daily. Concerts are offered most Saturdays during the season and include old-time, bluegrass, folk, Americana, gospel, and country blues performances. The Roots of American Music Museum on site showcases the region’s rich musical heritage. Admission to the museum is free. The center was planned when the town of Galax gave 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) for its development. The center has a state-of-the-art amphitheater and a 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) museum. It was officially established by Congress in 1985.

Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Located in the Appalachian region of the United States, Galax is known as a center of traditional “old-time” music and musicians, as is Round Peak, North Carolina near Mount Airy, some 15 miles away on the other side of the ridge. Galax and the surrounding region are also known for traditional instrument-making; A distinctive style of Appalachian dulcimer is named for Galax.

Although the entire Appalachian region is known for its Bluegrass and traditional, or “old-timey” music and musicians, the region around Mount Airy, North Carolina is one of the few areas of the United States where this music has remained prominent, even among young people. The Old Fiddler’s Convention, one of the most prominent traditional music contests in the United States, has been held annually in Galax since 1935.[9] It has long attracted the best up-and-coming bluegrass musicians. The Blue Ridge Music Center with its amphitheater and music museum of old-time music is just a short distance away on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Wytheville is a town in, and the county seat of, Wythe County, in southwestern Virginia, United States. It is named after George Wythe, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Wytheville’s population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. Interstate Highways 77 and 81 were constructed to intersect at the town, long a crossroads for travelers. During the American Civil War, Wytheville had a strategic importance. It was attacked in 1863 (Toland’s Raid) and 1865 (Stoneman’s 1865 Raid). The town is the birthplace of Edith Bolling Wilson, second wife of President Woodrow Wilson.

Fries

Fries (pronounced “freeze”) is an incorporated town located on the New River in Grayson County, Virginia, 24 kilometers (15.5 mi) north-east of the county seat in Independence — in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands and on Virginia’s musical heritage trail, The Crooked Road. Named after prominent cotton mill owner, Francis Henry Fries, the town is noted as the former site of Washington Mill (1903-1989); as one of three end points of the New River Trail State Park and as the host of annual music festivals reflecting its strong bluegrass and country music traditions — with its August Old-Time Fiddlers’ and Bluegrass Convention and its September Festival by the New River.

Floyd

Floyd is a town in Floyd County, Virginia, United States. The population was 425 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Floyd County. The Town of Floyd was originally named Jacksonville as the surrounding county was formed during the tenure of President Andrew Jackson. The name was subsequently changed to Floyd for Virginia governor John Floyd.

The Town of Floyd is becoming known as a regional destination for music, especially bluegrass music, and old-time music. The Floyd Country Store’s Friday Night Jamboree, which features local and area bands, has been held each Friday night for many years, gaining in popularity during the past decade. In fair weather, the indoor stage performances and dancing are joined by simultaneous banjo-and-fiddle-centered jam sessions in driveways and seating areas along South Locust Street. Floyd is also home to a very large counter-culture movement. There are other musical venues and stages in the town, featuring many different styles of music. The Winter Sun, a complex in downtown Floyd, frequently hosts shows for bands. Floyd is also home to an increasing amount of classical music, including the National Music Festival, which will host its first season in Floyd in 2011. The Town also is home to County Sales, a notable music distribution company founded by David Freeman focusing on old-time, bluegrass and related music.

Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States, 133 miles (214 km) southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington County. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts and crafts scene centered on the galleries and museums along Main Street. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, the town of Abingdon is known for its artsy vibe, historic charm and its proximity to some of the most spectacular outdoor recreation in the state. Abingdon was voted one of the Coolest Small Towns in America.

Wayne Henderson – Legendary Guitar Builder and Guitarist

Wayne C. Henderson is an American guitar maker who specializes in the crafting of handmade, custom acoustic guitars. He also occasionally makes other stringed instruments, such as mandolins, banjos, and fiddles. He is based in Rugby, in Grayson County, Virginia where he was born on May 3, 1947.  Henderson’s guitars are inspired by the great pre-World War II guitars of C.F. Martin & Company, and are hand-built in limited quantities; by October 2012, over five hundred Henderson guitars had been constructed.  In a 1995 White House ceremony, he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship in recognition of his extraordinary instrument-making. The book Clapton’s Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument (2005) outlined the process by which Henderson built a guitar for Eric Clapton. It was reading this book that inspited us to visit Wayne and see his Workshop.

Source: Wikipedia

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This page contains all photos of our stay in the Galax area except for our visit to Wayne Henderson’s guitar workshop which you can see on a separate page here:

Visit to Wayne Henderson’s Workshop

Mabry Mill, Milepost 176.1, Blue Ridge Parkway

When Edwin Boston Mabry (1867-1936) built his water powered mill in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, he had no way of knowing it would become one of the most photographed places in the United States. The mill, on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 176.1, draws several hundred thousand visitors each year. The gristmill and sawmill have been restored by park naturalists so visitors might see live exhibits, a real mill, and a working miller to demonstrate the milling process. The grounds of the mill include other interpretive media all designed to tell about mountain industry.

The Matthews Cabin is an outstanding example of mountain architecture and workmanship and offers an intriguing look into the tanning and shoe making crafts. There is also a whiskey still, a sorghum mill and a working blacksmith shop. Mabry Mill was a community center for the Meadows of Dan area when it operated as a gristmill and sawmill.  Today, the area becomes another kind of community gathering place each Sunday afternoon during the summer as musicians and dancers gather.

Fiddler’s Roost ‘Bed & Breakfast’ Cabin

Resting after a hard day’s drive along th Blue Ridge Parkway

The two person hot tub – roomier than it looks!

Blue Ridge Music Center, Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Music Center is a state-of-the-art performing arts facility built to preserve and promote the historic music of Virginia and the Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge region has produced more old-time and bluegrass musicians per capita than any other. It is the heart of many of America’s living music traditions.  Drawing from this rich heritage, which continues to thrive, the air at the Blue Ridge Music Center (BRMC) is almost always filled with music, even when there is no concert on the stage.  From June through October when you leave your car you’ll likely hear the ring of the banjo and the song of the fiddle wafting on the air from the breezeway that separates the visitors center from the indoor auditorium.  Well-known local musicians volunteer their time to share the music they love with visitors, inviting those who can pick a tune to join them as well. Listeners relax in rocking chairs and enjoy both the music and the scenic view of Fisher Peak.

Wayne Henderson, guitarist and guitar builder, a name we came across several times before meeting up with the legend!

Our walk back to the cabin via a woodland trail

Nearly back at the cabin

Galax

Galax Commercial Historic District is a national historic district located at Galax, Virginia. The district encompasses 67 contributing buildings in the central business district of Galax. A few of the buildings are one-story storefronts, but a majority of the buildings are two-story commercial buildings with either apartments or offices located on the second floor. The majority of the buildings were built in the 1920s. Notable buildings include the old fire station (c. 1920), Colonial Theater (1930), Waugh Department Store (1904), Rex Theater (1938), and Galax Municipal Building (1908).  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, with a boundary increase in 2008.

Every Friday night in the City of Galax, Virginia WBRF 98.1 FM sends out 100,000 watts of live old-time and bluegrass music from the stage of the historic Rex Theater into five states and over the World Wide Web.  Listeners may be in Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee or as far away as Egypt enjoying the traditional music show from the comfort of their own homes, or they may be sitting back in one of the 475 seats at the Rex.  The show is called Blue Ridge Back Roads and thanks to a faithful group of volunteers, it has become the cornerstone for the revitalization of this 70 year old theater.  Now owned and operated by the City of Galax, the Rex continues to expand its offerings with vintage movie nights, Saturday concerts and community plays.  The Rex is also available for special events and many non-profit groups have found it’s a great venue for community oriented fundraising.  Historically important and designated landmark on the Crooked Road, the Rex remains the jewel in the crown of the City of Galax.

Wytheville

Fries

Seeking out
The ‘Virginia Creeper Railroad – Abingdon Branch of the Norfolk & Western Railway and ‘The Crooked Road’ – Virginia’s Heriage Music Trail

Whitetop Station serves as a visitor center and has an interesting history. The building is a replica of the original train station that sat atop the highest point on the Abingdon Branch of the Norfolk and Western Rail Lines until it was abandoned in 1977. The replica was reconstructed in 2000 and displays many historic photos and memorabilia about the train history and mountain community. This photo was taken in 2011!

“Maud Bows to The Virginia Creeper” – O. Winston Link

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