This mountainous area on the border of Virginia and Kentucky is nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of the South” owing to its deep gorges cut by the Russell Fork River on its way to join the ocean. The geography here was formed 200 million years ago by 2 mountain-forming events when the North American continent was still connected with the North African continent. The whole area back then was under sea water.

The views from the overlooks

We really enjoyed the amazing views from all the overlooks we visited. From the park in Virginia, we could see the Pine Mountain range in Kentucky (in the last photo).

We fooled around a little bit.

Our time at the river

We hiked down to the river and stayed there for a while.

Canoeing on Laurel Lake

James, David and I loved our first canoeing experience. Jacob didn’t enjoying canoeing or kayaking very much because he said it was too peaceful for him. At one point, Jacob and I went kayaking together when David and James stayed home to play monopoly. To me, kayaking was a wonderful experience because floating calmly on the lake allowed me to notice the dragonflies flying low on the water and the clouds and hawks overhead. The lake surface was so calm and clear that we were able to see all the way through to the bottom in many places to look at the fish.

On the Geological Trail

So called because hikers get to see interesting rock formation the whole way.

Peace to all.