Fall Along the Rapidan & Conway Rivers

One of my favorite local motorcycle rides goes past the Advance Mills Dam.  The dam is still there, its maintained mostly as a water take-out place for the local volunteer fire companies.  Its also a nice quiet place to sit, watch the world go by and think. 

Advance Mills Dam

There isn’t any place to put a canoe in here, but the sunfish are obliging from time to time.  The jewel weed is thick all alone the Rivanna River here, so the hummingbirds and butterflies are much in evidence

Advance Mills mill pond

When I first moved into my house there was a little store here in what was once the local grocery.  It closed about 2 years later, reopened as a country thrift store with some groceries for a year or so and then closed for good.  The building itself was torn down several years later. 

This historic marker was put up the year the grocery was torn down.  It was the last building in what was once Advance Mills.  At least someone thought it was important to mark its grave. 

Creek on the Middle River Road

This area was home to a thriving beaver colony and a pair of swans with 8 cygnets the year after Da Urchin graduated from college.  The next year the beavers were gone and it was just a meadow with a small creek meandering through it. 

The Beavers are back

Well the beavers are back, they have repaired the old dam and built 2 new ones.  The meadow is once again flooded although its too late in the year to see if the swans are nesting here again. 

Another view of the Beaver Pond

The main dam can be seen in the distance.  This is a good amount of water for this time of year.  Its actually hard to photograph due to the thriving cattails, jewel weed and various bushes.

    

Conway River near Teal Mtn. Looking Upstream

Rain over the mountains quickly becomes rain in the rivers.  A few days ago this river had 18 inches of water in it on average and clearly visible rocks.  Now the rocks are underwater and the river is running almost 4 feet deep.

Conway River near Teal Mtn. Looking Downstream

The rocks on the downstream side of the bridge I’m standing on are totally submerged.  There are several pairs of Great Blue Herons and a pair of Great White Egrets that nest along this stretch of the Conway River.  They are generally in residence until early October although I didn’t see any of them today.  With the river so high they were probably off seeking dinner in quiet farm ponds.

Conway River at the Shenandoah National Park Boundary

Nearer the headwaters of the Conway the water was 24 to 30 inches deep.  That creek joining the river on the left is actually the Conway River Trail.  The road used to ford the river here but the ford was obliterated by the nameless storm that also put the Rapidan River bridge on US29 at the Greene-Madison line 8 feet under water.  The Weather Channel broadcast footage of the bridge under water that Da Urchin and I saw in Florida while we were visiting family there.  It was a very scary and very destructive flood. 

Stone Wall on the Conway River Timber Company Land

The area above Fletcher on the Conway used to be home to a dozen or so seasonal camps as well as several year round homes.  As of this year most of the camps are gone and in their place are “No Trespassing” and “Conway River Timber Lands” signs as well as this very impressive stone wall.  Unfortunately there is still no parking along the road here even though there are several trailheads for Shenandoah National Park along the road.  I’ve never figured out why establish a trailhead if there is no parking so it could actually be used. 

Virginia Whitetail Doe getting an Afternoon Snack

This lovely doe glanced at me as I stopped to watch her, decided I was no threat and went back to trimming the verge.

A bit farther on this group of 6 deer crossed the road in front of me to snack in this camp’s yard.  They looked up when I stopped for the photo op but were otherwise not bothered by my presence. And thus I headed home to my own dinner with the rain tapping the roof of my van.

Have I mentioned how much I love living in the mountains of Virginia?