By Carnuts Car Club, Inc.

Date of trip January 9, 2005

   It was a last minute decision. Late Saturday I received a call that a few of the club members were getting together for a ride Sunday. If I wanted to go be at Food City in Chilhowie at 1 pm tomorrow. A quick check of the Weather Channel showed that the weather was going to be about as good as it gets for a January day! Well the car was still dirty from the last ride, the gas tank was about half full and none the less it had been so long since I had taken the car on a real ride there was but one thing to do, get ready! The next day about noon Beth and I loaded into the 55 and headed out for Chilhowie. 

    When we arrived it appeared that a lot of others were suffering from cabin fever just like us. We were actually early for once and by the appointed time we had a bunch of cars ready and raring to go. 

Just girl talk!

    It wasn't long before Danny Henderson lead us out onto Route 11 heading south. We rode the old road to Abingdon then turned onto Rt. 19 toward Hansonville. It was a beautiful day and we rode through Abingdon with our windows down and oldies playing on the radio.  We got a lot of waves from passing cars, truck and pedestrians on the street. It doesn't matter where we go we always get plenty of looks, smiles and thumbs ups. It makes all those dollars we spent on our rides worth it. Not long after we turned onto Rt. 19 Danny turned into a small diner style restaurant called Emit's. We all piled out and with appetites aplenty entered the restaurant.

The hungry bunch heading in the door.

For a small restaurant the menu was huge & the food was great!

Tom and Betty with a lean and hungry look in their eyes.

Dean, Theresa & Hannah, Butch & Pat and Will & Gloria patiently waiting for their food.

Linda and Beth having a great time laughing  while Jack, Rhonda and Danny chow down.

The lucky ones got in line first and were done eating by the time the ones at the end of the line were served.

Bo and Shorty were sitting at the back booth. Bo couldn't wait for Shorty's meal to arrive
so Shorty closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch Bo down the huge hamburger. 
Since Bo is the chef of the Car Nuts Cafe at our car show we may get him to write a review of the food at Emit's in the near future.

After a great meal and with full bellies we headed back on the road with Mike and Linda leading the pack. We traveled across Brumley Gap on Rt. 19 through Hansonville where we passed a terrible accident at the intersection then on through Lebanon Virginia. From there we went to Tazewell where we stopped at Hardee's for a pit-stop.

While others were making use of the facilities everyone else gathered in the parking lot and talked.

After Hardee's we headed out again and Mike took us on a scenic ride to Burke's Garden, a place that several of us had never been. In the center of Burke's Garden is the Burkes Garden General Store, the center of activity in the beautiful valley. If you have never been there Burkes Garden is surrounded by mountains in a circle and from the air appears to be an extinct volcano crater. I'm not sure of the geology of the area so it may have been a volcano long ago. The store is an experience in itself! Amish foods and candies are for sale and are a treat to your pallet.  Also available are  Burkes Garden souvenirs including hats and tee shirts. I had to have one of their caps... nice quality and expensive but worth the steep $15.00 price tag. I figured I owed it to myself since I couldn't eat the candies that almost everyone else were consuming. 

Description below is from the web site http://www.virginia.org/

Sometimes referred to as "God's Thumbprint" because of its view from the air, this mountain-ringed bowl is 10 miles in diameter and filled with some of the most fertile farmland in the state. The area, which is the highest mountain valley in Virginia, was designated a National and Virginia Rural Historical District. The community can be viewed from the Appalachian Trail or by car from state route 623. Visitors can buy baked goods and vegetables, bike on area roads, hike and hunt in nearby Jefferson National Forest. First discovered in the 1740's by James Burke while hunting in the area. The name "Burke's Garden" was given to the valley as a joke in 1748 after Burke planted potato peelings by the campfire of a 1748 surveying party. The next year, a fine crop of potatoes was found.

We filled the parking lot, blocking in a few customers but they didn't seem to mind. The store manager (I assume) had all kinds of car stories and questions for everyone and was a very friendly guy as was his one employee. 

Look at all that STUFF! It was like stepping back in time!

What store would be complete without mustard, mayo, and peanut butter!

Bo and Beth looking over some of the many unique items available in this interesting little store. 

For more info on Burke's Garden click on this link!

After spending about thirty or forty minutes at the store we all fired up our engines and headed back out of Burkes Garden taking with us many memories that won't soon be forgotten. I'm sure that most of us plan to return there and explore the entire expanse of the valley when we have more daylight and temperature is a little warmer. I know that Beth and I will be back!

With darkness approaching we continued our easterly journey and after several miles came to Interstate 77 near Rocky Gap Va. We stopped to plan our return to Smyth County then headed south on 77. Some got off at Bastian Virginia to take rt. 52 south to Wytheville while others continued on down 77. Beth and I missed the turn to Bastian so we got off at Bland and topped off the fuel tank while Butch, Pat and Jack continued south. Beth and I sat for a while waiting on the cars that exited at Bastian but finally decided to get back on the interstate and head to the house. 

I feel like I can speak for the entire bunch by saying it was as good a road trip as we have ever had and came at a time that made it even more special. Most of us hadn't had our cars out in several months and since the weather was so great it made for a perfect day.

 The End

Click here to return to the Car Nuts main page.