Crooked Road

We live right near Virginia's "Crooked Road". It's called "Virginia's Music Heritage Trail", and runs from Rocky Mount, Virginia to a point near the Kentucky-Virginia border, in the far western part of the Commonwealth. I've driven the entire route, and frequently visit small Appalachian Mountain towns such as Floyd, Virginia, which hosts annually one of the best mountain music festivals anywhere. The town is rich in those things that make living in this region of Virginia so special to me. Sure, we don't have a lot a the big city stuff that attracts millions, nor do we have a flourishing job market. In fact, Henry County where we live usually has the highest unemployment rate in Virginia. Floyd is a 40 minute drive from our home, along a winding two-lane road quickly rising in elevation across the Blue Ridge Mountains. While driving that road, I normally listen to WBRF FM in Galax, Virginia, or either to my iPod or a CD containing lots of mountain music, some recorded near Floyd, with local talent picking and singing in traditional string band fashion. The photo above captures just a small part of the culture in this region, and I can assure you it's much more fun walking the merchandise crowded aisles of this general store in Floyd, than it is at any large town retailer. In short, this is why my I like living here.