Day 17 - Galax, Ricky Skaggs & Applewood

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Day 17 - Saturday

This morning Jackson and I went to the local library to check our emails etc.
Martha drove me up to the top of Whitetop mountain to check out the views. It was stunning to see the blue ridge mountains on such a clear day.
At around 4pm we drove to Galax to have dinner at the Smokehouse. The food was great. I had pulled Chicken!

There was a storm brewing. Some nice folks (Tim and MK) that we kept on bumping into, firstly at Carter Fold the day before, then at Whitetop, then at the Smokehouse, offered to take me to the Ricky Skaggs concert at the Blueridge Music Centre. Martha and family went to their performance at the Applewood Centre in Cana. I would meet them their after the Ricky Skaggs concert.

Ricky Skaggs was great, although the rain was treacherous. At least I'll never forget that day for both the great music and the weather.
After the concert, I got a ride from Martha's friend Suzie Shenk who lives near Cana. I met up with the Whitetop Mountain Band at the end of their show in Applewood centre, in time for a final dance.

We all drove back to Whitetop that evening.

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Photos

Morning in Whitetop
This is outside Jackson's house in the morning. Greeted by the cats

Meeting the locals
The friendly Whitetop librarian

Whitetop Post Office
This is proof that I visited Whitetop!

Back at the Ranch
Jackson working on his latest fiddle. She's a blonde.

The Crooked Road
Whitetop is situated along the Crooked Road. A scenic drive through South West Virginia

On top of Whitetop
It was a fabulous day. We were slightly worried as Martha's car kept overheating. But we still made it to the top. Yay!

Martha on top of Whitetop Mountain
This is where I'm from. Ain't it purty!

Panorama views
I can't believe how green this place is compared to Australia.

Walking on Whitetop
Martha was very colour coordinated today.

Mischievous Martha
This is a nice photo

At the Galax Smokehouse
Time for some traditional local cuisine. BBQ!

What's for dinner
Pulled Chicken, Corn things and coleslaw.

Emily and Martha
They were a lot of fun

Thornton and I
Thornton is a master fiddler and a great guy. Wish we could have spent more time talking about fiddling.

The stage is set
Blue Ridge Mountain Centre ready for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.

The crowd
The crowd were very supportive and enthusiastic. I spoke to some folks from Georgia.

The warm up act was Hot!
This is definitely an understatement. These are local musicians who were amazing.