Trip Day  21 Saturday May 15,2021

Another sunny day (a few cumulus clouds) and the temps reached the 70’s.

 The internet is not reaching our campground and it is not strong  enough to go very far . (range). So we have decided to go nearer the office where the wi-fi is strong and do what we need there,That means for Jim a week off from the bible Study, but some of the team came to the rescue. Carol will lead the class and we are grateful for that. Thanks Carol.

So after packing the ‘proverbial’ lunch and downloading what we needed, we headed for Philpott Lake and the Dam of the same name. Built in the early ’50’s , it was determined that the floods of the area were devastating,  so 5 dams were built by the Corps of Engineers , in three counties,  to reduce (eliminate ) the floods that were plaguing the folks in these counties for many years. The other Dams were; John H Kerr, Leesville, Smith Mountain, Gaston and Roanoke Rapids. All of these are on the Roanoke River watershed, emptying into Albermarle Bay  (Sound?) 

 

 

 The lake is surrounded by 7,000- acres of pristine undeveloped woodland and the  property is owned by the Corps. This means there are no developments on the forested areas except for a few homes and small farms, that were grandfathered in when the property was handed over to the Corps. Adjoining it are 14,000 acres of a state park and a parcel owned by the Dept. of Game and Fisheries. A truly marvelous recreational opportunity for those who enjoy the outdoors and recreation.

 Our stop at the Visitor’s Center did get us some maps, but the Center was closed due to Covid. The area around it included the views of the Dam and Lake  and some good birding.

We visited two of the 12 sites that have recreational activities allowed therein.  Five of the 12 sites allow camping and the group camping area has full hookups for trailers, and the others have water and electricity.  There are no commercial enterprises in the area  except boat and kayak rentals  by the Corps. The two we visited were; Salthouse Branch Park, and Twin Ridge Park. They were busy but because of the size of the area, not overcrowded.

Our birding was better as well, although just being out in God’s Creation, is a treat for us.  We did connect on 28 species today  including  a few new on this day. Both the ORCHARD and the NORTHERN (BALTIMORE) ORIOLE, ROUGH WINGED SWALLOW, OLIVE SIDED FLYCATCHER  , EASTERN PHOEBE AND THE BELTED KiNGFISHER. A good day for birding. 

A clear cut area that has not much going for it.

One of Ruth's barn shots in Henry Co.VA

We took some time to complete the internet downloading and Ruth readied supper of Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes and string beans.A very good meal.

We both sat by the river for awhile to look for birds and saw a few. I’ll go out again and watch then as the sun sets.

One of the coves at Philpott Lake

An Eastern Phoebe shot while we were downloading from the truck.

 

 Church services on Zoom tomorrow, probably from our truck,(yep,they were) and another Dam nearby. Today’s travels were 54 miles round trip. Again, they were rural, narrow two lane, hilly, steep, and many curves. We did see one deer zooming across the road when we stopped to view birds. I saw it, Ruth missed.

Hope to see you tomorrow. I’ll down load tonight.