Spending Quiet Time in Giles County, Virginia

Stanley-Stanley! Wake up! How did you sleep last night now that you’re in Giles County, Virginia? Did the trains wake you during the night? There are tracks on both sides of the river and trains run from the two Lime plants to the coalfields of West Virginia all during the day and night. 

It was a little chilly, about sixty degrees, but it will warm up today to about eighty-four. If it gets really hot, we’ll ride out of the valley into the mountains. It’s always five to eight degrees cooler up there. If we go all the way to the top, it will be close to 4,000 feet, so it’s always cooler up there.

What would you like for breakfast? ”Shoney’s?” We don’t have a Shoney’s here. This is a small county, only about seventeen thousand people. Our biggest town only has around two thousand people. Heck, some high schools in other areas have that many kids in one school so the closest we come to Shoney’s is Burger King, Dairy Queen or Hardees.

What’s that? Of course we have a Wal-Mart, but even it’s a small one. It isn’t brick like most others, it’s a sheet metal building. Come on, put on some clothes and we’ll ride to Glen Lyn, a small town on one end of our county next to the West Virginia border. Glen Lyn had one of the top employers in the area—American Electric Power—but sadly it is closing down due to the economy. We will pass Celanese—the largest employer in our county. At one time it employed almost four thousand people, but now it’s down to 1,000-1,500. It produces cigarette filters and textiles.

You see the horses over in the field? Yes, we have horses and cows in this area although we don’t have any huge horse farms like maybe northern Virginia or Kentucky. Do you see that mountain to your right? No, your other right! That’s called Butt Mountain, no really—Butt Mountain. We will get on the one of two highways that crosses our county, Route 460 (the other is Route 100). Route 100 will take you to Radford University and Rte. 460 will take you to Virginia Tech. How long, did you ask? It’s west about twenty to thirty minutes away.

Buckle up! Here we go! Oh you’re funny—yes this is a car and not a horse and buggy although in one part of our county, the Amish still ride that way. Why yes, we did cross a river, that’s the New River, the second oldest river in the world and only one of a handful that flow north. It crosses thirty-seven miles of our county. It is a slow moving river but is about a hundred yards across pretty much all the way. Why yes, you are right that’s the width of a football field.

How many schools? There are two high schools—Giles (700 kids) and Narrows High (about 350), and three elementary schools (Macy, Eastern, and Narrows). Stanley, what is your favorite subject? "Lunch?” Ha ha. 

Any questions about this area? Anyone famous ever been here? Well yes, if you count Patrick Swayze. They filmed the movie “Dirty Dancing” at Mountain Lake Hotel. It’s a resort at the top of Salt Pond Mountain with a natural formed lake. That lake all but dried up to a mud puddle last year, but when it’s full covers about 50 acres and is around a 100 feet deep at some points. Because of the way it sets on a fault line, it sometimes drains low but eventually fills back up, although not completely.

A little known fact-it is one of only two naturally formed fresh water lakes in Virginia. The other one is Lake Drummond in the Dismal Swamp. 

What do people do for fun here? We are pretty relaxed, we have numerous creeks and mountain trails, The Appalachian Trail cuts through our county and we get hikers from as far away as England and all parts of the United States. We don’t have a movie theater. You have to go about 30 minutes away for that. Lot of folks set on their porches or campgrounds by the river and just enjoy the quite evenings and relaxing atmosphere. We have a fair amount of tourists.

Did you know that of the nine covered bridges in Virginia and three of them are in Giles County? Fishing is popular, and we have two golf courses and several parks.

We are also quite proud of our new hospital, Giles Memorial, which replaced the original one built in 1960. The new one’s a state-of-the-art, $50 million facility with a great view of Angels Rest: one of the three largest mountains in the county--Angels Rest, Butt Mountain and Peter’s Mountain.

Are you ready to call it a day? Maybe we will go up to the top of Butt Mountain to an old Forestry service fire tower. Before technology with radar and satellites, rangers sat in those towers watching for signs of forest fires. There are a couple left standing, although not in use anymore and they offer great views of the county. Oh, don’t be a scaredy-cat. Yes, we have black bears, deer, raccoons and other small animals, but we will be fine.  No? Ok! I enjoyed having you along, Mr. Flat Stanley-Whitman.

Lori Wilburn, Giles County, Virginia