by Richard Kretz Richard Kretz is a regionally-acclaimed naturalist and photographer whose digital images capture the vibrant beauty and diversity of nature. His life project is to photographically document as much of the flora and fauna as possible in far Southwest Virginia. He resides at the foot of Clinch Mountain near Lebanon in Russell County, […]
Hiking
Focus on Local Outdoor Photographers
Birds of the Powell, Clinch, and Holston River Watersheds
by Ed Talbott Photos courtesy of Roger Mayhorn except where noted rmayhorn@hughes.net http://pbase.com/mayhorn Three major river systems arise in the hill and valley region of Southwest Virginia and follow the ridgelines, flowing southwest into Northeast Tennessee. The rivers are the Clinch, the Powell and the Holston, and these rivers, along with the French Broad River, […]
New Trail Coming Soon to a Big Mountain Near You
by Claude Gable Hikers, bikers, and hunters of southwestern Virginia will be pleased to learn of the establishment of a new trail on Clinch Mountain tracing the border of Washington and Russell counties. The trail, open to foot traffic only, will be built in two stages. Phase one will begin at the Low Gap parking […]
A Final Word: Thanks a Lot, Governor Sanford
Far be it from us men to kick another male when he is down for the count, but South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford needs a collective boot from his brothers. Not only did he break the code of silence about secret relationships, but he actually bragged about it and wrote sappy e-mails to his soul […]
St. Paul’s Sugar Hill: A Story of Biological Diversity, Pioneer History, Murder, and Nature Trails
As travelers pass by the small town of St. Paul, Virginia, on Alternate Route 58, they may notice a fairly large blue and white sign announcing “Hiking/Biking.” I drove by this sign at least a hundred times before I bothered to stop, assuming that the wayside was a small town park with a playground and […]