Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Skyland Drive /Blue Ridge (VA) Rally, June 13-16

Guys - I held back on this decision as long as possible. Due to a health issue with my 15-yr old son, I am unable to attend this rally. I want to be home to care for him next week. I'll also sincerely miss meeting you and the comradery that naturally builds at these events.

That said, you're in good shape. The intention was always to plan the daily driving routes each morning over breakfast at Skyland Lodge, somewhat spontaneously and dependent on the weather forecast.

I recommend a visit on Friday to the Luray Cavern and its adjacent auto museum where as I recall, they have a vintage M3W in the collection. Please keep our Saturday' 12: 00-noon lunch date with Jeremy Goldstein and his Sake winery in Charlottesville as it will be covered by the press. As far as Barboursville Winery and lunch/dinner on Friday, I've heard virtually no feedback so no commitment was made.

Please post photos of the event! It will make me feel better to see folks enjoying themselves and to put faces with handles. I'll live vicariously through ya'll next week!

Firstly, thanks for getting this whole ball rolling. And secondly, family always comes first. Hopefully with pictures you will be virtually present.

Am in Charlottesville for a couple of days, but without my M3W. Took a drive along the Parkway for the first time in at least 10 years. Jealous of you all for the ride you will be sharing! Enjoy!!

To those of you attending: Please bring a means of identifying yourself as a Morgan person — a hat or shirt with a logo, a club name tag, etc.

The names of attendees that I know of are Peter and Myrna Ballard of Manassas, VA, Joe Speetjens of Stuttgart, Mississippi, Lance and Connie Lipscomb of Cumming, Georgia, Randy Kell of Annapolis, MD, Emil Rolando of Pennsylvania, Rodger and Beth Mattson of Christiansburg, VA.

Four others I know only by their handles on this forum: Ken Shapiro, 2Sharp, Rich, and HKNYMOG (Piloto will not be attending). Please email me at duncan.charlton54@gmail.com so I can put you on a distribution list. That way any of us can do a "reply all" to let the others know of suggestions or announcements.

Have a great trip, guys, and please post a few photos so we can enjoy too! 😊

Randy Kell emailed and said he can't come.

Also, if you're 62 or older, don't forget to bring a Senior Pass for free admission to the Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. If you don’t yet have one look here: https://tinyurl.com/lxya5ga

Rich and Dee Gibson are confirmed at Shenandoah. Thanks to the organisers of this gathering. Looking forward to all of it.

Here are a few ideas for places to drive to.

Several scenic drives are described here (https://tinyurl.com/y52psav4 ) including a drive through Fort Valley (north of Luray), a place with an interesting history (George Washington had been a surveyor and knew the area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Valley_(Virginia)

Luray Caverns and auto museum — yes, there is a Morgan in the museum, a 1931 Super Sports Aero 2-speeder that’s been somewhat modified over the years. Unfortunately it’s not roadworthy.

Meems Bottom covered bridge near Mount Jackson: https://tinyurl.com/y3v2sfce, about an hour away from Skyland (might be fun to take Route 675 over Massanutten mountain)

Willow Mill, just south of Luray on 340 (I think we can’t get into the building itself): https://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=776

New Market Civil War battlefield: http://newmarketbattlefieldmilitarymuseum.com/

Canoeing or kayaking on the south fork of the Shenandoah River (a slow, meandering river) with outfitters such as this one in Bentonville, 50 minutes from Skyland: https://www.downriver.com/

Railroad museum in Luray: https://www.virginia.org/Listings/Museums/AugustaCountyRailroadMuseum/

Zip line on 211 toward Luray (Lee and I did this last year; not cheap but fun. Allow a couple of hours for this.): https://bearmountainadventure.com/

The Copper Fox distillery in Sperryville (just over the Blue Ridge from Luray). https://www.copperfoxdistillery.com/

VDOT county maps are here: http://virginiadot.org/travel/county_maps.asp. Skyland is in Page County, south of the intersection of Skyline Drive and highway 211, southeast of Luray, but is not indicated on the map. These maps do not necessarily show gravel roads that intersect Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway but Google Maps does (yet I can’t confirm accuracy in all cases). The counties we are most likely to drive through are Page, Warren, Rappahannock, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Madison, Greene, Albemarle, and Augusta.

I drove up a gravel road (781) I’d seen on a map a couple of days ago which goes from Natural Bridge to the Blue Ridge Parkway at Petits Gap and when I emerged onto the Parkway I noticed there were no markings on the Parkway for any similar side roads. As I drove along the Parkway I noticed that the GPS moving map incorrectly indicated locations of side road intersections, but I suspect all of the unmarked gravel roads (located at the gaps) drop down to nearby towns. I hesitate to recommend we do that on other similar roads intersecting Skyline Drive without test-driving them first, but 781, although it had a washboard surface in a couple of places, was suitable for a Morgan. The upside was that I didn’t encounter a single vehicle until I got to the Parkway. The downside was that there were only a couple of places where I had long-distance views.

Either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, Beth and I are willing to lead a crew to Rappahannock cellars winery

Stay away from Banjo music on those gravel roads

We have to leave by noon on Saturday as I need to be back for our residents graduation in Blacksburg