Day 15: 72 Mi To Abingdon

10/22/2015

I cannot thank Don and Tracy enough for their hospitality and wonderful conversation during the course of my short visit. Whenever I get a blog comment, there's a good chance it's from them and I'm happy they enjoy my pictures and stories. The food was phenomenal and the morning breakfast omlett and chicken fried venison steak was no exception. I was fueled up with a belly full and the promising warm and clear weather urged me to knock out the miles. I climbed over the twisting dirt mountain road to an elevation of 3200 ft. Chipmunk, groundhog, squirrel, turkeys and a low flying hawk ahead of me were frequent along the rural route. As the afternoon wore on, I passed through Saltville, sat capital of the Confederacy and took a rest at the recreation salt kettles. The hills never seemed to end and my legs sure felt the strain as the sun turned into my eyes and the shadowy areas grew cool and blue. Finally, I reached the I-81 corridor and turned into Hwy 11 in the direction of Tennessee. I was soon passing through Abingdon and nearing 70 mi, looking for a place to rest my legs. Halfway to Bristol, an abandoned drive-in theater off the highway caught my attention. The Moonlight Theatre was a bit eerie in its abandoned state as the sun set but I doubted it would see any traffic overnight and spread out my sleeping bag on the pavement beneath the screen.