Nestled in the valley, Roanoke enjoys spectacular views of Virgnia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

The license plates say: Virginia is for lovers. They could have added: of history, of wine, of nature, and so much more. And nowhere are all these brought together more forcibly than in the Roanoke Valley.

In the heart of the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains, this valley was a hub of travel for trail blazers like Daniel Boone who chopped their way through the wilderness to Kentucky, as well as for the earliest pioneers crossing the wide expanse of America on the Great Wagon Road, in search of a better life. A young George Washington passed this way in 1776 to inspect the frontier forts. Continue reading →