Here are a couple pictures that I took recently while walking around Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke.

Have a great Monday!

Elmwood Park in Roanoke VA. In the distance at the end of the sidewalk is a stage where concerts at Festival in the Park are performed.

No, this picture wasn't taken along some hiking trail on the mountain. It's actually a unique scene from downtown Roanoke at Elmwood Park.

I’ve been to a couple greenways so far this year. How about you?

Even with allergy season in full force I still take every opportunity possible to go for a bicycle ride on one of the area greenways. So far this year I’ve gone to the Roanoke River Greenway and Lick Run Greenway. I’ve also made an unofficial visit to the Tinker Creek Greenway by way of exploring.

(I say “unofficial” because I didn’t even know I was on the greenway until I saw the sign after traveling a little ways. Much more on that in a future post where I will show how the Roanoke River Greenway kinda connects to the Tinker Creek Greenway.)

 (5/6/09 - As an update on the above, I read a recent article in the Roanoke Times which mentioned that federal economic stimulus money will be used to officially connect the Roanoke River Greenway to the Tinker Creek Greenway. )

Here are some various photos taken from my recent greenway visits.

 Have a great Monday!

The Roanoke River Greenway near Wasena Park. The Wasena Bridge is in the background.

Tinker Creek Greenway at Fallon Park.

The Roanoke River and Greenway (seen to the right).

Lick Run Greenway provides a special view from a ramp along I-581.

Ever have one of those days when you had to work late?

Ok, we’ve all had our share of those. But, have you ever noticed how leaving work a little bit later can make the drive home much more enjoyable?

Traffic in Roanoke probably peaks around 5PM most days. But, there really is no rush hour in Roanoke, maybe a rush half-hour or so. Usually, I leave work at 4:30-4:45 so I’m apt to run into a little traffic on the way home.

Well, yesterday I didn’t leave work until about 6:15. And it really is amazing how much more laid back the short commute home is, if I just make it about an hour or an hour-and-a-half-later than usual.

So, with traffic light, temperatures mild, sunshine shining, and my camera snapping I make my way home from the downtown area.

Leaving downtown and traveling along Franklin Road in Roanoke.

Looking over at Mill Mountain and Rivers Edge Sports Complex. If you look extra close you can also see part of the Roanoke River Greenway.

Yellow flowers (tulips I think) in full bloom at the intersection of Franklin Road and Brandon Avenue.

After a rather rainy last week, this past Saturday and Sunday actually turned out to be nice. I was out and about a little bit over the weekend, and as always I spent some time perfecting the act of snapping pictures from the window of a moving vehicle.

A sign of Spring. The color of yellow covers the southbound side of I-581/Route 220, a short distance before the Colonial Avenue exit.

I love this section of Grandin Road, especially during this time of the year.

Lots of road and blue skies ahead. A scene from Williamson Road/Route 11 in the Hollins area.

A brief note about me and taking photos

At best I’m just an amateur photographer. But, what I do like is to take still frames of what seems to be “everyday” or common scenes and occurrences. I bring the camera along and take pictures during a regular family gathering, instead of just during a holiday, birthday, or other special occasion. I snap photos around town on an otherwise seemingly boring early Spring afternoon.

Why?

I have determined that what is perceived as a common occurrence can also be perceived as so common as to be overlooked and thus more easily forgotten.

So, as part of my life’s activities I snap pictures (a lot of pictures) to help me remember. And, I post a few of them here from time to time.

As I’ve mentioned before I go bicycling at least 2 times a week. This is mostly because I’m too busy to have a gym membership and I’d rather be outside anyways. During the colder months I just ride around the neighborhood, but when it gets warmer I often head down to one of Roanoke’s greenways.

This past Sunday, the first Sunday of Spring, turned out to be a very beautiful day. Not too cool and not too hot. If there ever was a difference between a “Mostly Sunny” and “Partly Cloudy” weather forecast this was it. This day had to qualify as “Mostly Sunny”. Maybe even just regular “Sunny”.

Well, I didn’t have time to actually venture down to the Roanoke River Greenway. But, I did ride down from my house to the Wasena Bridge and wasn’t surprised to see that a few other citizens too had the idea of visiting the greenway and nearby park.

Here are some photos from my bicycle ride this past Sunday:

Looking over the edge of the Wasena Bridge at the Roanoke River Greenway (paved pathway). The Roanoke River is just to the right out of the view of the photograph.

An (old) white house along 13th Street SW.

Grape hyacinth manages to grow among some left over Fall leaves. This was taken along the roadside in the Virginia Heights area.

Well, the rain seems to have ended around Roanoke.

Finally.

And the sunshine has returned.

For now.

Here’s a little proof:

6 o'clock sharp says the street clock downtown yesterday evening. Blue skies and sunshine make for a better background than rain and fog.

Cars seem to fill every available spot downtown near the Market. The economy is not so good so I hear, but what is good is to see that residents are still out and about in downtown Roanoke.

Since Sunday the temperatures have been quite cool around Roanoke. No, not sub-zero, but it has been sub-freezing which is cool enough.

On cold mornings like we’ve experienced recently, I always have that sinking feeling of having to wake and leave my warm bed. It’s not easy. When I hear the cold engine of my car briefly struggle to turn over, I quietly respond by saying, “Mr. Car, I don’t want to be getting out in this cold anymore than you, but let’s make the best of it.”

Anyways, despite the cold weather it has been rather sunny, so I took a few more pictures downtown earlier in the week.

View of downtown Roanoke looking from the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial Bridge.

Railroad Tracks in Downtown Roanoke, mountains in the distance.

State of Virginia Marker along the Railwalk in Downtown Roanoke.