Just a single picture update today. I took this while walking across the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge in downtown Roanoke yesterday. Temperatures are much cooler than last week, but the clouds were fairly sparse.

I look forward to the warmer months when I can venture out some more and post pictures of the downtown area.

Wachovia Tower in downtown Roanoke (2-17-09)

These photos were taken on 12/27/08 as I traveled from Roanoke out along US 460 (and eventually on secondary roads) to the Bedford area over the holiday.

Most of these photos will need no introduction, other than being just a fraction of some of the beautiful and unique countryside scenes that we are fortunate to view here in Southwest VA.

I hope you enjoy them.

These photos were taken on 12/27/08 as I traveled from Roanoke out along US 460 (and eventually on secondary roads) to the Bedford area over the holiday.

Most of these photos will need no introduction, other than being just a fraction of some of the beautiful and unique countryside scenes that we are fortunate to view here in Southwest VA.

I hope you enjoy them. If you missed Part 1, it is here. I’ll post Part 3 on Wednesday. (Link to Part 3 is also at the bottom of the post.)

Part 3

These photos were taken on 12/27/08 as I traveled from Roanoke out along US 460 (and eventually on secondary roads) to the Bedford area over the holiday.

Most of these photos will need no introduction, other than being just a fraction of some of the beautiful and unique countryside scenes that we are fortunate to view here in Southwest VA.

I hope you enjoy them. I’ll post Parts 2 and 3 next week. (Links to Parts 2 and 3 are also at the bottom of the post.)

The junction with the Blue Ridge Parkway as seen when traveling along US 460.

A peculiar water fountain along US 460, which always seem to be flowing.

Part 2

Part 3

Happy New Year!!

This past Saturday I drove out to see dad (near Bedford) for a holiday gathering.

So, I drove through the downtown Roanoke area once during the late morning on the way out there. And, again on the way back across town a little bit after dusk.

Here are a couple pictures I managed to take along the way:

Downtown Roanoke, photo taken late morning on 12/27/08

Downtown Roanoke, photo taken just after dusk on 12/27/08

Several months ago in a previous post I stopped off and visited a quaint little park along Colonial Avenue, across the street from a CVS (and where there used to be the WDBJ7 station headquarters).

At that time we were on the brink of Spring. And now we are on the brink of Winter.

I still think this little spot is pretty neat, but it didn’t quite have the same charm as a much warmer Spring or Summer day.

Harkrader Park as seen just off of Colonial Avenue, across the street from CVS and Towers Shopping Center.

Foliage is showing signs of cooler temperatures.

Tall grasses now border a section of the park.

I’m a bit of a hypocrite.

It wasn’t all that long ago when I mentioned that I had had enough heat and that I was ready for cooler weather. But, I had no idea at that time that after just a few days into December we would already have experienced several sub-freezing nights!

Last night was particularly chilly, with the temperatures dropping down into the 20s. What happened to the more moderate 40s? I can only imagine what January and February may be like.

Well, in the meantime, I went through some of my archive of photos and found a few from various (much warmer) times earlier in the year:

The Historic Gainsboro sign along Wells Avenue adorned with blooming flowers.

(Note: I explored the nearby section of Wells Avenue in a previous post.)

Mill Mountain full of trees with lively green leaves.

View along the Blue Ridge Parkway during warmer times.

A view of the Wachovia Tower and Mill Mountain as seen from Lick Run Greenway.

When I was in the downtown area this past weekend taking pictures of the new art museum, I snapped a few other photos along the way:

Looking down Jefferson Street.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge.

A new convenience mart called the Downtown Corner Store (brick section on lower level of parking garage) prepares to open near the corner of Salem Avenue and 1st Street.