Virginia – Kingsnake's Home Den

Mount Vernon

2026-10-04 Tourism 0

I originally planned to hike the Appalachian Trail from Snickers Gap to the PATC’s Blackburn Trail Center on Monday. But on Friday, I blew out […]

I was hoping for more fall color, but my A.T. hike was a week early. This tree is a Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica), aka black tupelo, or sour gum. Photo taken with my new OM System Tough TG-7 pocket camera.

A.T.: Mount Weather to Snickers Gap

2026-10-02 Hiking 0

Last April, on a Friday, I hiked the Appalachian Trail from Ashby’s Gap to Mount Weather. But the afternoon traffic on I-81 back to Hagerstown […]

Ashby's Gap on the Appalachian Trail was foggy & chilly. I wore a hoodie, and hoped it would not rain. Note the A.T. blaze. One blaze indicates trail goes straight; two offset blazes indicates left or right turn.

A.T.: Ashby’s Gap to Mount Weather

2026-04-03 Hiking 0

On our last visit to Maryland, I biked the Great Allegheny Passage from Cumberland to Frostburg. Afterwards, I started breaking down the remaining GAP Trail […]

The Great Stalacpipe Organ, listed by Guinness as the world's largest musical instrument, occupies 3½ of Luray Cavern's 64 acres. The organ was created by Leland Sprinkle, who spent three years selecting and tuning the stalactites which serve as its "pipes". My video's (below) music was played on the organ by Monte Maxwell.

Luray Caverns, Virginia

2025-04-19 Tourism 0

Our usual Hagerstown hotel used to have a rack of tourist brochures, and at some point I grabbed one for Luray Caverns, down in Virginia. […]