July 14 Wednesday

We left Asheville just before 8AM this morning heading toward the Roanoke,  VA area. The target is a State Park named Fairy Stone. Fairy Stone is a crystal made of iron, aluminum and silicate. The mineral name is staurolite and often takes the form of a crucifix  so here's the legend:

"Long, long ago...as fairiesplayed in a sunny glade in Patrick County, Virginia an elfin messenger arrived with the said news of Christ's  crucifixion. The fairies cried and as their tears fell to the earth, they crystallized into little stone crosses. Though the fairies have disappeared, their remnants can still be found in that spot today."

With a legend like that how could we not travel an hour and a half off our route to explore. We left US 81 before Roanoke heading south again crossing a segment of the Blue Ridge Parkway and down a 9% grade to a to Stuart, VA. One of the photos is a truck we got stuck behind on that decent .

Bob and I spent the afternoon trying to local the Fairy Stones with little luck. We did find pieces but no intact crosses. When we finished we found an open building near the entrance to the collection area and inside was a vending machine with Fairy Stones. 🤣🤪🤣

Heading to Pennsylvania in the morning.