Big Stone Gap, Virginia

A few years ago, while on one of my solo motorcycle sojourns, was the first time I visited the town of Big Stone Gap in far southwestern Virginia. My reason for going there was to see their LOVEwork (part of the venerable Virginia tourism marketing campaign,”Virginia is for Lovers“). Sadly, it was damaged in a storm and is no longer on display. I really liked the area, and the town seemed nice, so I knew I’d like to return one day. Back then, I had no idea I’d be returning in a big-ass motor home.

I did not remember having seen a campground in the town, but campgrounds were not on my radar back then. Heck, I think that was even before we started seriously talking about RVing when Mike retired at the end of 2021. At that time, I had just been laid off, so my future-focus was more near-term. I had to think about finding my next job.

Fast-forward to 2021. We are all living in a much different world. It’s crazy how things can change so dramatically in just three years, isn’t it?

Near the end of May/early June, as I was trying desperately to find a campground that could accommodate us over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, I learned that Big Stone Gap has a campground in town AND they had an opening for us. Win-win!

I was a bit leery of staying in-town, thinking it might be too loud for us, but was intrigued by the idea of being adjacent to the town’s greenway trail and close enough to walk to restaurants if we chose. Not to mention that the campground — Jessie Lea RV — was the first one of about a hundred I’d looked into that had an opening for us over the holiday, and then some. They had a full hook-up (water, electric, and sewer) spot for us for 11 nights straight!

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. It was relatively quiet, considering the location. And the campground, although small, was neat and tidy. It was also located in a very pretty spot along one small branch of the Powell River.

There were several pull-through sites in the middle of the campground that didn’t offer much shade, but were very long and level. The Wifi was fast enough for streaming at times, but struggled during times of peak usage.

Below are some more pics captured in and around the campground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and I both enjoyed the campground’s proximity to the Big Stone Gap Greenbelt. It was a great place to ride our bicycles. One complete loop around the greenbelt was about three miles (4.8 km). All in all, it was a great location.

Following are pictures I captured along the greenbelt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, here’s a shot of Belle imploring us not to leave her home alone.

We were actually going to return to Jessie Lea RV in Big Stone Gap for a few weeks in August and September, but plans have changed. Again. This time, it is thanks to the blow-out. In about three weeks, we need to be in Lawrenceville, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, to have the necessary repairs made. So, next week we will be leaving Blue Ridge, Georgia (our current, stunningly beautiful location) and heading south and east to Statesboro, Georgia for a month. I have yet to make reservations for September 10-30, but we are otherwise fully booked through the end of January. In February, we head west.

I have quite a few other photos and recaps of other locations to share. Catching up for an entire month is hard to do.