Sunday, June 22, 2014

The "Waltons", Barbeque, and a visit to "Harry Murrays"

With our trip to Virginia we had planned a stop at "Waltons Mountain" which is actually in Schuyler VA. The home pictured above is the actual home of Earl Hamner the creator of the Waltons. Both Jeanette and I are big fans of this series and to visit this place was very enjoyable.

There is a museum housed in the school that Earl Hamner attended. It has all of the furnishings of the Walton TV home set up in their respective rooms. They even have the Baldwin sisters "recipe machine". It's an actual still that was confiscated locally in the mountains. No samples of the "recipe" were available.


Ike Godsey's store. This is the site of the original store, unfortunately it burned down several years ago.


The Walton living room. Original furnishings.


Some local color in the form of barbeque. This gent was fixing some pretty good stuff. He told us he starts about 2am with the smoker, and lunch is ready at 11am. He had pork shoulders, ribs, and some awesome sausage. All of his meats are local, as is another prime ingredient the wood that fires the smoker and imparts a flavor like no other.


I wish I had a couple of these now. By the way he operates right on the street in what looks to be an old fire house.


Right next to the barbeque place is another local establishment that is known world wide. "Murray's Fly Shop". I spent some time in there talking to Harry Murray who is very knowledgeable about fishing Virginia, especially Shenandoah National Park.


The fly shop is fully stocked and very neat as well as organized. While shopping he was with me telling me a books worth of information about the fishing at SNP.


One of the things I was truly impressed with was the wall of photographs of Shenandoah. These were taken at various times of the year and at many locations in the park.


I couldn't leave with out a purchase. The autographed book is wonderful. A great deal of info in it, with some side notes. The maps are the best resource for fishing as well as hiking the park. A few patterns from his shop. Mr. Rapidan, peacock caddis, and a sulphur dry. These flies were very well tied. And a hook file. This file is so very well thought out. It has three sides and all that is needed is 3 draws against the dull hook and your ready to hook and hold.



20 comments:

  1. First Maine and now Virginia. The list of places I've got to go to keeps getting longer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RKM,
      Thanks.
      Kirk, get a VW mini bus, pack the fly rod and head south, then north.
      We pass through here but once.

      Delete
  2. Alan
    What a great report; the Walton’s was one of my wife’s and I favorite shows back in the day. It is a shame more series like that is not available on TV. today. We could relate to the show because that is how both of us grew up. This will be on place we will visit when we make our trip back to the parkway next year. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell,
      Thanks.
      Bill we are fortunate we have two channels that feature Walton reruns.
      It's a beautiful place.

      Delete
  3. I have that file as well. Great post Alan. I need to stop by the shop next time I'm down that way, been awhile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apache Trout,
      Thanks.
      It's a very useful tool. Murray's is a fine destination.

      Delete
  4. What a nice change of pace Alan. You can take me with you anytime you need a manservant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Howard,
      Thanks.
      It slows one down indeed. Manservant, there's a thought.

      Delete
  5. Never been a big Walton's fan, but fun to see the "real" places. The BBQ looks yummy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz,
      Thanks.
      We should have stayed until it was fully cooked and sampled some.

      Delete
  6. Great stops on a great trip. It's been way too long since I was in the Shenandoah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Yaussy Albright
      Thanks.
      You have enjoyed the region before, nice.

      Delete
  7. Mr Rapidian's are great fly's.. that would be a cool shop to visit. It sure looks like you had a great time!

    Will

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hibernation,
      Thanks.
      I'm going to give them a shot on a favorite stream. A fine shop indeed.

      Delete
  8. Thanks much for sharing. I like the set up of both the gentleman with the BBQ, and of course, a peek inside Harry Murray's famous fly shop. Congrats on the new book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mel Moore,
      Thanks.
      Harry comes over to you and starts talking as if you were family. A real gentleman angler.

      Delete
  9. I've never been a TV watcher so I wouldn't know the Waltons from Walden Pond, but the place you visited looks quite interesting. Love the General Store from the outside. I'll have to stop in that area the next time I visit the Blue Ridge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. rivertoprambles,
      Thanks.
      Walt as you know the area offer so much, from small towns to large cities. They're all good.

      Delete
  10. That smoker/grill top screams flavor! I love coming across gems like this when I'm out on a trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justin Carfagnini,
      Thanks.
      That's for sure. I could have stayed there all day. Don't know what type of wood he was using, I asked and was not given an answer, trade secret I guess. Local color along the way....it's wonderful.

      Delete