...a wildlife education and rehabilitation center, with affordable canoe, tubing, and kayak rentals and tours.
I can imagine tables and benches on a porch overlooking the river. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoying a day in the Blue Ridge would replace the space occupied now by only a sagging shell, supported haphazardly by a prayer and a few rocks and cinder blocks.
Just across a gravel parking lot in front, meanders a shallow part of the Roanoke River, which sprawls 410 miles in southern Virginia and into North Carolina.
As more people are attracted to the area, there's plenty of open space for primitive campers to enjoy the expansive sky and lush hillsides reflected in the clear river.
Old steps leading to the river are still navigable and it's a great spot to start tubing down to the deeper and widening part of the lazy river.
Wildflowers are blooming now, and Black Walnuts are ripening on trees that adorn the gently sloping hillside and offer food and shelter for songbirds, deer, possums and raccoons which are frequently spotted here.