|
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
PETE'S PICKS
Well, since I'm a nice guy and would hate for you to miss out on something awesome, I'm going highly recommend you RSVP for the 9/14 Radical Reels Film Festival & Get Outside Expo. You really don't want to miss this...RSVP today!
My recommendation for this weekend goes toward sustainable living - get outside and build a rain barrel. A rain barrel is a container that collects rain water from rooftops, called stormwater runoff, and reduces stormwater runoff. In a typical rain storm more than 700 gallons of water run off the roof of a typical home. That's enough water to take 17 baths or 58 showers. Use this collected water to water gardens and grass thus reducing your water bill as well as stormwater runoff.
Building a rain barrel is a fairly simple and fun project (click here for instructions/blueprint). The hardest part is finding a suitable "barrel", but we recently learned that CMC Plumbing has barrels on hand for only $20. So get building...and send us a picture of your finished rain barrel.
And, if you have some free time read the entire article below about the Blue Ridge Parkway trail plan. Even if you don't utilize the trails around the Parkway please consider providing a comment...it will go a long way to help those who do.
Get Outside!
Pete Eshelman
Director of Outdoor Branding
Roanoke Regional Partnership
  
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY TRAIL PLAN - OPEN FOR COMMENT
The Blue Ridge Parkway has released, for public comment, their trail plan for the Roanoke Region that affects a wide range of trails - Chestnut Ridge, Roanoke River Greenway, Explore Park, and more. This plan affects existing trails and plans for future ones. The last time this plan was discussed was in 2007. The Blue Ridge Parkway has created three plans that are open to public comment. Alternative A is a no action plan (remains the same), while Alternative B and C accommodate future development. Of the three plans, Alternative C is the plan most preferred by the Parkway, Greenway Commission, cycling groups, and just about everyone we've talked with, but it isn't ideal. Action on your part is needed. Please take a few moments to learn more about the plans and then provide written comments via the Parkway website. Continue reading to learn more>>>
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
WATCH THIS TRAILER...THEN RSVP
The most outrageous mountain sport films from the 35th Annual Banff Mountain Film Festival will thrill and inspire you with big-screen adventures when RADICAL REELS comes to Roanoke on September 14.
GET OUTSIDE EXPO - From 5:00-6:30PM local outfitters, stores, non-profits, and volunteer groups will have tables set up showcasing what it is they do. Come meet the people who keep our outdoors moving! Email pete[at]roanoke.org if you are interested in exhibiting.
RADICAL REELS FILM FESTIVAL - At 6:45PM kick back and enjoy the most outrageous mountain sports films that will thrill and inspire you with big-screen adventures.
And the best part, the event is FREE this year with a canned food donation to Feeding America. Special thanks to the Jefferson Center, RoanokeOutside.com, Roanoke Regional Partnership, Star Light Bicycles, Just The Right Gear, Roanoke Parks & Recreation, Ride Solutions, and Alleghany Highlands of Virginia for making this happen.
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
POOR MOUNTAIN NATURAL AREA PRESERVE
We recently learned about a hidden nature preserve that we wanted to share.
Poor Mountain Natural Area Preserve protects the world's largest population of the globally rare shrub  piratebush, which is restricted to only a handful of sites in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Late this winter the final section of a 4.2-mile hiking trail system was completed thanks to a DCR Recreational Trail Program grant.
The "Wednesday Trail Crew", a group of volunteers led by Bill Gordge (and part of the Roanoke Valley Pathfinders), constructed over 1.5 miles of the trail system at Poor Mountain. While the 0.75-mile Piratebush Loop interpretive trail affords a relatively level and easy hiking opportunity, the main loop trail affords a strenuous 3.8-mile hike with over 500 feet of vertical drop and return climb. Stone stairs, scenic vistas, fire ecology and outstanding looks at Table Mountain pine woodlands make the Poor Mountain Trail a great new recreational resource now available to the general public in the Roanoke area.
Click here for more information (note that the map does not show the 3.8-mile trail).
Directions:
- Exit 137 off of I81 onto Rt. 112E (toward Salem)
- Turn left onto Main Street (Rt. 460E) and go 0.8 miles
- Turn right onto Mill Lane and travel 0.4 miles
- Turn left onto West Riverside Drive and go 0.8 miles
- Turn right onto 12 O'clock Knob Road (Rt. 694) and travel 4.8 miles to preserve entrance on right
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
SIDEWALK SALE
Join your favorite Downtown Roanoke retailers  when they step out of their storefronts to offer you end of the season savings!
- Saturday, August 27
- 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
- Market Street in Downtown Roanoke
Local business are the lifeblood of the Roanoke Valley's economy. This is your chance to shop local and keep your dollars local while enjoying live music, children's activities, a climbing wall, wine tasting, and more! Our friends at Walkabout Outfitter will be on hand...dishing out up to 50% off select items, so be sure to stop by and tell them Roanoke Outside sent you. Finish your downtown visit off with a bite to eat at a local restaurant...Thai Continental is one our personal favorites.
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
Upcoming events to keep your eye oN
- Weekly bike rides throughout Roanoke & NRV Valley
- Weekly ultimate frisbee pickup games (Sundays & Wednesdays)
- Hikes too numerous to list
- Monday Bike Polo
- Tuesday Tune Ups
- Thursday Happy Hour Floats
- Odyssey Land Navigation Clinic - 9/3
- Bass Pro Shops River Bassin' Trail Tournament - 9/10
- Trail Running Rampage at Douthat State Park - 9/10
- Banff Radical Reels Film Festival & Get Outside Expo (FREE this year) - 9/14
- 16th Annual Mud Run - 9/16
- Hawk Watch - 9/16
- Jeremiah Bishop's Alpine Loop Gran Fondo - 9/24
- Tour de Wolf Creek - 9/24
- Harvest Moon Century - 9/24
- Big Lick Triathlon - 9/24
- Kayak Skills Course - 9/25
- The Roanoke Outdoor Circus - 10/21-23
- Into The Darkness Trail Run - 10/22
- Gear Junkie $40,000 Outdoor Gear Treasure Hunt - 10/23
- Run Around the Gorge - 10/21-23
|
|
|
|
Roanoke Regional Partnership · 111 Franklin Plaza, Suite 333 · Roanoke, VA 24011540.343.1550 X 104 · www.roanoke.org
|
|
|
|
|
