Tag Archives: Nordyke-road

Flash Flood in Mendota and Benhams

As I left North Bristol and approached Benhams, a man held his arm out the window and flashed his lights.   I wondered what was going on.

The creeks were out in the road and water was rushing across the pavement.  I drove through it, and I got to the other side, but my car moved.  I was scared.    More water was ahead, but this time I could see the yellow center lines so I drove through cautiously but knew I could reach the other side.

Benhams was a mess.   There’s pictures all over Facebook of the water.   I drove down Nordyke and halfway down encountered this…a log was in the road and Nordyke Creek was there with it.

After the log was moved, it was still too dangerous to go through.   I turned around and went to my cousin’s house.  Mike was able to drive up in the truck and get me.   Since I drive a Prius which is low to the ground, there was no way I was going to drive through water again.    Here’s the creek that was in the road.

Further down, Sherman Pippin (Bubby)and friends were working to get Barb’s old bridge (Barb is Bubby’s sister) off of Bubby’s bridge.

Whew!   Sometimes the day is a challenge.

 

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Driving to Mendota On Nordyke

We got up early this morning and decided to run to Sam’s Club.  Our forecast has been right-on-the-mark with the extreme temperatures but snow has been more miss than hit.    I didn’t even think of snow as we left.    It was a surprise when we got to town and this occurred within minutes. …and it was a slippery bit of snow.  This was the Walmart/Sam’s Club parking lot.

Walmart in the Snow

We grabbed a few things and headed back to Mendota.     Mendota is located in “Poor Valley” and you must travel downward to get here from Bristol or Abingdon.   We drove on Nordyke Road which twists and turns.  I’m always amused when I hear newcomers talk about Nordyke in the winter…they should have seen it before it was improved many years ago.  I barely remember it, but no one used it in bad weather.

Speaking of bad weather and our extremely cold temperatures, my sister, Pat, has this thing figured out. There has been a mix-up. Obviously we have been mistakenly given Michigan’s weather, while her son, Cory, has Virginia’s weather where he lives in Texas. I believe there are plans in place at the end of next week for Texas to return Virginia’s weather; and we will, of course, ship Michigan’s right back where it belongs.

It’s pretty driving down Nordyke…I had the camera and took some pictures.

Nordyke in Snow

Another…some of these pictures are blurry on the left side because we were moving when I snapped them…

Nordyke in Snow 2

Lots of frozen water falls..really pretty this time of year.

Ice on Nordyke

After a few miles, the land levels.  Here’s the Nordyke Creek as that leveling occurs.

Nordyke Creek

Nordyke Creek flows into the North Fork.  I took this from the truck while stopped on the Nordyke Bridge.

North Fork at the Bridge

Stopped at one of the Swinging Bridges to look around.

Swinging Bridge Mendota Virginia

Gray, dreary and really pretty at the same time.

North Fork at Swinging Bridge

Another taken from the bridge…facing the opposite direction. The Barker family had a mill at this location near the turn of the century.

North Fork at the Bridge

And now…home. This was taken in front of the house.

In Front of House

Our cats, which normally stay out a great deal of the time, have been mostly “in” for days.   Boredom has set in.  Mike yelled at Sam the Cat for playing in the dog’s water bowl. Within minutes, he was elsewhere up to his naughty business.  He’s not drinking; he’s tossing water around.

Sam and the Commode

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