Mural on South Branch Inn

Moorefield, WV

This huge painting is by artist Kelson Thorne. He calls it “Through the Trough,” referring to a gorge on the South Branch of the Potomac. The Trough was documented in 1748 in the writings of a young surveyor named George Washington!

The artist has painted a number of murals in West Virginia. I hope to see some of them during Heritage Weekend in September.

Sharing with Monday Murals

Across the street is a shop in a white barn decorated with a painted barn quilt.

Mural No Longer There

This mural used to be on South Street in Front Royal. Painted in 2019, it disappeared a few years ago and is now a plain wall.

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I don’t why it was replaced, but the building was for sale or rent at the time. Perhaps the seller felt that a blank slate would attract more buyers. 

The street is busy route that carries tourist traffic to Shenandoah National Park. Frankly, South Street is not very attractive, with the sort of unplanned commercial sprawl that we see so often along heavily traveled routes. It’s a shame because there are some very charming streets a few blocks away, but tourists don’t see them unless they seek them out. Merchants in the historic part of town have expressed concern that visitors don’t know their shops exist. Not long ago, news videos showed King Charles and Camilla  visiting the historic Main Street, and many viewers were surprised at how nice it looked! 

So here’s a tip: When you travel through an old town, check out the historic district. It has more personality than a row of service stations and drive-in restaurants!

New Market Picnic and Silver Lake Mill

Today Peggy and I met Lynn for a picnic lunch. There’s a sign about the Civil War Battle of New Market because this was the place where Confederate General Breckinridge launched the first attack of the battle.

After a leisurely lunch and conversation, I drove Peggy to Silver Lake in Dayton.

The Virginia Quilt Museum is there, and I wanted to see the exhibit, "250 Quilts Commemorating the Commonwealth of Virginia." These are contemporary quilts, and they are fabulous!

Journey to Freedom Mural

Leesburg, VA 

This mural is on the side of the Loudoun Museum. It honors unsung African American heroes of Loudoun County.

The adjacent sign starts out: "The Journey to Freedom mural vividly dramatizes the self-emancipation of enslaved individuals and the bravery of those who risked everything to help them. It highlights the courage and compassion of those involved in the Underground Railroad, transcending history to represent broader humanitarian themes of freedom, justice and allyship. While Harriet Tubman remains the iconic face of the Underground Railroad and and Freedom Seekers Movement, this masterful mural of remembrance highlights local Leesburg heroes like Bazil Newman and rev. Leonard Grimes, who played key roles in aiding the escape of African Americans from slavery in Loudoun County. This mural also commemorates the daring 1855 Christmas Eve escape of Frank Wanzer and five other enslaved individuals who escaped slavery from neighboring plantations, risking their lives for a chance for freedom."

You can read the entire text on the Historical Marker Database. 

Sharing with Monday Murals.

New and Old in Middletown

 Frederick County, VA

After I read that the replica train station in Middletown is now under roof, I decided to drive by and see it. The building is new construction, not a restoration, but it will look like the town’s old train station

on the outside. The interior has been redesigned.

The station will be both a tourist attraction and home to a model railroad. A local model railroad club once had an extensive setup in a former train depot in Winchester, but they lost their lease when that building was sold in 2018. They began looking for a new location, and eventually struck a deal with nearby Middletown. The town owned the land and the club raised funds to build the station.

After pausing to take pictures, I followed the road out of town and wound up on Minebank Road, where I saw this old building with a new barn quilt and new door.

University Mural in Walmart

Harrisonburg, VA

Today I walked into the Walmart in Harrisonburg and saw this mural at the entrance. It features the “diverse community of students“ of James Madison University and Duke Dog, the mascot. The artist is Cris Clapp Logan.

Walmart has a Community Murals Program and I’ve documented some of them before, including one in the store in the west side of Harrisonburg. 

There are actually two dogs in this mural, so let’s take a closer look.

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Arts and Flowers

Crape myrtle is blooming! These blossoming trees are not native to Virginia, but have been widely planted, often along roads and parking areas. 

I noticed them in Harrisonburg yesterday. I actually arrived in the town early because I allowed time for traffic and a long detour around the Route 33 overpass, which is a construction zone. I decided to stop at a cemetery to look for interesting memorials. I found a lovely version of a traditional mourning sculpture. 

This is part of the Floros family memorial group. I learned that they owned a popular lunch spot.

Also in Harrisonburg is this sign, displayed in the food co-op and numerous other places. 

“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor.”

Available as a yard sign, it was co-created by Pastor Matthew Bucher and members of the Immanuel Mennonite Church community in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It became popular locally in 2016, and then nationally. The creators were glad to share the design and it is available online.

Back at home, I found some flowers blòoming, and some weeds too.

Garden Affair / Mosaics

Today I took some close-up shots with my iPhone. The spotted lanternflies are starting to morph into adults. They are colorful but invasive, and not only eat leaves of the tree-of-heaven, but also feast on grape leaves and Virginia creeper.

Is it a Dogwood Tree?

No, it's a tree of dogs!

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This is painted on the wall of a dog boarding facility call All Pawz. Photos of doggie guests are affixed to the branches. 

I took Charlie over there for a tour last week while his regular daycare was closed for a thorough cleaning operation. I wanted to have a backup plan in case they are closed when we have an emergency. Often my sister-in-law is able to watch him, but sometimes she has important things to do. Charlie still has severe separation anxiety. I cannot leave him alone for very long because he panics and tries to get out the door. He has damaged the door frame, and I worry that he’ll get hurt.

Charlie was nervous touring the place, and was startled when he heard big dogs barking. He does not want me to leave him anywhere, but this place seemed nice to me.

Charlie the Beagle

Scenes of Historic Leesburg

This mural is on the side of a parking garage in downtown Leesburg. The artist is Penny Hauffe. 

Artist’s Gallery / Monday Murals

A JMU Mural with Mountains

Harrisonburg

I spotted this mural yesterday while driving through Harrisonburg. I was there to show Marie the campus for James Madison University, and also to introduce her to the juicy burgers at Five Guys. Years ago she shopped in the sprawling big box store district of the town, which of course, left her with the impression that the place was ugly. The historic district, however, has charm.

We drove past the new buildings of JMU on the southeast side of the interstate highway, and after passing the Arboretum, I saw the mural at a hotel parking lot. The script says James Madison University and there’s a logo of the school mascot on the left. 

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After crossing over I-81, we drove past a slightly older part of the campus, turned onto Main Street, and saw the historic district with the dignified old campus buildings. This school was founded in 1908 as a teacher’s college. It became James Madison University in 1977, and now serves more than 23,000 students.

From there I headed east to Shenandoah National Park (see yesterday’s post). But first we had to stop on Charlie‘s behalf, for a walk in Rockingham Park.

Oops! The sign says “No Dogs Allowed!” Too late, we were already there! I made a joke about “Snoopy, Come Home,” but then had to explain the movie reference. 

Bright and Caloric

Front Royal, VA

This ice cream stand was closed, but their beach decor caught my eye. Moving closer, I saw flip-flops pictured along the top, and a tropical beach in the bottom mural, featuring a surfer, someone flying a kite, and people riding a bike.

Sharing the parking lot was a food truck serving Salvadoran and Mexican food. It looked appealing.

A car was parked nearby with an honest bumper sticker.

Tree Mural Redone in Luray

It’s been a while since I drove through a particular parking lot in Luray, so when I saw that the tree mural had been replaced, I stopped to take a picture.

I posted a photo of the old mural way back in December 2014. There wasn’t as much foliage then, but it was winter, after all. Here’s a screen shot of that post.

It looks like I’ve been linking to Monday Murals since late summer of 2014. At that time it was hosted by Oakland Daily Photo. Sometimes I think I’m running out of murals to share, but then I see something like this one. Outdoor paintings don’t last forever.

Artwork in Mervin Jackson Park, Leesburg

This is outside the parking garage that I showed on Friday. I stopped to take a picture of this pretty mural on what I assumed was a utility box. It looked like a Picasso-inspired painting, and I think it was drawn with one continuous line.

I noticed that the side of the box was painted, so I stepped around to take another picture and was surprised to see a piano. 

It was painted by Danielle Ferrin.

Mosaic Monday / Murals

Bicycle Mural

 Leesburg, VA

What a colorful way to brighten up a parking garage! 

I was surprised to see it, and pleased that I was able to stand back far enough to get the whole thing in one photo. 

For a closer look, here are some detail shots. The main artist is Kevin Dunn.

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