Walter and I ventured out on a gorgeous summer day to visit Jefferson National Forest. The forest covers thousands of acres, but we chose to head north from Roanoke to Arcadia and on to Solitude, Virginia, where we entered the national forest. When Walter was eight or nine years old, his dad took him and his brother to the creeks in that area to go trout fishing—a cherished memory.

We started our adventure on the winding, narrow road along Jennings Creek, shaded by tall pine trees and massive hardwoods, thick with underbrush and hiking trails. The road parallels the creek, where deer and birds flock to the cool waters while herons fish for their dinner.

We turned around at the end of Jennings Creek Road, where the Jennings Creek Gospel Church stands, and drove on to Middle Creek Road. Shaded from the summer sun by a canopy of trees, we followed the sparkling creek lined with a wide variety of colorful wildflowers. As we crossed the bridge over Middle Creek on one of the many hiking trails, we spotted a fawn at the creek who posed for a beautiful photograph before fleeing into the woods.

The last leg of our journey that day followed North Creek with more breathtaking forest sights of butterflies, birds, and wildflowers beneath the towering pines. We could have continued on to the Apple Orchard trails or Cave Mountain Lake, but we decided to save those sights for another day. Our camera was already bulging with new memories.