Buried in the press blurbage about the wedding was a statistic. According to those who have need of the Virginia Creeper trail being considered a good federal tax dollar investment (a huge investment), there are 200,000 visitors who walk or bike the trail annually. You'll also find that statistic cited on Boucher's never-ceasing campaign website:
Virginia Creeper Trail Wooden Trestle Improvement Project—Washington County
At Rick's urging, the federal government has provided $750,000 to perform repair and upgrade work on the trestles of the Virginia Creeper Trail between the Towns [sic] of Abingdon and Damascus. One of Southwest Virginia’s most popular tourism assets, the Virginia Creeper Trail is enjoyed by more than 200,000 visitors annually. (link)When I first saw that stat, I scoffed. There's no way 200,000 people traverse that trail in a year's time.
Well, yesterday I had the chance to put Boucher's claim to the test - albeit in a very unscientific way. I sat in an open-air restaurant across from the trail in Damascus for an hour and counted people. Also, for the better part of the day, I drove the length of the trail, taking in the sights and enjoying a few unscripted hours with Paula.
Now, I need to give foundation to the study. End of Spring/beginning of Summer. Mid-afternoon. Perfect day (though a bit warm). A holiday weekend. Peak season.
Results: 10 hikers; 8 bicyclists. All afternoon.
There were, beyond these 18 souls, quite a few campers here and there and the road traffic going through Damascus was, at times, moderate.
But Gatlinburg it wasn't.
The small restaurant we stopped at (where we contributed to the local economy to the tune of $18) was doing a brisk business but nothing compared to say, the Dairy Queen here in Bland. We drove past the Old Mill restaurant and it looked to be nearly empty. As best I could tell, these were the only two "fine dining" establishments in town. I also stopped by Mount Rogers Outfitters and found myself to be the only customer there (at that point in time) talking to the only employee (or owner).
At one point Paula - as she was munching on what she deemed a fabulous chicken pita - mentioned that she thought there would be more people taking in the wonders of nature in beautiful Damascus on such a fine day.
But no. We weren't stepping over people in order to get to the trail or to the nearby riverbank. No wait in line at the restaurant.
Which gets us back to that 200,000 number. Does that reflect the number of people who walk or bike the trail AND who drive into/through town in a year's time? Does it include those who commute to town to work at the Dollar General each day? Has to. Because I can confidently say that at the peak of the season, the tourist traffic was sparse along the Virginia Creeper Trail in Damascus, Virginia on Fathers Day 2006.
