Fairy Stones!

Sandy had Saturday off, so we took Alex for a day hike up in Virginia at Fairy Stone State Park.  First, we stopped at the main trailhead and got on Little Mountain Falls Trail.  We started to see some wildflowers along the trail.

A lot of foamflower and green-and-gold were blooming.

In about 1.5 miles, we came to Little Mountain Falls.

It's a small waterfall on a very small stream, but made a scenic spot to stop and take a break.

After a break, we continued on the trail and spotted more wildflowers.

A few dwarf crested irises were still in bloom.

Near the top, we came to Blue Ridge Overlook.  The view was partially obscured so we just stopped for a picture and continued on.

It was mostly downhill from here to finish up the loop.  Some bluets were still blooming along the trail.

After finishing our first hike, we stopped at the visitor center to buy a couple fairy stones in case we had no luck hunting.  Then we drove to the Stuarts Knob Trailhead for another hike.  We started off on the Iron Mine Trail and immediately came to the first of several old mines in this area.

They are sealed off but an interesting glimpse into the area's past.  We then got on Whiskey Run Trail and found a showy orchis.

A little further was another old mine.  Although sealed off, I got peer through the gate for a picture.

The trail made a loop around Stuart's Knob, passing an old quarry and ending at the Beach Overlook.

From here, we got on Upper Stuart's Knob Trail to Lower Stuart's Knob Trail.  A short spur led to Bull Mountain Overlook.

We then looped back around to Iron Mine Trail and took another spur to the last mine.

Right past here, was a nice spot with a number of wildflowers blooming.

Fire pink and green-and-gold made for a colorful show.

We then finished our hike up back at the parking area.

Before heading home, we stopped at the Fairy Stone Pit Stop to hunt for fairy stones.  This seems to be the most popular spot in the park and the only area that was crowded.  We roamed around in the woods and found a spot to search for fairy stones.  In about a half-hour, we managed to find about a dozen of the little stones, then started making our way back home.