Last Views of Summer

SUMMER BEAUTY—Most people consider Labor Day weekend to be the last ‘hurrah' of summer. While children returned to school last month in Alleghany, most areas of the state did not return until this week, meaning that many families took the opportunity for a last trip to the mountains.

In the photo above right, a flower grows alone on a precipice seen from the Bluffs Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a popular tourist destination. In the photo at left, a butterfly gathers nectar from one of the Parkway's many flowers.