This forest chews lava, and exhales the whispers of glaciers...
Sipping from rock once fuming and flowingDrawing from deep water pebble-pimpled silt, Splitting muck-mired cobbles of glacial mowings Benefacting cycles of rise and wilt... This forest chews lava, and exhales the whispers of glaciers...-D. Floyd
On Sunday the 12th, a mother, a father, and a son explored the forest at Grindstone Campground on the north side of Mount Rogers. We were there to 'see what we could see'. Our walk took us around the short Grindstone loop trail, the 'Whispering Waters nature trail'. As has been experienced in the past, the beauty is blinding and the diversity overwhelming. One passes through at least two distinct forest types and transitions from glacial lake deposits to lava flow remains.
The forest along the upper portion of the trail is truly unique, as it is dominated by linden, ash, and cucumber magnolia. The great number of seeps along the trail provide for excellent exploration and the make-up of the forest shifts around every corner! 
Here's a small bit of what we saw:Geology:Rock type #1, near the beginning of the trail, is :Konnarock Formation; Maroon diamictite, rhythmite, and arkose. These are rocks that were deposited in habitats that included deep icy lakes and glacial activity. They are the silicified (fancy word for 'turned into rock') remains of muds, silts, pebbles and cobbles carried by glaciers. Interestingly, the stones seen in the silicified mud were dropped into that muck and consist of materials from formations nearby...ryholites, greenstones, and granites. This makes sense because the glaciers would have been eroding these materials from the land during that time...and, it was a landscape devoid of plants and animals!...mountains and valleys of pure rock, silt, and sand!Rock type #2, as one heads up the trail the rocks change to:
Mount Rogers Formation; Phenocryst-poor rhyolite. These rocks are a dark purple, and are the results of lava flows! Mount Rogers, White Top, and Pond Mtn. (NC) form the core of what was a massive and explosive volcanic complex. These once towering volcanoes have seen a lot of erosion, and have even found themselves buried beneath miles of sediment at different points in the geologic past. But today, we are afforded a view of these ancient volcanoes. It is worth noting here that this rock known as "Rhyolite" is high in silica, and breaks kind of like glass (chonchoidal fracture). This made it a choice material for use in making spears, knives, and other tools during prehistoric times. Somewhere on these mountains hides ancient quarries used by Native Americans!
Primary source: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1993, Geologic Map of Virginia.
Trees and shrubs:chestnut oak, Quercus prinusnorthern red oak, Quercus rubra red maple, Acer rubrumsugar maple, Acer saccharumstriped maple, Acer pensylvanicumblack cherry, Prunus serotinayellow birch, Betula alleghaniensisblack birch, Betula lentaAmerican beech, Fagus grandifoliaFraser magnolia, Magnolia fraseri cucumber magnolia, Magnolia acuminatawitchhazel, Hamamelis virginianaviburnum sp.yellow buckeye, Aesculus flavagreen ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanicawhite ash, Fraxinus americanaAmerican linden, Tilia americanarhododendron sp.yellow poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera
eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis
...and, maybe Carolina Hemlock, Tsuga caroliniana (need to revisit the site to verify)Scientific name reference: www.plants.usda.gov
Two unidentified species of the Lycopodiaceae family.
Smaller plants:ramps, Allium tricoccumwhite baneberry, Actaea pachypodaSolomon's seal, Polygonatum sp.false Solomon's seal, Smilacina racemosaPipsissewa, Chimaphila maculataDutchmans pipe, Aristolochia macrophyllaground cedar, Lycopodium sp.clubmoss, Huperzia sp.partridge Berry, Mitchella repenswhite snakeroot, Ageratina altissimablack cohosh, Actaea racemosa (syn. Cimicifuga r.) blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroidesyellow mandarin, Disporum lanuginosumjack in the pulpit, Arisaema triphyllumCurtis's goldenrod, Solidago curtisii**Two aster species remain unidentified, see images below.**Two Lycopodiaceae species remain unidentified. see image above.My identification sources: Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, by Lawrence Newcombwww.fs.fed.us/wildflowers www.hiltonpond.orgwww.plants.usda.gov
On the way home we could not resist stopping to take in a phenomenal meadow. Willows, hawthorns, alders, cinnamon ferns, golden rods, ironweeds, ladies' tresses and butterflies galore. This little boggy area is very close to Grindstone Campground and can be thoroughly enjoyed from the road. I suspect there are many locations in the Grayson highlands area that are similar to this one, as it is maintained as pasture.
Flat Rock Church, October 2, 2010
Over twenty people from the Flat Rock community and the Independence Methodist Church attended yesterday evening’s geology program presented by Fred Newcomb, and hosted by Blue Ridge Discover Center. Fred has taught middle and high school students geology and earth history for 33 years. Before that he was employed as a petroleum geologist for several major oil companies and worked in North Africa and Southeast Asia. He and his wife, Beth (also a teacher), live in Grayson County.
Fred began his program at 4:00 PM, setting up outside under a grove of trees. Flat Rock Church and community center are built upon a large outcropping of granite, which gave rise to the inspiration to share some deep history of this unique place. Along with two tables of rocks and other demonstration tools, Fred also handed out printed material to help illustrate the content of his discussion.
Beginning with some basic rock identification, Fred drew our attention to the composition of granite in general, and the striped granite on site specifically. From there he took us back in time, explaining the theory of plate tectonics, origin of the continents, radiometric age dating and eventually pulled us back to the moment and the rock we were sitting on. During the hour and half, he entertained many good questions, explained things with uncanny clarity, and took time afterwards to help identify rocks that some of the community had brought to share.
