We thought it would be best to leave the Virginia Museum of Natural History until today so you could spend plenty of time exploring the vast array of artifacts from the museum’s 22 million item collection on display in the new $33 million world class facility. At the forefront of scientific discovery of the natural world, the eight scientists of the museum actively engage in research on subjects ranging from dinosaurs to millipedes. The museum shares its new discoveries with exhibits, programs, publications, field trips, and teacher education. Two of the new exhibits: “Feathered Dinosaurs of China” and “Chinasaurs: The Great Dinosaurs of China” were undertaken in cooperation with the National Geological Museum of China. The exhibits feature the largest collection of Chinese fossils to tour North America including specimens that rarely leave China. The only way to appreciate 65 million year old dinosaur eggs and a 30 foot Yangchuanosaurus is in person!

From Martinsville, it’s on up the Blue Ridge Parkway, considered by some to be the most scenic highway in America. Welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, the 459-mile long Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the premier National Scenic Byways in the United States. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the depression, the highway has been meticulously maintained to allow travelers to have an awesome scenic drive through unspoiled forest, punctuated every so often with a scenic overlook where most of the time, “on a clear day, you can see forever.”

Virginia’s Explore Park is located near Roanoke on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Streaming down the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia, settlers from all walks of life began migrating to western Virginia in the early 18th century. Explore Park features an authentic glimpse of the life of the Native Americans who lived in the area when the settlers began arriving, with a fortified homestead typical of those commonly found on the western Virginia frontier in the 18th century and a 19th century farm, complete with farm animals, a one-room school, blacksmith shop, and a working grist mill. You can also enjoy lunch at the Brugh Tavern and learn more about the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Visitor Center.

From there, it’s a short drive north on the Parkway and your accommodations this evening.

Choice of Accommodations for night four:

Peaks of Otter Lodge: Stay at this well maintained property located right on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 60 lake front rooms let you enjoy the stay and the view.
Mariner’s Landing: Enjoy the accommodations of this full service golf and lake resort community right on Smith Mountain Lake. Indoor and outdoor pool, full kitchens, fireplaces, and more.
Ashleigh Manor: Experience this majestic 5,200 square feet Smith Mountain Lake antebellum plantation turned Bed and Breakfast retreat. Stoll 9 acres of unspoiled nature, relax in a Jacuzzi.