Boxley Valley

The fog was beginning to lift as I slowly drove the curvy road down into Boxley Valley, which always ranks as one of the most scenic stretches along the Buffalo River. It was early on a Wednesday morning, but there was already a line of cars parked along the road, and a number of people were standing in the dewy grass watching the elk. I pulled over and joined them, but first ended up taking pictures of the fence along the road. Some spiderwebs along the barbwire fence caught the morning dew, while some last remaining fog drifted along the mountain behind the field.



The spider who must have spun those webs was hanging out along the fence a little ways down, waiting for the first catch of the day. It seemed appropriate since Halloween was just a few days away.



The reason so many people had stopped here is because the elk were actually pretty close to the fence, providing a good close-up view. People were trying to snap photos of the elk using everything from a flip-phone to a massive camera with a lens the size of my arm.







The elk grew tired of the paparazzi following them around and began to walk away, so I decided to call it a morning and head back to the cabin. Since it was our vacation, and I was awake super early, it seemed like a good idea to head back to the cabin and take a nap.

After some rest, Caroline and I headed back out later that day and made another visit to Boxley. The first stop was this old building, which sits in a field along the way to Lost Valley.





Nearby is the old Beechwoods Church, which was built in 1918. The church is right by the Beechwoods Cemetery, which contains the oldest marked grave in Boxley Valley (1848).



Back on the main road we stopped at this weathered old barn, which was built way back in 1915.



Down the road is another old barn (there are lots of old barns here), which sits near the old Boxley mill.



We stopped again at this old barn, sitting peacefully in a field just below Cave Mountain.



Down the road was this barn, which is surrounded by trees which were just beginning to show their autumn colors. The barn dates back to 1920.



The old Boxley Steam mill, which operated between 1940 and 1976 was once the largest employer in the valley. Not it's quiet, and rusting away.





While heading back through the valley we stopped again at this old barn, which was built sometime around 1900.



The Buffalo River flows through Boxley Valley, but you can't really see it much from the road. So we headed out on foot to a little spot along the Buffalo, which was just amazingly scenic.



A few large boulders sit in the turquoise water, which is partially fed by a nearby spring.





And one last shot, this was such a beautiful spot that it was hard to leave.



Later that night we had dinner at the Low Gap Cafe, which was delicious and highly recommended.