Picture of the day - July 15, 2007

The "Red Caboose" in Damascus, Virginia

Several popular hiking, biking and driving trails pass through or near the scenic southwestern Virginia town of Damascus, and over the years the small town has become known around the world as both "Trail Town, USA" and "The friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail" - and both monikers describe the place to a "T". Today's picture features one of Damascus' best known landmarks: the "Red Caboose". Located right beside the Virginia Creeper Trail (the country's most successful "Rails to Trails" project), the Red Caboose is a colorful icon of the era when the Virginia Creeper would roll through Damascus on its way from Abingdon to the North Carolina border carrying freight, mail and passengers to various rural communities along the way. Today, the spiffed up little railroad car serves the town well as both an information center and a beacon for the weary hikers and other folks who come to pay the town a visit. And for many of those visitors, the Red Caboose is indeed the very first stop they make upon their arrival. During the spring, summer and fall, Damascus proudly plays host to thousands of hikers, bikers, and vacationers who stop in to see for themselves just what makes the little town so special, and most of them leave with stacks of pictures, plenty of memories, and the feeling that they have just had the experience of a lifetime!   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"