This was the second day of my three-day "shakeout" trailwalking trip.* The weather forecast predicted rain, but I dodged it all day and did all my hiking** while staying dry. I pulled off my plan for the day and logged 3 hikes in 2 state parks along the Staunton River.

I started my day with a nice country drive along 40 or so miles of back roads from the Best Western in Danville to the Staunton Bridge Battlefield State Park*** outside the teeny-tiny town of Randoph (VA). Although this was a smallish, one-day battle, the state and a non-profit group have done a great job of preserving the site. There is a very well-done visitor/education center and the 2.2-mile battlefield trail I hiked**** is well posted with interpretive signs on what happened when during this engagement fought over control of a bridge vital to Confederate resupplying of the besieged city of Petersburg.

Next, I headed for the Staunton River State Park***** some twenty miles away, after enjoying a picnic lunch at the battlefield park. The big highlights of this hiking were the river views along the trails. This was aerobic, up-and-down, body-leaning-forward hiking that gave me a good workout. From the extensive network of intersecting trails, I cobbled a composite 3.5 mile hike going from the River Bank Trail to Crow's Nest Trail to Robin's Roost Trail to Captain Staunton's Trail and back to end at the River Bank Trail trailhead. And I was ready for some rest!

My stop for the night was the Super 8 at South Boston, which I reached after another 20-mile drive. No luggage cart there, so I had to do a lot of back-and-forth trips to my truck to get fully set up in the room. But it was all good, anyway. I had a good night and it was a good day.