Fireworks from Butt Mountain

Our venture on Wednesday was a great success! I knew we (Barrett, Tony, Paul and I) were in for treat when we got to the overlook and saw other people there. To get to Butt Mountain Overlook, you have to take a dirt road (VA-714) a number of bumpy, dusty miles. To see other people pursue the view despite the drive was a very good sign. One woman said she counted 27 spectators!

From the overlook we were able to see numerous celebrations:

• Pearisburg, Virginia
• Narrows, Virginia
• Pembroke, Virginia
• Blacksburg, Virginia
• Princeton, West Virginia

Now, if you like being in the thick of it– you like the big bangs and the thrill of the explosions right in front of you, then Butt Mountain is not quite the place for you. The fireworks are off in a distance and the sounds are distant pops.

That said, I found a new thrill of seeing the sizes of the celebrations. On one hand, the enormity of it all is impressive. Everywhere you looked, you could see fireworks going off. Some of them, we couldn’t attribute to a specific town– a lone firework emerged out of total darkness. From our vantage point, you got a real sense of how all across the land people were celebrating.

Then on the other hand, the smallness of the fireworks prompted awe. Pearisburg was especially was interesting. Backdropped by looming Pearis Mountain, you can see just how low the fireworks are when they actually go off. With that, you got to see just how great this land is and how tiny we, and our fireworks, really are.

We did get a taste of both worlds. One of the other spectators brought their own mortars and let them off at the top of Butt Mountain. So much to Henry’s dismay, we got a brief nearby show along with the distant ones.

When all the showings had ended, everyone got in their respective four-wheel drive vehicles to return home. Lo and behold we had a traffic jam… on a remote, dirt road. I guess that goes to show that after any great fireworks display, you’re bound to see brakelights.

My pictures from this adventure pretty much suck. I had the exact opposite of a tripod — two leashed, restless dogs. There was absolutely no hope of keeping the camera still. But, for what it’s worth, I’ll share a few.

Crowd of strangers wait. The old lookout tower is in the background.

Crowd of strangers on the overlook, look towards Pembroke

Pembroke at night… when one does not hold the camera steady

The inevitable post-fireworks traffic

More Fourth of July pictures can be found on my Flickr site.