Train your sights on Roanoke

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ROANOKE, Va. - Motorists rumbling down the Blue Ridge Parkway or Interstate 81 might feel their car engine slow as they approach Roanoke. Their car knows to pull into this destination energized with nightlife, cultural attractions and farm-to-table dining. This city in the wide Roanoke River Valley has wraparound views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

People can dally here for days. Downtown's art galleries, fashion boutiques and open-air cafes draw a steady stream of locals and visitors. The historic Roanoke City Market offers fruits, vegetables, plants and meats from local farms. Artisans sell handcrafted items. Specialty food shops and antiques emporiums fill the niches between performance venues and office buildings.

Above the clamor of market vendors and shoppers, one can hear the clatter of trains moving through downtown. More than a century of railroading heritage defines this city with a population of 91,552. In its Roanoke Shops, the Norfolk & Western Railway created the world's most powerful steam locomotives. Two steam giants, the massive Class A 1218 and the sleek Class J 611, known for their sheer power, versatility and durability, are on view at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Its collection of 2,500 objects includes more than 50 pieces of rolling stock.

The Railwalk runs parallel to the train tracks and connects the transportation museum to the O. Winston Link Museum. Signage and interactive artifacts, such as flashing and clanging signals at crossing gates, punctuate the heritage walkway. Revered photographer O. Winston Link would have liked the noise and grit of this busy downtown location. The small museum housed in the old passenger rail station holds his artful photography of steam locomotives in rural Virginia. It is in walking distance of Hotel Roanoke, a luxury accommodation built by the railroad in 1882.

A red caboose reflects its color in the glass of the Taubman Museum of Art, a new structure planted between tracks, streets and storefronts. The soaring roof forms of stainless steel and glass seemingly overreach the building's footprint as if to wave at passers-by. Architect Randall Stout of Los Angeles captured the drama of the mountains and grounded it in native limestone to create this award-winning design that presides with great dignity over the street scene.

Opened in 2008, the 81,000-square-foot Taubman Museum has evolved into the city's "living room" -- an inviting place people go to be with friends and enjoy cultural experiences. Stout put gathering spaces on the ground level: lobby, cafe, store, auditorium, theater and education area. Visitors ascend an illuminated grand staircase to galleries holding traveling exhibitions and the museum's permanent collection. Significant holdings of 19th- and 20th-century American art, Japanese prints, European art and ancient Mediterranean art rotate for viewing.

At night, light flows from the museum's translucent glass roof surfaces. The illumination falls in line with Roanoke's three icons: a neon H&C coffee pot, a lighted Dr Pepper bottle cap and a five-pointed star atop Mill Mountain. Mill Mountain rises above downtown and displays this 88.5-foot-high, year-round Christmas decoration. Put up during the 1949 holiday season, it won the hearts of the citizenry and Roanokers began calling their home "Star City of the South." From an overlook located directly below the star, people can see the city and undulating mountains. Walking trails on Mill Mountain Park lead to a nature center, wildflower garden and zoo.

Greenways are another way to enjoy the beauty of the Roanoke Valley. They lace through tidy neighborhoods and connect many attractions. In April, roadways fill with motorcycles during Blue Ridge Bike Fest, Virginia's largest biker event. Recreational activities also include water sports of all kinds on Smith Mountain Lake, plus golfing under endless blue skies. Virginia Tech athletics dominate this region, though Salem Red Sox Baseball has a loyal fan base. Historical attractions -- ever-abundant in Virginia -- range from frontier farmsteads to the National D-Day Memorial. The Booker T. Washington National Monument, birthplace of the educator and orator, features reconstructed log cabins, costumed interpreters and storyboards about life on a small tobacco farm.

Before reuniting with the Blue Ridge Parkway or Interstate 81, visitors will want to dawdle in nearby small towns. They can join locals at Blue Collar Joe's, a gas station-turned-doughnut shop in Daleville. Fun and funky creations include North Meets South (Vermont maple syrup with Virginia smoked bacon bits) and Pumpkin Nut Crunch (pumpkin spice with toasted coconut and cashews).

Buchanan shelters vestiges of past eras. The Buchanan Grill boasts the slogan "Putting Home Back in Home Cooking." Here, conversation and coffee flow amid the aroma of grilled hamburger and sounds of a jukebox playing old 45s. It's a meeting spot on Main Street across from the movie theater and just a block from a popular pullout for paddlers on the Upper James River.

Farm wineries speckle the mountains and pastureland around Roanoke. As in all parts of Appalachia, folks have been making whiskey for generations, so why not make wine? Tasting rooms aren't pompous showplaces. They are sometimes old barns, as is the case at Blue Ridge Vineyard, where guests play with the dogs, sample Big Bear Red and keep an eye open for wandering black bears.

At Virginia Mountain Vineyards, owners David and Marie Gibbs grow grapes on a 100-acre hillside with the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Alleghany Mountains to the west. Impressive in their authenticity, wines are produced from 100 percent Virginia-grown vinifera vines. At Fincastle Vineyard and Winery, guests can stay overnight at the farmhouse, operated as a bed-and-breakfast inn. The family-owned winery is known for its cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and chardonnay.

For travel information, visit www.visitroanokeva.com.

(Linda Lange is a freelance travel writer living in Knoxville, Tenn.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)