By Carter Stokes

Just outside of Lexington, Virginia, in Rockbridge County, there is a place special to my family. Roughly every weekend, I travel with my father Jimmy Stokes, and my younger brother Drew Stokes (Virginia Episcopal School class of 2022) two hours to our mountain getaway to retreat from the constant turmoil of urban life.

A bobcat in the mountains.

This piece of land is called Taylor Branch, named after the creek that flows through it during all months of the year, providing a habitat for small minnows, various song birds, and even the occasional pair of wood ducks that enjoy loafing in the small pond my father excavated next to the gravel road. There are two cabins situated at the base of Hogback Mountain, overlooking the Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains, creating awe-inspiring views of the sunrise and sunset whenever skies are clear. Our cabin on the property is quite old and has been there since the 1700’s, while another cabin was recently built in a more modern style by the co-owner of the property. In spite of its age, our cabin is outfitted quite nicely on both the interior and exterior with a porch and addition built since its purchase in 2016.

Just down the road from Taylor Branch are two equally diminutive towns: Rockbridge Baths and Goshen. These towns are full of friendly people who always appreciate my father honking at them while they are sitting on their porches. Unlike Rockbridge Baths, Goshen even has a general store which can provide a quick way to get food after fishing on the Calfpasture or Maury Rivers for an entire morning. However, for groceries, we frequent the Lexington Walmart. The Lexington Walmart always provides great opportunities for people watching. Whether it is a 10-year-old speeding through the isles on a motorized cart, or a man sprinting through the store in a Tyvek suit, there is always something entertaining to see each time we visit the Walmart. Other than Goshen and Rockbridge Baths, there is another town in close proximity to Taylor Branch ironically named Bustleburg, despite being the smallest of the three, by far, which always makes my dad chuckle.

A wild turkey at Taylor Branch.

Close to the property is the Maury River, a tributary of the James River that is rich with aquatic life and draws many mammals to its banks, such as deer, kingfishers, and herons. The river has cut through the mountains like a knife for eons, creating dramatic gorges that can be daunting to drive through but provide excellent scenery. Additionally, the Maury has multiple suspension bridges running across it, which are not a common sight in western Virginia, especially compared to the industrially giant bridges we are all used to used to across the James River in Richmond. We love to fish in this river, as it has ample populations of smallmouth bass, rock bass, various panfish, and the occasional rainbow trout.
Along with the importance of being a great fishing area, the property allows my father and I to pursue one of our greatest passions: hunting.

Hunting is by far my favorite activity to partake in when in the mountains. Since we acquired Taylor Branch in 2016, my father has been an excellent teacher about hunting in the mountainous terrain. Though the rolling terrain of the mountains has made it a quite challenging area to hunt, I have been relatively successful and harvested two bucks, and I hope to harvest my first turkey during the turkey season in April and May. Even though I have yet to kill a turkey, I have created many memories in the woods with my father during turkey season. We once hunted a group of three toms on the old logging road up on the mountain in a few inches of snow on the ground, with the fiery sun rising to our back, illustrating the green and purple iridescence of the turkeys’ feathers.

Jimmy Stokes at the grill.

Another aspect of Taylor Branch I have enjoyed throughout the years has been impromptu barbecues; we always seem to be missing an important ingredient, but always seem to make it work. Whether this has been a large-scale low country boil of shrimp, corn, and potatoes, or the classic cheeseburger, the table fare at the farm is always excellent.

It is always when I am eating a delicious, home-cooked meal in the evenings at Taylor Branch when I feel the most pride for what my family has and my father’s hard work managing the land. Especially in these trying times, I am grateful that my family has a place where we can escape from society in one of the most beautiful places in the state of Virginia.

All photos by Carter Stokes.