I refer to our locale as Southwest Virginia, but that’s not quite accurate. From my studies in Richmond this week, I affirmed that we actually live in the Piedmont Region, or what is sometimes called the Blue Ridge Highlands. In other words, it’s hilly as heck around here, but the real mountains are only glimpsed from afar.

Like this big boy right here.

You can see this behemoth rising majestically as you face west from the local Kroger. We had some friends down to visit, and one of them wanted to know which mountain it was.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. He pointed out that it was the largest mountain in the area, and I probably should have made something up but I didn’t and it still makes me wonder.

Well, one day I was over near the Kroger at The Cottage Gate, my go-to gift shop where the ladies behind the counter and I had a nice moment telling stories about our pets (I related tales about our old wine-drinking cat, Sofie, and one of the ladies told me about her son’s ferret, Fred, who got into someone’s beer at the Franklin County races) and it occurred to me: maybe they might have some intel about the mountain that looms over the shopping center. Sadly, they had none. They promised to find out and I promised to come back and check in.

It is surprisingly difficult to find maps online with individual mountains listed on them, but in getting ready to write this post, I came across this map that suggests to me that we are looking at Cahas Mountain. And yes, it’s a biggie.

If you drive into Boone’s Mill and follow the sign for Chaos Mountain Brewing, the road takes you eight miles up that mountain, where you might drive by logging trucks, fields of cows, and fellas in white pickup trucks heading to work on the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline project. Yep, I’ll have to go let the ladies at the gift shop know that we can consider this mystery solved.