Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway
Sunday 14 July
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs for 469 miles through North Carolina and Virginia, linking the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park. It runs mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The roadway continues through Shenandoah as Skyline Drive, a similar scenic road which is managed by a different National Park Service unit. Commercial vehicles are prohibited without approval from the Park Service Headquarters in Asheville. Along the entire route, you will encounter 280 scenic overlooks, 168 bridges, 6 viaducts, 27 tunnels, and about 9 visitor centers. The speed limit is 45 mph, lower in some of the more windy sections, so it is a road to be taken leisurely, and enjoyed, which is just what we did today.
If you follow my journal, you may remember we were there late last October for a few days. It was well past peak colour, though there was some left, and it was still really beautiful. In the height of summer of course it was quite different again. We did about 90 miles of it today, heading east from Asheville. We stopped at numerous view points, but we didn’t do much walking today, since it was so hot, which also meant the views were somewhat hazy. We did stop for a short walk at the Lin Cove Viaduct, lower right image, which took you underneath the viaduct so you could see the construction. The viaduct hugs Grandfather Mountain, and was the last section to be completed in1987. It was delayed for twenty years as environmentalists, adjacent landowners, engineers, and architects sought a design that would preserve and protect the fragile habitat of adjacent Grandfather Mountain.
We came off the Parkway at the village of Blowing Rock, and visited the attraction the village is named after. There was a kiosk there, selling ice creams, which was appealing since we had skipped lunch, and it was hot! When we went inside, there were three people in front of us…whom we knew - from our previous church which we attended for many years! Small world! So we sat and enjoyed our ice creams together and did some catching up. Larry also worked at GE aero engines, and R often sees him at the monthly company retirees meeting, but I hadn’t seen any of them for ages!
We drove back to Asheville by the main road, but it still took a while, so it was quite a late dinner again.
Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.