|
|
| Milepost | Attraction |
| 45 |
|
| Chimney
Rock Overlook was one of our favorite stops. No matter how much beauty we'd seen
up to this point, gorgeous views in every direction are still breathtaking! |
| | 19 |
|
| 20
Minute Cliff serves a practical purpose as well as providing spectacular views.
The folks in White Rock below know that dusk falls on the valley 20 minutes after
sunlight strikes the rock face during corn-chop'n time in June and July. |
| | My
mom was throwing a fit at me being so close to the edge, but she managed to take
a picture anyway. I loved this place! | |
| |
| | 16.4 | Turnoff
to Highway 814 that goes to Sherando Lake in George Washington National Forest,
about 4.5 miles down the road. I had wanted to check out the campground I heard
about there, but decided to wait for the trip back in the Fall. |
| 5 |
|
| A
short path from Humpback Rocks Visitors Center takes you to the Mountain Farm
Exhibit. A springhouse, cold barn, root cellar, and bear-proof pigpen all demonstrate
Appalachian farm life and buildings of the 19th century. |
| | Simple
log homes, basic furnishings with no frills and even necessities necessitating
hard work for such a simple life is almost unimaginable today. |
| | 0! |
| The
End of Our Trail! |
We
started counting down the mileposts when we hit 10 and both remarked how absolutely
exhausted, but still exhilarated, we were at that point. Even though we tried
to keep a reasonably stress-free schedule, it's still not an easy task to "do"
the 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in a month. Even though we had hit almost
all my "must-see's" on the way up, there were as many I discovered I
wanted to see after hearing about them from other folks. I'm glad I still have
the Fall to look forward to as I head back south for leaf-peeping season in October. It
will be interesting to see how the Parkway experience compares between the two
seasons. I did find myself wishing I had set out in mid May as I had originally
intended. But then I read that the rhododendron are spectacular in mid to late
June, especially at Craggy Gardens. So I decided to stay in Savannah another month
so as to hit that time period. But by the time we got there, we were told the
really vibrant rhodos are the Catawba kind and they peaked weeks ago. It was small
consolation to hear that this year's show wasn't as spectacular due to weird weather
conditions. However, it wasn't hard on the eyes to see the less vibrantly colored
kind that were in bloom, along with the pale pink Mountain Laurel. They further
decorated the views alongside the road and overlooks that didn't even really need
further embellishment. But
I also think the Springtime would be better, especially towards the end, because
it got pretty hot in places (temps in the 90's), making exploring some places
more uncomfortable. I don't know what it's like in the Spring, but the roads and
campgrounds sure weren't crowded during mid June and July. Most of the traffic
consisted of motorcycles - one local guy I talked to said he bought his Harley
just to ride the Parkway on weekends. I agreed that would be a wonderful ride
and a great way to see the road in a different way. I
heard that it's a lot more crowded in the Fall with RVs, so I'll let you
know about that in October... |
 |
My
article on RVing the Blue Ridge was published in the November,
2009 edition of MotorHome Magazine. As shown on the cover
here, the title was "All American Drive - Scenic
and Serene Blue Ridge Parkway." Click cover to read,
published with permission. |
|
| | End
of Blue Ridge Parkway - Start of Skyline Drive | |
I
was a bit disappointed that I never saw the actual Milepost 0 of the Parkway -
I'm not even sure if they have one. We did see Milepost 1 from the road but there
was no place to pull over there for a pic. I should have turned into the visitor's
center on the left not far past that, but before I knew it, we were at the entrance
of Shenandoah National Park and Milepost 105 of the Skyline Drive. There was no
place there big enough for the motorhome to turn around without unhitching, so
since we still had another day before we had to get to Richmond and mom's flight
back home, we decided to see at least part of it even though it was cloudy and
drizzling by that time. I figured we could stop at the first campground at Loft
Mountain for the night. Boy, were we ever glad we decided to press on - pretty
soon we were debating whether Skyline Drive wasn't even prettier than the Parkway! |
|
| |
|
| I
really appreciate those who have written to say they've found the info I compiled
here useful in their own planning. I do this out of my love of RVing and RVers
and have never expected payment from readers. But for those who want to contribute,
I certainly won't turn my back on such blessings and kindness. Thanks for many
more happy trails! | |
|
|
| Shenandoah
National Park - Skyline Drive | |
| | | | |
