10/18/10: Christiansburg, VA to Asheville, NC via the
Blue Ridge Parkway!
We got out earlier than usual this morning, because there is a lot of driving to do and a lot of things to see. It's getting colder; it was only 48 degrees when we left this morning, but warmed up nicely during the day to the low 70s.
At first I thought that the Blue Ridge Parkway would just be an extension of Skyline Drive, but it's really much more interesting and diverse than Skyline Drive. Some of the scenery was pretty spectacular, with abundant overlooks into lush valleys, similar to what we saw yesterday. But there were also plots of farmland, meadows, and lakes, as well as more examples of mountain farms and homesteads from days gone by. There were also some lodges and restaurants. In many areas the parkway was lined with rough-hewn fences, such as the one below!
Some more great Blue Ridge Parkway overlooks:
A gnarly old tree:
We saw this sign at one of the first rest stops we made, so maybe we finally have the prospect of seeing some real bears??
Then....we found one of the best places on the Blue Ridge Parkway so far, quite by accident. We stopped at a gift shop/restaurant for our second rest stop of the day, and as we were walking back to the car, I spotted a sign and a path that led us down to Mabry Mill (mile post 176.1), a restored gristmill/sawmill on a lovely pond!
This was the first of several *very* exciting finds for me on this trip! A spectacular photo op, the lighting was just perfect to create amazing reflections of the mill and water wheel, surrounded by wonderful fall colors and topped off with the bonus of a couple of swimming white geese! See for yourself with the photos below! This scene was perfect enough to make any photographer look like a professional. I just couldn't get enough of this view, and caught it from as many angles as I could! Here are just a couple of them:
Further:
Closer:
Originally built in 1910, the historic water-powered grist mill, sawmill and nearby blacksmith shop provided a view of pioneer life along the Parkway, that I also caught with my camera!
A canal brings water to the water wheel at the Mill:
This building housed the local Blacksmith:
An old wagon:
and then back again to the wonderful view of the Old Mill,
from another angle:
and another:
Okay, okay! Many dozens and dozens and dozens of clicks later, Bob was finally able to tear me away from this wonderful place, and we continued our drive southward.
We stopped at this pond for the beautiful colors and reflections, but once we were stopped we heard loud, reverberating gunshots from the woods. Is there hunting on the Blue Ridge Parkway? That doesn't seem right to me!
Well, I just checked that out online, and found that the Blue Ridge Parkway - like all national parks - is managed as a wildlife preserve and hunting is not permitted anywhere within its boundaries, yet I also read that the Parkway offers special permits to individuals who wish to access U.S. Forest Service land for the purpose of hunting. The permit allows access only from certain Parkway overlooks, and the conditions of the permit must be followed exactly. Seems a little contradictory, but perhaps the shots we heard were one of these "special cases"? Still doesn't seem right that guns are permitted in areas where tourists are wandering around!
Back in the car again! There is beautiful color around every bend in the road! This shot was taken from the passenger's seat. Actually, I took many shots like this, at various times during the trip, but for the most part, they don't turn out well! This one was the exception. The bit of blur in the foliage actually makes the shot look painterly!
We passed this little cabin, and immediately Little House in the Big Woods came to mind! There was no place to pull over, so Bob had to go up the road a bit to pull off, and I trekked back on foot to get this shot:
Not many miles further down the road we saw a sign for the Blue Ridge Music Center (milepost 213), and decided to stop and see what it was all about. As we drove in, we saw a sign announcing "music today"! We learned that the center celebrates the history and performance of old time mountain music of Virginia and North Carolina and is largely concerned with local artists , many of whom perform for free!
That day the Buck Mountain Band was playing, and I got these shots of the group, and individuals. I was especially taken with a very cute - and obviously very well trained - dog, who behaved so well during the entire performance! You can see her lying in the middle of the first shot, and again a closeup portrait at the last shot!
Good old gal!
While at the Music Center, I learned that the Blue Ridge Parkway was celebrating it's 75th Birthday this year. Happy Birthday Blue Ridge Parkway! I'm so happy to be here helping you celebrate!!
Just down the road from the Blue Ridge Music Center, we crossed the state line from Virginia into North Carolina! Yeeeee Haw! We made it to North Carolina!
Two couples who were at the Blue Ridge Music Center with us, (from Oklahoma, I heard them say!) apparently left right after us, as they arrived at this sign right after we did! They asked me to take their photo, which I did! Hope it turned out okay!
Now we're ready to move on to our next planned destination: Grandfather Mountain, near Linville, which boasted a mile-high swinging footbridge! I wasn't sure I could walk on it (I often get vertigo in high places) but I sure wanted to see it regardless! Following an extremely curvy road, we finally arrived at the top of the mountain, where the Mile High Swinging Bridge was located:
More tourist shots, with signage!
Some views from that Mile-High vantage point:
The Mile-High Swinging Bridge:
After swinging on that awesome bridge, we drove halfway back down the mountain and stopped in to visit the Wildlife Habitat! We were promised some bears there, and since we weren't sure we'd actually get to see any in the wild, we decided to take what we could get - and take lots of photos too!
This is Gerry,
one of a half dozen or so Black Bears in residence here:
He seemed almost as interested in us, as we were in him!
There were deer, cougar and river otters here as well. My shots of the deer didn't turn out well, and the river otters were napping and weren't feeling much like posing for pictures. But I did get a shot of Nikita, one of two cougars (mountain lions) in the habitat!
I have to mention we bought some yummy fudge and apples at the general store here too :) And I guess I should also mention that I foolishly left the window down in the car for the hour or so that we were in the Habitat!! Yikes! Everything we brought with us was in the car, including my laptop and some extra camera equipment. Someone was looking out for us this day!! (Thank you!!!)
Then it was off to Asheville! It was late afternoon, and we wanted to make it to our motel before dark, and hopefully find a place to eat along the way too! A staff person at the visitor center recommended Famous Louise's Rock House for dinner, so we went off to find it. Apparently the reason this place is so "famous" (at least to locals) is because of it's location - a point we didn't realize then, and which I just discovered while working on this blog! Located at the intersection of Highways 221 and 183 in Linville, NC, this restaurant happens to sit on the exact spot where three counties (Burke, McDowell, and Avery) meet. "They join right near the fireplace," says Shirley Yager, daughter of owner Louise Henson. And...it's also listed in the National Register of Historical Places. Ah, mystery solved!
After dinner, we began the last leg of the trip to Asheville, another 70 miles on down the road! We no more than got back on Route 221, when we saw the very thing we'd been hoping to see for the past two days: a BEAR!!! In the wild!!! Or in this case, coming out of the woods on the side of the highway!!! But it was so sudden and unexpected, we passed him before we could pull over and stop. By the time I got my camera ready, he hadcrossed the road behind us and trotted off into the woods on the other side. He seemed to be a rather small bear - a yearling perhaps - and we were almost expecting another bear (Mama?) to follow him across! But no such luck, so we continued on our way, no less elated at what we had seen!
But...the wonders of this great day were not over yet!!!! The sun started to go down and the sky turned astonishing colors of pink, orange and purple, and we were treated to one of the most amazing and long-lasting sunsets we have ever seen!
From subtle beginnings:
to:
to:
Ooooooooo:
Ahhhhhhh:
A truly magical ending to a perfectly wonderful day!
End of Day 3!
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