Blue Ridge Parkway - WOW!

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
Asheville, North Carolina to Meadows of Dan, Virginia

216.6 miles
COLD again and sunny

29 degrees, two mornings in a row. YUCK!

For the last couple weeks, I’ve been seeing some really pretty vines covering over other trees and shrubs. I know that’s not a good thing, and there’s a word for it that I can’t pull out right now, but it is attractive anyway. I’ve been trying to get a picture, while on the move, of course, and finally parked right beside some of the stuff last night. The park owner tells me it’s called kudzu, and it’s very unaffectionately know as “the plant that ate the South.” He told me that it was brought in by the government to try to improve the appearance of strip mines, where nothing else would grow. It started in Copperhill, Tennessee. What it does, when covering over trees, like in this picture, is kill the host tree. And of course there is no way to get rid of it now! There are similar stories around the country, and it’s frustrating. But pretty!

Words really cannot describe today’s drive! I followed one of my favored dotted roads – the Blue Ridge Parkway – and oh my goodness, is it a spectacular scenic road!

As the website says, "America's Favorite Drive winds its way 469 miles through mountain meadows and past seemingly endless vistas. Split-rail fences, old farmsteads and historic structures complement spectacular views of distant mountains and neighboring valleys.” http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

That pretty much covers it! I picked up the Parkway just outside Asheville and planned to take it all the way to my next RV park, in Meadows of Dan, Virginia.

But . . . the road is narrow, generally with no shoulder, extremely winding and hilly, with vistas of the distant mountains. Four hours into the day, only 100 miles up the road, I decided I had to find another way to my destination, sadly.

The vistas, the colors, what a magnificent drive – not, however, for a big motorhome! My hands ache, my shoulders ache, the pinched nerve in my back – all are screaming at me – I spent most of the drive in second and third gear, trying not to burn out my brakes; I was trying to gawk at the views, and point and shoot pictures, while not running off the road or running over other vehicles.

I highly recommend this drive to anyone anywhere near the area, especially if you have a sports car or a motorcycle (unless someone, such as I, is slowing the drive!) and I’d do it again in an instant! In a car.

I saw wild turkeys walking on the road, horses grazing in rich pastureland, lots of tunnels, and fall colors past their prime that were still some of the prettiest I’ve yet seen! Signs for wineries and vineyards, but again no grapes! Lots of field full of lovely shapely Christmas trees, ready for the coming season!

Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful drives in the nation!

Meadows of Dan, you ask? Interesting website on its history http://www.meadowsofdanva.com/ Apparently, its name is derived from being located near the headwaters of the Dan, and ‘the meadows’ because after a fire, the grasses grew to the height of a shoulder of a deer. I don’t know – you figure it out!