The OHCRA 8 (friends from the canoe club) had a scheduled trip to Asheville, North Carolina for September 26th through October 2nd. Since we were going that way and the Blue Ridge Parkway goes from Virginia through Asheville to the Smokey Mountains, I thought, what the hell. Let's kill two trips with one vacation. We used Alice's Jeep Liberty to pull our new cargo trailer/camper packed with everything we should need for 11 days.
We left the 3 dogs with daughter Nissa and were on the road Tuesday the 22nd, by noon, heading south on ST RT 33. We stopped in Logan, Ohio to visit with friend Debbie Klinger and 2 hours later we drove on to daughter Hailee's house outside of Athens, Ohio. Mike our son in law had surgery a couple weeks earlier and we wanted to spend the night and visit and check out his progress. And since it was on the way it worked out perfectly.
Early Wednesday morning the 23rd we were again heading southeast on 33 into West Virginia where we picked up Interstate 77. In Virginia we used ST RT 460 and a couple smaller roads until we found Bent Mountain Road. 411 miles from home, we accessed the BRP around milepost 135 as north of that the road was washed out in the spring and major repairs were needed. Around 4:00 pm we turned onto the parkway for a 250 mile sight seeing trip and it started off great. No other vehicles were on the road. We had it pretty much to our selves. We drove, stopping at scenic overlooks and took pictures then jumped back in the car for more miles down the highway, but you could only drive 45 mph. Our first scheduled campground was Rocky Knob around mile 170. Plenty of camp sights were available and after setting up we took a small walk, then had supper and a small Indian campfire. Nice, quite, peaceful place. Signs warned of bears so food had to be secured.
Thursday morning the 24th was cloudy and after breakfast, just as we finished packing, it started to sprinkle. We were heading to Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the town that the Andy Griffith Show was based on. We parked in a city parking lot and the first place we saw was the Loaded Goat Pub. Since I got turned around and it took an hour longer to get there, it was lunch time. After lunch we walked the main street seeing the old police cars with the bubble light on top and life size cutouts of the shows characters. It sure was a commercialized area so we didn't stay very long. 14 miles took us back to the parkway where we again pulled into overlooks for beautiful views of the mountains although a little cloudier now. There is a small reenacted rural village showcasing how life was in the 1800's and even with drizzle off and on all day it was a very interesting area. The Doughton Park Campground, which was our next scheduled stop, was closed. A private campground called Millers Campground was close by, around milepost 245, so we found a spot and called it home for the evening. The National Park Service campgrounds do not have electric and since the rain created cooler temperatures, having electric for our small electric heater made the camper much more comfortable. After supper of chicken and dumplings cooked in a dutch oven we lounged in the camper listening to heavier rain fall.
When I made the wrong turn going to Mt. Airy I lost my temper and started bitching which upset and made Alice mad. And on top of that the Jeep was having problems. Months ago the aluminum heat shield between the muffler and floor boards came off. I was told by more than one person, Oh you don't need that, just throw it away. Well, pulling the extra weight of the camper caused the heat of the exhaust rising to the floorboards, making the metal frame supports for the back seats so hot you couldn't even hold your hand on them. We were afraid of the car catching fire and there was an odor of something being hot. Lucky the Jeep survived the whole trip OK.
The rain pitter patted on the trailer almost all night so Friday the 25th we slept in until after 8:00am. That's very late for me. The rain created a lot of fog and as we continued our parkway journey, we drove on through rain, mist and fog and at the scenic overlooks, I took pictures of the mountain signs, but all you could see was fog in the background. We topped over 4,900 feet of elevation and saw deer, turkeys, squirrels and chipmunks. No bears. Camp was at the Linville Falls private campground around milepost 318. We wanted electric again due to the chill in the air and luckily we got the last campsite in the place. After setting up we rode around stopping at a couple local watering holes for local beer. The Mountain Crossing Mercantile was a gas station, grocery, bar, guide service and anything else you wanted. You know they are small and do it all when the grocery shelves have tampons sitting right beside motor oil. The Market Pub was next and close to camp. The local barmaid was very interesting to talk to and after a couple beers there it was back to camp for supper of hotdogs cooked on another small Indian campfire. This campground had the best bathrooms and showers of anyplace we have ever stayed. A very nice campground it was.
Saturday morning the 26th, we packed up and got on the road kind of early to go see the Linville Falls. Good thing we started early as it got very busy as the day wore on. A 1.4 mile hike took us to the spectacular falls which were named after William Linville. He along with his son John and their servant, John Williams, were hunting and exploring the river. While camping near the lower falls, the party was attacked by several Cherokee hunters. Linville and his son died in the attack. Williams escaped to tell the others, and the River and the falls have since held the name of Linville to honor the fallen man and his son who were killed in 1766. Linville Gorge was the nation's first officially designated wilderness area. We drove further south, higher in the mountains, topping over 6,000 feet. It was very foggy on the east side of the mountains but kind of clear on the west. The fog was so thick at times it scared me but it really scared Alice. The road dropped off sharply so it was probably a good thing Alice and I couldn't see down. Being Saturday and so close to Asheville the traffic picked up considerably. We saw a motorcycle club and a Porsche car club drive past us. Bicycles were all over and they really slowed down the traffic. At milepost 384 we exited the Blue Ridge Parkway to start our Asheville vacation.
All in all a great trip at a good time of the year. Next time I would like to start at the same spot but drive north into the Shenandoah National Park and see the 135 miles we missed.
View All Pictures From the Blue Ridge Parkway