Mom, Scott, Bill & I just returned from a 'long drive' on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In 5 days, we drove (actually Bill drove) 1440 miles, 334 miles of that on the Parkway from Asheville, North Carolina to Buena Vista, Virginia.
Here is our journey in photos:
This must be Lexington.
...definitely Lexington.
My goodness,
this looks like a painting.
Yes, we knew we were in the mountains!
Veteran's Memorial on US 25 near Bean Station, Tennessee.
Milligan College (where Jason & Laura met).
Seeger Memorial Chapel stands in the center of the campus. I love its spire and cross...especially pretty as the evening sky closes in.
*******************************************************
We entered The Blue Ridge Parkway on Wednesday morning. The maximum speed limit on the Parkway is 45 mph...with many miles requiring less than that. What a relaxing place!
Why is it so empty?
The good video we watched in the Folk Art Visitor Center gave us a great picture of the creation & current opportunities the Park offers. The words of Stanley Abbott, chief landscape architect of the Parkway, caught my eye.
"The idea is to fit the Parkway into
the mountains as if nature has put it there."
miles & miles of green
...mounds of mountains
...pretty mountain streams
...lots of overlooks - -
Scott "is smiling!"
...beautiful wildflowers
...lovely clouds...sometimes we drove through them
...a cool walking bridge
We ate lunch Wednesday in the restaurant at the top of Mount Mitchell...highest point east of the Mississippi River (6684 ft). We were high up! Only disappointment was ordering warm banana pudding and finding out that was the one item they didn't have available (:
I loved this shot of Scott helping Mom on the trail back to the car.
Precious memories!
Our sweet little visitor right outside our Comfort Inn rooms on Wednesday evening. He checked it out and then brought out the rest of his family. We called him Gorky because we had a favored groundhog that always visited our home place back yard in years past.
Thursday morning we tried a new seating arrangement.
Here were the front seat drivers.
Mid-morning we visited Linville Falls. Here are Mom and Scott on the bridge. Yes, Mom always has her purse handy!
...the Linville River rapids
Bill & me on the bridge. Oh, my gosh...I have my purse too.
Guess I am becoming my mother!
Near Wilkes County, North Carolina. "Hang down your head Tom Dooley." I love this kinda thing.
...pretty valley
...old fences
...unusual plants
**********************************************************
The Brinegar Cabin - an original built in 1880!
I loved this interesting family history.
I'm sure they never dreamed their pictures and life story would be preserved for the ages!
**************************
Down in the valley...
When we stopped at this overlook and stepped out of the car, Mom said, "Be careful, Scott!" Scott's immediate response was, "I'm not that stupid!"
I called this "the crop-out" and I can't find what it is really called.
We entered Virginia through these beautiful tunnels.
**************************************************
Friday morning we were greeted by beautiful skies.
Mom said, "Look, there are no mountains today."
...and my sage husband responded, "We are on top of the mountains!"
Did I say 'beautiful skies?'
...and awesome clouds!
...and more beautiful wildflowers.
Mabry Mill, Virginia
...a pretty lake
...and one lonely beauty
...a tunnel of trees & shadows of sunshine
(one of my very favorite views)
*********************************
A typical car conversation went like this:
Bill - "Boy, you see a lot of guys on motorcycles. I'd say most of them don't have a wife."
Scott - "I don't have a wife."
All together - "Guess you need a motorcycle."
*****************************************
Terrapin Mountain
**********************************************
...and wildlife? I'm sure they were there but we saw very few and NO roadkill (thankfully!) Five deer the entire Parkway (there's more in our own neighborhood!) We did see wild turkeys and at the Peaks of Otter, we saw many hawks. One beautiful red hawk sailed right across the road in front of us and landed in the field. Such a majestic creature!
***********************************************
We left the Parkway Friday afternoon near Buena Vista, Virginia (a neat old town). However, leaving the Parkway did not mean leaving the beauty.
West Virginia gave us more awesome sky and beautiful clouds.
...plus full fields of corn
...and the beautiful golden capitol dome of Charleston, West Virginia.
**********************************
After much ado and a fierce rainstorm, we finally landed at Cracker Barrel and luxurious suites in Crosswoods, WV...near Huntington.
*************************************
Saturday was HOME day and a welcome sight greeted us.
Final observations from our road trip-----------------------------------
1. God's beautiful creation is awesome and I love to view it.
2. Mom cannot hear anything spoken from the front seat to the back seat.
3. Scott singing "How Great Thou Art" amidst beautiful mountain glory
can bring tears to my eyes.
4. I love receiving texts from Avery & Lydia - and I can usually easily recognize which one it is by their comments.
5. The good FAR outweighed the challenges of travel.
6. Praises to God for safe travel & that Mom (at 90) got to see "my mountains."
terimakasih infonya
ReplyDeleteWalatra G Sea Jelly