Blue Ridge Parkway Blues

Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway a video by b-a-boop on Flickr.

A few summers ago we planned a camping trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Both of us had been on the Blue Ridge when we were kids, but we hadn’t been together or even been close to it on several other trips along the east coast. It has a reputation for gorgeous mountain & valley views, waterfalls, caves, etc. and we were looking forward to driving over the Linn Cove Viaduct.
Well the trip didn’t pan out as expected. It was rainy & foggy the whole time we were there. Driving was hell as you could barely see a few fee in front of the car, much less any of the spectacular views we’d been hoping for. At times we passed not only motorcycles, but bicycles too (don’t know why they were out there in such danger). We pitched a tent the 1st night, but the weather was bad so we drove off the parkway into a nearby town for dinner & to get Bob a sweatshirt. The next morning we visited a few overlooks, got in a few hikes and saw some nice waterfalls in the Lineville Falls area. But as we proceeded north to the next campground, the fog got thicker & thicker. The campground was so wet, we decided to keep heading north & see if things improved. They didn’t, the site distance got so bad that as we approached the Viaduct, I was too scared to drive any further, not that we be seeing anything anyway. We headed back south, but my nerves we so testy by then that I picked a fight with my hubby about the wet campgrounds and he got really annoyed with me, so we ended up cutting the trip short. I hope next time we go we get nice weather.

travel date Sept. 2009