Driving Down the Blue Ridge Mountains

We just pulled into the Flintlock Campsite in Boone, North Carolina on our second stop since leaving my friend's Virginia's place near Richmond, Virginia.

We took a few hours getting to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then spent the following 2 days driving down it, or alongside it.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a two-lane highway that spans some 400-500 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains which run along the western edge of the states of Virginia and North Carolina. While researching for the trip, I learned that the Blue Ridge Parkway was supposed to be one of the most scenic byways in the States.

The views have been indeed breathtaking. The road is narrow, but is well paved, ranges in altitude between 2500 and 3500 feet (800-1000 meters) and has scenic overlooks every few miles. In fact, since the road runs along the crest of the mountain range, you have scenic overlooks on BOTH sides of the parkway, sometimes at the same time. And the views are quite amazing. On the north side you can see the Appalachian Mountains that go on forever, then on the south side you see Shenandoah National Park. On either side, you see hills and mountains of various heights and distance, seemingly tinted in various shades of blue, with low clouds moving among them lapping at its sides like waves crashing onto the coast. You could actually SEE the clouds moving as if someone filmed them, then replayed them in fast motion. The photos we took cannot do the views any justice, but we took some anyway.