It’s Fall and with colors at their peak, we decided to take some time off and go for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
It’s a National Parkway, nearly 500 miles long,
designed with overlooks for visitors to stop and take in the long range views of the incredibly beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
The kids and I had driven a small portion, at the southern end, the summer of 2015 (2 photos below) but Steve had never experienced it.
(Do you notice the blue haze atop the mountains in the distance? That’s how the Blue Ridge got it’s name!)
The Blue Ridge Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in the world and certainly are the oldest in North America.
Did you know they formed when North America collided with Africa over 400 million years ago?
When the Blue Ridge Mountains first formed they were among the tallest mountains in the world but that’s no longer the case.
Hundreds of millions of years of erosion and weathering has reduced their stature.
(They do still boast the highest peak east of the Rockies though, Mount Mitchell, located here in North Carolina.)
They aren’t the majestic, proud, snow capped, towering, jutting, massive rock formations you see in the west.
No, the Blue Ridge Mountains are ancient, humble, gentle, lush and rolling.
We don’t have to drive very far from our home to see them and while they’re beautiful from that vantage point,
nothing compares to seeing them from the Parkway.
With no more effort than a car ride (no mountain climbing needed),
you’ll be sitting on top of the world
taking in the most breathtaking, heart stopping, mind blowing… view.
With nearly 500 miles to choose from we had to narrow down our trip.
After some thought we decided to drive the infamous “missing link.”
The “missing link” was a 7.5 mile section of roadway that sat incomplete for nearly 20 years,
leaving the northern and southern sections of the parkway unconnected.
What was the issue?
How to snake the parkway around Grandfather Mountain, one of the world’s oldest mountains,
while protecting it’s fragile ecosystem.
(It’s home to 70+ varieties of endangered flora and fauna including the Northern flying squirrel and the peregrine falcon.)
After many years of negotiation between Grandfather Mountain’s owner, Hugh Morton, North Carolina’s State Highway Commission (responsible for Parkway land acquisition in the state), and the National Park Service (NPS) they finally came to a decision to build the roadway at a lower elevation than originally designed,
so from 1968 to 1987, bit by bit, the 7.5 mile stretch was built.
That was all well and good but there was another problem.
A 1/4 mile stretch of the roadway had to be built around the unstable,
boulder strewn area of Linn Cove.
A brilliant solution came in 1979 by two engineers from Florida:
a viaduct, a bridge over land.
It seemed simple enough but it had to be done at an elevation of 4100 feet and be built from the top down,
as no access roads were allowed at ground level (to preserve the environment).
Seven massive piers were built as the foundation and 153 (50 ton) concrete segments, no two alike,
were set into place building the 1/4 mile “S” curve that hugs Grandfather Mountain.
Four years later, 1983, the viaduct was finally complete but it took another 4 years for the entire 7.5 mile stretch, known as the missing link, to finally open to visitors.
The viaduct is considered to be the most complicated concrete bridge ever built
and is recognized internationally as an “engineering marvel.”
It’s iconic and I’m sure many of you have seen it in photos but maybe didn’t realize it.
So a few weekends ago we decided to head out.
The day was clear and sunny but the forecast warned us it would be chilly (upper 30’s) and windy (gusts to 30 mph)
but hey we’re from Wisconsin, we know cold, so we disregarded that. (Too much sass!)
Zach had the day off work, but wanted nothing to do with a day spent in the car,
instead he wanted to hang out at home and play his guitar “as loud as I want.”
Gabi’s at school
(still catching up after classes were canceled for 4 days due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew),
so it was just the two of us!
We accessed the Parkway near Linville, NC.
This is a photo from the first overlook we stopped at (looking to the east).
I remember watching Steve’s reaction as he slowly walked to the edge of the overlook taking it all in.
He turned to me and his mouth opened and closed a couple times,
as he struggled for words to describe what he was seeing and feeling, but couldn’t find them.
There is something magical about it.
Most people gasp as they take their first look and that intake of mountain air
brings a sense of peacefulness that wraps around your heart and soul gently easing your worries.
It brings a patience that slows your mind so you can fully appreciate the immaculate beauty of God’s creation.
It brings a hopefulness that the impossible is possible.
It brings a quiet that calms all of your senses so you can feel the presence of God.
And with one look, your spirit is recharged.
We could have stayed in that spot all day just enjoying the beauty before us,
but we opted to move on and see what other amazing sights were ahead of us.
The next overlook, just before Grandfather Mountain, gave us a completely different view facing west.
Also from that overlook you get a great view of Grandmother Lake and just to the right is Grandfather Mountain.
We stopped at the Beacon Heights Overlook at Milepost 305.2 across from Grandfather Mountain.
A short hike into the forest and up the trail
you’re rewarded with another breathtaking view (facing east) as you walk out onto expansive cliffs of bare quartzite.
Elevation is 4220 feet and the views are amazing!
You can see forever!
Looking south you can see Grandmother Mountain (with the cell tower).
(Steve was taking a panoramic photo with his iPhone.)
We were not prepared for how cold it was. The wind chills were in the teens to low 20’s.
There were some families who were actually enjoying a picnic in their winter coats.
We hiked back down to the car to warm up and finally we headed onto the viaduct.
I was super excited to drive it but more excited to get some pictures of my own.
[For clarification sake, the Parkway has a speed limit of 45 mph to encourage visitors to enjoy the views.
You can also stop anywhere along the Parkway if you can fully pull your car off the road, except where marked.]
Well, the viaduct was marked, but that was completely disregarded.
Cars were pulled “over”,
but still mostly in the driving lane,
so you had to swerve into the other lane to pass them
all while avoiding the oncoming traffic that was having to do the same thing on their side.
Some drivers were sticking their arms out their windows taking pictures with their cell phones as they drove by.
And then there were pedestrians who were trying to get up onto the viaduct
but their path was cut off, by the cars pulled off to the side, so they were walking in the road.
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
It was utter chaos!
I needed a drink, I mean lunch, yes I needed lunch.
There aren’t any restaurants, gas stations… along the Parkway so we decided to end our trip and head to Boone for some food!
I love Boone! It’s a great mountain town.
It has that quaint, relaxed and friendly atmosphere that reminds me of Door County.
Why wouldn’t it be that way on a beautiful Saturday in fall?
Appalachian State Football, that’s why.
Yep, we traded one chaotic scene for another.
There were hundreds and hundreds of people all walking in the same direction, towards the stadium.
Traffic on the main road was at a crawl and I got stuck going with the flow.
I really wanted to turn around and head back out of town but many of the side streets were backed up with cars.
Soon we were out of the worst of it and I could turn around but unfortunately we had to go back the way we came to get out of town.
It took us 20 minutes to go a couple miles.
It brought back great memories of attending University of Wisconsin-Madison
and felt just like it did on game day near Camp Randall,
but dang I was hungry.
Finally we found a Mexican Restaurant on the outskirts of town, that looked busy, but had available parking spots.
We had a great meal and ironically Wisconsin was on the big screen at the bar, playing Iowa and winning!
Go Badgers!
What a great day!
We will definitely make this a fall tradition but next year it will be on a weekday!
The details and photos of your road trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains area are so interesting & beautiful. Thank-you for sharing. Dad & Mom “B”
Thanks! We hope to share it with you one day soon!
Absolutely beautiful!! When you took us to the Blue Ridge Mountains, it was one if the best parts of our trip. Words can not describe what your eyes can see!
Can’t wait to go back the next time you visit!
Beautiful pictures. I do want to see this area. We have been on the Blue Ridge Parkway but didn’t do any stopping.
Thanks. Hope you find time to explore the Parkway again!