The day dawned dark and gloomy, but the weatherman promised quick improvement and he turned out to be right on target. By 10 a.m. the sky had cleared and the roads were drying off nicely. I checked out, loaded the bike and pointed her toward adventure; and that adventure came quickly as I was only about a mile from the southern section of NC 80 that runs up the mountain from Marion and connects to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Once at the Parkway, I turned south for the 16 miles to Mount Mitchell where I took in the new observation tower before heading back down to the park's restaurant for lunch. The new tower is nice, but I really prefer the old one; it was higher and more challenging to climb to the top I guess. Anyway, you should know two things about my visit to Mt. Mitchell: 1) it was freaking cold -- like 32 degrees cold or darn close to it; and, 2) the winds were howling like 50 MPH the whole time I was at the summit...wow!!!
Leaving Mt. Mitchell, I meandered northward on the BRP toward Grandfather Mountain, stopping along the way for pictures, hiking, and whatever else struck my fancy.
It was late afternoon by the time I got to the Grandfather Mountain area, but I took time to shoot a few pics and pay a visit to the Rough Ridge parking area for more photos. After that, it was time to head on over the mountains to my mother's home to start my visit with her.
I rolled into Mom's driveway at a little after 5 p.m., with 110 miles on the odometer for the day. And what a beautiful day it was, too! The weather ended up being perfect, the scenery incredible, and I even got to see a touch or two of fall color on the trees.
Photos for the day appear below as individual posts. This is not a style change for my posts...it is a technical problem with my Netbook that forces me to do things in this convoluted fashion; please grin and bear it just like I am having to do and enjoy the pics despite the discombobulation!!!
Once at the Parkway, I turned south for the 16 miles to Mount Mitchell where I took in the new observation tower before heading back down to the park's restaurant for lunch. The new tower is nice, but I really prefer the old one; it was higher and more challenging to climb to the top I guess. Anyway, you should know two things about my visit to Mt. Mitchell: 1) it was freaking cold -- like 32 degrees cold or darn close to it; and, 2) the winds were howling like 50 MPH the whole time I was at the summit...wow!!!
Leaving Mt. Mitchell, I meandered northward on the BRP toward Grandfather Mountain, stopping along the way for pictures, hiking, and whatever else struck my fancy.
It was late afternoon by the time I got to the Grandfather Mountain area, but I took time to shoot a few pics and pay a visit to the Rough Ridge parking area for more photos. After that, it was time to head on over the mountains to my mother's home to start my visit with her.
I rolled into Mom's driveway at a little after 5 p.m., with 110 miles on the odometer for the day. And what a beautiful day it was, too! The weather ended up being perfect, the scenery incredible, and I even got to see a touch or two of fall color on the trees.
Photos for the day appear below as individual posts. This is not a style change for my posts...it is a technical problem with my Netbook that forces me to do things in this convoluted fashion; please grin and bear it just like I am having to do and enjoy the pics despite the discombobulation!!!
2 comments:
Man, I really miss not being there. BTW, the pictures look great this way! They blow up full screen w/ excellent resolution. Ride on, my man.
I have only been in the NC/Tennessee area once and loved it. I hope to ride the BRP and enjoy the scenery. It looks like the Fall would be a great time.
Great pictures!
Post a Comment