Blue Ridge Parkway

   Between Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina is another long, narrow national park--the 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. In a few places, the park is little wider than the road itself but most often there are forests and open meadows to either side. The highway runs along the ridge top with views of another series of ridges beyond the Shenandoah Valley to the Alleghenies in the west. To the east are the farms and vineyards of the Piedmont far below.
   In spring, Shirley and I prefer to travel the Parkway from south to north because spring begins somewhat sooner in the south. Spring also arrives sooner at the lower elevations. Late April is still winter at places like Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. May is just about ideal. Wildflowers, shrubs, and flowering trees in amazing variety can be simply breathtaking. Of the more than 1,600 plant species in the Blue Ridge about 80% are wildflowers. Do we know them all? Let's just say that, if it is yellow, we may settle for calling it "a member of the hawkweed family."
   In the fall, experience the intense reds of the dogwoods, black gum and sourwood. The best yellows are contributed by the tulip poplars and birches while vivid orange is probably sassafras. The various maples chime in with all of these colors. Russets and browns mingle in just so things don't get too far carried away. Traffic tends to get heavier in the color season but much of it is just the locals out having a good time. You could drive a short stretch or the whole 469 miles depending on how excited you get about leaves.
    The Parkway was designed as a recreational corridor rather than as a highway to get you to your destination quickly. Commercial traffic is forbidden. Hundreds of pullouts and viewpoints make it easy to travel at your own pace and to find fuel and lodging in communities along the edges of the park. There are nine Parkway campgrounds and numerous others in those neighboring communities.The speed limit is is 45 mph but nobody should be in a hurry. Slow down. Stop often. Enjoy.

                                                            Spring

 

In April, spring has not yet arrived at the upper elevations.

But the bloom varies with the elevation.

Rhododendrons and azaleas bloom at different times depending on 

where you happen to be.

Off to the west, beyond the Shenandoah Valley, are the misty Alleghenies.

The color of trilliums can vary with soil conditions.

Rhododendrons are everywhere.

Flame azaleas bloom all along the Parkway.

Old cabins are preserved as part of our cultural heritage.

Another bit of cultural heritage is this moonshiners' still.

Other leftovers from pre-park days are the occasional surviving apple

trees from the farms and homesteads. 

The annual reunion of the hawkweed family.

Mountain laurel makes a show that is second only to

the flame azaleas. 

Squaw root has a politically incorrect name and is not exactly beautiful.

But what are you going to do?

Some colorful plants are not of the flowering kind. There's fungus among us.

So, a doe and a fawn can be seen in South Toledo--or even Ottawa Hills.

Still, it somehow it seems more "natural" on the Blue Ridge.

Lady slippers are among the wildflowers that bloom before the tree

canopy creates too much shade.

Mountain music jam sessions are common in the Blue Ridge.

Ox eye daisies bloom in great swaths.

So do the little bluets.

And thickets of rhododendrons. Makes you wonder who

The Gardener is.

Our favorite stop on the Parkway is at Mabry Mill.

The mill is nice. Good ol' down home breakfast at the

 restaurant is even better.

It is far better to drive the ridge top above the clouds than down in the fog.

Fall