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WVbassmistress's avatar
WVbassmistress
Explorer
Oct 13, 2015

Ridge running this past weekend.

We took our first trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway this past weekend.
WOW!!
Saturday was pretty much a bust. The fog was so bad you could only see a few feet in front of you and rainy.


We did make a trip to Linville Falls. Dorothy had a blast! She got all nice and muddy and met so many nice people handing out pets.


Sunday was perfect! We decided to just go back over the route we had taken Saturday to see what we had missed.

This is Grandfather Mountain in the background.


I can't remember what this trail was called but you walked out onto a big rock slab and could see for miles. There were dozens of people out there enjoying the view. The gentleman in the background was just chillin' reading a book




This was one of my favorite views of the fog lifting.


Remember the first picture in the fog? Here is the same view without fog.


I can't wait to go back and see the sights South of Linville. We had no idea what to expect and didn't plan very well. I'll know better next time!
Truck Campers

7 Replies

  • sleepy's avatar
    sleepy
    Explorer
    Oct 15, 2015
    GeoBoy wrote:
    Now that we are back in a TC we plan on visiting the Smokey Mountain NP next year. When is the best month to go?


    It depends on what you enjoy.

    Crowded? Usually...

    I think our favorite times in the mountains here is fall... leaf looking... after the kids are back in school but we can no longer depend on that.... our local kids now have year around school with long breaks every 9 weeks... they are just finishing up a couple of weeks off.

    Some people come to the area and then spend all of their time in the outlet malls... go figure.

    In the spring the mountains are full of wild flowers,,, the creeks are full... the trout fishermsn sre happy.

    New Years Eve... quiet time in the mountains... snow at higher elevations.... we have been there and done that to... had a ball... Snow Ball that is...

    I think you'd enjoy your time whenever and whatever you enjoy...

    Chet

    BTW... here in the Valley we are scheduled for frost this coming Saturday.
  • GeoBoy's avatar
    GeoBoy
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Now that we are back in a TC we plan on visiting the Smokey Mountain NP next year. When is the best month to go?
  • Slick_Rick's avatar
    Slick_Rick
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Thanks for the trip report. We'll be a little north on Skyline Drive next week. It'll be our first time with the TC, at Big Meadows. Looking forward to it big time! Maybe south next spring.
    Rick
  • Ramp_Digger's avatar
    Ramp_Digger
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Glad to see you enjoying your new camper.The BRP is one of our favorite trips.We have traveled it from start to finish 3 times.The first time was about 35 years ago in an old jeep CJ-5 with nothing but a tent ,sleeping bags,and a cooler.Every year or so we try to take a short trip up and camp along the south end in the Pisgah area.Hope you all can do the entire 470 miles soon.Our favorite time of year is late spring and early summer when the rhododendrons and mt.laurel are blooming in the higher elevations.
  • GoinThisAway's avatar
    GoinThisAway
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Yep, love the Blue Ridge Parkway & Skyline Drive. Glad to see ya'll had good weather at least one day. We just got back from a trip to New England. I think we had two cloudy/rainy days for every sunny day. BTW, while you were riding the ridgeline looking down into the Shenandoah River valley we were scooting home on I-81 down this same valley looking up at the ridgeline :-)
  • WVbassmistress's avatar
    WVbassmistress
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2015
    We got on in Fancy Gap, VA - about mp 200.
    We stayed Friday night at a nice little place called Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground
    http://fancygapcabinsandcampground.com/
    It is RIGHT ON the parkway so you don't have to worry about how bad the access road is. The new owners are wonderful people and they have the best bathrooms I have seen. We even encountered another truck camper! Nothing special about the sites but we were just looking for a parking spot anyway.

    We weren't sure how far we could get in a day and still see what we wanted to see, so I didn't make any reservations for Saturday night. We just pulled into Linville Falls Trailer Lodge and Campground. http://www.linvillefalls.com/ They had one spot left so we took it. Again, nice people...but the campground was nothing to write home about. SMALL SITES...like my husband said "they made the most out of the space they had". No way we could have off loaded the camper and had a place to park. Bathroom was functional and clean, but just 2 stalls and showers for a packed campground. I had to wait a bit for a shower.

    I wish we could have taken the time to scout some campgrounds, but we were trying to make up lost sight-seeing time.
  • sleepy's avatar
    sleepy
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2015
    In my opinion the Blue Ridge Parkway and it's connected Skyline Drive just to the north are best seen in pieces... just like you have done.

    People that try to do it in a day are passing by many of the views and other things that are available... One of my best trips was many years ago. I was taking geology classes and the rock outcroppings were so diverse that I spent more time looking at the roadsides that the topography.

    There was biotite and muscovite shinning in patches... they are the clear rock that used to be used in the windows of woodstoves... I took Janet and our three kids too... had them looking for rocks too.

    It fired me up enough to get A's in my geology classes.

    You make me want to go back for a refresher course... to the Parkway... not to college.

    Thanks for posting... looking forward to more.

    Chet

    BTW... Where did you get on and where did you stay?

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