|
It is astonishing to learn that the
Blue Ridge Parkway lies within a one-day drive of a sizeable portion of
the United States population living between New York and northern Florida.
More than 20 million people a year travel the parkway’s 469 miles. Yet the
parkway remains unspoiled, although it is crowded on most pretty weekends from
May through October.
The Blue Ridge Parkway begins where
the Shenandoah National Park ends at Waynesboro, Virginia and continues to the
beginning of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Cherokee, North
Carolina. The idea of a scenic parkway is generally credited to Virginia
Senator Harry F. Byrd who in 1933, suggested to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt that the two national parks be connected. Construction began
September 11, 1935 and the last seven-mile segment around Grandfather Mountain
in North Carolina opened five decades later on September 11, 1987. This
scenic parkway was designed to be savored, not rapidly consumed. The ten
visitor centers and 275 turnouts provide ample opportunities to enjoy the
scenic overlooks, explore the many trails and visit areas of special interest.
Milepost zero of America's longest
national park is at Rockfish Gap and from there both the numbers and the road
climb. Elevations range from a low of 649 feet around the James River
(milepost 63.8), where there is a visitor center and a restored lock of the
James River Canal (see James River and Kanawah Canal selection) to a high of
6,047 around Devil's Courthouse in North Carolina.
The planners of the Blue Ridge
Parkway sought to conserve not only the natural beauty of the southern
Appalachian highlands but also the cultural and historical resources.
Humpback Rocks at milepost 5.8, for example, features exhibits on the home
life of mountain settlers. A self-guided trail leads to a restored pioneer
farm where visitors get a first-hand look at what life was like for those who
literally carved homesteads out of wilderness. They hewed the logs for their
cabins and picked the rocks for the foundations and fireplaces. In addition
to their houses, they built barns and pens for their animals and bins for
their crops. The rustic cabin is furnished and has "live-in" occupants who
recreate life on this mountain farm every day from May through October.
Of course, on the parkway the fun
is in traveling along the mountain tops while gazing over the mesmerizing
valleys of Virginia. This is a drive you'll want to take slowly; the
45-mile-an-hour speed limit and the winding macadam road make that a
requirement even if it's not a preference.
One of the most scenic spots along
the parkway is the Peaks of Otter at milepost 86. It is one of only
two spots on the Virginia portion of the parkway offering overnight
accommodations. For reservations at Peaks of Otter Lodge call (540) 586-1081.
In Virginia the toll-free number is (800) 542-5927. Rocky Knob, milepost 174,
offers overnight cabins. For reservations call (540) 593-3503. The Virginia
portion of the parkway also has four campgrounds: Otter Creek (near the James
River), Peaks of Otter, Roanoke Mountain and Rocky Knob. For information on
these campgrounds call (540) 857-2458.
The Peaks of Otter drew visitors
even before European settlement. The Iroquois and Cherokee once used the area
as a "Warrior's Path." Supplies for the Revolutionary War were carried along
a valley road. From 1845 to 1859 Polly Wood operated an ordinary, or inn, for
travelers through the Alleghenies. You can visit Polly Wood's Ordinary on
weekends or take part in occasional living history programs on this site.
Another location for living history
is the Johnson Farm built about 1850 and farmed through the 1930s. Today it
is used to re-create farm life of the 1920s. Back in 1867 Robert E. Lee
climbed the summit of the Peaks of Otter; today you can ride a bus to the top
of Sharp Top Summit. You can also hike one of the six trails. For an easy
and short walk take the .08 Elk Run Loop; if you want a real workout, try the
3.3-mile moderately difficult Harkening Hill Loop.
Do save enough time to continue your
drive as far as Mabry Mill at milepost 176, perhaps the best-loved spot
on the entire parkway. Ed Mabry made his money in the coal mines of West
Virginia and came back to the southern highlands of Virginia to purchase land.
He quickly gained a reputation for fixing things at the blacksmith shop he set
up in the Meadows of Dan area. Today the ring of hammer and anvil resounds from
the shop Ed Mabry built. He went on to build a gristmill and sawmill.
Customers claimed the Mabrys produced the "best cornmeal in the country." You
can test that claim yourself by buying a sample of the cornmeal and buckwheat
flour still sold at Mabry's Mill.
The weathered gray frame mill with
its giant wheel sits beside a stream in a sylvan setting. Amateur shutter bugs
and professional photographers line the stream bank vying for the perfect shot.
Mabry's Mill, which served the community as a mill from 1905 until 1935, now
serves as the central attraction of the National Park Service exhibit on
mountain industry. The exhibit depicts the work of a tanner and shoemaker and,
on summer weekends, other craftsmen including a blacksmith.
Traveling beyond the Virginia border
into North Carolina, the parkway leads to the scenic charms of Linville Falls,
Craggy Gardens and Mt. Pisgah. You should drive all the way to the end of this
magnificent mountain drive.
Directions: From I-95 in the
Richmond area, take I-64 west past Charlottesville to the beginning of the Blue
Ridge Parkway. The parkway can also be reached from numerous exits off I-81,
most notably in the vicinity of Roanoke and Buena Vista.
|