Along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina

The carful of kids wake up in Asheville, North Carolina, after spending the day exploring Memphis, Tennessee, on our quest for the Canadian Maritimes. We will continue north via the Blue Ridge Parkway where we left off two summers ago.

We have stayed in Asheville before when we visited The Biltmore Estate and drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On the first trip, we earned our Blue Ridge Parkway Junior Ranger Badge, this trip I want to continue to earn the Blue Ridge Parkway Patch, with three more stops.

Rhododendron

We enter the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) north of Asheville at Oteen, mile marker 382, and make our first stop at the Craggy Gardens, mile marker 364, to walk among the rhododendrons. Next stop is Crabtree Falls, mile marker 340, for another quick hike. With every bend of the road, your eye meets miles of rolling smoky-blue mountains covered in verdant foliage.


The Museum of North Carolina Minerals, mile marker 331, is chock-full of facts from the state's mining heritage and the minerals that can be found here. Then on to Linville Falls, mile marker 316, for a look around.

Hydrangea

The next stop is the Linn Cove Viaduct, mile marker 304; it is built to hug Grandfather Mountain and was the last section of Blue Ridge Parkway to be completed, winning many engineering awards.

The carful of kids continue north to Moses Cone Manor House, mile marker 294, to explore but it is closed already. It is a large, Victorian Neo-Colonial home that was completed in 1901.

The carful of kids have spent the better part of the day exploring and we are no where near our destination of Waynesboro, Virginia.  Melissa does a quick search and we discover we are still 275 miles away. Remember there is a 45 mph speed limit on the BRP.

With the sun hanging low in the sky, we exit the Blue Ridge Parkway and race up the interstate instead.

Up next, Shenandoah National Park and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.