Fortunately, we didn't stay overnight in Lexington as originally planned, so we saved over an hour of travel time this morning to finally reach the Blue Ridge Parkway. To put it bluntly, the Blue Ridge Parkway was one of the most beautiful scenic roads we have ever driven!
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic road with a total length of 469 miles (about 750 kilometers). Every mile is marked with a so-called milepoint. The road starts in Rockfish Gap, Virginia, and ends near Cherokee, North Carolina, close to the Smoky Mountains. It mainly runs on the heights of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the Appalachians. Buses and trucks are not allowed on the road. The maximum speed limit is 45 mph (72 km/h). Construction began in 1935, but the actual completion took another 52 years.
We were lucky with the weather. It was relatively windy, but the sun was shining and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. It took us only about 30 minutes to drive from our accommodation to the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was practically a viewpoint every mile on the parkway, which we also stopped at. The area is also crossed by many hiking trails, so we also did a little hike that day. Steffi had the advantage in terms of fitness. Since we were traveling on a weekday, there were only a few tourists around. Every now and then, there were also nice spots for a picnic, some of them even equipped with a grill.
One lookout point surpassed the other, and we couldn't stop marveling. We were treated to a breathtaking view into the distance. Mountains and trees as far as the eye could see. In between, we stopped at a visitor center where we also did some shopping. After starting at milepoint 200, we reached our destination for the day, called Blowing Rock, at milepoint 290. This place with its 1,100 inhabitants is located at an altitude of over 3,300 feet (1,000 meters). Accordingly, it was quite cool here, especially in the evening.
We arrived at around 3 pm, checked into our small but nice accommodation, and took a walk to the town center, which was only a few meters away from us. Blowing Rock was really a very beautiful and idyllic place, including pub and tavern. We could easily imagine Blowing Rock as a location for movies or series. Everything seemed so calm and relaxed.
In the evening, we made a small bonfire in front of our accommodation. Afterwards, we went to the town again for a few drinks. The tavern was quite busy during the week.
We would have loved to spend another day in Blowing Rock.
Best wishes,
Steffi and Stefan
