david159 Miles
Day 3 started early (its been a long time since I camped and I have to admit, it wasn’t the most comfortable of nights!). Nothing to do with the gear, just an old man’s bones creaking…
As I mentioned, the Smoky Mountains Meadows Campground was fantastic, a nice warm shower to start the day, saying hi to the other travelers who were also waking up nice and early, getting the coffee and breakfast going as I broke down camp and packed the bike…
It was an easy ride to get back to Cherokee and the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway which today would take me up as far as Blowing Rock.
I have to admit, the first part of the BRP (starting in Cherokee) is absolutely stunning and I was able to take in more of the sights that I didn’t see yesterday.
A couple of photo ops came along pretty quickly, the highest point on the BRP being one of the highlights.
As the BRP starts to wind its way into Asheville, it does get a little busy and the roads are nowhere near as scenic, however once past Asheville itself, it opens up again to some spectacular scenery
One of the highlights of the road between Asheville and Blowing Rock was the Mount Mitchell State Park and the road to the summit (the highest point east of the Mississippi
Its a fairly easy drive to the parking lot at the top and a gentle 300 yard walk to get right to the summit (well worth the trip if you haven’t done it)…
Once out of the Mount Mitchell State park, it was a nice quick flowing road to get up to Blowing Rock, I took a little bit of a detour (as part of the BRP was closed) and passed by Grandfather Mountain. I was hoping to make it to the top of that as well, but currently its by appointment only 🙁
There was some weather moving through the area (not too bad, but the forecast was for a cold and wet night), so I checked into the Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock for the night. Awesome room, fantastic food and a couple of beers to help me get some much needed rest…
Again a pretty great end to another awesome day!
