Friday April 7, 2023

Road video and map

Today I left Roanoke with the plan being to drive the rest of the Blue Ridge Parkway, enjoy a couple of trails at the James River and visit Natural Bridge State Park a few miles west. Then, tomorrow, to drive Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP to get home.

As I drove north along the parkway towards the James River it was raining but reasonably clear and this was the view from the first overlook I stopped at.

Much as I love driving the Blue Ridge Parkway there are times when it’s better avoided. There are signs at every entry point telling drivers to avoid the parkway in snow, ice and fog and further north this was what it looked like.

I encountered fog several times as the road went into the clouds but I knew the James River is the low point of the parkway so I pressed on slowly. When I arrived it was raining gently, windy, and only 40° F (4° C) according to the car. No sooner had I put on my warm jacket and set off on my walk than it started to pour. At that point I felt that the joy of parkway driving had diminished to the point that I no longer needed it and decided to end the trip a day early.

Thanks to all that followed along and/or commented. As always, I learned a lot along the way, enjoyed most of the places I visited, writing my daily posts, reading your thoughts and the driving, and had some fun – particularly the five days in Atlanta.