Fall on the Blue Ridge Parkway

We left West Virginia on Saturday, but we didn't go straight home. We had received a message from our friend Andy that he would be hiking in the Harper Creek area on Sunday, and would be camping at Julian Price Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday. We had wanted to camp on the BRP once more before they closed the campgrounds for the season, and Andy is always fun to hike with, so off we went. It's nice to be mobile and have no commitments! We drove the BRP about 90 miles from Fancy Gap to Price Park and the fall colors were fantastic. We checked in at the campground just before dark. Andy and Christy joined us later at our campfire. It was a brisk evening. The low that night was 33 degrees.

On Sunday morning we drove south on the parkway headed for the trailhead. The colors on Grandfather Mountain and the views from the Linn Cove Viaduct were prettier than I had seen them for years. We pulled in at the Linn Cove Visitor Center and discussed a change in plan. We decided that we couldn't pass up a hike here when the colors are so gorgeous. Plan B was to hike from the Linn Cove parking area on the Tanawa Trail to Rough Ridge and return. This is a very easy hike of only about 4 miles. We hung out on Rough Ridge for over an hour enjoying the views of Grandfather Mountain and the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Parkway. It seems that I have never hiked to Rough Ridge without seeing someone I know. This time it was Ken, who I had worked with at DAQ. After the hike we drove over to Valle Crucis and visited the original Mast Store. We then drove to Blowing Rock and walked around Bass Lake at the lower end of the Moses Cone Park.

We awoke this morning to fog and rain. We had considered spending the the last night of our trip at one of the Corps of Engineers campgrounds at Kerr Scott Reservoir near Wilkesboro. Need to break up that two hour drive, ya know. Considering the weather however, we decided to come on home. Of course, we found the weather in Wilkesboro and at home was fine. In any case, we are finally at home for the first time in five weeks.