Blue Ridge Parkway

 After the exciting day yesterday the goal was for a milder driving experience but not so boring as to the interstate. Just a couple hours East of the motel was an entrance onto the Blue Ridge parkway. The parkway extends from Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A fact that was unknown until searching for a place to hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its claimed at 469 miles in length. 

Traveling to the parkway was a pleasant experience as GPS path left the interstate after only an hour or so and began crossing local roads and highways. The roads had fantastic views of Virginia/North Carolina's natural beauty especially the Grindstone Recreation area. Throughout this connection to the parkway the area was unique with 1-400ft (ish) rolling hills, one after the next. After another hour or so the Blue Ridge parkway was entered off of route 21 just north of Cherry Lane, NC.

From there Roanoke, VA was >100 miles away. With only a few people heading in the same direction only a little traffic occurred. The speed limit was 45 mph. The Blue Ridge was its own monster of a road. The long sweeping turns made me wish I had my motorcycle. The pavement was in incredible condition throughout the journey. I only observed a handful of dips and potholes through over 100 miles of which I traveled.

The plan was to drive along the parkway until the Shenandoah National Park then make another decision going forward. Traveling at 45 mph and stopping every so often added quite a bit of time to the day that was unaccounted for. At one point near Bent Mountain, VA the Blue Ridge had road closure signs. They offered directions for a detour that I couldn't follow for the life of me. Frustrated, I chose to skip a large section to get back onto the parkway, so I drove up I-81and exited at the Bedford, VA exit. Fortunately at this point the Blue Ridge parkway was open.

If you're looking for a fantastic easy drive with the opportunity to hike and observe nature this parkway is a must.

At approximately 6pm the parkway was finished and the decision to drive home or drive into the Shenandoah's again had to be made. I elected to drive home from this point forward and hopped on I-81. Shenandoah is cool at night, but spectacular during the day. A few days prior driving through in the rain and early morning was all the dose I needed of the National Park in the dark. 

At approximately 10:40pm I arrived back home and greeted by my loving fiance, Liz.

RIPP'IN

 

 Camping at Tannehill was peaceful. The temperature was around 45 degrees at night, which I had just enough to keep me warm. A beanie would have been nice. Rising early and leaving around 8:30am was a good decision. Lots of miles were had throughout this day and the rest was much needed.

Leaving Tannehill the next stop would by Cloudlands State Park in GA, roughly 164 miles away. Unfortunately when traveling up route 136 to the park there were many vehicles coming in the opposite direction. Entering the park it was obvious that all the cars were being turned away as park staff were requesting. As I spoke to the park employee he stated that the park was at full capacity and to come back a few hours from then. It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday, so its understandable that the park was packed.

Route 136 up to Cloudland was a fun drive leading to me turning around twice and driving through the curves again. Check this link for the drive https://youtu.be/sen58L4pjlk

The lack of desire to stick around this area for a few hours just to have the possible opportunity to get into the Cloudland park combined with the enthusiasm to get my driving fix from the Tail of the Dragon...again.

 Arriving at the end of the tail again I had an unstoppable grin. This time around I was going to get footage that was broken to user error from the GoPro used. After getting out of the car, eating, stretching the warm up began. 

Slowly staring and with no traffic in front I began absolutely tearing up the tail. Shortly after I heard crackling exhaust behind me, a 5.0 mustang keeping pace. The BRZ hugging the corners as throttling to red lining before the next twist of road. The flow of the pavement is incredible. The BRZ's skill level is higher than my ability.

Adrenaline dumping through the bloodstream with a coyote pushing I was testing my limits as certain sections of the road the rear slipping out as the traction control was engaging to keep me from losing control. Only a few cars stood in the way and quickly moved out of the path as they observed us trailing.

 At the end of the first run I was cleaning up nuts....of trail mix that had spilled in the passenger foot area. The gentleman, Josh and his wife Elizabeth approached and commended the ability of the BRZ. Elizabeth had taken a few videos of my driving, which was fun to see a different perspective. They offered to send the videos over. We spoke for a while exchanging stories then parted ways. A cool couple to say the least.

The 4th round through the tail I was alone with a GoPro with took it a little easier. The brakes were still spongy even after waiting an hour or so to cool down from the previous run.

Here are more pictures of the BRZ:

https://www.photoreflect.com/store/Album.aspx?a=1066530

Satisfied with the footage I began heading North through the Great Smoky Mountain Foothills and then hopping on the highways until reaching Kingsport, TN to a motel for the night.

 

50/50

After waking and getting breakfast from Waffle house, which I haven't done in years, it was time to achieve a dream.

Louisiana was a state I had skipped among previous trips. Regretfully, along my national parks tour back in 2016 I purposely bypassed due to the state not having a national park. In hindsight I should've stopped, but the positive is that I was able to enjoy another road trip.

After only a short 5-10 minute drive the GPS claimed "Welcome to Louisiana" while bypassing the state sign along the roadway. I cheered happily and kept moving to New Orleans.

Arriving in morning  at the French district was probably for the best. Not being a fan of crowds or chaos the area had a low volume of both.

The district is unique in a few ways namely the buildings architectural structure, which many are old style french with all sorts of influences and small touches.

A phone app that I came upon had history tours which gave me basic info and significant sites, which I casually followed.

 

Sitting and looking port side along the Mississippi River boats caressed the water. Next to me were a couple old styled steam boats. Behind was Jackson Square with a bronze statue of Andrew Jackson with the backdrop of  St. Louis Cathedral, a colossal catholic church. A few artists in the area conducting paintings of their so desire, which was fun to watch the canvas being created.

Walking around Woldenberg park, enjoying the history markers, watching a jazz group perform in the streets, and even strolling down Bourbon street the culture of this part of the city is blossoming. 

The city goers party hard due to the necessity of having a huge cleaning effort on Bourbon Street. I observed the cleaning crews coordinating as they spoke over their radios. They were cleaning the sidewalk and street itself with soap and water. It appeared that the private other businesses had employees doing the same.

After some time I left the area to explore  the Garden district. Not necessarily a garden area per say but mansion after mansion of old architecture. Spectacular house lines filled each street. 

 

Unfortunately due to Covid/construction areas were closed or restricted hours. Missing out on a few opportunities like walking around Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, voodoo history, and the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center. 

 

The cemeteries are particularly interesting as New Orleans is around sea level. Burying the deceased would result in them floating in water. The custom of building vaults to sit above the ground became custom to help mitigate the problem with burying under the ground. Just below is a picture of these vaults/mausoleums as I hung my phone over through the gate to get a picture.

 

 

After 3-4 hours of exploring I decided to start traveling back to PA. The first stop on the way back was The Crosby Arboretum in Mississippi. A microbiome of local ecology and habitat. A delightful experience for a measly 5 dollar admission.

 

After the arboretum the mile hungry brain made its way back to camp at Tannehill Ironworks Historic State park in Alabama. Luckily they had a primitive camping spot for this booming camping area. I'd estimate over around 1000 people were present. 

This was a delightful place to stay for the evening with an unknown special event occurring. The RVs within this city of campers displayed holloween decorations, more than I've seen and on a bigger level then I've seen in years. These displays were icing on the cake of a epic day.

Deals Gap

After a quick fast food breakfast a three hour drive lead me past to the Great Smoky Mountains to Knoxville, TN then South. The GPS gave another option; however, which ran parallel with the mountains and got me off the interstate onto local highways and back roads. So I made the very tough call of choosing the scenic local roads.

The alternate route lead me to the Great Smoky Mountain Foothills. Signage dictating that no commercial vehicles were permitted. Luckily only few others were around so the warm up began. The road twisted and weaved with phenomenal views of the Smokies. 

Shortly after finishing the 20 or so miles of  the foothills the tail of the dragon was within reach. After warming up I couldn't contain my excitement. Snapping video and pictures sharing with close family and friends. The tail starts in an area called Deals Gap, NC. Its an 11 mile stretch of road that connects NC to TN with 300+ turns.

See little blue sticking out?

A legal rollercoaster is what the tail really is. More time was spent on the area than anticipated around 3+ hours. Observing all sorts of bikes, riders, drivers, and cars. A few times I pulled over to watch riders get their knee down around the "twisties". People flocked from all over for this stretch of pavement.

Going through once wasn't enough. Rolling through two times scratched the itch, time flew. Talking myself out the idea that I could get an apartment, job, and envisioning the future just to be able to ride this tail frequently is when I realized I needed to leave. The fall from grace always hurts. Check out some pictures of the BRZ here:

 

https://www.photoreflect.com/store/Album.aspx?a=1066528&e=10595794

 

The BRZ was phenomenal, but alone. I hadn't seen another of the entire platform (86/FRS/BRZ) and was outnumbered by several generations of Corvettes. 

Changing perspective and using the momentum of adrenaline pumping happiness I reluctantly left Deals Gap to eat miles for the rest of the day. Making all the way into Mississippi just shy of the Louisiana border.

Waking up rested was the cherry on top of a great day.

Natural Bridge, VA

Leaving so early meant watching for wildlife on Skyline drive. The complete darkness of the roads looked sublime at the lookouts but didn't provide confident driving.

Decidedly leaving the Skyline and headed out of the park to create more miles per hour. The road/highway out of the park was just as fun.

The wonder of the trip I had already found at Natural Bridge state park in Virginia. Towering over 200 ft high I was lucky enough to be the only visitor there at 8am sharp. I stared at the magnificent structure for quite some time. As I was leaving a few adventurers were coming.

A funny paraphrased history lesson would be that a confederate troop were pissed they didn't get to bypass the natural bridge along their march as others in the confederacy. An informational stand explaining this. Can you imagine going to fight the Yanks and arguing with your officers. I guess it makes sense if you weren't going to be alive to see it again though.

Ending the day early from exhaustion I stayed at Alpine Motel in Abington, Va. Close to the border.

When packing and leaving on the 29th, in the excitement, I left a few things out of my bags. I went and restocked, hung out and enjoyed cable TV, wifi and got much needed rest.

I spoke with one of my motel neighbors that was packing up his BMW GS. His buddy inside the room had a Honda Africa Twin. Both, I've heard, are ideal for both pavement and dirt. They were headed to the discovery trail. I told him of my plan of hitting Deals Gap. A place for the motorcycle/sports car enthusiast. Something I've been wanting to do and have the perfect tool; BRZ.

Louisiana Bound

The pandemic has been exhasting, ever changing, and a great opportunity to focus on oneself. Being grateful of life and health with a sprinkle of having the time it was now or never.

On Sept 29th I left to touch Louisiana soil. The last state I need for my 50/50 merit badge!

Around 2:30pm I began the drive up to Harrisburg, PA to hop on I81 which extends for hundreds of miles. 

After hours of driving in the rain I decided to stop in the Shenandoah National Park. A place I haven't seen for years. 

Unfortunately the clouds covered the views and the rain soaked the ground. Fortunately this is a road trip and Skyline drive is a fun one to play on.

Sleep was ever so elusive just as the black bear signs within the park. The lack of sleep combined with the excitement of momentum lead to disembarking at 5am. I don't recommend trying to sleep in a Subaru BRZ on top of a mountain.