Tracy had TripTics mapping out the route from Boone down to Charleston, SC but I had different ideas. If we headed back towards Blowing Rock we could jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway and head west to Asheville and then join the I26, which was not really any further to Charleston and a much nicer drive. We'd heard a little about the parkway which was recommended by everyone who'd been on it.

I organised to meet up with Zibbles for lunch at the Vanderbilt Mansion, the largest house in the United States. We'd head down from there to Columbus and meet up with Eden and Twinz. And there, we'd be right on the main highway down to Charleston anyway. Seemed like a good route.

It turned out to be more than that. The parkway itself was stunning. Wherever we drove we'd be gaping openmouthed at the scenery. I'm just glad that Tracy is as good a driver as she is or she'd have become so involved in the beauty that we'd still be a part of it...

The Blue Ridge Parkway was a 'make-work' scheme during the '30s Depression when large scale plans were put into operation to get huge numbers of unemployed back into work, often at high wages. After much politicking the road eventually took form and magically achieved its goal of showcasing the scenery of the south Appalachians. It runs 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina, often along the crests of the range. We travelled up to the highest points, almost 6,000 feet above sea level. At many points we could stop at an overlook 4,000 feet or more up, look out on incredible unmarred scenery, then cross the road a mere 20 yards and see more on the other side. I'd love to cycle this in the autumn (fall) and take a leisurely three weeks or so to do it.

Here are some pics from some of the wonderfully named locations and overlooks: Price Lake , Yonahlossee , The North Toe River Valley , Licklog Ridge and Craggy Gardens .

People live up there on the tops, though not many - one woman came up to us asking if we'd seen her dog, who had disappeared into the vast expanse of scenery. Unfortunately we hadn't... And there were plenty of interesting visitors. I talked to a guy from SETI who'd raised a mountain lion after nobody else at his university would take it on. And there were the cars. This photo shows Glassmine Falls , an 800 foot waterfall, framed in the windscreen (windshield) of an 87-year old Model-T Ford, happily driving around 5,200 feet up. It belonged to a couple from Dallas, TX, who were part of a 52-car convoy driving the parkway. They'd already been up Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, and a whole range of huge mountains in Colorado. I guess 5,200 feet elevation didn't seem that much to them any more...

This trip for me was mostly a people trip - I was getting to meet up with a whole slew of friends who I'd known for anything up to a year, but had never met. I was, of course, very aware that North America has something in the way of scenery, but I hadn't really planned on seeing any until Washington State and the Columbia River Gorge (which I never did get to see). This was my eyeopener to the fact that maybe the scenery would come to see me first.