P is for…Parkway
Our family often enjoy get-aways, even if it’s just of the day to any one of three nearby parkways. One of our favorite parkways is the Blue Rridge Parkway.
Near Waynesboro, Virginia, highway 64E intersects with the Blue Rridge Parkway at its beginning mark and extends south to Cherokee, North Carolina almost 470 miles. We have had the good fortune to travel most of the parkway from Cherokee to Roanoke, Virginia.
There are many photo opportunities along the way and the beautiful of the parkway to enjoy inspite the conditions. It’s common on our trips to encounter fog…dense fog and the ambiance sets a mysterious, romantic kind of mood and we totally soak it up.
One of our favorite pastimes is to sit in our car while having a picnic lunch at Water Rock Knob when the conditions are like what’s pictured here. It’s so relaxing!
I snapped this picture from a picnic area one spring. The fog was thick, a slight mist was falling, and a chilly gentle wind nipped our skin.
Mt. Mitchell is a state park located just off the parkway. Its the highest peak east of the Mississippi at 6,578 feet above sea level. It’s situated north of Asheville, North Carolina (home to Biltmore Mansion) roughly 30 miles.
A few weeks ago, we hiked the short trail to the summit. At the base of summit tower, I captured this from the backside.
I love how the dark evergreens allow the purple clover to stand out and your eyes lead to the mountain view to the right – really pretty!
We hung around that same evening to watch a lovely sunset. As we were heading back to the parkway, we turned off the road into the lodge restaurant parking area to take a picture.
The sky was gorgeous! I like particularly how the road leads your eyes to the vivid shades of the sunset cascading across the image.
For more information on the Blue Ridge Parkway, you may want to consider visiting their website. You can download a BRPWY map from their main menu under Tools & Quick links, if you’re interested.
Another parkway not too far from our home is the Cherohala Parkway. Technically, it’s called Cherohala Skyway but for years it was called Nantahala Parkway. In the past decade its name became a portmanteau of Cherokee and Nantahala.
This beautiful scenic byway connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee to Robbinsville, North Carolina. You may have heard of the infamous ‘Dragon’ a motorcyclist’s thrill ride which is a 44 miles of curvy, dangerous road, if so then you can find it here along highway 666. This is a stretch of road you do not want to travel, if you’re prone to motion sickness – it’s very twisty!
The first time we visited this little lake, our daughters were very small and it was before the birth of our son. I was awestruck by the tranquillity. The lake seemed so still with no sounds except woodland creatures. Wouldn’t you love to have a house right here? I would!
A couple of years ago, we got off the beaten path of Cherohala to see this little gem of a waterfall. There was no hiking needed, you can drive right pass it. It was getting lot of traffic that day, and we made several passes before I caught the right picture. It was worth the effort. My husband is so patient!
The Cherohala Parkway Skyway is home to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Kilmer was a poet (another ‘P’ word) who lived from 1886 – 1918. Below is perhaps his most famous piece.
Finally, this brings me to the 18-mile scenic Foothills Parkway, which skirts the north side of the Smoky’s. It may not be consider spectacular to most compared to its great rival, but it has its own hidden beauty. This is a spot we enjoy visiting when we don’t have time for an all-day affair, but wanna break away from the humdrum routine.
One point of interest along the parkway is the Look Rock Observation Tower, where you can get an amazing view on a clear day. The half-mile hike got an easy rank but I’m certain the trail is now over grown which doesn’t suit me. How can you see snakes? We made the trek years ago early in our marriage when the vegetation was tame and I didn’t worry about creatures that hiss. Check out, Look Rock.
The Letter ‘P’ is brought to you by my blog PAL, Miss Jenny where you’ll find a plethor of polished pages to plunder filled with pleasure.
If you’d like for me to prowl over to your blog, leave your web address in comments and be over as pretty as you please! 
I’m participating in Amanda’s Thursday Two Questions meme. I figured I spin-off questions about my Alphabe-Thursday post by asking these…
1) Do you like taking day trips, if so where are your hot spots for some down time? Well, if you read everything above then you see where we like to go. I’d have say these are the top hot spots for us. However, there are other things to see and do which are just as fun. Perhaps another day, another post I can highlight more things to do.
2) A lot of you take photographs, like me, but only you’re better. Anyway, what defined your initial interest to pick up this hobby? I absolutely remember what caused my budding interest in photography. My husband got involved in shooting 35mm in the early 80s. I was in college at the time and began feeling a little resentful of his hobby. It made me feel (unknowingly to him) that I was taking the back seat. This wasn’t true, of course, but the sense hung over me like a cloud. That’s when I decided I wanted to learn photography, too. I mean before that time the only camera I ever used was one of those old 110 film type cameras. Do you remember those? I would cut people’s heads off or couldn’t figure out my composition. I was disaster behind a camera, but determine to learn. Once I started working, Robin bought got a Nikon FG-series camera for me. I wasn’t fantastic at it, but I sure had a lot of fun and I was doing something with my best friend. The exclusion feeling melted and I’ve enjoyed my amateur photo shoots ever since that time!
Have a good day!
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I love the Blue Ridge Parkway when the fog drifts over the valleys. It is so ethereal and haunting.
I’ve not been that way in too long of a time. I would love to plan a trip for Autumn foliage. Absolute perfection.
Thanks for a lovely little trip this week.
A+
lovely mountain views, wow.
Wonderful photos. That waterfall is just amazing. We don’t really travel that much.
Cathy, thanks so much for your recent visit to my blog…hope you come back soon. It’s good to meet a fellow Tenneblogger. I love the BlueRidge Parkway and the Skyway…have been on both several times. My husband and I rode the Skyway last fall and the fog was so thick that almost the entire drive we couldn’t see 50 feet in front…needless to say, it was a long drive where we could see none of the gorgeous scenery and definelty no pictures were snapped. Love the Smoky’s so that just kind of goes with the territory. I’m marking myself as a follower and feel free to do the same, if you’d like.
Lovely photos Cathy. I don’t do day trips now as the kids are still very young.. and any day trip may require going overseas into Malaysia. I have always had an interest in photography and hope to one day own my own DSLR and go for some photography courses. Nowadays I mostly capture the kids and their funny moments on the camera. I’m hoping to try out more food shots or even nature in the future.
Wow, very nice places and truly amazing nature photos. We have some trails in our neighborhood and we would go for nature walks. Although with Trinity, we are a little skeptical to go into the woods like we used to. We do the family park trails and looking for more hikes with groups. Even though our trails are very pretty and quaint, they are full with mountain lions.
I am not really into taking photos except for family, and if it will help with a story I am writing about.
Thanks for linking up this week.
Beautiful photos Cathy. I have driven the Dragon, in a car, it is very curvy. When I was little my parents favorite vacations were along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have been to most of the places you mentioned.
When we lived in Portland we did a lot of day trips or overnights to the coast. Here we do day trips to parks along the Columbia or Snake rivers.
I bought my first SLR in the early eighties to take photos for work. Pretty soon I had a second one so I could have one loaded with color film and the other b/w. It wasn’t long before I was developing my own photos but I never got too serious about that. I was single then and did a lot of backpacking with friends, it wasn’t long before the camera was considered essential equipment for the trail.
Day trips work well for us in this season in our lives. We enjoy getting out and doing things locally, which helps the local economy, too. I’ve always loved taking pictures. I was the unofficial photographer for our family get-togethers(my dad comes from a huge family). I don’t mind asking people to get together for a planned shot; I also enjoy capturing the moments, too. Either way, I have fun with it.
A beautiful parkway. Watch out European Alps there’s some gorgeous competition out there!
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Loved the photos…love your blog…I will visit again soon…
These photos are absolutely stunning! Thanks for taking me on your trip!
Thanks for visiting me. Glad that you liked my hydrangeas. Watercolors are quite a challenge. It took me over 3 years to “pick it up.”
I am your new follower. I hope that you will follow me, too.
Barb
You live around some pretty marvelous scenery.
We have some great day trips near us, too. We love visiting the various beaches and also the redwoods. We also like to go to San Francisco, when we’re in the mood for city sights.
=)
i love the foggy scenes…such beautiful places you visited. i seldom take day trips because they’re tiring. i prefer weekend trips–a two to three-hour drive from the city is perfect for an overnight stay.
i have always been interested in photography–since high school (early 80’s). my interest was piqued when i started hanging out at our neighbor’s studio–he was a portrait photographer. but film photography was expensive, couldn’t afford it. in college, i joined a photography club but was struggling with costs of developing. digital photography is heaven-sent.:p
@2600cf04aca6146720712378c93e35ad Thanks for the visit & don’t worry about being late. My philosophy is better late than never. =D
Wonderful photoessay I’ve driven along some of the parkway your photos are GREAT!!!!!! I’m stopping buy a bit late from Get wired Wednesday hop=)
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