What) The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles, mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains. Its southern terminus is on the boundary between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina, from which it travels north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The Parkway is not a National Park, but it is a National Scenic Byway and is the most visited unit in the United States National Park System.

    Begun during the administration of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, work began on September 11, 1935, near Cumberland Knob in North Carolina. Construction of the parkway took over 52 years to complete, the last stretch being laid around Grandfather Mountain in 1987. The Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels were constructed through the rock - one in Virginia and twenty-five in North Carolina. The highest point on the parkway is 6053 feet above sea level on Richland Balsam Mountain at Milepost 431. The Parkway is often closed from November to April due to inclement weather such as snow, fog, and even freezing fog from low clouds. The speed limit is never higher than 45 mph and lower in some sections. (1)

    Where) From Cherokee, North Carolina to Shenandoah, Virginia

    Why) Would you believe that we hit a snowstorm on April 23 just as we were driving into the Great Smoky Mountains?  By the time we made it to the entrance of the Parkway the snow had stopped but the road was still closed.  I wonder what can be done about that.


























We made it right to the start of the Parkway but it looked like it would be hard to get the Jeep around this gate.







Pam was revving the engine in preparation for ramming the gate but I was able to talk her into ...










... taking a walk along the Oconaluftee river instead.







It is sure hard to believe that we are just two hours removed from driving through a blizzard.







I think I may have mentioned previously how much Pam likes rivers. 1 2