Blue Ridge Parkway, Pt. 2
I woke up really early Friday morning and decided to get underway. The sky at that hour was so dark and clear, I finally had an unobstructed view of the stars. Since I didn’t have my telescope, I got a few shots with my phone. The part of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Smoky Mountain National Park was empty of traffic, but I still needed to drive carefully because I was concerned that the cool weather had made the leaf-covered roadway slick, plus I occasionally had to evade fallen tree branches. I chose the faster, most direct drive (Rt. 19 to I-40 East) to Asheville, rather than taking the part of the parkway I’d already driven. By the time I reached the parkway’s visitor center, it had opened for the day. I was very glad to be able to talk to the ranger on duty because, as I suspected, there…
Blue Ridge Parkway, Part 1
Tuesday morning was, as forecast, cloudy but with a far lower chance of rain in the Asheville area. I checked out and got a relatively early start. On Monday, while driving around Asheville, I noticed directional signs indicating that the famous Biltmore Estate was nearby. I wasn’t really interested in a tour of the estate this trip, but I decided to take a chance of getting close enough to the house to get a picture. Based on the appearance of the gatehouse, the grounds have already been decorated for the coming Christmas holidays–more than a month away at that point. Unfortunately, though, I was unable to get past the ticket booth for more photos without buying a ticket. Instead, I headed to the North Carolina Arboretum, where I had planned to begin the audio-guided tour of the portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway that would lead to the Smoky Mountain…