Today is my turn to lead; we went over our stops the night before. To Rosie's surprise I was a lot more organized than Saturday morning. We headed southward after breakfast at the Bluffs Coffee shop and a good breakfast too, even better - a great price. We stopped at the Mount Jefferson, mile post 267; it looms high over the town of Jefferson for which it is named. It was formerly called Negro Mountain because runaway slaves supposedly hid out there when fleeing to Ohio before the civil war. The summit and slopes of the mountain now make up Jefferson State Park covering 474 acres. On to Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. The dark clouds started to roll in over our heads, but no sign of rain, just damp. The flat top manor, the summer home built by the wealthy textile magnate Moses H. Cone, now servers as a visitor center. The pictures will tell you just how massive this home is, I can't imagine living in a home so large. You would need a map to find that special someone in your life, which could be good or bad!!! Inside the enclosed front porch was an artisan demonstrating glass blowing. He made Christmas ornaments, so cool, and the view, as you can see, is something else. On our way out, you can see that a lot of the local people come up and use this area. |
Two young girls out with their horses to enjoy a nice ride in the country. From the look of those horses, money isn't the young girls' problem for sure. After a nice stroll around the house, and of course we had to buy some stuff, we headed for the bikes, and back on the southward route. A few miles down the road the sun came out, and we stopped at Price Lake for a nice break. Price Lake is stocked with trout. Good trout fishing and even better breakfast food!!!! Linn Cove Viaduct; this is something else -- the one thing that Rosie wanted to see, but couldn't due to bad weather in years past. The 1,243 foot long Linn Cove Viaduct, along with twelve other bridges, ended the winding, 14-mile detour around Grandfather Mountain and marked the official completion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The "missing link," a 7.5 mile section of the parkway left unfinished for 20 years because of easement problems and environmental concerns, opened to traffic on September 11,1987. This place is something else. We rode over the viaduct 3 times, one time to try and get good pictures. We rode back over to Yonahlossee Overlook and walked to the bridge and took some good pictures. |
For some history - Yonahlossee is a Cherokee word for "trail of the black bear". Elevation here is 4412. Rosie, not only did we encounter a black bear, we now walked the trail of the black bear!!! The pictures are more then words could ever say. We rode over the viaduct again and headed down the road to Stack Rock parking area, as you can see; Rosie is stacked!!! From this point, you can see the famous "swinging bridge" on Grandfather Mountain; yes those are people walking across the bridge as I took the picture. The Three Knobs Overlook, milepost 339; rising from the ridge in the foreground are the high peaks of the Black Mountain range. The elevation is 3875 here. The parkway is closed right at Mount Mitchell. I told Rosie this was worth the detour and backtracking off the parkway. We pulled onto the Mount Mitchell road of 4 miles of curves and going up. I told Rosie to have her layers of clothing on, because it is on the very cool side. Mount Mitchell is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, elevation 6578. Once we reached the top you can't imagine the views. We went through the museum they have about the life in the mountains, and why we seem to see so many dead trees. We went down to the best view a restaurant has, and had a late lunch. After a good lunch with such a great view of the mountain, we headed back down the mountain, and started our backtrack to get off the parkway. |
I was getting tired, and once we came off the parkway, I saw a hotel and restaurant and stopped. My first clue should have been no cars in the parking lot. We paid for the room (another mistake) and once in the room, all we could do is look at each other. We went into the bathroom; it wasn't all that bad, until Rosie said "look at the stains on the bedspread". I said "that's it, let's get our money back." When I went back in the office, I told the lady I was claustrophobic and really couldn't stay in such a small room. There were two male bikers from PA, and one guy wanted to look at the room first. I gave him the key. He was coming out of the room as we drove off. We were tired and still needed a place for the night. We started down the mountain, and went thru a few hairpin turns; the road was used by a lot of big trucks because of the condition the road was in- large and deep ruts. Then I see a sign that said "ROAD GETS WORSE BEYOND THIS POINT." I thought to myself, how the hell can it get any worse! Well, it did! We made it down, and I noticed I needed to get gas. We started to have problems finding gas stations open due to Hurricane Ike. Fortunately we found GAS!! I asked where there was a good hotel, and the attendant gave us directions to a Comfort Inn. We had to make a few turns off the path, and I was so glad to see the Comfort Inn sign. We rode a total of 174 miles. The journey continues! |
