Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2010, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a product of the New Deal’s efforts to provide jobs to the unemployed of the Great Depression. Construction began in September 1935. Split-rail fences, old farmsteads, mountain meadows and scenic overlooks with endless vistas make the Blue Ridge Parkway a spectacular and memorable drive. Blue Ridge Highway is run by the National Park system. It’s a two lane road that extends 469 miles along the crests of the southern Appalachians and then southern end of the Black Mountains and links two national parks; Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee. The Parkway goes through the states of Virginia and North Carolina. Along the way you can visit historical sites, hike, camp and visit many attractions at various towns that border the parkway. We plan to drive the whole length making two to three night stops along the way.
Day 52-54, April 23–25: MILEPOST 63.7 - NATURAL BRIDGE, VA
We drove the last 50 miles of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park onto Blue Ridge Parkway. We sat back and enjoyed this beautiful drive for the next 64 miles. We stopped here and there for pictures. In fact we just stopped right there in the middle of the road as we were about the only ones driving this parkway at this time. That’s what made it so peaceful and relaxing.
After 5 hours and 170 miles we arrived at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone RV Park in Natural Bridge, VA.
YOGI BEAR’s JELLYSTONE RV PARK
There are several of these Yogi Bear’s RV parks all over the country. We usually stay away from them because some of them are real crappy and they cater to the kids and have lots of fun stuff for kids. This park had a water slide. Sometimes they have those huge bouncy things. This is a fun place if you have kids. If you want peace and quiet stay away from them. But at this time of the year it is okay because the kids are still in school and most of the fun stuff is locked up. In fact, so far, none of the pools have been open at all of the parks we have stayed at so far.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under VIRGINIA to see a review and more pictures of this RV Park. http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/NATURAL BRIDGE
Natural Bridge is a massive stone hill with a big hole and a river running through it. The arch is composed of solid grey limestone. It is 215 feet high (55 feet higher than Niagara Falls) 40 feet thick, 100 feet wide and spans 90 feet between the massive walls. The rocks that compose the bridge are about 500 million years old. At it's highest point, the bridge is approximately 1160 feet above sea level. The tool that made this bridge; a simple mountain stream flowing towards the sea, Cedar Creek. The Monacan Indians considered this bridge a sacred site and called it "The Bridge of God".
According to legend, in 1750, young George Washington scaled some 23 feet up the left wall of the bridge and carved his initials G W into the wall and it can be seen today. In 1774, Thomas Jefferson purchased the Natural Bridge and 157 surrounding acres from King George III of England for about $2.40. After he became president he built a cabin on the grounds and would come to this place to relax.
Today the Lee Highway (US Route 11) crosses over the Natural Bridge. It is privately owned and the entrance to the area is blocked by a visitor center and a museum. You have to pay a fee to visit this bridge and the nearby walking path to Lace Waterfall.
The town of Natural Bridge is mostly tourist shops and restaurants (most of them are boarded up and closed). However there is a very nice hotel and restaurant right next to the Natural Bridge visitor center. The bridge is pretty spectacular. There is a walk way on one side that boarders the river that runs under the Bridge. There are several benches set up in rows on both sides of the Bridge. At night there is a light show presentation.
Beyond the Bridge you can continue walking on that path through some scenic woods along the river. In the middle is a mock Indian village set up with people in period costumes demonstrating various things.
It was a nice, scenic walk and we saw several snakes in the river. It looked a lot like the Cottonmouth snake (very poisonous). But we were told it was the Brown Banded Water snake. On the way to Lace Waterfall, at the end of the path it started to rain and as we watched it rain on the creek we spotted another Brown Banded Water snake swimming in the water
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FOAMHENGE
Nearby, on someone's property, was an interesting structure that we just could not miss visiting. A full scale replica of England's Stonehenge made out of beaded styrofoam.
FARMVILLE
We were about 50 miles from Farmville. And since I (Jo) am so addicted to FarmVille on Facebook, we had to take a side trip and visit this place. The town of Farmville dates back to 1798 and was the center of trade, education, law and finance, and still is today. So I guess not too much farming goes on here today or in the past (for all you Facebook Farmville fans).
There are two large colleges in this town; Hampden-Sydney College (a private 4-year college for men, founded in 1776) and Longwood University, chartered in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary (the first state teacher training college in Virginia). The Civil War left its mark on Farmville with its last major battle at nearby Sayler’s Creek. And Farmville is also home to some key players in the early fight for civil rights.
This is a small, quaint town and we spent a few hours here checking out some shops, antique stores and taking pictures.
Day 55-56, April 26–27: MILEPOST 199.5 - FANCY GAP, VA
Back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway to travel another 140 miles.
We drove up some steep grades into the mountains, and then descended into farm country. In one area there were many rhododendron bushes as tall as trees. This area will be gorgeous when they are all blooming. There was lush green grass on both sides of the road. We also saw “mowing” signs, so these roadsides are regularly mowed making the scenery more beautiful.
We made a stop at Milepost 176 at Mabry Mill and had a nice lunch at their restaurant. After lunch we checked out the Mill and other buildings and exhibits on rural life in Appalachia.
After five hours and 139 miles we arrived at Fancy Gap KOA in Fancy Gap, Virginia.
FANCY GAP KOA
This KOA is a fairly nice RV park. It’s a small park with about 50 sites. There are lots of trees and shade and you feel you are camping in the woods. At this time of the year it is almost empty and we had no neighbors around our site.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under VIRGINIA to see a review and more pictures of this RV Park. http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
The day we arrived at Fancy Gap, it was our 29th wedding anniversary. Have you ever tried to find a fancy restaurant in a small country town. Well, we did find some nice restaurants, but being a Monday, they were all closed. So we looked for any restaurant and the ones that looked decent from the outside were empty and closed. We stayed in the trailer and Dave fixed us a nice pancake and egg dinner.
COUNTRY STORES
There are no attractions in Fancy Gap and not much else to see except country stores and antique stores. The country stores had nice crafts and home deco items. And the antique stores were more like thrift shops, but you can find some treasures in thrift shops too. We mostly looked and admired, but did not buy anything.
MAYBERRY
After checking out all the country stores (there were not many) we headed over to the next town, Mt. Airy, which happens to be in North Carolina. So we crossed the state line and then crossed it again when we headed ‘home’. Mt. Airy is also known as Mayberry USA. Remember the Andy Griffith Show (well, those over 50). Andy Griffith is from North Carolina and much of the show was filmed in Mt. Airy and the locals were used as extras. That’s the kind of town Mt. Airy was and pretty much still is. So driving through the town we saw Mayberry Mall, Aunt Beas Barbeque, Floyds Barber Shop; I am sure there were many others, but those are the few we saw.
We are going to leave the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few days and head about 100 miles east into North Carolina to Asheboro to visit the North Carolina Zoo. We will then return to Fancy Gap and continue down the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Day 57-58, April 28–29: NORTH CAROLINA ZOO
We visited this zoo 13 years ago in 1997 and loved it. It was the best zoo we have ever visited. Now after 13 years and visiting many, many zoos we wanted to see if it was still the best.
After three hours and 104 miles we arrived at Holly Bluff Campground in Asheboro, NCHOLLY BLUFF CAMPGROUND
This was not a very good campground. Most of the trailers were permanent. There is no cable TV and the WiFi connection was poor. The only good thing was that it was in the woods so there was lots of shade.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under NORTH CAROLINA to see a review and more pictures of this RV Park. http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/ASHEBORO
After we settled into our RV site we went to downtown Asheboro and visited some antique shops in the 'old town' section and looked for a place to eat, but most of the cafe's had closed at 2:00. We finally had to drive to the edge of town to a shopping area to find a restaurant that was open. Be careful if you ever visit the old section of Asheboro, they have giant misquotoes there!
THE ZOO
We spent 6 hours at this place and it is indeed still the best zoo we have ever visited.
After 13 years this place is completely changed. We only recognized a few areas from our first visit. Every area has been improved, rebuilt, or had new construction and the place is dense with trees. I remember it being a lot more open at our first visit. And today it is better than ever.
This zoo covers 500 acres with 1,100 animals and 60,000 plants from two continents. The exhibits resemble natural habitats. The zoo is in two parts with one part being the African grasslands and the other part North America. There is a shuttle that takes you from one part to the next, or you can walk it and feel like you are on safari.
This short film clip is very interesting. In the polar bear section there were several 'murals' that moved as you walked by them. We have never seen this before and it is really cool.
This wonderful zoo is a ‘must see’ if you are ever in North Carolina. But if you go when school is in session, be prepared for bus loads (there were over 20 buses that day) of obnoxious, unruly teenagers that have little supervision during these school trips. Most of them behaved badly and I know all teenagers are not like that. This almost ruined our visit here, but we moved slowly and kept our patience and always tried to smile. We found that all of the bus parking was on the Africa side so most of the school kids stayed on that side. The North American side was much quieter and less crowded with hardly any kids. So we took the shuttle over to that side until around 3pm. By then school has ended and most of the kids have returned home. We were able to enjoy the rest of the day in peace and quiet. So if you visit this zoo, start on the North American side or visit during the weekend.
Tomorrow we return to Milepost 200 (Fancy Gap) where we left the Blue Ridge Parkway and continue south on the last half of the Parkway that goes through North Carolina.
