It's really hard to summarize oneself for the general public. I mean, really, what does the public want to know about me? Am I married? Yes. Do I have children. Yes, three, and they're all grown thank God. (By that I mean parenting is HARD. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but I'm really glad our offspring have all reached adulthood.) Do I have pets? Yup. Two dogs. Since the kids are all grown, you'll read more about my dogs than my kids. Because that's what happens when you get old like me. I have three grand kids, too, so you'll read about them as well. But the dogs live with me and, when I am desperate for blog topics, they usually help me out.
You know, I do have days when things don’t always go swimmingly for me. More often than you’d think. I just don’t share that stuff here. Who wants to read about things that sorta suck?
Like this video clip, which I extracted from a longer video taken while riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It would have been a nice video if this unfortunate event hadn’t occurred. Actually, it made me giggle. Good thing it wasn’t the only video of the day, though.
And today. We’ve got Friday off in observance of the July 4 holiday, so Hubby and I decided to go out for lunch and, on the way, ride the two southern sections of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. I had never been on the southernmost part between US-33 and US-250. Now, I have. 🙂
Yes, we took the long way to get to the restaurant.
It was mostly sunny and in the mid-70s when we left home. But the mountains were shrouded in fog. I could see that as soon as we got a mile or so west of town, but figured it might be interesting in the fog.
It was interesting. And cool. Temps were in the low-60s on Skyline Drive. At least once, the temp dropped below 60. After a while, it actually started feeling downright chilly. The road wasn’t fogged in, so visibility was fine. There were few if any scenic mountain vistas to see, though. And my hands got cold enough that I used my heated grips a couple of times to knock the chill off. It worked, too.
Nevertheless, we made it. Here’s a not-so-great picture as proof.
Goofballs
Looking North
It even rained a bit. Or, the fog grew so dense in places that it felt like rain.
Here’s a better pic of the two of us.
Me and Hubby (Mike)
Then there’s this pic, where it looks like my head has been shrunken.
ToadMama with Shrunken Head
What’s up with that? Is my head really a size or two too small for my body? Or, wait, perhaps my body has grown too large for my head. Yikes.
Lunch at The Barbecue Exchange in Gordonsville, Virginia
We did have a good lunch. Hubby got a pulled pork sandwich with a lukewarm side of fries. It was delicious. (Yes, I got a small taste.)
I had a chopped brisket sandwich, which was okay, with a side of hush puppies (essentially deep-fried cornbread balls). We shared an order of fried pickles, too. I usually prefer fried pickle chips over spears, but the spears we had today were really good.
We had to hightail it home from the restaurant as it looked like we were about to get rained on for real.
All in all, even if it wasn’t perfect, it was a good day. And there are two more days left in the weekend. I wonder what we’ll get up to tomorrow…
Since I spent the first two days of my recent adventure on ONE road — the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) — I figure I should give y’all a decent description of the thing. Especially considering that many of you aren’t from this area, or even the US. And honestly? I’ve been on that road once before, but, for some reason, the first time didn’t exactly leave a lasting impression. The second time did.
The BRP is 469 miles (~755 km) long. It’s location is described best on the BRP’s FAQ page , in response to the question, “Where, exactly, is the Blue Ridge?“:
The Blue Ridge is part of the entire eastern Appalachian Mountains and is generally described as stretching from north Georgia into Pennsylvania. From Milepost 0 at Rockfish Gap, VA to Milepost 355 near Mount Mitchell State Park, NC, the Parkway lives up to its name by following the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, averaging about 3,000 feet in elevation, and occasionally dipping down into the coves and hollows or crossing low-elevation water gaps. At Mount Mitchell, the Parkway veers westward through the Black Mountains, then into the Craggies before descending toward Asheville. From there, the road climbs to elevations over 6,000 feet in the Balsam Mountains before entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee.
The more I think about it (what little I can remember from a trip that happened eight years ago, where Hubby planned all of the routes), we only did a piece of the BRP during that ride. We got onto the Parkway around Lynchburg, Virginia, and I think we got off near Asheville, North Carolina to take a shorter/faster route to Robbinsville, NC, where we’d rented a cabin.
If that’s true, we missed the last 90 miles of the BRP, and I think that’s the most dramatic piece. The North Carolina end is where the mountains are tallest and the road is the curviest, anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the whole Parkway, but the northern end in Virginia isn’t as high elevation-wise, and it’s more forested. There seemed to be a lot more flowers visible from the road in Virginia, too. Oh, and there was less traffic. Maybe because of the rains most folks knew would be moving through?
Anyway… this post is about the road itself. Is it as pleasant as everyone would lead you to believe? Yes, it really is.
There’s a 45 m.p.h. (72 km/h) speed limit, which applies to about 95% of the route. In some places, near visitor centers, exhibits, etc., it drops to 25-35 m.p.h. (40-56 km/h), but those are far and few between.
Blue Ridge Parkway
The road surface is generally good. There are a few rough spots, but not enough to complain about. And it’s very pretty, too, with lots of places to pull off and enjoy the scenic mountain vistas, burbling brooks, or even just a bit of shade.
ToadMama
I had to do a quick u-turn after zipping past that awesome rock formation.
What rock formation? The one I’m standing in front of, blocking.
Face Rock
There were two riders from Canada admiring the view who watched me zip past. They looked at me quizzically as, about a minute later, I joined them from the other direction. It was a look that either said, “Is that a girl?” or “Didn’t you just cruise past here?”
“As soon as I saw that face on the rock, I had to turn around,” I said as I removed my helmet. “Face?” one of the guys said before they both turned to see what I was seeing.
How could they NOT see a face on that rock? More proof that people really do see things differently.
Most of the still images shared here were taken in Virginia.
James River Visitors’ Center
Rhododendrons
I only shared one flower image so, if you watch my video and see me pointing out two lone examples of small bushes in bloom, you won’t imagine that flowers only appear along the drive sporadically. In some spots, the road cuts through literal forests full of rhododendron. It was amazing. I forgot to mention that the BRP cuts through four National Forests (George Washington, Jefferson, Nantahala, and Pisgah).
Shady Stretch Spot
Lunch Spot at the Peaks of Otter Complex
The next picture shows the thunderstorm I managed to wait-out at the tiny little Rocky Knob visitors’ center.
Storm!
I wasn’t the only one thinking, “Uh oh!”
Bicyclist Woes
The storm I rode through.
Saturday afternoon did get a bit stormy, but it was no big deal. That’s why they make rain gear, right? And, actually, it seemed to chase most people off of the road, so there was even less traffic after the rains came. And there was already very little traffic to start! 🙂
The weather on Sunday was much nicer.
Parked at an overlook in North Carolina, you can see the Parkway on the opposite ridge.
My Favorite Overlook
Pretty Blue Sky
I hadn’t been planning on shooting any video until I reached The Dragon, but, once I saw the Linn Cove Viaduct, which is basically a bridge hanging off the side of Grandfather Mountain, I figured I owed you all more than just a picture. But I’ll start with a picture.
Can you see the grandfather’s face? (He’s laying down, looking skyward.)
The viaduct itself was really cool. After I rode across it, I HAD to go back for the video.
If you have a couple of minutes, you should at least watch the first part, so you can see the viaduct, and the way it’s suspended from the mountain.
If you’re interested, you can learn more about the viaduct’s history and construction HERE.
I’ll share more pics eventually, of the flowers and stuff. Oh, and the waterfall. For now, if you’d like more information, here’s a link to the BRP’s National Park Service home page.
I never did snag my own picture of the BRP’s coolest road sign ever, so I’m sharing this one from RoadRunner Travel…
Those of you who have ridden all or parts of the BRP, do you think it’s a must-ride road?
On my recent adventure down the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) to the Great Smoky Mountains region, I rode the infamous Tail of the Dragon. How could I not? It’s become a spectacle that no self-respecting motorcyclist would miss while in the area. And I got a fun picture in the bargain.
ToadMama on The Tail of the Dragon (June 23, 2015) [This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. Source: Killboy.com]Killboy.com is one of at least three companies that shoot photos along The Dragon. A lot of people come here for the sole purpose of having a ride photo captured. It’s a nice perk, if you’re a photo geek like me. And it only cost me $6.
I would never plan a trip to North Carolina/Tennessee specifically to ride The Tail of the Dragon (aka The Dragon), but a lot of people do. It’s just one of those roads that’s become a must-ride for anyone on two wheels. Lately, it’s also been growing in popularity with car enthusiasts. Unfortunately, its popularity has become one of its downfalls.
It can be a bit of a spectacle at times. And loud, as you’ll see in this next video.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a cool road. For those who don’t know, The Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of road at the NC/TN line, which borders Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are 318 curves packed into those 11 miles. Take a look at the Google map embedded below.
Mike and I first visited in 2007. I had my V-Star 1300 Tourer at the time. The Dragon does have lots of curves and quite a few challenging spots. It was much more fun on my current bike, even if the speed limit has now been dropped to 30 mph.
I did capture a video during the first 8.75 miles of Run #1. It would be a tedious 18 minutes at normal speed, so I kicked up the video playback to 2x speed. (Don’t worry folks, I was not going as fast as 2x speed makes it seem.) There is no sound.
There are many better roads to ride in the area. Like the nearby Hellbender, which is now called the Moonshiner 28. I rode the 30 or so mile portion of NC-28 between US-74 west of Bryson City and US-129 at Deal’s Gap. It’s got lots of long sweeping turns as well as a higher speed limit (maybe 50 mph?).
Here’s a panoramic shot I captured from a pull-off. The pavement you mostly see is in the pull-off, it is NOT my bike parked in the middle of the road.
I have noticed that most people who have been riding it for a long time still call it Deals Gap while newer riders, tourists and the media call it the “Dragon”
Personally I still call it Deals Gap. To me Deals Gap is (was) a fun road with lots of curves and no cops. (Yeah, I know I’m dreaming.) The Dragon is an overcrowded tourist destination where flatlanders go to buy a t-shirt, wobble through the curves and go back home to brag that they “Slew the Dragon”… Just my opinion.
As I mentioned earlier, The Dragon’s popularity is one of its downfalls. People of all skill levels come from far and wide to ride The Dragon. It’s not for everyone. Not only does it require skill to maneuver in the turns, you need to know how to ride defensively (AWAY from the center line in blind curves) and be prepared to stop on a dime since you never know what’s around the next turn.
For the most part, although it looked crowded at the resort, I encountered little traffic. And this is one of the rare places in America where cars will actually pull over to let motorcyclists pass. 🙂
I did come up behind one guy who was moving along okay in the straights, but struggling a bit in the turns, so I hung back a bit. I even captured some of his struggles on video. If you missed it during my ride video, check out the brief clip below. (No, he didn’t crash. But he was close.)
Here’s another video clip I HAD to share. I laughed when it happened, and I giggle every time I watch the clip.
The guy was looking at my favorite sticker, which says, “You Just Got Passed by a Girl.” Sorry about the cloudy lens. That was at the end of Run #2, so there’s either bug guts, general humidity, or both on the lens.
I had to have a silly pic, right?
Silly Dragon Pic
Finally, here are some other pics I captured while at The Dragon.
Dragon sculpture fashioned from bike and car parts.
Me with the dragon sculpture.
So that was my Dragon experience. Have you been there before? If you could only ride one road in the area, would that be the one?
Personally, I’d choose a different road. If it was the only one I could experience for some strange reason. But, since I was there without an agenda, I figured I’d go ahead and enjoy a run or three.
Usually when I travel, alone or with Mike, I plan things in advance. At least to a degree. Things like where to go, what to see, and where to stay. For my most recent trip, although I did reserve a room in Cherokee, North Carolina for Sunday night (I could cancel up until 4:00 p.m. Sunday with no fee), that was it.
I’d thought about reserving a room for Saturday, somewhere along the BRP in Virginia. But, since I had no idea how far I’d travel that day, it didn’t seem to make sense. As it turned out, I was right.
I was kind of amazed when I reached the North Carolina state line on Saturday afternoon. Especially after encountering thunderstorms and rain.
Wanna know what I found even more amazing? Well, perhaps entertaining is a better word.
There is actually a North Carolina/Virginia or Virginia/North Carolina state line.
Check out the next pic. See the line on the road? How funny is that?
State Line. Literally.
I could have and probably would have stopped sooner on Saturday, but I couldn’t get a cell phone signal. And I didn’t want to venture off of the BRP before finding a room. Few towns big enough to have decent food and lodging options are close to the BRP in that area.
Booking a room at the end of each day seemed to work well enough. Until Thursday. I’d mapped out a route that would have taken me down near Lexington, Virginia at day’s end. If I’d had any idea how much time the route would actually require, that is.
No worries, I still wasn’t on any real schedule.
I reached the Cass Scenic Railroad around 5:45 p.m. It wasn’t a planned stop, but since I was close, again, I decided I HAD to stop. Especially since I’d passed it at least three times previously.
Dark clouds had slowly been forming all afternoon. I figured I’d better don the rain gear while stopped at Cass, just in case. As it turned out, the storm hit sooner than anticipated. Storms can move fast in the mountains. Since the weather folks were predicting severe storms with damaging winds and the potential for hail, I figured I’d better stop. But there was a problem. I had no cell signal. Being familiar with that area, I knew that other than the Snowshoe ski resort, there aren’t many other lodging options. So off to Snowshoe I headed.
I parked in front of an expensive-looking lodge, under its front canopy, and tried my phone again. No dice. I ended up having to actually walk in and talk to a person — gasp! — to see if there was an affordable room on the mountain for me. Weird, right?
There was a room. Yay, me! But the point of this post is actually the lack of cell phone coverage. It’s not all that uncommon in the mountains, but you can usually find a signal at higher elevations. Especially near a population center like Snowshoe, which is pretty big. As it turns out, Snowshoe and Cass are both in the National Radio Quiet Zone.
Um, what?
According to the brochure provided to me by management upon check-in, the Snowshoe Resort is located in…
…a “National Radio Quiet Zone,” which is in place to minimize interference with our neighbors at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Home to the largest steerable telescope in the world, the Green Bank Telescope studies our solar system as well as distant galaxies and stars. Because of this marvel of modern science, cell phone coverage is limited in the area.
Here’s a pic of Green Bank I captured in August 2014 when Hubby and I passed through.
The National Radio Quiet Zone is more than limited cell phone coverage, though. Far more. There’s no wifi, baby monitors, microwave ovens, wireless doorbells, etc.
I stumbled upon this short documentary video about Green Bank, courtesy of The Atlantic, which I thought y’all might enjoy.
My solo adventure ended when I arrived home yesterday (Friday) at about 5:00 p.m. It was loads of fun, and I had no significant mishaps along the way. Yay!
Screen Capture of My Meandering Route
If you want to zoom in on the route, you can go to the interactive map. Once there, to see the full route, you may need to click on “ToadMama’s Solo Adventure” at the top of the screen to get to the drop-down menu. Choose “Adjustments” and change the History to ALL. You’ll probably have to zoom out, too.
The adventure did end a bit sooner than originally anticipated, though, thanks to Mother Nature.
Saturday’s Weather Forecast
I’m not afraid to ride in the rain, but wet roads aren’t nearly as much fun. Neither are “severe” storms. Since my path had led me pretty much to the center of that forecast map, I figured I’d make my way home before that system arrived.
I’m not sorry. Truth be told, my butt was ready for a break. I managed to cover 1,611 miles over the course of the seven days that I was gone. That’s not a lot, compared to Hubby’s recent trek, but I wasn’t on interstate highways. And I stopped a lot, to stretch, take pics, and whatnot.
Now, I just need to figure out the best way to recap my adventure.
Did I mention that it was lots of fun? Even despite the fact that it got pretty hot and I ended most days looking and feeling this…
One Hot ToadMama
I rode lots of amazing roads.
One of many amazing roads.
I saw a whole lot of beautiful scenery, too.
Pretty Scenery
And then there was the big stuff I’d planned to see. This next shot is my favorite.
Hamburger-wielding Muffler Man in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Of course, I stumbled across lots of interestingness along the way. Like this bit of art.
Cow Art
I have lots of pics to go through, and some fun video, too.
Me (accidental capture)
My friend, Fuzzy, has coined pics like that as an “is this thing on?” capture. In other words, I was checking to see if the GoPro camera was firing. But I think it’s cool.
I’ll share more later. So stayed tuned for more. If you’re interested. 🙂
Before leaving home, I noted the location of ten LOVEworks in the region around which I thought I’d be traveling. I didn’t know if I’d get to them or not, but thought I might, being in the vicinity and all.
So, when I left Gatlinburg, Tennessee this morning, my first destination was Gate City, Virginia. To get there, I had to pass through Kingsport, Tennessee, which is rich with kitsch. No lie.
In fact, Kingsport is where I captured my favorite pic of the day. But first… something really off the wall happened on the way to Kingsport. I have to file this in the “too strange to be made up” category.
It happened right around Limestone, Tennessee. I saw this guy driving in a little dune buggy that reminded me of one of the Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars of my youth. It was a tiny little thing with those lollipop headlights. I laughed out loud when I saw it. What a fun car! It gets weirder…
The guy was zipping along ahead of me, darting in and out of traffic, so I had to make a bit of an effort to keep up. He had what looked like a tapered bucket strapped to the back of the buggy. I thought it was odd, but didn’t give it a whole lot of extra thought. Until, that is, a bunch of red flowers mysteriously appeared on the road. I wasn’t directly behind him at that point. But, a couple of minutes later, when I WAS right behind him, a bunch of blue flowers came out of the funnel-bucket.
Yes, I was actually traveling behind a Hot Wheels-looking dune buggy that shat flowers upon the road. Really. There’s GOT to be a story behind that, right?
Sadly, I had to turn off of the highway shortly after that.
Here’s my favorite capture of the day from Kingsport.
Hamburger-wielding Muffler Man
As for the Gate City LOVEwork… if you followed my route, you’ll see I rode all over town looking for the thing. It’s a really cute town, by the way.
Gate City, Virginia
Gate City may be in the same state, but it’s kind of a different world. The Hardee’s where I stopped to cool off and grab a lite lunch was packed with locals. One older gentleman was trying to talk to me. Bless his heart, I don’t think there was a tooth in his head. Between that and the thick VA/TN accent, I could barely understand the man. After a few minutes, when I realized he was telling me there’d been a bad motorcycle accident just down the road that morning, caused by a girl on a cell phone, I tuned him out. Rude, I know, but that’s not the sort of thing I really need to hear while road tripping.
Anyway… the guy at the counter told me where to find the LOVEwork, so off I went. Only to find no LOVE. I asked another guy at that spot and he told me it had been or was being moved to a field down the road. I looked in several fields only to find no LOVE.
I did manage to capture this lame, plain LOVEwork at the rest stop on I-81 just outside of Bristol, VA.
Bristol, VA LOVEwork
From there, despite the heat, which is worst in urban areas AND while crawling along in traffic, I ventured into downtown Bristol, VA, where I saw a much cooler sign painted on a building (I’ll share that one later).
There were two other ones on my list for the day, one in Abingdon and one in Galax. The latter was a maybe, as I wasn’t sure I wanted to head that far east. After a sweltering 20 minuntes in Abingdon — another adorable town — when I discovered the sign had been damaged and removed for repair, I decided to give up on LOVE for now. It’s too hot for a wild goose chase.
From Abingdon, I headed for higher elevations.
I stopped for gas along the way at a typical, quirky, ruralish gas station/convenience store/hunting supply shop, which is where I found this guy hanging out.
Oh wait, I almost forgot to share this barn quilt I spotted somewhere along the way. Yes, I should have made note of the location, but didn’t.
Barn Quilt
After the LOVE disappointment in Abingdon, my focus turned to riding. I tested one of AmericaRidesMaps recommended routes (VA-58) which was amazing.
The next pic was captured along VA-58.
VA-58 near Grayson Highlands State Park
From there, I headed north to Marion, VA, which is at one end of the Back of the Dragon. It was around 5:00 by that point. Had I found any decent-looking accommodations, I might’ve stayed there, but I didn’t. So I went ahead and rode the Back of the Dragon. Having ridden the Tail of the Dragon in TN three times yesterday — why not? — I can honestly say VA’s dragon is a much nicer ride. It’ll be more well-known one day, like that other Dragon, and I’m sure speed limits will be reduced and it’ll be more heavily patrolled. So enjoy it soon, while you still can!
Tazewell, VA at the northern end of that road had even fewer lodging choices. That’s how I ended up in Princeton, West Virginia. I really had zero inkling that I’d hit West Virginia on this trip. But I’m glad I did. It’s much cooler in the mountains. And I FINALLY got a margarita.
Now I just need to figure out where to go tomorrow. Stay tuned…
