The morning of October 8th, Jean, Lita, and I left Ashville, NC around 10:30am and headed off up the Blue Ridge Parkway toward Blowing Rock, NC. As it turned out, we were a little early for the fall color display along the Parkway. This was a mixed blessing. Sure it would have been nice to see a little more vibrant color; but the early timing did help us avoid heavy traffic on the Parkway. With one lane in each direction and very few passing opportunities, we get concerned when we impede traffic on some of the long uphill grades where we find our 72 hp “rocket” a little wanting. We did feel sufficiently confident to tackle the road to Mt. Mitchell – the highest peak east of the Mississippi- where we found the view excellent.
10-8-15 Jean, Dan, Angela & nephew Bill, breakfast, Asheville, NC
10-8-15 Table Top Mountain from the Blue Ridge Parkway
10-8-15 Mt. Mitchell, NC
10-9-15 View from Mt. Mitchell 1
10-9-15 View from Mt. Mitchell 2
10-9-15 View from Mt. Mitchell 3
10-9-15 View from Mt. Mitchell 4
Several years ago, my friend Bob and I with our wives made the drive to the top of Mt. Mitchell with our wives. We began to encounter heavy fog shortly after the start of our accent. Undeterred, we toughed it out all the way to the Visitor’s Center – at the base of the path to the observation deck at the top of the mountain. It should not have been any surprise, but when we reached the Center – we could not see across the road – much less the neighboring mountain peaks. We got back in the car and descended to the Parkway where we could again see some scenery.
Jean, Lita, and I arrived in Blowing Rock late afternoon of October 8th and found a “pet friendly” motel to spend the evening. It had been a couple of days since any ladies had expressed fondness for our car – well we made up for it that day. First, we had a nice conversation with a lady from Colorado at the Mt. Mitchell Visitor’s Center. We had traveled some of the same routes as she when we made our west coast trek a couple of years ago. Next, we met a pleasant lady, who recalled that when she was a young girl in Texas, she had been able to place each of her feet between the wooden slats on the floor of her father’s Jeep station wagon. I showed her the slats on the floor of our Jeep – which she recognized immediately. She sent her brother in Texas an email in determine if, like ours, their Jeep was 2-wheel drive and if it had a drop tailgate. The answer was yes to both questions. Fun meeting for both of us.
10-8-15 Colorado Lady admirer Mt. Mitchell, NC
10-8-15 Texas Lady admirer, Blowing Rock, NC
After dinner in Blowing Rock at an outdoor restaurant featuring live (vs. dead??) blue grass music, Jean and I returned to Lita to get some rest for the next morning’s journey.