Where are Cheryl and Dennis?: Blue Ridge Parkway

October 24, 2021 – We left early Sunday morning and got to the dump station before everyone else, dumped our tanks and filled with fresh water. The destination was Peaks of Otter Campground. We finished the remainder of Skyline Drive, about 50 miles. Skyline Drive then just continues as the Blue Ridge Parkway. Peaks of Otter was at mile marker 86 so we ended up driving about 130 miles. We stayed one night then continued on to the next campground, Doughton Park, at mile marker 242, 156 miles. We stayed here two night and visited Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, the Blue Ridge Music Center as well as the Beringer Cabin.

Moses Cone, who made a fortune from Denim, built Flat Top Manor as a summer mountain escape. It was donated to the national park service in 1950 as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It currently houses a craft shop operated by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Later that day we visited the Blue Ridge Music Center to see the music museum and listen to some Bluegrass Music. The Brinegar Cabin is a restored homestead built by Martin and Caroline Brinegar in 1886. It is a great example of a homestead built to provide all the things needed for survival. There is a main cabin, a granary/root cellar and a spring house.

Early Wednesday morning the wind picked up and was pretty strong. We were really happy how stable the camper felt even in the high wind. By the time we left the campground the wind had subsided so it was no problem driving.

We found out that all the campgrounds on the parkway close on October 31 so we did not spend a lot of time stopping to see other things. On Wednesday we continued south to our next stop, Crabtree Falls Campground at mile marker 340, 98 miles. We arrived before noon and had time to take the 2.5 mile trail to Crabtree Falls. The trail was very rugged and rocky but was well worth it as it was the tallest and pretties falls we have seen so far.

Our next stop was Mt. Pisgah Campground, mile marker 408, south of Asheville, NC. We made reservations here for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. It was only 68 miles but it was over some of the scariest part of the parkway so far. This section past Craggy Meadows, with road elevations above 5000 feet, had lots of curves and drop offs. However the entire drive we have experienced awesome fall color. Dennis commented that he is tired of seeing red, orange and yellow!

After spending Friday at the campground we went into Ashville to do some shopping. While there we visited Ashville Village. Ashville Village is a small shopping area just before the entrance to the Biltmore Mansion. It was a nice place to walk around with Mica and do a little window shopping.

Where we are parked: PEAKS OF OTTER CAMPGROUND – Blue Ridge Parkway National Park - Mile Post 86 Blue Ridge Parkway, Bedford, VA - 144 sites, May-Nov, All ages, Tents, 35 ft max RV length, 2596 ft elev, Accepts Big Rigs, pull thrus, tables, grill, water, toilets, dump, pet friendly, trail, hike - $20/night, we paid half with Senior Pass. Stayed one night.

Where we are parked: DOUGHTON PARK CAMPGROUND - Blue Ridge Parkway National Park – MP241, Asheville NC - May-Oct, All ages, Tents, 30 ft max RV length, 3738 ft elev, water, toilets, dump, trail, hike - $20/night, we paid half with Senior Pass. Stayed two nights.

Where we are parked: CRABTREE FALLS CAMPGROUND - Blue Ridge Parkway National Park – MP339.5, Asheville NC - 93 sites, May-Oct, All ages, Tents Only sites: 66, 35 ft max RV length, 4849 ft elev, tables, water, toilets, dump, trail, hike - - $20/night, we paid half with Senior Pass. Stayed one night. We were able to grab a site with electricity.

Where we are parked: MT. PISGAH CAMPGROUND - Blue Ridge Parkway National Park - MP408, Asheville NC - 119 sites, May-Oct, All ages, Tents Only sites: 66, 40 ft max RV length, 4849 ft elev, Accepts Big Rigs, tables, water, toilets, showers, dump, firewood, trail, hike - $20/night, we paid half with Senior Pass. We stayed three nights.