Blue Ridge Parkway Trip Day 4

Day 4 282 miles

Boy we slept good last night with the windows open. Was 55 degrees when we headed out, wearing jackets, gloves, and full helmets--added chaps not too far down the road to keep warm.

Had just one little shower. Speed limit on the parkway is never more than 45mph, so you don't make the best time. We had a lot of miles to cover, and ended up running behind later in the day. We went through more tunnels than I could count, and they are fun! The Harley makes a ton of noise in them. One of our first stops was Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the United States east of the Mississipi River. Had a nice visit with 4 guys riding from Buffalo NY. The 2nd and 3rd pics are a views from atop Mt Mitchell.

Jumped off the parkway at a town called Spruce Pine, NC where I visited the Soap Shed and ate at Bama Q's barbecue. Mmmm good!

Got real interesting towards the end of the day. Was getting late, had a liitle rain, and then fog started to set in. My buddy and I had taken different routes and planned to meet at the place we were staying. Well the directions we had been given were bad. We were both out driving in the fog trying to find the place as it got dark, could only go about 20 mph and could not see 10 feet ahead. Of course, I should add that ATT phones don't work, so calling was not an option. I was having visions of parking by the road, building a fire, and camping for the night. I had some water and beef jerky with me. I was out in the middle of nowhere and couldn't find any landmarks. But I eventially found another motel that gave me directions to where we were staying and finally rolled in at 9pm--cold, tired, hungry, and relieved. After comparing stories, we realized that we were roaming around just missing each other in the fog, my buddy got there 10 min before me. We had a good laugh and the innkeeper fixied us a late supper and coffee--was a mom and pop kind of place. Oh what a day! What a grand adventure!