Haven't had time to read all of the above carefully, but I don't think anyone has mentioned that the BRP is a federal toll road -- not bad if you are doing a consistent stretch, but potentially costly if you are going on and off. Unless, that is, you are over 62 in which case you can buy a Golden Eagle pass and have full access to this and other federal properties for life.

Running perpendicular to the BRP on the Virginia side of the Va-NC border is "the crooked road ," a Virginia heritage/music trail with good Appalachian music at a variety of sites. My favorite is Friday night in Floyd.

I'd warn you that the BRP isn't much fun in fog, but I'm guessing you can figure that one out yourself!