BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 12:07 PM

For awhile Russ......Then one of the more senior AV's, Barry Wackerle, had the idea to start a program at Berea which he got through and named it Students For Appalachia (SFA) and the program still exists today. It fir in beautifully for me and was really geared to get the College more involved in the communities.

Sounds odd that a place like Berea wouldn't be involved but back then they had lost vision as far as it went to working with the community resources available. The student population was of course from the 244 county region but the College was not really interested in an outreach of any sort. SFA got them moving again and though I have no idea where Barry is now, he did a tremendous service. LOL....But now the place is almost too damn artsy-fartsy-folky!!!

SFA is still alive at Berea and what does still go on today is the positive remnant of the AV influence in helping to setup daycare programs and community centers with classes in varying useful subjects. The best thing about the AV's was that for the most part we were there to help make things happen and not to tell evryone how to live. I never met an AV who, like myself, didn't get a ton more out of the experience than we ever gave. I did some things that I was happy to have helped organize and the SFA/AV times have never been forgotten.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 11:53 AM

hahahahaha Thanks for the chuckle, Permanent Guest Russ. I decode your cryptic post as: "Spaw. Were you a Vista Volunteer?"

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 11:44 AM

Span,

Were you an AV?

Russ (Permanent GUEST)

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: daylia
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 11:13 AM

Oh! Now I can hardly wait to be there!!! Such a pleasure to read these posts, thank you so much! Spaw, you make it sound irresitable! Want to see that Skyline drive, and Cherokee, Blowing Rock, Clingman's Dome ... not sure if we'll have enough time but I've copied all the posts above. Digging out my maps to find/circle the places mentioned so I can plan a route. I love hiking and mountains and especially waterfalls ...

and its very helpful to know in advance about the hazards of speeding on this stretch of road. My son will be doing most of the driving, at 27 he still has a bit of a heavy foot so I'll warn him, thanks much, Rapaire! What's the point of speeding anyway, in a gorgeous place like this - just miss out on everything that way

Royston, thanks for the link to your Flickr pages -- awesome work! I've bookmarked it, will be back later, thanks again everyone

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: Ebbie
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 11:11 AM

Lovely, Pat.

In my teens I lived with my (extended) family in the Shenandoah Valley. On Sundays we often packed into several cars and took off for the Blue Ridge. We traveled Skyline Drive more frequently than the Parkway - maybe it was closer?- but the memory of those drives and picnics and the mountain vistas and the air and the colors remains with me.

A few years ago I drove from North Carolina into central Virginia on the Parkway. It was narrower than I remembered and it was wintertime so it was a different kind of drive but nice.

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 10:07 AM

Wow.....Clingman's Dome............One of my earliest posts over 10 yeara ago was about a memorable night there in my college days at Berea...............

Since music was so intrinsically related to those days, almost anytime I think of my late teens and early 20's, a song(s) is tied to it.

About 10 Berea students were working in an associate VISTA program tied to the Council of Southern Mountains. They were having a meeting at Fontana Dam and 6 of us went down. We arrived at about midnight, far too late to check in and decided we'd drive to Bryson City...I have no idea why. Arriving in Bryson City, nothing was open but a small diner where we were looked upon with some skepticism...but served. Having even more time on our hands, we drove up the other side of the mountain to Clingman's Dome.

We parked in the empty lot at about 3 AM and listened to the springmelt run off the rocks all around us. We of course solved the problems of the world that night and about 4:30 AM, Andy and I got out the guitars and we all sang. We sang Woody, we sang Dylan, but when we picked a few Carter tunes and Broadsides, it struck me for the first time that not only did it sound wonderful out there, but this was where the music came from...in that fog cloaked valley, across that far ridge...it lived here. The isolation of the mountains had given a different flavor to the Scots-Irish roots of the original tunes and for me it was something special...both the music and the realization. After awhile we sat in silence and let the spring morning provide the music for us.

Years passed, we went in different directions, and like in "Bob Dylan's Dream"......"each one of them, I have never seen again."
Maybe you can only have that kind of good times when the world is new and you know how to fix it. We certainly thought so. But then again, maybe you're only given a few moments in your life when things are clear and revealed........and as pure as the snowmelt high up in Smokies.


Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: Royston
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 09:47 AM

Hi Daylia,

I'm from London and drove the BRP last year (November) after a business trip in Florida. I started in Georgia and got as far as Blowing Rock NC. Then I made a choice, which in retrospect I regret, to make a mad dash to spend a night in DC before driving back down the I95 to Orlando. If I did that trip again I would definitely have saved DC for another time and taken a slower trip back south.

It's largely a matter of taste, but my most treasured memories were back at the Georgia end of things and before the start of the BRP proper - Chattahoochee Forest, Klingsman's Dome, Helen GA, Great Smoky Mountains, Brasstown Bald, Tallulah Gorge.

I stayed one night in Cherokee but in November it was like a ghost town. It's on my list of places to go back to and do some trekking so I certainly recommend giving it a look.

The Natanhala forest is lovely and the country around Franklin is delicious - there are great scenic routes and water falls and trekking between Franklin and Highlands.

Further to the North, I spend a fabulous time at Linville Falls where there is a visitor's centre and walks/trails around the falls themselves. It's not so far from Blowing Rock.

Another regret is that I didn't go to Grandfather Mountain, whioh is just outside Blowing Rock. I would give that a go.

If you want to you can look at my Flickr Page for that trip, the photos can all be placed on a map by clicking the appropriate links. I hope you enjoy your trip!

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 09:38 AM

WAARNING!!! You'll come close to Bobert....

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 09:36 AM

Only danged little of the Shenandoah is IN W. Virginia....

Yes, we have. It's a bit narrow for today's giant SUVs, but a car or small SUV should have no problem. The road curves a bit, so be careful and observe the speed limits. Remember it's a FEDERAL parkway and the Ranger WILL bust you for speeding. No trucks (besides pickups) are supposed to be one it. And it was built in the '30s by the CCC and WPA. There are noticed pull-outs for scenery, etc.

If you start in NC you'll want to visit Cherokee, Asheville and other places as you wend your way to the beginning (or end) of the Parkway.

It's a VERY nice drive.

Subject: RE: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 09:36 AM

Denver was a better songwriter than tour guide.............

At the top of the BRP is the "Skyline Drive" and one of those fine experiences that comes along every once in awhile happened back in '73 when another couple and myself took a long motorcycle trip and the best of it was the 2 days we spent travelling only about a hundred miles down the Skyline. We even spen the night at a lodge about halfway down. It was kinda' magic and never to be forgotten.

Since then I've travelled the BRP on several occasions and its simply a beautiful drive!

Spaw

Subject: BS: The Blue Ridge Parkway
From: daylia
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 09:17 AM

Hi folks;

anyone here driven the Blue Ridge Parkway? If so, would you please be so kind as to say a little about your favourite places there nature-wise, culture-wise, photography-wise? Also any red flags -- things or places to avoid/watch out for?

I'm flying down to North Carolina this week, planning to spend a few days exploring this famous road. Never been there before. I've checked out maps and found pics online, but the only thing I'm really sure of is that John Denver must have liked it    Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains - Shenandoah River ... A fine recommendation indeed    =]   but I'd love to hear your first-hand impressions, experiences, suggestions etc. THanks a lot!