Bill Leslie: Epic road trip
It’s time for an epic road trip! Yes, I’m getting ready to scratch off another item from my bucket list.
Cindy and I will soon be heading out for the entire 469-mile journey of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We’ll start near Cherokee, North Carolina, and finish in Rockfish Gap, Virginia. We’ll take it nice and easy and spread the trip out over several days.
I will keep a journal of our trip and take lots of pictures and share them with you on wral.com.
We will not be alone, that’s for sure. 17-million people visit the Blue Ridge Parkway every year, and autumn is a very busy season. We will travel during the week. That should limit congestion.
As a kid, I always loved going through the tunnels on the parkway. There are 26 to look forward to and more than 200 overlooks.
The Blue Ridge Parkway offers lots of highs and a few lows. The highest spot is Richland Balsam at 6,053 feet along the Jackson-Haywood County line. The lowest elevation is 670 feet where the parkway crosses the James River near Roanoke, Virginia.
I’ve seen a lot of the Blue Ridge Parkway over the years but not every inch of it. It is truly one of the greatest treasures of the United States.
My email address is bleslie@wral.com, and if you have some suggestions for hiking trails, waterfalls and exceptional vistas I would love to hear from you! Maybe I will see some of you along the way!
