Blue Ridge Parkway

DAY 7, SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2013

The alarm sounded at 6:30 AM.  Bruce and I woke up and got dressed.  I packed my bags and took them to my Motor.  I told Bruce that I would meet him at the breakfast room.  I walked to a separate building where they served a hot breakfast.  J. B. was the only one there.  He had just finished his breakfast and was watching Fox News.  The others started trickling in for breakfast.  After we were done, we went and packed our Motors for the day’s ride.  Greg was still leading and took us away from Sevierville, TN at 8:47 AM.  We rode through Pigeon Forge, the home of Dollywood.  There were a lot of “fun” buildings.  There was a large building with columns and the building was upside down.  There was the Titanic with the iceberg into the right side of the hull.  We rode into the Smokey Mountain National Park and headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway. 

We were riding on the winding road of the Smokey Mountains.  It was cloudy with occasional fog.  The area was very beautiful.  It is hard to come up with different adjectives to describe the scenery.  It is just beautiful!  Greg decided to stop at a “scenic view” so that we could take pictures.  We rode for 39 miles and at 9:47 AM, Greg stopped at a scenic overlook.  When we stopped, we all had to laugh because we could NOT see anything because of the heavy fog.  We all thanked Greg for the great view.  We did take a picture of the entire group with the fog in the background. There was not much we could do there so we left at 9:55 AM.

We continued on the Smokey Mountains and were anxious to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We knew that we were getting close to get onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and we came upon a sign which read, “Blue Ridge Parkway, Next Left.” As we approached the intersection to turn left, Greg looked left and continued straight. Greg was leading with Ken behind him.  I was next, then C.E. and then Bruce.  We all followed Greg, because that is what we do.  Someone has to stop the leader and tell him what happened.  Jan, J.B. and Chuck made the left turn and I heard Chuck tell Greg on the C.B. that he missed the turn.  We continued about one half mile and entered the town of Cherokee.  Greg turned into a parking lot, as did we.  Greg made a turn and stopped, as did we.  I rode up next to Greg and asked him as to why he stopped.  Greg told me that he was waiting for the other guys.  He then asked me, “Where are they?”  I told him that the other three had made the turn and for us to go.  We did and also caught up with the three, who had made the turn and were waiting for us.  We rode for another 34 miles and at 10:47 AM; we stopped at Water Rock Knob Overlook.  This time there was no fog.  It didn’t matter.  We didn’t need to look at the view.  We just needed to make a pit stop.  There was some fog; however, it was a little hazy on the road.  We were able to “take care of business” by the trees and not be seen.  Luckily, we were all finished and standing by our Motors getting ready to leave when a Motorcycle rode into the scenic overlook parking lot next to us and the passenger was a lady.  That was close!  We left at 11:16 AM. 

We continued on.  We had a gentleman riding a smaller Motorcycle in front of the group.  There was something on the back of the Motorcycle and I was trying to figure it out.  I got my camera out, just in case.  I was going to pass Ken to get a better look and possibly a picture when Ken motioned me to pass him.  I didn’t need to pass him because he pulled over into a scenic overlook parking lot.  What he had on the back of his Motorcycle was a bicycle!  This is a first for the entire group.  We had never seen anything like this before. 

The speed limit was 45 MPH, unless otherwise posted.  Greg kept his speed between 40 and 45 MPH.  It was getting close to lunch time.  Greg was looking for an exit and saw an exit posted for Asheville.  He took the exit and got on US 26 West.  He got off at the Asheville exit and continued to head west.  He was riding and looking for someplace to have lunch.  I don’t remember which street we got on when we started heading east.  We were looking for a Subway and from the rear of the group; Bruce saw the Subway sign on the left.  He rode on the inside lane, passing us and pointing towards the Subway.  We all changed lanes and got to the Subway at 1:13 PM after riding 49 miles.

We had jackets and sweaters on as we rode the Blue Ridge Parkway because it was 59 degrees.  When we got off, the temperature had risen to 77 degrees when we parked at the Subway.  We were all hot, tired and hungry.  We went in and had lunch.  After lunch, we discussed getting gas and Chuck suggested that we ride across the street to a Shell Station and gas up.  Jan told Bruce that he would stop after 60 miles for a pit stop.  We left at 2:20 PM with Jan leading.

Jan got us back on the Parkway and we were, once again, headed north.  As he led the group, he accelerated up to 50 to 60 MPH.  That woke us up!  It was so much fun to ride at that speed, slow down for the curves, scrape pads and accelerate.  What fun!  There were a lot of Motorcycles, bicycles and cars on the Parkway.  We even saw an older gentleman riding at “neck breaking speed” on a Segway!  We rode for another 52 miles and Jan saw a sign for Mount Mitchell State Park Ranger Station, which had restrooms.  Jan turned off and headed for the Ranger Station.  We arrived at 3:39 PM.  We took care of business and then discussed whether or not to ride just north of the Ranger Station to Mount Mitchell State Park Summit.  We decided to go. We left at 3:52 PM.

The Summit was 2 miles away and we got there at 3:59 PM.  It was a good stop!  They had refreshments…coffee…snacks, a gift shop and some State Park Police Officers.  Mount Mitchell is the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River and south of Canada.  It is 6,683 feet in elevation.  We can now say that we have been there!  Chuck, J.B. and I can all say that we drank coffee there, also.  We checked for hotels in the area of Boone, NC.  We were told by one of the Staff of the Summit that there were several hotels.  I found a Holiday Inn Express there.  It was 71 miles away.  We left at 4:28 PM.

Jan led us again on the Parkway.  When we could, we rode at 50 to 60 MPH.  We were riding when another Motorcycle rider was approaching us in the opposite direction.  He was flapping his left arm up and down.  That generally means to slow down.  We continued, slowing to 45 MPH and there was a National Parks Police Car sitting by the side of the road…working radar.  We rode for another 47 miles and at 5:29 PM; we stopped at the Linville Falls Visitor Center for a pit stop.  Now we were only 26 miles away from the hotel.  We left at 5:44 PM.

As we continued, there was a bobcat that ran across the roadway from right to left in front of Jan.  Jan pointed at him and a couple of us saw it.  A few miles later, there was a wild turkey standing by the side of the road that Jan pointed at.  By the way, it was a REAL, LIVE, BREATHING wild turkey, not the liquor that you drink!  We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express at 7:06 PM after riding 51 miles.  I went in to “make the deal,” however; I was told that they were all booked up.  I told the guys and we started to call other hotels in the immediate area.  All of the hotels were booked.  Chuck found a Best Western in the town of Banner Elk, which was not very far away.  Chuck called and asked for availability and prices.  They had rooms and the price was reasonable.  We left at 7:26 PM.

I had entered the address of the Best Western on my Navigation System and led the group.  After riding 21 miles, we arrived at 7:51PM.  We all went in and checked in.  Instead of all of us going to our rooms to unload, we decided to ride to have dinner first and then return and unload.  That is what we did.  We had a good dinner and returned, parked our Motors near our rooms and “tucked” them in for the night.

Today, we didn’t ride for very many miles; however, we did have fun riding the miles that we did.  We rode for a total of 316 miles.  Tomorrow, we will continue on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Who knows what we will see…