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  View original topic: My Blue Ridge Parkway Adventure (verbose, pics)
ryecatcher Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:36 pm

I needed to escape the heat. That's how it all started. I had a little trepidation setting out on what would be my longest trip in Wendeline, my '82 Air-Cooled Westy. After all, it would be 2,000+ miles roundtrip, and I had only driven her in the flats of Florida. I had my doubts about the hills and grades I would encounter. As it turned out, I was only bested by one hill, and a descent at that.

Getting there was a long slog through Florida and Georgia. It had been a long, hot drive, and I almost started crying when the first cool mountain breezes caressed me. I stopped at Helen, GA for a night or two of German food and tourist kitsch. Saturday, the campground (Unicoi) was a bit of a zoo, with the weekend crowds there. Sunday, I had the loop to myself. The van behaved valiantly, with no problems.

It was time to move on. I caught the parkway near the end, around Sylva. This required the first real test: long 7% grades up Hwy 23. I tucked in behind a laden truck, put it in third, and chugged up at an (indicated) 35 mph. It was slow going, but the downhills gave the engine a good rest, and the air was nice and cool. Eventually, I hit the parkway.

Because it is so serpentine, there are actually not that many steep grades on the Parkway. It was still slow going, but oh, so nice. I really appreciated the manual steering; it's got really good communication and feel, and the handling is better than I would have thought. I've driven this in my Miata, and this was just as much fun.

The weather really started to cool, which after a long Florida summer felt like heaven. After an hour, I made it to the highest point.



It was really windy here.



I ended up camping at the Mt. Pisgah campground, and stayed for three days. It was gloriously cool up there, and not crowded at all. No cell reception, either, which is a asset or a liability, depending on which way you look at it. No power outlets, either, so I relied solely on solar and battery. The van behaved very well in this regard. A few sunny hours and I had more than enough juice to run the fridge and lights, etc.

During the days, I would day-camp at a nice overlook, as the campground had no view to speak of. Just find your favorite place, park, and you've got a million-dollar view that's all yours:



I ended up in Asheville, the Portland of the south. Cool town. Camped up at Campfire Lodgings. Nice views up there, though our site didn't have them:



Moved on north, towards Kentucky. There was a cave park I'd heard about, so on I drove. Two hundred fifty miles up there, with more hills. The steepest grades got me into third, and even second sometimes, but I just took it slow and never at more than 3/4 throttle. Kentucky was beautiful, and the Smokies going up there are gorgeous:



On the way back south, I took the Interstate. I-77 sucks, and I would not take it again. The van had no problem keeping up with traffic (well, getting passed by traffic and keeping up with the loaded trucks), but the slow-truck lanes they have stupidly end right at the crest of the hills, forcing you to merge left when you're at your slowest. Dumb. A couple of hairy moments, but otherwise ok. I was glad to get back on the Parkway and its more sedate pace.

This time of year, you have the place almost to yourself.



I found a cool lookout way off the main road, and spent some time there:



I wanted to see dark skies, and this is one of the best areas for it (around MM 240). On my little lookout, I only shared it with some stargazers with a big telescope. After they left, I ended up just sleeping up there. The campground was creepy and deserted, and I'd not seen anyone else or any rangers up there, and it was so pleasant, that I just stayed.

This is how stars are supposed to look:



I went back down to Asheville, which is where I had my only issue of the trip. I got off the Parkway on 694 (Town-Mountain Road), and that road is like a coiled snake, and very steep. I must have boiled the brake fluid, because a little later in town the pedal went to the floor. That is not a good feeling when that happens. As I inspected for leaks, etc., and researched what it could be, it cooled off and the bubbles settled, as I got my brakes back. Still it was a little scary. On the to-do list: bleed brakes and replace with DOT-4.
The last slog was a long 400 mile night, and 250 flat miles the next day back home. It's funny, the van felt peppier down from those altitudes on the flats.

My takeaway from all this: If you have an aircooled and are thinking about going to the mountains, go for it, but take it slow and don't push your van. I wouldn't go to the Rockies with this...with the horsepower loss at altitude I'd probably have negative horsepower at the peaks!
Overall, I'm very pleased with how the van behaved. It was comfortable, solid, dependable. It was home.


Popsvan Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:23 pm

Looks like a great trip.

blemon Sat Sep 06, 2014 5:28 am

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to get down there. It's not too far from here.

shadetreetim Sat Sep 06, 2014 9:39 am

Nice write up. Sounds like a successful trip. Thanks for sharing.

danfromsyr Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:11 am

Thanks for the write up and review.
we're planning to head to the Blue Ridge the 1st week of October.
headed down to Smokey Mtns from Upstate NY then take the full Blue Ridge & Skyline Drive on our return north.

any other great things to look out for or just check out while we're down there?

Dan in NY

ryecatcher Mon Sep 08, 2014 10:02 am

Carter Caves State park in Kentucky had some super hiking, and, of course, caves.

In Asheville, there is a Spanish restaurant called "Curate"; it is the best Spanish food I've had outside Spain.

The Pisgah Inn has some decent food and stellar views. October should be great up there; the fall leaves are gorgeous.

Mountain1.8t Mon Sep 08, 2014 10:34 am

One of the best drives on the east coast! Pictures look awesome!

MarkWard Mon Sep 08, 2014 1:47 pm

Dan, stop at one of the lodges along Skyline Drive and order the Blackberry Pie Ice Cream desert from one of the restaurants. We will drive a day out of our way just for this treat. We have camped at Big Meadows and have stayed in the lodge. They even have dog friendly rooms.

valleywestys Fri Sep 12, 2014 6:13 pm

Next time you're on Skyline Drive, check out LOFT MTN. CAMPGROUND. It's the Southern-most (farthest South?) one on the drive, and our favorite. Not just because it's the closest to the house.
Least crowded, because it's farthest from D.C. metro area. Great sky views from some sites, or Piedmont / Shenandoah Valley views from others...
Will fill up on Fall weekends, for leaf peepers, but usually space available weekdays.
"Secret" direct line to Campground Office is 434-823-4675. Don't tell anyone.

VWagabond Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:23 am

danfromsyr wrote: Thanks for the write up and review.
we're planning to head to the Blue Ridge the 1st week of October.
headed down to Smokey Mtns from Upstate NY then take the full Blue Ridge & Skyline Drive on our return north.

any other great things to look out for or just check out while we're down there?

Dan in NY

A friend from Morehead City and myself will be camping in the Black Mountain Campground, which is off NC Highway 80 west after it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway, that weekend. Nice NFS campground in the woods beside the South Toe River. If you happen to find yourself there, stop by and visit, you can't miss the white 87 Westie.

campism Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:04 am

danfromsyr wrote:
any other things to look out for..while we're down there?

Dan in NY
Watch out for deer and bear in the roadway. Even though you're only doing 45 MPH you might have some close calls. I've both hit and had close calls with one, and had to stop for the other.

valleywestys Sun Sep 14, 2014 6:12 pm

DITTO the deer/bear warnings. Expect deer and bear everywhere, especially on the road at dawn and dusk.
Big deer looking over your shoulder, as you cook dinner on the picnic table is cute. Big bear wandering your campsite during the night, looking for food you left out is good reason to own Vanagon, and not a tent!

RBEmerson Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:04 pm

We did the trip northbound (coming from NOLA) this spring, before Memorial Day. That meant the national park campgrounds along the way were still closed. NTL we found a couple of places off the road that worked well enough.

Even in a '90 Westy with a 2.2L GW engine, some of the grades are ...um... notable. I do fast downshifts a lot better than I used to. [/big grin]

The best part about the Skyline and Blue Ridge routes in the spring is the air is still relatively clear. We were right on the border between late winter and early spring; the two seasons came and went with changes in altitude. It's quite striking to go from spring at about 1000' ASL to winter at 6000' ASL and back again.

One minor surprise about these roads: they're also used by locals to get from here to there, not just by touristas. I don't know why this surprised us but it did.

Look out for bikers. There are a lot of intrepid bikers pedaling up hills and coasting down the other side. It took us far to wake up to why we saw more people headed uphill than down. Duhhhh...

There are some chances to hear some excellent bluegrass music along the way. Stop at the info centers for details.

Bears and critters seem to avoid us. We have never seen a bear in places where people claim they're virtually swarming. NTL, use a "bear box". Remember your poptop tent isn't much of a deterrent for hungry critters, big or small. Lock food up and keep the lid closed tightly. Smells carry a long way!

A few tips about Asheville. The Tupelo Honey Cafe in town is a good place to stop. It's crowded, with tables almost on top of each other. NTL the food is excellent and the service outstanding (see my TripAdvisor review).

The arts district was disappointing. It's much too spread out, making walking from gallery to gallery more of a challenge than it should be.

Biltmore... go! The gardens are stunning (we were there when the azaleas were in full bloom). The house is overwhelming (~4 acres! under the roof!). The robber-barons from the Gilded Age are hardly my favorite characters, but George W. Vanderbilt was a surprisingly approachable character. The story of the creation of the estate and the coincident start of what became the US Forestry Service is worth pursuing. See my review, in TripAdvisor, about Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Villiage; it's one of the very few times I've sent a meal back to the kitchen.

campism Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:17 am

Antique shops. We like 'em and Asheville has 'em, including at least one with good architectural antiques. Of course, traveling in a Westy means you might not have all the space you'd want for finds like that.

benandmj Mon Sep 15, 2014 8:15 am

RBEmerson wrote: We did the trip northbound (coming from NOLA) this spring, before Memorial Day. That meant the national park campgrounds along the way were still closed. NTL we found a couple of places off the road that worked well enough.

It's quite striking to go from spring at about 1000' ASL to winter at 6000' ASL and back again.
. NTL, use a "bear box". Remember your poptop tent isn't much of a deterrent for hungry critters, big or small. Lock food up and keep the lid closed tightly. Smells carry a long way!

A few tips about Asheville. The Tupelo Honey Cafe in town is a good place to stop. It's crowded, with tables almost on top of each other. NTL the food is excellent and the service outstanding (see my TripAdvisor review).

The arts district was disappointing. It's much too spread out, making walking from gallery to gallery more of a challenge than it should be.

re Villiage; it's one of the very few times I've sent a meal back to the kitchen.

What does NTL mean??

RBEmerson Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:49 pm

NTL = nonetheless



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