9/26 Blue Ridge Parkway - Northern Waynesboro Entrance to Peaks of Otter

 I learned a big lesson today that I should have learned before--NEVER TAKE A SCENIC DRIVE ON A SUNDAY!  The parkway was packed with day-trippers that included motorcylists and bike riders.  Considering that there are no shoulders on the parkway anywhere, and the roadway is slightly narrow, having bike riders on the edge and cars coming towards you is very scary when your vehicle already takes up nearly all your lane!  

Plus, the scenic pullouts and parking areas do not have RV parking spots, and they were completely full this day, with people illegally parking cars on the grass and along the parkway. 

It did get a little better once I was about 30 miles from the entrance, and it got later in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, not being able to pull over and get out limited my taking photos.  I did take some photos through my windshield, but these are hit and miss since I am just mostly randomly pointing and shooting, and hoping they come out. 

I won't tell you about taking a wrong turn and ending up heading north on the Shenandoah Parkway instead.  It is not easy to make a U-turn with a 32' vehicle.  One of these years, I will take the Shenandoah Parkway all the way. 

 

If you have never taken the Blue Ridge Parkway, it does indeed follow a mountain ridge, which means you can get terrific views both east and west of the highway.  It is also the blue ridge because the mountains in the distance are often covered by a blue haze. 

In many places, the parkway is covered by thick forests on both sides.  Much of this land was originally deforested for lumber and some of it, even the highest parts, were farmed.  It was constructed as a Civilian Conservation Corps project starting in 1935, though some of it was not completed until the 50s. 

One of my windshield photos.  I just hold the camera up, and without taking my eyes off the road, click the shutter.  Often it takes several photos to get one good one.  Have to use the windshield washers to get the bugs off, also. 

This one was better. 

You can see the drop-off on the right.  Hopefully, the trees would catch me.

This one was taken from a "scenic lookout."  My GPS calls these a "scennical out." 

Not much of a wall to hold you in, but a very pretty view.

Now, THIS is more like it!  A real place to park with lots of room and few other vehicles!  And look at that blue sky at this altitude!!

My first tunnel.  I did check the NPS website to verify tunnel heights.  All are at least 13' tall except for the last 40 miles of the parkway, way down south.  Since my vehicle is about 12' high, all is well.  And by the way, tunnel heights are supposed to be measured at the roadway edge, not the middle, in case you wondered. 

And a bridge over a valley and a lake. 

One thing I did like about this area that non-campers might find useful to know about is the hotel near tonight's destination--Peaks of Otter.  So far it is the only hotel I have seen on the parkway.  I am staying at the Peaks of Otter campground, which is about a mile away, but I stopped here to take some photos.  Could not find a more scenic place!  I asked some people walking past on my way to the lobby to look around, and they said the rooms were nice, although the bathrooms could use some updating.  In any case, the view is spectacular! 

It was a long and slow drive today.  The speed limit is 45 MPH, but most of the time, I could drive no faster than 25 MPH.  I drove 110 miles today, counting a few miles in Waynesboro and was on the road seven hours, making it to my Peaks of Otter campground just before 6 pm.  

I did not take any photos of the campground, but sites were very small and very narrow.  Nice check-in ladies suggested a better site than the one I had reserved because they said my original site was too slanted.  No hookups so I ran my generator for a while to charge up some electronics and settled in for the night.