#59 Drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, October 2019: Day One
Travel should be about escaping schedules and daily responsibilities, about moving freely in unfamiliar settings throughout the day, about trusting your instincts and seeing where the day takes you.
Drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, October 2019 Day 1
After a few days backpacking another section of the Appalachian Trail with Mosey, One Gear, and Splash I plan to spend a few days exploring some of the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). I’m driving the section that lies between Ashville and where I need to jump off near the NC and VA boarder to meet up with friends for another backpack trip around Grayson Highlands.
Day 1: Ashville to Mt Mitchell
With my new cell phone in hand I program the GPS to take me to the closest BRP visitor center. I pick up a map and some other materials in hopes of finding campground locations along my northerly route.
Several years ago, my wife and I drove the BRP. I am now standing in the same visitor center parking lot where we picked up a young couple who were backpacking through the area. They had made a wrong turn and needed to get to a trailhead farther down the BRP. We happened to be going in that direction. We loaded them and their gear in our vehicle and headed down the road. They sat in the back seat munching on some peaches that we had bought earlier that day.
Sitting in that parking lot, I scan the maps for campgrounds. Committing to a destinations and a timelines before the drive isn’t really what this trip is about. It’s good to know that there are so many options available, though.
There’s still plenty of daylight left so I leave that decision for later. Travel is more exciting when making up the details as you go. Life is scheduled enough. Travel should be about escaping schedules and daily responsibilities, about moving freely in unfamiliar settings throughout the day, about trusting your instincts and seeing where the day takes you.