Blue Ridge Parkway Trip

One of the places dearest to our hearts is the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We used to live a lot closer to this 469-mile national treasure than we do now, and drives and hikes along the parkway were a prominent backdrop to our earlier life before we came to Highlands.

So it was only natural that in celebrating our 35th Anniversary this past week, we took a six-night seven-day drive on the parkway, beginning at the Peaks of Otter Lodge (which we reached by a combination of back roads and I-81), then heading south and ending at Mt. Pisgah, where we celebrated our wedding on July 6, 1979.  We drove a total of 940 miles, and by allowing so much time we managed to run and hike nearly every day, often in beautiful places we had not visited in a very long time - too long!

Eager to get on the road, we left a day earlier than planned, spending the night in a quaint little motel in the Town of Burnsville which came highly-recommended on TripAdvisor.  It is operated by a friendly young couple from Zimbabwe, Trevor and Maureen, who fell in love with the area and decided to raise a family there.

The next day we made the rest of the journey to the Peaks of Otter Lodge, which is located directly on the Parkway a little north of Roanoke.  (Lunch at the original Mast Store in Valle Crucis.)  That's Sharp Top Mountain in the background, one of the three "peaks of otter," visible from everywhere at the Lodge and beckoning to be climbed.

We have stayed here before, the last time in 2004, and never failed to see deer grazing in the nearby fields, strolling between the lodge and the restaurant as casually as if they were staying there, too, and were on their way to dinner.