My Summer Road Trip
August 4, 2014
My Summer Road Trip
August 4, 2014
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Part 1 of this day
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I spied with my little eye... |
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... somewhere nice to go and visit! Peaks of Otter Lake is just east of where highway 43 joins the Parkway for awhile. |
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There was a hiking trail around the lake. |
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There were also boats lying around like this one. |
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This lake seemed cleaner than Otter Lake so perhaps people swim there as well. |
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So, so, so beautiful! |
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The trunk of this tree had split open but the tree was still growing. |
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Along the walk at the front of the Visitor Center these neat purple plants cominated the garden. |
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And parked in a different place than me were the two Quebec motorcycles. They must have stopped here for lunch. |
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The Visitor Center |
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I would have saved myself a lot of money if I hadn't walked into the Center. There was a gift shop there with many local crafts. I fell in love with this necklace but ended up buying its cousin because I like blues combined with greens better (TEAL!). (Craftsperson: Deena Ruiz, Madison Heights, VA, Silverbirch Artglass) |
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I left the Parkway by following 43 north to Interstate 81. I planned to get to North Carolina that day and to be honest, with the reduced speed limit PLUS all the great things to see, I NEVER would have made it... not in a million years! I pulled off the road for lunch just past Roanoke. Just as I was leaving, a group of bikes arrived. I chatted with Sue for awhile next to my bike. She and her friends were headed for Tennessee and the Dragon. I started up my bike, backed out of my space and as I rode past their bikes, I had to stop again. Sue and her friends were from Quebec! A French Canadian invasion!! |
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Riding on Interstates might be faster and more direct, but it's not a lot of fun. Once I'd headed south of I-77 for a bit, I was able to rejoin a nicer kind of road... US221. |
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US221 was a major road in the area but it still had sweeping turns and PLENTY to look at. |
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I took these pictures of the New River (remember the New River Gorge?) south of Independence, VA on US221/21. The Virginia/North Carolina border was only a half mile away. |
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Did I mention that I was right ON the bridge when I stopped to take the pictures? |
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Now in North Carolina, I stopped at this cattle ranch to wonder if the cows have to grow one set of legs longer than the other so they can keep their balance on the steep slopes. |
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I'll bet the view from the loft is spectacular! |
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Arriving in Boone... the highway divided but you still got to ride through pretty, pretty passes. |
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Route: I-81 south to I-64 I-64 past Waynesboro to Blue Ridge Parkway Blue Ridge Parkway to 43 43 north to I-81 I-81 west to I-77 I-77 south to US221 US221 to Boone, North Carolina |