photogram: leaf peeping the blue ridge parkway

lazygood4nothinbum · 11-10-2008, 05:44 PM

this car (here it got snowed on during an overnight in asheville)

was made for this road

top down, windows up, heat on, wearing a heavy long-sleeved shirt and my gym gloves, 60 miles an hour without any pedal to the metal, coasting downhill and around curves, powering up the next mountain, what fun!

just out of season, most of the mountain roads all to myself, your own personal 400-mile long roller coaster

the colors were amazing. from peak autumn at lower elevations to bare branches at the highest peaks, the season passes under the tires with every turn, with the smile or the sadness of each mountain face, from the south at the smokies in cherokee nc north to virginia at front royal. north south east west high low the dimensions are only challanged by the variety of hues, each more breathtaking than the next so that by the time you've finished a day's drive you have suffocated all of your troubles in sheer beauty.

at the top of the mountains you look down into bowls of fruit loops. and then you drive up a road while alongside you rises an adjacent mountain covered in skittles. the clouds cast playful shadows on distant mountaintops while the sun highlights the edges of ancient weather-rounded ridges

there are many viewing areas and even though there is already too much to take in, it is somehow frustrating that some of the great views have no safe place to stop. so sometimes i'd stop off the road up a bit where i could and take my chance backtrack hiking the shoulders. some viewing areas have information about the roadbuilding or the view.

some vantage points offer views of two seasons at once, where the trees are bare but turn your head and they bloom before your eyes

from morning where to blue sky compliments the autumn colors

until sunset when the sky reflects the autumn colors

the colors and the depth and the views and the mountains seem vast and endless

for days you are surrounded in this beauty, in front of you, along side you and behind you

while not many, there are access roads on and off the parkway. near many at the bottoms of mountains, gates control traffic for when the parkway becomes too dangerous to travel

i stopped for lunch at a lodge at the top of one of the mountains. good food, great service, quaint seating

at one very and cold mountaintop, i stopped and walked over to the
frozen cliff face which was alive with the sound of ice cracking and water dripping and refreezing into icicles and autumn pops. frozen color. glass covered grass. just amazing

anyway, you get the idea. this is the perfect roadtrip for the early retiree. this year i timed it perfectly by accident. right after season so hotels were half-priced, few cars on the road, yet autumn was peaking. here's some more pictures of this amazing drive

freebird5825 · 11-10-2008, 06:35 PM

wow - the last time i saw that i was 19 years old. me and my cat (her attitude was

let me out of this car!) in my gold and black 67 Dodge dart on the way to Florida for the summer. nice memory sparker! TY

**Khan** · 11-10-2008, 07:02 PM

Beautiful!

I think that critter is some sort of Scottish cattle breed.

lazygood4nothinbum · 11-10-2008, 07:09 PM

are you sure? because i think it was some kind of a sheepdog

**REWahoo** · 11-10-2008, 07:17 PM

Lazy, you should know better than doubt the forum's gizzard squeezing expert. Go to Google Images and search on Scottish Highland Cattle...

brewer12345 · 11-10-2008, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

the forum's gizzard squeezing expert.

Is that an official title?

**REWahoo** · 11-10-2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Is that an official title?

No. The official title is "Chief of Haruspicy".

brewer12345 · 11-10-2008, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

No. The official title is "Chief of Haruspicy".

Ah. Ha.

Well, that makes me, what? Court jester? Spitoon?

**REWahoo** · 11-10-2008, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Ah. Ha.

No, not Ha. Khan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Well, that makes me, what? Court jester? Spitoon?

Opportunities like this don't come along every day. The list of possible responses is almost endless. However, I'll show some rare self-restraint and simply punt...

Notmuchlonger · 11-10-2008, 08:56 PM

Great pictures. Enjoy the clouds on the blue sky.

ERD50 · 11-10-2008, 09:32 PM

Great pics Lazy. I drove through years ago, great scenes, but it was summer, no fall colors.

Realized the other day that you hadn't posted in a while, then I saw your post talking of a trip. Glad it went well for you.

-ERD50

brewer12345 · 11-10-2008, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

Opportunities like this don't come along every day. The list of possible responses is almost endless. However, I'll show some rare self-restraint and simply punt...

Actually, I could do worse than my avatar, Svejk. Just a basic little guy who didn't want to get involved in a pointless war and was happiest in the pub.

hankster · 11-10-2008, 09:34 PM

Great photos! We traveled a portion of the Parkway in August a few years ago. Seeing the fall colors makes me want to go back.

**REWahoo** · 11-10-2008, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Actually, I could do worse than my avatar, Svejk.

I always thought it was Bill "The Fox" Foster from "The Man Show"...

harley · 11-11-2008, 06:30 AM

Nice pics, Lazy. I was out on the Skyline Drive last week, but no pics. It's the route I take to get to my Mom's house. It's been a beautiful fall this year. Better colors than I've seen in a long time.

Just one question. How did you manage 60 mph? Every time I get over 50 or so a ranger pops me with a speeding ticket.

**Bestwifeever** · 11-11-2008, 08:49 AM

Beautiful pictures, Lazy--and I loved your description of driving in the convertible, too. Thanks for letting us see them.

bbbamI · 11-11-2008, 11:39 AM

As always...thanks for sharing....

lazygood4nothinbum · 11-11-2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825

wow - the last time i saw that i was 19 years old. me and my cat ... nice memory sparker! TY

you're quite welcome. whenever i go north most of the trip becomes a memory sparkler. the colors, the crisp air, the old houses, the food. oh,the food. i even found pizza that reminded me of the slice i grew up with. for future reference, it is Bleecker Street Pizza-Home. so good that i then went wondering through town but with all the diagonal streets, i thought i was headed east but somehow circled around and wound up right back at bleeker street pizza. so i had another slice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

Lazy, you should know better than doubt the forum's gizzard squeezing expert. Go to Google Images and search on Scottish Highland Cattle...

oh, i don't think sheepdogs have gizzards. that would be a bird dog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger

Great pictures. Enjoy the clouds on the blue sky.

had gorgeous skies most days. with the top down i was so surrounded by the environment that it could only have been better on a motorcycle. though i saw only two the whole trip and boy did those guys look cold (even i had to put the top up a few times when it started snowing inside).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50

11-10-2008, 05:44 PM	#1
lazygood4nothinbum Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,897	photogram: leaf peeping the blue ridge parkway this car (here it got snowed on during an overnight in asheville) was made for this road top down, windows up, heat on, wearing a heavy long-sleeved shirt and my gym gloves, 60 miles an hour without any pedal to the metal, coasting downhill and around curves, powering up the next mountain, what fun! just out of season, most of the mountain roads all to myself, your own personal 400-mile long roller coaster the colors were amazing. from peak autumn at lower elevations to bare branches at the highest peaks, the season passes under the tires with every turn, with the smile or the sadness of each mountain face, from the south at the smokies in cherokee nc north to virginia at front royal. north south east west high low the dimensions are only challanged by the variety of hues, each more breathtaking than the next so that by the time you've finished a day's drive you have suffocated all of your troubles in sheer beauty. at the top of the mountains you look down into bowls of fruit loops. and then you drive up a road while alongside you rises an adjacent mountain covered in skittles. the clouds cast playful shadows on distant mountaintops while the sun highlights the edges of ancient weather-rounded ridges there are many viewing areas and even though there is already too much to take in, it is somehow frustrating that some of the great views have no safe place to stop. so sometimes i'd stop off the road up a bit where i could and take my chance backtrack hiking the shoulders. some viewing areas have information about the roadbuilding or the view. some vantage points offer views of two seasons at once, where the trees are bare but turn your head and they bloom before your eyes from morning where to blue sky compliments the autumn colors until sunset when the sky reflects the autumn colors the colors and the depth and the views and the mountains seem vast and endless for days you are surrounded in this beauty, in front of you, along side you and behind you while not many, there are access roads on and off the parkway. near many at the bottoms of mountains, gates control traffic for when the parkway becomes too dangerous to travel i stopped for lunch at a lodge at the top of one of the mountains. good food, great service, quaint seating at one very and cold mountaintop, i stopped and walked over to the frozen cliff face which was alive with the sound of ice cracking and water dripping and refreezing into icicles and autumn pops. frozen color. glass covered grass. just amazing anyway, you get the idea. this is the perfect roadtrip for the early retiree. this year i timed it perfectly by accident. right after season so hotels were half-priced, few cars on the road, yet autumn was peaking. here's some more pictures of this amazing drive

11-10-2008, 06:35 PM	#2
freebird5825 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: 43N Latitude, NY Posts: 1,566	wow - the last time i saw that i was 19 years old. me and my cat (her attitude was let me out of this car!) in my gold and black 67 Dodge dart on the way to Florida for the summer. nice memory sparker! TY __________________ *Freebird* Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved - Victor Hugo, Les Miserables, 1862

11-10-2008, 07:02 PM	#3
Khan Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Greater Dayton area Posts: 3,415	Beautiful! I think that critter is some sort of Scottish cattle breed. __________________ "Candle wax and red wine can do interesting things to a keyboard."

11-10-2008, 07:17 PM	#5
REWahoo Administrator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 12,369	Lazy, you should know better than doubt the forum's gizzard squeezing expert. Go to Google Images and search on Scottish Highland Cattle... __________________ [Closed for renovation]

11-10-2008, 08:56 PM	#10
Notmuchlonger Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,210	Great pictures. Enjoy the clouds on the blue sky. __________________ lemony

11-10-2008, 07:09 PM	#4
lazygood4nothinbum Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,897	are you sure? because i think it was some kind of a sheepdog

11-10-2008, 09:32 PM	#11
ERD50 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern IL Posts: 3,891	Great pics Lazy. I drove through years ago, great scenes, but it was summer, no fall colors. Realized the other day that you hadn't posted in a while, then I saw your post talking of a trip. Glad it went well for you. -ERD50

11-10-2008, 09:34 PM	#13
hankster Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 267	Great photos! We traveled a portion of the Parkway in August a few years ago. Seeing the fall colors makes me want to go back. __________________ "There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means." Calvin Coolidge

11-11-2008, 06:30 AM	#15
harley Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: May 2008 Location: MD's Eastern Shore Posts: 841	Nice pics, Lazy. I was out on the Skyline Drive last week, but no pics. It's the route I take to get to my Mom's house. It's been a beautiful fall this year. Better colors than I've seen in a long time. Just one question. How did you manage 60 mph? Every time I get over 50 or so a ranger pops me with a speeding ticket. __________________ "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." DW and I - FIREd at 50, two years ago, living off assets

11-11-2008, 08:49 AM	#16
Bestwifeever Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,243	Beautiful pictures, Lazy--and I loved your description of driving in the convertible, too. Thanks for letting us see them.

11-11-2008, 11:39 AM	#17
bbbamI Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The flat part of Texas Posts: 1,994	As always...thanks for sharing.... __________________ Imagination's unreal....