Stayed the night at milepost 238, Doughton Park, which is exactly halfway along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Did not have $16, so had to give a $20 bill!! Oh well, that makes up for the one I underpaid back in Bighorn, Wyoming!!
Did not sleep too well because I went to bed when it got dark at 9pm, was awake again at 2am!! Dozed on and off for the rest of the night. It was also cold when I got up at 7am too!!! All in all a very quiet place. No phone signal or internet, so was really unplugged from the world. Wonderful!!
Was on the road by 8am and carried on up the Blue Ridge Parkway and at the Bluegrass Music Center by 9am. Problem was they opened at 10!! Could see through the window that it was only a small place so decided to carry on as still had 200 miles to go at approximately 30mph on average!!
Stopped for a nice breakfast at Mabry Mill at milepost 175. Waitresses were intrigued by my accent, which was ironic, considering their "y'all" accent.
The mill and the log cabin were typical Appalachian and demonstrated how hard life was when settlers first came to these parts.
The weather became very sunny and a pleasant 70 degrees with no humidity. I continued driving, stopping at various outposts and taking pictures.
Its all quite stunning. My strangest encounter was at mile post 10, where I got talking to a guy who said he was decendent from Cherokee Indians. (He had blond hair!!) He was at this lookout because he had come there with his now deceased wife and he was telling me about Native American music and his flute playing and he offered to play me some. i was a bit sceptical as I thought he was hussling me, but he never asked for money. Very weird. While the music was playing we could hear a child screaming and crying. So he set off to investigage and I left. At the exit to the parkway I saw him again and he said a woman was hitting her child and she stopped when he approached her. A good thing to do, but dangerous.
Where I met the flute player
I got to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway and decided I would camp again, but as I wanted to go to Montecello, I headed for a KOA campsite south of Charlottesvlle.
Did not sleep too well because I went to bed when it got dark at 9pm, was awake again at 2am!! Dozed on and off for the rest of the night. It was also cold when I got up at 7am too!!! All in all a very quiet place. No phone signal or internet, so was really unplugged from the world. Wonderful!!
Was on the road by 8am and carried on up the Blue Ridge Parkway and at the Bluegrass Music Center by 9am. Problem was they opened at 10!! Could see through the window that it was only a small place so decided to carry on as still had 200 miles to go at approximately 30mph on average!!
Stopped for a nice breakfast at Mabry Mill at milepost 175. Waitresses were intrigued by my accent, which was ironic, considering their "y'all" accent.
The mill and the log cabin were typical Appalachian and demonstrated how hard life was when settlers first came to these parts.
The weather became very sunny and a pleasant 70 degrees with no humidity. I continued driving, stopping at various outposts and taking pictures.
Its all quite stunning. My strangest encounter was at mile post 10, where I got talking to a guy who said he was decendent from Cherokee Indians. (He had blond hair!!) He was at this lookout because he had come there with his now deceased wife and he was telling me about Native American music and his flute playing and he offered to play me some. i was a bit sceptical as I thought he was hussling me, but he never asked for money. Very weird. While the music was playing we could hear a child screaming and crying. So he set off to investigage and I left. At the exit to the parkway I saw him again and he said a woman was hitting her child and she stopped when he approached her. A good thing to do, but dangerous.
Where I met the flute player
I got to the end of the Blue Ridge Parkway and decided I would camp again, but as I wanted to go to Montecello, I headed for a KOA campsite south of Charlottesvlle.
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