Thursday Thirteen

Today I thought I'd offer up 13 things you may not know about the Blue Ridge Parkway.

2006 Photo

1. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway in the eastern part of the United States.

2. It runs for 469.1 miles through the Blue Ridge Mountains, mostly along the ridge tops.

3. Work on the Parkway began under the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Construction started on September 11, 1935.

4. The project was originally called "The Appalachian Scenic Highway."

5. Construction took 52 years to complete; the last of the Parkway was finished in 1987.

Stylized photo of Mabry Mill, which you can see along
the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Photo taken 2006)

 

 

6. The Parkway runs from Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to the Great Smokey Mountains near Cherokee, North Carolina. Skyline Drive in Virginia, which predates the Blue Ridge Parkway, is an additional 105 mile drive through the Shenandoah National Park to the north. The two are often confused or put together, but they are two separate roads and projects.



Looking over Botetourt County from the Parkway. Photo taken 2014.

7. Commercial traffic is prohibited on the Parkway, except for tour buses.

8. The Parkway is free to drive, but the road frequently closes in winter.

9. There are miles of hiking trails along the Parkway. Some of the attractions include campgrounds. There is a fee for camping.

Another shot of Botetourt County. Below I note where our farm is in this picture.

 

10. No road signs tell you where to go or what is available at the next exit from the Parkway. Many communities are only a short drive from the Parkway. (The Parkway runs through Botetourt County and is accessible in the Blue Ridge area.)

11. You can picnic along the side of the road nearly anywhere on the Parkway. There are also designated picnic areas.

12. You are not supposed to pick flowers, gather wood, or otherwise take pieces of the forest with you when you leave.  You are, however, supposed to haul your trash back out with you.

Notation of where our farm is as seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway overlook
in Bedford County.

 

13. Dogs and other pets are allowed, but must be leashed.

More of Botetourt as seen from a Parkway overlook.

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 363rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.