Blue Ridge Parkway - Roanoke, VA to the Great Smoky Mountains (Summer 2006)

For a number of years I had the good fortune of living next door to one of America's premier roadways. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a road I never tired of driving...the following album is a kind of tribute to my memory of it. Most of the photos in this album were taken during two trips I took in the summer of 2006 with a few more from other times thrown in to fill gaps. The album begins on the Parkway just north of Roanok, Virginia and follows it all the way to its summer terminus at the Great Smoky Mountains...enjoy the drive!

Gallery pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

< 1 of 135 >

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 115.0 Explore Park - Explore Park is a living history museum located along the parkway outside Roanoke. This is the Arthur Taubman Welcome Center. You must pass through this historic building to access the trail leading to the other historic areas of the park.

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 115.0 Explore Park - The next area you come to is a re-creation of a 18th Century frontier fort. During the 1750's some wealthier settlers built stockades around their homes for protection.

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 115.0 Explore Park - The first area you come to along the trail is a 17th Century Totero Indian Village. This area depicts life among the local native tribes around 1671 when the first contact with Europeans was made.

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 115.0 Explore Park - The final area you come to is that depicting a typical 1850's community in the Roanoke area. There is a log cabin, a couple of barns, a schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and grist mill for you to tour.

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 116 - VA Route 116 Stone Bridge

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 120.3 Roanoke Mountain - The view from Mill Mountain Overlook along the 4-mile Roanoke Mountain loop.

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 120.4 Mill Mountain - Mill Mountain, located about 3 miles off the parkway, is home to the famous "Roanoke Star" and this stunning view of the Roanoke metro area.

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 120.4 Mill Mountain Sunset

Dan Weemhoff (dwhike) > MP 120.3 Roanoke Mountain - The view from the summit parking area on Roanoke Mountain. The summit trail from the parking area is a nice leg-stretcher but affords no views. Just FYI.

MP 115.0 Explore Park - Explore Park is a living history museum located along the parkway outside Roanoke. This is the Arthur Taubman Welcome Center. You must pass through this historic building to access the trail leading to the other historic areas of the park.

Camera: Canon (Canon Powershot A620) |

More details: exif |

Original size: 2048px x 1536px |

Current: 400px x 300px |

Other sizes: Small • M • L • O • save photo |

Share photo: links, forums, blogs |

Gallery pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

< 1 of 135 >

Comments

New comment: Requires approval

Name: Email: Link:

Comment on: | Rating: stars

To foil spammers, enter this code:

in this box: Code unreadable?

Add Comment Cancel

Available Feeds | What are feeds?

Gallery Photos:

Atom |

RSS