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Blue Ridge Parkway to Ashville,NC

Dinner Atop Mt. Mitchell The Highest Point

Chriss Horstman and Carol Ann Hoff

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Hi Again:
We woke up at about 6:am to thunder lightening and RAIN. Went back to sleep very depressed. We woke up again about 8:30 to sun shine, a happy day. We had a wonderful day. Got up repacked our three motorcycle hard bags, showered, dress and had a very nice breakfast (FREE) supplied by the hotel. We got on the road at 11:30. Since the day was a surprise for us we decided to have some fun and throw plans to the wind. We headed back toward The Blue Ridge Parkway in NC. We rode some nice back roads and picked up Spruce Pine, NC Route 261. It was a fantastic ride with nice wide sweeping turns and it was an extremely clear day with great panoramic views. See this map, click....... BRP.



Quite warm in the valleys but nice and cool and sometimes near cold on the mountain. We started this trip with summer "open mesh" riding clothes. We stopped a few times to put on an extra shirt. We were expecting temps near 105*F, what a mountain surprise. While on the parkway we pulled into one of the overlooks..... what a view. While there we talked to a bunch of Harley riders. I asked Carol if she would like to get off the bike and stretch, she said no? I don't know why she didn't get off as the Harley riders looked like a nice bunch of guys. We wave goodbye to them as they ride off. From there we rode to the top of Mount Mitchell 6800 feet up and had dinner at the restaurant overlooking the valley. The view from our table was beautiful mountain ridges and we had a great fresh trout dinner. While at our table we talked to some natives and a few travelers like us. The restaurant wasn't crowded because the parkway was closed to the south of the restaurant due to a mud slide. All of us had to back track back down the hill the same direction to the north as we came up. It seems the landslide was early in the year and the road has been closed since.

After we ate we rode the rest of the short way to the very top of Mitchell mountain, just because we could. On the way back down we saw a narrow local side road called 80. It was like no other road I have ever been on with many switchbacks and twisties. It was a difficult ride but Carol took it in stride, what a great passenger she is. We decided to head for Asheville, NC to find a room for the night. Once we found a place Carol again stayed on our bike as I was checking us into our hotel at the Quality Inn. When I came out there were a few of the same Harley guys we had met up on the mountain talking with her and laughing. They were with good nature, teasing Carol about staying once again on the bike. Surprise, Surprise they are staying in the same hotel and just checked in before us.....small world. They had heard about Rte 80 and didn't want to ride on it as one of their members did a tip over while attempting the first tight turn on the entrance ramp. They all decided to completely backtrack to the north entrance of the parkway and didn't have the time to stop and eat as we did. We told them all about our ride to the top and dinner. We all laugh about it and finally say goodnight. More adventure tomorrow I am sure, but for now we are exhausted and ready to sleep.
Chriss and Carol