Beauty along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Whether on the back of a motorcycle or in our case, behind the wheel of The Escaper, the Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles through some of the prettiest meadows and majestic mountains one could ever hope to find. The brilliant orange wild azaleas alone made the stop worthwhile.

America’s first and longest rural parkway stretches from Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park to North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We pulled onto the parkway at the intersection of Virginia Route 8, which a sign said was the “crest of the Blue Ridge.” The looming rain clouds brought strains of Led Zeppelin’s “Mountain Misty Hop” to mind. Still, the clouds couldn’t dampen our view (entirely) of The Saddle or Buffalo Mountain, which looks just like – well, you can see for yourself. It’s photo number 4 in the slideshow below.