
As soon as I got on this parkway, I entered into The
Zone of The Most Perfect Pure Driving Bliss. Not only is this two-lane
road beautifully designed to blend into the mountainside with meandering
smooth curves and surprise vistas, but consider this: there is no traffic,
no stop signs, no stop lights, no fast food places, no businesses with
ugly signs and logos, no power
lines,
no billboards, no driveways, no houses and
no ugly metal guardrails. There are no obstacles and nothing
ugly on this dreamy parkway. With so few cars
to share it with at this time of year, the views are tremendous and
the entire experience is meditative magic. It's all yours -
this beautiful, smooth, easy and unrestricting ribbon of freedom that
takes you to mountaintop highs and expansive valley vistas. The ultimate
joy ride. The very idea of having to
remove myself from it for any reason (gas, food, detour) was entirely
painful. It's like the rest of the world doesn't exist when you're
up here.
I took three days to drive from the start of it near Waynesboro, Virginia
to Asheville, NC. I had to get off much earlier than expected at
Mount Mitchell State Park because the rest of the parkway to Asheville
was closed due to a combination of ice, snow and construction. I only
stopped briefly for photos. I was thoroughly entranced with the zen
of driving and really didn't want to stop the vehicle. It was disappointing
to find that all of the National Park Service campgrounds were closed
already, but there were still enough private campgrounds open
that were conveniently on or very close to the parkway.
In Asheville, I spent a couple of nights at Wilson's RV Park, which
is practically downtown and right on the French
Broad River. It's also right next to the highway, but that's surprisingly
not an issue. A bonus is that the French Broad River Greenway Trail
happens to intersect the RV park, and on a Saturday afternoon, it seems
all of Asheville comes out to play on it. Asheville always feels like
someplace I could stay awhile, but it never happens. This time, I had
plans to be in Greenville, South Carolina.

My backyard at Wilson's RV
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