We actually stayed in Blowing Rock which is a small town next to Boone. Boone is home to Appalachian State University and it was graduation weekend. It was pretty busy.
After breakfast we went back to Flat Top, the Cone's summer house, to tour the house. The Cone's bought the property before the Blue Ridge Parkway was conceived and they were upset when they were going to run the Parkway right in front of the house. Thankfully the view out the front of the house remains beautiful, the Parkway is at the back and eventually the house & property donated to the NPS.
We went to Grandfather Mountain which is a privately owned entertainment area which includes a swing bridge, rocky trails and other stuff. There is a great view of the surrounding area. You'll notice a white shoebox building that ruins the view. We were told it was a casino which has caused the laws to be changed that no other such building could be built...kind of too late.
We had to detour again off the Blue Ridge Parkway but did make it to Linn Cove Viaduct. This is 1,243 ft of concrete and built on piers so as to not disturb the beautiful surrounding area. There's a spot where you can hike to view the viaduct, of course we did that, check out the pictures.
Then we had another detour we were not aware of on the Parkway. We finally made our way to the Museum of NC Minerals. We were the only ones, besides the ranger, in the museum. It was a pretty small museum.
On to Asheville via the interstate, because of the ongoing Parkway closure. Repairs are on-going because of the damage from Hurricane Helene. The actual weather patterns is called a cut-off or detached low. The low pressure comes in with the front, in this case a hurricane, but breaks off and hovers bringing rain and wind.
Picture link is the same for May 8-May 11. Questions on pictures, let me know and I'll add to the blog.
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