The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic road that stretches 469 miles along the Blue Ridge Mountains. The route starts in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in South Carolina and ends at the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The sole purpose of the road is to provide a scenic route through the mountains and although it is not technically a National Park, it is the most visited area in the National Park System.

Coming from Charleston meant that we would have to backtrack in order to reach the starting point of the Parkway so we decided to instead find a nice place to camp for the night further north. Our plan was to join the road in the morning and then follow it north the next day.

The landscape had generally been fairly flat for us since leaving New Mexico so it was a pleasant change as we drove west and into the Appalachians (a large range of mountains which run inside the Atlantic Coast from Northern Canada right down to Alabama). The mountains were steep and covered in forest and even the odd ski field.

We hadn't booked anywhere to camp and decided to try our luck at a lakeside spot just across the border in Tennessee. The campsite was absolutely beautiful with tent sites sparsely dotted amongst the trees on a gentle slope down to the lakeside. Unfortunately the campsite was also full and with limited cellphone signal we moved on to the only other option we could find nearby which turned out to be small family run place beside a river.

The river beside our campsite

This was one of the best campsites that we stayed at. As we pulled in we were welcomed by the couple who owned it sitting beside a campfire. We had our choice of spot, each of which had water and electricity. There was a brand new bathroom building which was fitted out with steel bucket sinks and pressure valve style tap knobs, as well as nice showers. Everything felt and smelled new and fresh. To top it off it was only $15 a night, one of the cheapest sites we'd stayed at, and less than half the price of a typical privately owned campsite.

The next day we left early and drove towards the Blue Ridge Parkway. On our way we stopped to take a photo of the Tennessee/North Carolina border where we were met by a friendly man who ran the local fireworks store (yes that's a thing...). While talking to us he asked whether we had driven from New Zealand.

As soon as we entered the Parkway it was as if we had been wrapped in wilderness. The entire length of the road is bordered by forest, even where the route passes through urban areas. The road generally follows the ridges of the mountains giving good views on either side. The named Smoky Mountains is definitely apt as there was a sort of haziness that covered slopes.

There is a 45 MPH speed limit for the length of the road which means that it takes a lot longer to travel the distance than an interstate would (where the traffic generally travels around 80 MPH regardless of speed limit). It was a fairly relaxing drive and the traffic was light. There are also no intersections or junctions to worry about.

As we drove however we started to notice an odd grinding noise coming from the car. At first it sounded as though it was coming from the rear. We pulled over and had a look but couldn't find anything amiss. We stopped again a bit later an immediately noticed what smelt like burning electronics. It turned out to just be hot brakes as the road was quite hilly and we were fully loaded. We used engine braking for the rest of the trip to give the brakes a rest but the grinding did not stop, although it was fairly infrequent.

We stopped for the night at a campground near Natural Bridge Virginia where we were given an entire field to camp in. We made a nice fire and watched the fireflies dance as the sun set. The next morning we tried to visit the Natural Bridge, a huge stone arch where a river has forced its way through leaving a bridge across the top. Unfortunately you have to pay $20 for the privilege of seeing something created entirely by nature so we left.

During the rest of the day we drove the remainder of the Blue Ridge Parkway which took us to the entrance of Shenandoah National Park. The Parkway road then becomes the main road through the park which we continued along. As we stood to take photos of the entrance sign Peggy was stung by a wasp right on the ankle which swelled right up.

We took a quick hike while in the park and walked a small portion of the Appalachian Trail, the famous path that follows the mountains from Georgia right up to Maine. While heading back Hannah and I came face to face with a deer who seemed to have no issue with our presence. We watched as she slowly walked beside us and into the undergrowth on the other side of the track.

Our destination for the night was Washington DC. We left Shenandoah after travelling around about a quarter of the its length. We backtracked a little to stop in Charlottesville, Virginia so that we could visit the University of Virginia (UVA), one of the options the girls had for their exchange. Unfortunately the famous statue of Thomas Jefferson (the university's founder and third president of the USA) was being renovated and the entire area was enclosed by a fence.

While in Charlottesville we stopped in a Starbucks to try and sort our accommodation for DC. We would need to book two nights as we would be arriving late that night. Everything we looked at was hugely expensive and didn't include carparking which generally added another $60+. After scrambling for over an hour we changed our plans and just decided to camp outside the city and get the train in. We had finally found somewhere to stay but it was now quite late and we still had a fair way to go.

We had hopped to stop at the Manassas Battlefield Park, site of the first major battle of the Civil War (I know it sounds like I've said that more than once but there were a lot of firsts). The battle known as the First Battle of Bull Run by the Union, or First Manassas by the Confederates was fought within a day's travel of DC. The Civil War had not yet developed into the horror that it was destined to and for many civilians in the capital the prospect of a battle was cause for a day out.

The battle initially went the way of the Union with inexperienced Confederate troops caught in a dangerous position. As their line began to break, a little known brigade leader called Thomas J. Jackson rallied his troops, and with the support to reinforcements who had arrived by train, turned the tide of the battle. The Union forces began to falter and quickly began to retreat where they found themselves mixed up in the carts and wagons of the fleeing spectators on the road back to Washington. For his efforts Jackson was given the nickname Stonewall Jackson and went on to become one of the most famous figures in the war.

By the time we arrived at Manassas it was pitch black, not exactly ideal for visiting a battlefield. We wandered around for a bit, with various cannons looming out of the darkness. We found our way over to a statue of Stonewall Jackson, sat atop his horse, but it wasn't really that great with no view of the landscape. I'll just have to return one day to get a proper view.

Stonewall at night

It had been a very long day and we finally made it to our campsite around midnight. It had been an incredibly long two days with a lot of ground covered and plenty of sites seen. There was no time for rest however as the next day we would be visiting Washington DC which I'll cover next time.