Day 53. To Luray, VA

Lots of traveling and activity but not much blogging recently. I finally have a chance to catch up - so here goes!

Tuesday, September 30th.

Thankfully Tom felt much better today so we resumed our travels on the Blue Ridge Parkway which ended at Rockfish Gap. The Parkway was as spectacular as before with barely any traffic on this quiet Tuesday morning. We noticed Falls colors creeping in which, of course added to our delight.

We had read of descriptions of "cloud seas" and can now appreciate exactly what they meant:

We stopped for coffee at the "Peaks of Otter" Lodge and sat under this stunning tree with our cups:

Once again we marvel at the way that the Blue Ridge Mountains do appear "blue":

There is, of course, a scientific explanation. Briefly and as far as I understand it, the thick vegetation covering the mountains release tiny hydrocarbon particles which then react with ozone particles in the atmosphere to create a "haze". The haze filters and scatters sunlight in such a way that the dark mountains, when viewed from a distance, appear blue!

We had a nice picnic lunch at a table under the trees:

 So peaceful.

We reached the end of the Parkway at Rockfish Gap, Virginia and then took up the Skyline Drive to continue our way North. This is similar to the Parkway and is a 105 mile road running through the Shenandoah Valley National Park. It is a high road running along the crests of the Blue Ridge Mountains. During the afternoon, clouds rolled in and we spent most of the time either just below or in the cloud. Despite this the ride was great fun with lots of twists and turns which we always enjoy.

This photo was taken before it got really cloudy, the colors got brighter as we headed North:

Finally, it was time to head to our accommodation for the night so we reluctantly exited off the Skyway and headed to the small town of Luray, Virginia. Here we had reservations at a wonderful B&B, the South Court Inn. We were given a very warm welcome by the owner and soon made ourselves at home. We walked into town for dinner and after turning in for the night, slept soundly as usual!

Trip mileage: 254.  Moving Average: 38mph (speed limits on the BRP: 45mph, Skyline Drive: 35mph)  Moving time: 6:40.