Section 5 – mm 340-295
We started to see some blue
skies as we headed North on the Blue
Ridge Parkway. We continued to stop at overlooks
along the way.
We took the short trail at
Chestoa View and saw a deer.
At Linville Falls
we hiked 5 of the 6 trails. The first brought us to the Upper Falls.
 |
| Barbara at Upper Linville Falls |
From Chimney View we could
see both Upper Falls
and Linville Falls.
Erwin’s View is far above
the gorge floor with the falls in the distance. Gorge View had a sign saying
that Linville Gorge is the deepest gorge in the eastern United States.
And we hiked to Plunge Basin
on the other side of the river.
Next we stopped at the Linn Cove
Viaduct Visitor
Center, A viaduct is a
long bridge with a series of spans supported on piers. The Linn Cove Viaduct is
the S-shaped section of the Blue
Ridge Parkway supported by piers using
construction techniques from Europe that made it the first bridge of its type
in the United States.
Many concrete segments join to form the one-quarter mile section of the parkway
around Grandfather
Mountain’s boulder field
with minimal impact to the surrounding rugged terrain. It was the last section
of the Blue Ridge Parkway
– completed in the 1980s. A diorama shows the unique construction.
Campground: Julian Price
Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Parkway miles traveled: 45 miles today
