Southeast US: Day 4, 2nd part, Blue Ridge Parkway

 I know I had left this travel for too long, but here I come back with it. As I said in the previous post, one possibility is to stay in Asheville to see the Biltmore Estate, but if you don’t feel like it this itinerary I am going to talk about  would be a good plan. After a good  breakfast in Asheville you can  a bit of the town before getting yourselves on the road. There are beautiful houses of the wealthy families who came to the area to improve their health and the town itself is also interesting.

Then, we go back to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just driving and stopping from time to time at the countless viewpoints you will have pictures like this:

You may do your first stop at Craggy Gardens but if you do not have much time and want to enjoy each thing without looking at your watch I recommend driving directly to Mount Mitchell State Park.

Mount Mitchell, about 2000 m high,.is the highest peak in the Appalachians, the highest also in the eastern United States and the third highest in the country. It is named after Elisha Mitchell, who first calculated its height in 1835. This man died in 1857 after slipping and falling over the falls that also bear his name, Mitchell Falls, when he came back to verify his calculations. Having been there and seen it how uncomfortable the weather is at the summit, with a tremendous and very cold wind  in only early October, I find it incredible that someone with the conditions of that time could get there and do such calculations.

There is an observation tower which you can access by walking just some meters after leaving the car, which offers these great views (although in a day without fog I am sure it would have been much more spectacular):

If time for lunch is getting close you will have to eat at the restaurant next to the summit, since you have nothing more for many miles around. In any case, and  forgetting about the waiting time for a table, it was not bad, it was very similar in quality and price of all that we saw in the area so I can not say it was the sort of place with terrible food and the highest price that takes advantage of being the only one in the area. And the views, great of course (you are going to say I'm obsessed with views ... :))