Blinded in the Blueridge Mountains - May 22

We're finally off!


Here my mother and I are right before starting the road trip.

Our goal today was to reach Asheville, NC and after 470 miles and nearly 10 hours on the road, we made it. One of the reasons it took us so long is that we took the "scenic" route that took us a lot longer- namely, the Blueridge Parkway which travels down over the mountains in western North Carolina. It was definitely worth the extra time because we were able to see views like these:

View from Blueridge Parkway in North Carolina. Definitely worth the extra time!

Perfect place to have a picnic along the Blueridge Parkway in North Carolina.

In spite of the beauty of today's trip, we did have a scary incident late in the evening. The sun was going down and we were high up in the Black Mountains surrounding Asheville. We wanted to get to our hotel before dark but we were still about an hour away, winding our way through a narrow and steep mountain road. As we climbed up the side of a mountain we drove through some thin clouds. At first, we thought they were beautiful and it felt like we were flying through the sky. But as we drove higher and higher, our car was suddenly engulfed by a thick shroud of clouds that swirled all around us. We slowed down and turned our high beams on but could still barely see 10 feet in front of us. It was impossible to pull over or turn around because there was no shoulder- the road had the mountain on one side and a steep precipice on the other. At some points, we could only the see the yellow line in the middle of the road and didn't know what was going on in front of or on either side of the car. All we could do was follow the yellow line and pray the clouds would disappear. I was really scared at this point and was just praying to get off that mountain alive. Sweat was covering my body and I could feel my heart hammering away in my chest. And the road was just getting higher and higher, taking us deeper into the cloud cover. Finally, we reached the peak of the mountain and started descending. We could still only go about 5 or 10 miles per hour and after about 15 minutes (but which seemed like an eternity) the clouds became thinner. And then all of a sudden as we turned a sharp corner, we emerged from the cloud and the road was in front of us, clear as ever. I breathed a sigh of relief and we soon found our motel in Asheville. I don't think I've ever been as happy to arrive at a cheap motel in all my life!

I guess I learned a couple of things from this incident:
- don't ever drive on a narrow mountain road after dark
- clouds are better enjoyed from a distance

Tomorrow, we'll be traveling through the Smoky Mountains- but this time, early in the day.