October 29, 2017 N Carolina/Blue Ridge Pkwy

October 29,  2017 North Carolina
We head west this morning, with the first stop in Charlotte at an LA Fitness.  Been here before and we enjoy a short workout and a long shower.  Then we head to the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of America's most scenic highways.   Some nice spots of color as we get nearer the mountains, passing through Rutherfordton where Greg's folks lived for a time.

We fill up with gas near Asheville and hop onto the southern portion of the Parkway near French Broad Overlook.  It is chilly and a little windy as we stop time and again to admire the views.

 As we climb from around 2,100' elevation to over 4,000',  the sun plays hide 'n' seek among clouds.  Still it is beautiful and we hope for clearing until we begin to notice tiny flakes of snow whirling in the wind.

The temperature has dropped to 27 degrees and just after Buck Spring Tunnel, the police have closed the road for a "Winter Storm"and everyone has to turn around.  Looking up toward Mount Pisgah (5,000'+) the trees are obviously frosted and the only color there is white!

The snow is picking up, so we decide to take a side road, route 151, which we recall passing.  What a road, as it is pretty much a series of switchbacks winding down the mountain!

 The scenery is gorgeous and colors great as Greg pretty much keeps his eyes on the road.  It is a 2 lane road, though on the switchbacks one wonders!  Fortunately we only encounter two or three other cars and the snow disappears as we descend. This pretty waterfalls is alongside the road.

The road lands us in a valley where we stop at a gas station to get further directions.  We could go southwest, though the Smoky Mountains, but suspect this winter storm is hitting there also, so we opt to go back towards Asheville and then south.  Heavy traffic when we get back on a major road, as we suspect lots of folks are doing the same.   We hit a light snow/rain mix for a while but by 4:00 we've gone through the storm and hit sunny South Carolina and 50 degrees!

We continue south and east, and find a Corps of Engineers campground near Hartwell Lake just over the Georgia border - Georgia River Recreation area. The campground is closed, but there are restrooms and other parking areas, so we find a likely spot and stop.

 We go for a walk and see only one other car.  We are just below a dam and the water in the river is very low with lots of visible rocks.  There are signs that say a siren will sound when water is to be released, so that fishermen and others can get off the rocks.

Three times during the night, the siren sounds.  Not really too loud, but we definitely hear it, and in the morning, those rocks are all underwater!  Greg estimates about a 3' rise in water level - that's a lot of water!

Tomorrow we will head to Athens via back roads and drop down to avoid going through Atlanta.