October 11 Rainy day on Blue Ridge Parkway and Apple Pie

 Sunday, October 11

57 degrees this morning, light rain and lots of dripping trees.  We slept in and had breakfast tacos with sausage and eggs to start the day.  We are going to explore up and down the BlueRidge Parkway today while we wait for clearer weather.

We head north first.  Riverbend Overlook is nice.   And then we drive around Julian Price Memorial Park. Would be a nice picnic place in good weather.  Still lots of fog in some areas, clear in others.

We have heard of Blowing Rock, so head there.  It is a 250 million year old cliff formation, 4000 feet above sea level with breathtaking views of a rocky walled gorge.  Because of the winds, things thrown into the gorge tend to rise. This is all what we read on the literature, because this is the only view we see.  

There is a little color at the top edge of what we assume is the gorge.

There are some short trails, but all end with the same view (see above).  And we paid an entrance fee to see this!  I complain to the ticket seller as we leave but their response is that they don't force anyone to buy tickets and we can come back later.  Ha! We think they should tell people that there is no view today, but they mumble something about having to keep their business operating.  Guess we chalk it up to donating to the economy! 

Next stop is the Craft Center at Cone Manor House.  Quite a house built in 1910 by Moses Cone, known as The Denim King, who built a fortune with textile mills, supplying folks like Levi Strauss. 

It now houses a very nice craft center, which "normally" has demonstrations and programs, which of course are cancelled in these abnormal times.  They have a nice shop with pottery, glassware, weaving, quilts, woodworking and such, all by local craftsmen who qualify and they are limiting the number of people allowed in each room.  Some very nice work.

We buy a couple of cute Christmas ornaments.

From here, we head south to the orchard at Alta Pass where Beth has some warm mulled cider and we take home some apple pie for tonight's dessert. 

One of the types of apple they have was discovered and propagated by a man named Johnson near York, PA (where Beth was born).

 Funny, we never heard of it around York.  They have an apple press and other equipment, along with photos and history.

Looks like in "normal" times, the orchard is the place to be!

A little more color in some areas near the Linville River. Just imagine if the sun were shining!

We leave the Parkway to explore a few picnic/trail areas.

The rain has been on and off.  When we return to our campsite, someone has stolen the wood that Greg had gathered.  Another first.  Some people say things like this,  thefts, and trash are results of the recent influx of new campers who don't know or don't care about camping etiquette. Sad. We hope they disappear with the pandemic.

We work on pictures, read and relax and Greg walks around the campground, spotting some color. 

 

He likes the sign that these folks post at their site.

  Hot soup tastes good for dinner - and Beth has apple pie (I really did offer to share). It was delicious!