2024 Cross Country Trip: Day 14

Thursday, August 22, 2024

We got up and got ready for the day. Before leaving, we had breakfast at the lodge and realized there was a nice view. When we arrived the night before, it was too dark to notice the view. Their breakfast was amazing compared to the standard hotel breakfast we have been eating, so this was a nice treat. Ellen came back over to talk to us some more. She was showing us photos of her first motorcycles and telling us she’s been going to Big Lynn’s Lodge for years to meet up with friends. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, so we didn’t check out any of her suggested routes in the area.

We got back on the parkway and continued north. We weren’t sure where we would finish for the day, but we knew we had to get a lot of miles in if we wanted to make it back home Friday, August 23rd. We were seeing signs that there was a road closure, but we kept riding. When we reached mile-marker 261 in Glendale Springs, NC, there was a sign that the road was closed and only local traffic was allowed through. So, we got off the parkway and followed the detour along route 18 through Sparta, NC until we were able to get back on the parkway, near mile-marker 217.3. We bypassed about 40 miles worth of the parkway.

We got back on the parkway and continued until we reached the outskirts of Roanoke, Virginia. By that time we were hungry and looking for a place to get lunch. We found a place with good reviews about 15 minutes from the parkway called “Fork in the Alley” which was pretty good. This was not far from mile-marker 121.5, which is the exit for route 220.

After having lunch, we knew we had a good 3 hours before finishing the rest of the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we just cruised along until we got to the end. Most of the parkway is 45mph. There are areas that are faster but there are areas where you can get stuck behind slower drivers enjoying the view and taking it slowly around all of the tight turns. It’s not like out west where most of the posted speed limits are 65mph and higher, so those 120 miles could take hours.

When we got to the end of the parkway in Afton, Virginia, we stopped to look for places to stay for the night. We found a hotel and nearby sports bar in Fishersville, VA which was about 10 minutes away off I-64. It was too late in the day to do any of Skyline Drive, which is another scenic route. It is basically a 105 mile continuation of the Blue Ridge Parkway that goes along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains in Shenandoah National Park.