23. North Carolina

Arrived late afternoon, Saturday, November 9th at Mayberry Campground in Mount Airy, NC, about 20 miles Southeast of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Next morning, drove the RV into town and went on a walking tour of Any Griffith's hometown and the basis for Mayberry, the town in the Andy Griffith show.  Only a couple of tourist souvenir shops were open as it was Sunday morning.  The town was very boring with not much to see, so stayed less than an hour.

Main Street - tourist shops and overpriced bakeries and restaurants

 Andy and Opie statue outside of City Hall

Made my way back to the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at the Blue Ridge Music Center which was closed but was able to park the RV in the parking lot. Went on a 2 hour hike on the grounds which was nice.

Rock path over creek to the music center

Spent the night in an illegal RV park in the town of Laurel Springs. Was supposed to stay at a state park but this place was real close to the Parkway and was cheap.  Only had 20 amp service; the heater worked but not very well, so was a bit cold.

Next morning drove on the Parkway to Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, a textile magnate who donated his mansion to the park. The building is now a crafts center, and the grounds have 25 miles of carriage trails. Went on a 2 hour hike on some of them which was very pretty - lots of rhododendrons.

That afternoon, drove 15 miles more, left the Parkway and drove up Grandfather Mountain. This is a privately run mountain with a windy 2 mile road to the top. They have attractions along the way, including a small zoo and nature center, and a suspension bridge across a gorge at the top parking lot. They also have some hiking trails, so did a short 1 miler.

The zoo is known for its bears

View from the top

Spent the night at a nearby campground. Realized the next two days would be 10 degrees below freezing, so wimped out and booked a cheapie hotel in Asheville for the next two nights.  Next day, was cold, foggy and windy. Did not do any hikes but slowly drove the Parkway 100 miles into Asheville. Hotel was next to a Texas Roadhouse Grill, so had two nights of nicely cooked meals.  Toured the Biltmore estate which was super nice and super expensive - $49 with the AAA discount, not including any guided tours.

Did not have time to see anymore of Asheville, so will have to revisit sometime in the future.  Got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drove its remaining 79 miles. The Parkway starts at the end of Shenandoah National Park and ends 469 miles later at the beginning of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Stopped at the nearby visitor center, got the map, then drove the 32 miles 4,000 feet up to the highest point in the park, Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet. Did the 1 mile hike to the Observation tower, then another 2 mile hike.  There was a little bit of snow on the ground.

View from top of the observation tower - not much better than views from the Blue Ridge Parkway

Snow on hiking trail

Spent two nights in an RV park in the nearby town of Cherokee, a real tourist trap. Did not do any of the Indian tourist attractions as most were closed for the season and the others seemed cheesy. They had a casino there, but it wasn't all that nice.  Second day there was cold and foggy and it rained almost the entire day. Toured an old reconstructed farm and flour mill, and spent a couple of hours in the casino not losing a lot of money.

Morning of Saturday, November 16th, said goodbye to North Carolina, and drove 2 hours Southeast on a hilly, windy road through the mountains, and down into Seneca, South Carolina.