The plan was to enter the Blue Ridge south of Natural Bridge and ride back towards the RV campsite. As it turns out this stretch of the Parkway included both the highest point in VA on the Parkway (3950') and lowest point anywhere on the Parkway (670').
In between those points we enjoyed over 12 miles of downhill riding - by far the longest I've ever coasted.
It was also a great day for picture taking as I took over 150 photos (about 30 are posted below). A few of the highlights included multiple deer sightings and many opportunities to photograph the previously-elusive black butterflies that seem to thrive the entire length of the parkway.
A few of today's more memorable stops included an overlook we shared with thousands of bees creating a great humming sound as the fed on the clover; hearing about the area from a local cyclist/painter as we stood on the bridge overlooking the James River; and bringing our wives back to the Peaks of Otter Lodge/Restaurant for dinner after falling in love with the spot earlier in the day.
We ended up riding just under 26 miles, stopping for the day at the James River Visitor Center near the restored Kanawha Canal Lock.
This continues to be a vacation where each day brings new surprises and unexpected beauty.
As a parting comment, something I had intended to mention in a earlier post was recognition for the great coverage Verizon provided to our cell phones on the Blue Ridge. So of course today, when we tried to call our wives to tell them about dinner, we had no coverage for most of the ride;(
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| 8-03 Day 22 |
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