October, 2017 Roadtrip Day 3...Ignoring the Signs

Day 3 Tuesday 10/24/17

     After working my way back to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I had two choices.  Twelve miles south sits Grandfather Mountain State Park and the mile high swing bridge.  Thirty miles north is Stone Mountain State Park.  With the previous day’s rain, the waterfalls should have been running pretty high.

     The National Park Service made the decision for me.  The Blue Ridge Parkway was closed north of Blowing Rock.  So, I drove south, stopping at the numerous scenic overlooks along the way.  What a difference a day makes.

     Upon entering Grandfather Mountain State Park, you can pull off for some overlooks, stop off in the nature center, hit a few trails or drive all the way to the end of a steep, hairpin road.  At the end of the road is a large parking lot.  A short flight of stairs later and I was crossing the Mile High Swing Bridge. 

      I’ve crossed quite a few swing bridges along the way and most have some bounce to them.  Not this one.  Still, it was freaking a few people out and they refused to cross.  On the other side of the bridge you can climb up some rocks to a pretty impressive view. 

      By the time I started back to the bridge, most of the people were gone.  The one guy ahead of me was kind enough to wait so I could get a shot with no one on the bridge.

      A different kind of selfie…

     Considering I had some driving ahead of me, I didn’t want to commit to a long trail.  So, I chose the aptly named Black Rock Trail.  It’s two miles round trip and included something called “arch rock” and a scenic overlook at the end.  Neither were as expected.

     The trail was mostly rock with plenty of small streams to cross, but with plenty of stable rocks and tree branches to grab hold of when necessary.  When I hear arch rock, I expect an arch cut by wind or water.  I didn’t expect to just walk under one stone leaning on another.

     As for the overlook, I wasn’t expecting a rope to pull me up to the overlook.

     As for the view...

     On the way out I stopped in the park office and they confirmed the road was still closed north of Blowing Rock, but couldn’t tell me how far up it was closed.  Fortunately, I came across a park ranger at an overlook and asked.  She told me it was just closed for two miles.  There was an easy detour. 

     

     Imagine my surprise when I got back to Blowing Rock and found the gates previously blocking the parkway open.  It turned out to be a mudslide that had closed the road.
     The next stop was a place called the Cove Plantation.  Some of you might recognize it from the opening sequence of the film "The Green Mile."   The home was built my textile entrepreneur and conservationist Moses Cone in 1901.  It's now a gallery for local art and the trails on the grounds are all open to the public.

    

   .  As far as I knew, it was clear sailing all the way to the Virginia state line. 
   

    Some random graffiti...

      Or so I thought.  Suddenly everything stopped.  There was a large orange barricade across the road announcing it was closed.  I pulled off and checked the map.  It was perhaps twelve miles back to the previous exit, then another twenty mile detour.   Oddly, traffic was a steady stream southbound.  Drivers seemed confused the road they had been on was apparently closed.  They all said it was clear, at least to the turnoff for Hwy 21, two miles north.  About a half dozen of us ignored the barricade and drove around it.  Two miles later there was another one.  This time there was no traffic southbound.  No one risked going further.  But, it brought me to Hwy 21 and I avoided the lengthy detour.

       Hwy 21 was also the turn off for Stone Mountain.  It was already late in the afternoon, so I drove west instead and just headed towards Galax, Virginia, my home for the night.  Why Galax?  Well, it’s the closest I could find a room to my next destination.  I checked the online booking sites, google searches and even scanned across google maps of the towns between here and there.  This was it.  So, I stayed at the Rodeway Inn.  It’s an older facility, but the rooms seemed well cared for.   
     As for the name, it comes from Galax Urceolata a green, leafy plant that grows close to the ground.