Blue Ridge Parkway - Day 4 - July 5, 2022

 It was the best of days, and it was the worst of days.

I began the morning with a renewed vigor for navigation. I have been in a fog the last few days, as I don't know the local geography. And with Magellan in command, I've had navigation vertigo. But today's journey was along a single road, and I felt my skills returning. It is pretty hard to mess up a drive along one road. 

There was tremendous anticipation at driving the Blue Ridge Parkway:

Just outside the entrance was a herd of elk.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a two lane, winding road where the speed limit is 45 mph. There is a lookout every few miles - each with a different panorama. 

This is what the BRP looks going one way. 

And this is what the BRP looks like going the other way. 

That is my finger. 

The language confusion continues. At lunch, the lady at the counter asked Buttercup what he wanted to eat, and he responded that he wanted a chili dog. I said, "I'll have one too." And so she made me two chili dogs. My companions thought that was very amusing. 

Everything was fantastic - until the rains came in late afternoon. And I'm talking rain. We had to negotiate two detours. And after the second detour, the rain was coming down so hard, we could not see. The wind was blowing so hard that it was difficult to keep the bikes on the road. And the lighting was just above us, with no separation between the lightning strike and the thunder/report. It was thatclose. It was dangerous, and so we pulled over to a lookout just to get off the road. These were the worst motorcycle conditions I've ever encountered.

The rain subsided briefly, and we took off for shelter Buttercup found for us - the Bluffs Restaurant. 

By the time we arrived at the Bluffs, we were soaked. Yet the nice people there took us in, gave us coffee and tea, mopped up the floor after us, shut off the fans and turned up the heat. They were so wonderful. 

We examined the radar, and we were between cells. We were heading north, the cells were moving from west to east, and we were in a pocket between the cells. What do you do at a time like this - you have a cheeseburger! The boys finished-off their burgers, we headed out, and we thankfully avoided the next cell coming through. 

I am very much looking for a full day of sunshine. 

Today, we rode 326 miles.