The Central Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway

The following article is the second part of a three-part series chronicling a honeymoon voyage down the Blue Ridge Parkway.

After two nights at the Peaks of Otter (with detours to Appomattox and the D-Day Memorial at Bedford, Va.) we continued southwest through Virginia along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A few miles into our journey, what should appear along the right of the parkway but a young male black bear. All three of us were surprised, but unfortunately my wife hadn't gotten her camera ready yet, so we couldn't document our encounter.

Black Bears are relatively common along the Blue Ridge, but usually not that close to the parkway itself. I was more worried about stumbling into one on a hiking trail, but this road encounter was the only bear sighting of the trip.

The parkway itself levels out a bit as it skitters along the southern outreaches of Roanoke, Va. This is also where the view pollution along the parkway is at its worst, as newer subdivisions and light industrial construction are a blight on the surrounding scenery.

This is a known problem being fought by various friends of the parkway organizations. The beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge area is what attracts so many people to live in and around Roanoke. It would be a shame to have uncontrolled development bite the proverbial hand that feeds the area's economy.

As we continued to wind back and forth through southern Virginia we came upon the photogenic Mabry Mill, arguably the most famous spot along the parkway. In fact, Mabry Mill is so photogenic that many other states have claimed her as was revealed in a photo display showing Mabry Mill postcards from all over the USA.

One can tour the mill, observing the blacksmiths and fiber-arts folks engaged in their crafts. Speaking of fiber, I was especially interested in Mabry Mill's restaurant, considering the fame of their buckwheat pancakes rivals that of the parkway itself - well, almost.

Despite the fact that two field-trips were touring the mill, we were served at the restaurant very quickly. The buckwheat pancakes definitely did the trick, and we were sufficiently powered-up to continue on our journey through southern-most Virginia.

Our next stop lies just before the North Carolina border - the Blue Ridge Music Center. The BRMC celebrates the bluegrass musical heritage of the surrounding area. It is jointly run by the National Park Service and the National Council for the Traditional Arts.

The center features an interactive exhibit hall along with an outdoor amphitheater which hosts the occasional larger concert. While there were no performers present the day we visited, local bluegrass artists do perform inside the breezeway at the center on a regular basis.

We were enthralled with the exhibit hall which does a fine job of tracing the development of bluegrass and mountain music from its beginnings in Europe and Africa to the still vibrant scene local to the Blue Ridge. There is also a gift shop filled with CDs and other interesting items. I ended up buying something described as a redneck maracas - at least that's how I remembered it. They'll get used on one of my musical projects, someday.

The Blue Ridge Music Center is worthy of being a vacation destination irrespective of the parkway itself. Hopefully we can catch some live bluegrass on our next visit.

Soon after leaving the BRMC, we passed into North Carolina with our evening's destination - Bluffs Lodge - about 30 miles ahead of us on the parkway. Since we were that close to home, we didn't stop by the Cumberland Knob Recreation Area which is just inside the North Carolina border. Cumberland Knob is where construction on the BRP began in 1935.

But of course, we had to stop at Brinegar Cabin - another photogenic BRP treat a mile or two before Bluffs Lodge. Martin Brinegar built the cabin in the late 1800s and his family lived there before selling out to the National Park Service in the 1930s when the BRP was being constructed.

While there was no one there when we stopped by, the park service does host the occasional interpretive demonstration at Brinegar Cabin. Check out our photo - it's a cool spot.

Bluffs Lodge is the middle of the three lodges built along the BRP. It is part of Doughton Park - a recreation area named for North Carolina congressman and BRP supporter, Robert Lee Doughton. In addition to Bluffs Lodge, Doughton Park contains a coffee shop, camp store, campground and miles and miles of hiking trails.

The Bluffs area was previously known as Basin Cove and was a thriving mountain community in the early 20^th century. A devastating flood in 1916 destroyed most of Basin Cove; Bob Doughton then purchased the surrounding area in 1930 before the development of the parkway.

Bluffs Lodge itself is charming trip back into the 1950s. No phones or TVs in the room - just a wonderful view of a pastoral farm scene. Like other areas of the BRP, local farmers lease the adjoining parkway land for various agricultural purposes. Considering our visitors the next morning, it's a local dairy farmer who leases some of Doughton Park. My wife, having grown up on a dairy farm, wasn't as impressed with the moo-cows as the other Bluffs' guests!

After a long day of driving and stopping and walking, there wasn't too much time or energy for hiking around Doughton Park. We decided to head up to the coffee shop for a quick bite followed by a quick hike.

When reading up about the BRP before our trip, we noticed that the Bluffs Coffee Shop had wait staff who have been working there since the shop opened in the 1950s. And that's the waitress we got - pretty cool! The food was decent enough - better than most fast food, but easily the worst of the three parkway lodges.

Back at the lodge after dinner, we decided to check out the trail to the Wildcat Rocks overlook. The view was stunning - looking down into the valley where Basin Cove once thrived. One can see the Caudill cabin - which is the only building still standing from before the 1916 flood. There are scenic trails leading down to the Caudill homestead, so we hope to have more time for hiking on our next trip to the Bluffs.

Following our morning visit with the cows, we decided to hit the road early, as we had a busy day on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We left the Bluffs knowing we would be back again someday soon.