Day five: Asheville NC to Floyd, VA via Blue Ridge Parkway – 224 miles (planed) 261actual miles
I hated to leave Asheville as its such a great city – so I stuck around for a couple of hours longer this morning then normal. Good espresso and a quality breakfast is easily found here in town – not so easy along the Blue Ridge Parkway in a small village.
The day was bright at cool – perfect for a scenic drive. In this section of the parkway the mountains are fairly steep and the twists are often, so if you are trying to pass a slow moving motor-home you have to wait and pick your spot and commit to it.
At several places the parkway was closed for road-work. Unfortunately the detours take you quite a distance off away through very rural roads and towns. This added quite a bit more time and miles to the trip – but allowed me to easily find gas stations to fill up on non-ethanol gas.
The lodging for the night at Tuggles Gap Motel/Restaurant was expected to be a vintage motel court. Little did I know how vintage it would be. When I arrived it seemed to be closed – perhaps forever. After walking around the property and the adjoining locked diner for a while, I was greeted by the very friendly owner who was waiting inside the diner/reception. Seems I was the only person who booked for this night as the season has not really started yet. She gave me the key and showed me to the room it was very vintage but clean, simple and pet friendly! I was informed the diner closed at 4pm today. The closest shops are 6 miles away in Floyd. Then she said “see you in the morning”. I have the entire place to myself . Also, there is no internet – a trip back in time.
The famous Black Hawk Lodge (the one with the remodeled rooms) at least had *some* internet… 😉
Well, to be honest – there was internet if I wanted to sit outside in the cold rain in a chair next too the diner. In my warm room – no internet.