Blue Ridge Parkway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 1046

Bearwallow Gap, near milepost 90; for the next 10 miles, the trail never strays far from
the parkway, providing stretches where hikers can be alone with the chirps of birds and the
soothing sound of the wind in the treetops. Near milepost 115, you'll find Virginia's Ex-
plore Park with interpretive exhibits and demonstrations, as well as access forbiking along
the Roanoke River.
Farther along, at milepost 120, the drive takes a short side trip to the summit of Roan-
oke Mountain. From the overlook the city of Roanoke, nestled amid forested hills, looks
like a toy town taken from a model railroader's layout.
7. Smart View
Among the parkway's delights are the old-fashioned names a traveler encounters along the
way. Devils Backbone, Air Bellows Gap, Headforemost Mountain, Rough Butt Bald, and
Bee Tree Gap may sound quaintly funny to the modern ear. But they were perfectly apt
and descriptive to the mountain folk who applied them generations ago. One example is
the picnic ground near milepost 154, which offers a panorama that settlers dubbed “a right
smart view”—understatement, indeed, for a dazzling vista that takes in miles of hills and
valleys undulating to the hazy horizon. Be sure to walk to the one-room log cabin nearby.
Occupied until 1925, the house may not have provided much in the way of material com-
forts, but even kings or millionaires couldn't complain about its “picture window.”
Inmid-May thissection oftheparkwayblazes withthecrimson-orange bloomsofwild
azaleas—the brightest of all the many flowers in these parts—which erupt in eye-popping
displays along the roadside.
8. Mabry Mill
Although the story is probably exaggerated, folks who needed hardware, corn ground into
meal, logs milled, or horses shod once went to see Ed Mabry. He ran a combination saw-
mill, gristmill, and blacksmith shop from 1910 to 1935. Today, local craftsmen honor his
spirit with demonstrations of mountain skills, even as the smell of fresh apple butter wafts
through the air. The old mill, one of the parkway's most photographed sights, stands se-
renelyonthebankofasmallpond—oblivious,itseems,tothepassageoftimesinceUncle
Edstoodbythefireathisforgeinabuildingseparatefromthestore,poundingred-hotiron
into equine footwear.