Blue Ridge Parkway, Part 1

     Exiting Shenandoah National Park, we immediately drove onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Our first stop was the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center.  We followed an interesting self-guided tour of the outdoor farm museum which consists of a single room log cabin and the outbuildings (small barn, chicken coop, springhouse, etc) used by subsistence farmers here during the 19th century.

     We camped for the night at Sherando Lake which has a nice US Forest Service campground.  With our National Parks Senior Pass we get 50% off the camping fee in a national park or US Forest campground.  Gotta love that!  

We got up early (May 23) to continue down the Parkway.  After the Humpback Rocks Visiting Center, the next 50 miles were somewhat disappointing.  At most of the “Overlooks” the view was blocked by the overgrowth of trees and shrubbery.  Signage was also lacking rendering the Parkway map we were given at the VIsitor’s Center quite frustrating.  We were watching for signs for a couple waterfalls that were marked on the map,  but never found them.  After the first 50 miles or so the overlooks and signage improved.

     The James River Visitor Center is located at the Harry Flood Byrd Memorial Bridge over the James River with a pedestrian footbridge beneath it.  Crossing this bridge on foot provides access to the Kanawha Canal and the Battery Creek Lock built in 1848 with hand-operated gates to allow boats to be lowered or raised 13 feet to pass between the canal and the river.  The lock was used until 1880 when it became obsolete because the new railroads could move freight more efficiently.

     We continued to briefly stop at overlooks along the way. At the Roanoke River Overlook, a short walk to the bridge that spans the gorge gives a good view of the river and dam below.  

     We camped for the night at the Rocky Knob campground.