Blue Ridge Parkway/Natures Grand Designs

The Blue Ridge Mountains

Grandfather Mountain

Rhododendron on Grandfather Mountain

Blue Ridge Parkway Drive

Blue Ridge Parkway Drive 2 miles from Blowing Rock NC

Bass Fishing Lake feed by natural streams
1 mile from Blowing Rock NC

Blowing Rock NC, the little La Jolla and Tahoe of NC....homes built on sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains and quaint shopping throughout the city, will make you feel you are in La Jolla or Tahoe, replacing the ocean with the mountains.

My Mother's Day trip was spent 2 hours from Charlotte NC in The Blue Ridge Mountains. Charlotte has the best of all worlds being 2 hrs from the Mountains and 3 hrs to the beaches along with the many lovely lakes like Lake Norman. http://lakenormannc.com/The first stop was Grandfather Mountain walking across the swinging bridge http://www.grandfathermountain.com/ it was quite windy and a little frightening due to the altitude, however, the view took my breath away more than the wind!!! Next was a tour of the Natural Minerals Museum displaying minerals found in around the mountain area, this was located in Boone NC, which was named after Daniel Boone himself.

The second stop was Linville Falls which is a 3 mile hike to reach the back and the front of the falls....words can hardly describe the beauty and the serene sounds!!! The falls are located 19 miles from Blowing Rock, you won't be bored for that 19 miles on the Parkway, the boulders shown were just a few of sights along the Parkway not to mention the natural water falls you can see while driving.http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/lin1.htm

The third stop was Blowing Rock NC where you find quaint shopping, which I did, purchasing a water fountain urn of my own to bring home....I got use to hearing the lovely sounds of the water falls. I have placed it beside my flower garden.....now the sound of the water along with the birds has created quite the garden setting. A great place for me to relax and get over my soreness from all of the hiking, but it was well worth it.
http://www.blowingrock.com/