Floyd, Virginia & The Blue Ridge Parkway

Visited November 5-7, 2020

By Marty

Note:  This is an "after the fact" post as we work our way backwards to catch you up on our previous destinations.

 

From Chapel Hill, NC we headed north to Virginia again, driving 129 miles to the Chantilly Farm in Floyd, VA. Our route through Virginia and North Carolina has us zigzagging from west to east and then west again to see all the of the sites on our list. Chantilly Farm is a very open and spacious RV park, campground, festival and event venue. One night during our stay there was a high school reunion going on in an outdoor venue 100 yards away from us. 

We chose Floyd as our next stop because it sits adjacent to the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. Floyd was the second of three locations selected so that we could explore and enjoy the parkway. Our first was in Charlottesville, VA back in October.  After Floyd we head to Asheville, NC which also sits along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles long, running from Shenandoah National Park, VA to Cherokee, NC, near Great Smoky National Park. There are no commercial vehicles allowed on the Parkway, the speed limit is 45 mph, and there are no commercial/retail facilities. It is a 469 miles "drive in the park".

To learn more about the Blue Ridge Parkway visit these sites:

National Park Service - Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway Association

 

Aside from proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway the small and charming town of Floyd is known as a regional destination for music, especially bluegrass music and old-time music. Unfortunately, due to COVID, there were no performances for us to enjoy. 

 

Heading towards Floyd.  

I wish we had a photo of the predicament that we found ourselves in as we wound our way up a very narrow and winding road approaching the crest of the Blue Ridge mountains. Driving the Beast and towing Little Red we came around a blind corner to be met by an oncoming fuel tank truck (one of those long ones that you see refilling the fuel tanks at the gas station.)  Fortunately neither one of us was going very fast. With our respective lengths, neither one of us was going to navigate that corner without taking some of the opposing lane. Because I had the CRV in tow I could not have backed up. Fortunately the tank truck driver was a pro and carefully crept past me with his tank clearing the front corner of the Beast by about 6" (which was about 3' from my cringing face.)

We had a nice spot at the intersection of Teardrop and Bluegrass and Restrooms

Is anyone else reminded of the Wizard of Oz?

I gather they really don't want you on their property

Is it just me, or does Mrs. Claus look exasperated?

We went for a drive and a hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Bad hair day?

Mabry Mill

And wound up the afternoon at the Buffalo Mountain Brewery