NC02 — Blue Ridge Parkway N

After the tiring trip here yesterday, we got off to a late start this morning.  Once on the road, we began heading toward the Arboretum, but then ended up on the Blue Ridge Parkway heading N, rather than S as we had intended.  We followed this unplanned beginning to its logical conclusion: driving about 55 slow miles N and then S on the Parkway.  This quasi national park is constantly lovely, with interspersed bits of spectacular.  The scale demands patience: the entire length exceeds 460 miles and one cannot travel consistently as fast as the posted 45 mph speed limit.  Our extent of travel today was from the Arboretum at about mile 395 in the south to Crabtree Falls at mile 340 in the north.  The outing included two short and nice hikes, to Crabtree Falls and to the lookout at Craggy Gardens.  The posted photos are from these two hikes, with one extra (the 5th) from an impressive roadside overlook.