ITRR
2011 Spring Trip
North Carolina - Tennessee
04 Jun 11 - Saturday - Depart: 7:00am Denny Restaurant 29th and Douglas
Jackson Tennessee: Waiting on quotes on two hotels with estimated cost of $70.00.
05 Jun 11- Sunday - Depart 7:00am
Ashville North Carolina: Waiting on quotes on two hotels with estimated cost of $70.00.
06 Jun 11 - Monday - Visit Biltmore, In the 1880s, at the height of the Gilded Age, George Washington Vanderbilt, youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt, began to make regular visits with his mother, Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt (1821–1896), to the Asheville, NC area. He loved the scenery and climate so much that he decided to create his own summer estate in the area, which he called his "little mountain escape", just as his older brothers and sisters had built opulent summer houses in places such as Newport, Rhode Island, and Hyde Park, New York.
07 Jun 11 - Tuesday - Linville Falls, The Linville Falls recreation area and visitor information center provides many activities for motorists traveling along the Parkway. This area provides picnic grounds, self-guided trails, campgrounds, campfire talks, nature walks, trout fishing and rest rooms. There is a self-guided trail to the magnificent Linville Falls. The Linville River flows innocently into a small set of upper falls and then plunges over the lower falls with a powerful force into the Linville Gorge. The river is responsible for cutting out the Linville Gorge over a long period of time. Several overlooks extend from the self-guided trail to observe the beautiful upper and lower falls. The exquisite sound of the falls along with the natural beauty of the forest with trees up to 150 feet tall brings delight to all those who experience it. The Blue Ridge Parkway Viaduct The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 470-mile scenic road connecting the Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and is the most visited segment of America's national park system.
Linville Falls
The final stop on this journey is Linville Falls. In route the craggy geography leaves way again to foliage and meadows, some with horses. Linville Falls, operated by the National Park Service, has a campground, picnicking area, hiking trails and a visitor center.
Park in the paved lot and then take the bridge across the river (you’ll see this water again later). Pick up the path lined with wildflowers as it goes to the viewing areas. The first one is at the top of the Linville Falls; another requires a hike uphill to a second site and continuing even further brings visitors to an optimum vantage point of the falls and the river gorge. Please stay on the walkways. Guests have reported seeing rattlesnakes in the area.
Grandfather Mountain
Swinging Bridge Facts
The Mile High Swinging Bridge was built to give visitors easy access to the breath-taking view from Grandfather Mountain's Linville Peak.
The 228-foot suspension bridge spans an 80-foot chasm at more than one mile in elevation. Surveys show that the journey to the other side is always considered the highlight of a trip to Grandfather Mountain.
Access - requires climbing 50 stairs to reach the level of the Swinging Bridge. Those who choose not to climb the stairs can enjoy similar vistas from the parking area.
Name - Former North Carolina Tourism Director Charles J. Parker coined the name " Mile High Swinging Bridge" at the Bridge's dedication in 1952.
The term "mile high" refers to the structure's elevation above sea level (5,280 feet)
- The term "swinging" refers to the fact that suspension bridges are free to sway.
Built - 1952
- Designed by - Charles Hartman, Jr., Greensboro, NC
- Construction - actually fabricated in Greensboro and then reassembled on top of the Mountain. Erecting the bridge took three weeks, a process slowed by inclement weather created by a hurricane off the North Carolina coast.
- Cost -$15,000
- Dedicated - Sept. 2, 1952 by North Carolina Gov. William B. Umstead.
· Blue Ridge Parkway The Parkway provides spectacular mountain and valley vistas, quiet pastoral scenes, sparkling waterfalls and colorful flower and foliage displays as it extends through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina
MT Mitchell - Time permitting Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. The 6,684 foot mountain was named for Dr. Elish Mitchell, who fell to his death trying to measure the mountains height.
Lake Lure/Chimney Rock
Carl Sandburg Home
08 Jun 11 - Wednesday - Hendersonville Carl Sandburg Home, National Historic Site - Carl Sandburg, American poet, historian, author, and lecturer spent the final 22 years of his long and productive life at his estate, Connemara, in Flat Rock, NC. Today this National Historic Site offers a keen insight on Mr. Sandburg, his family and their 240 acre working farm. The Sandburg Home was built in 1838 and now houses his collection of 10,000 books, notes and papers. The home offers daily tours and is closed only on Christmas Day. There are numerous hiking trails and a functional goat barn, where Mrs. Sandburg raised her prize winning goats.
Maggie Valley Motor Cycle Museum
09 Jun 11 - Thursday - The Wheels Through Time Museum is home to the world's premier collection of rare American Vintage Motorcycles. Located 5 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, in beautiful Maggie Valley, NC, this All-American motorcycle museum houses over 300 of America's rarest and most historic classic motorcycles, with over 24 marques on display, including the likes of Harley-Davidson, Indian, Excelsior, Crocker, Henderson, and much more. Western North Carolina's premier museum and tourism attraction features dozens of motorcycle-related exhibits, ranging from board track racers, hill climbing, and original paint machines to American Dirt Track racing, choppers and bobbers, and one-of-a-kind motorcycles.
Riding Moonshiners Hwy - Stretching from US 129 at the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, Moonshiner 28 winds its way southeastward through Franklin and Highlands North Carolina before turning southward into Georgia and South Carolina at Walhalla.
Once one of the major runs for moonshiners with revenuers hot on their bumper, the road today boasts some great twisties, wide sweepers and unsurpassed scenery. Mountain vistas, waterfalls and secluded lakes appear around nearly every corner. You can find good food, accommodations of every type and unique shops with unusual antiques and crafts created by mountain artisans.
Rafting for those who want or be lazy by the water.
10 Jun 11 - Friday - Tail of the Dragon
Crossing Deals Gap at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, the Dragon is considered by many as one of the world's best motorcycling and sports car roads. Anyone looking for an exciting highway will enjoy this stretch of US129. Cherohala Skyway The Cherohala Skyway was opened and dedicated in 1996. The road has been designated a National Scenic Byway. The road cost over 100 million dollars to construct. The Cherohala Skyway crosses through the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. The name “Cherohala” comes from the names of the two National Forests: “Chero” from the Cherokee and “hala” from the Nantahala. The Cherohala Skyway is located in southeast Tennessee and southwest North Carolina. The Skyway connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee, with Robbinsville, North Carolina, and is about 50 miles long. The Cherohala Skyway is a wide, paved 2-laned road maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The elevations range from 900 feet above sea level at the Tellico River in Tennessee to over 5400 feet above sea level at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line at Haw Knob.
BULLETIN: The Devils Triangle is not a place for the squeamish or beginning rider. There are sections with difficult steep switchbacks, poorly patched asphalt, heaves in the roadway, broken pavement, gravel in road, steep dropoffs, and coal/logging trucks to dodge. Other that it is a great road. RIDE WITH EXTREME CARE .....
11 Jun 11 Head Home. Mayberry NC Andy Griffin Museum
