Taking the Long Way (on the Blue Ridge Parkway)… Part One
Zach’s exact words, as I made a casual grab for the “sissy handle” on the passenger side were, “Mom, that’s not really going to help much if we go ‘over’.” “Over” meant off the edge of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the northeast of Asheville, North Carolina. “Valid point,” I thought. My attempts to adjust the steering wheel with the same hopeful hand motion used on aberrant bowling or golf balls hadn’t been fully effective either. So I reminded him that he shouldn’t be able to see me or the handle and threw in another “keep your eyes on the road, smart guy” (essential mom-talk)…
Zach actually compliments me on my “calm” when I’m relegated to passenger status. And don’t get me wrong, he’s a composed, competent driver-in-training, but keep in mind we were “elevated” to the tune of 6500-plus feet! Matthew, who completely idolizes his big brother, was hiding under a blanket in the back seat (“I’m not really comfortable with Zach driving up here”). I firmly believed it to be a good decision (believe me, it was much harder sitting through night-driving on the way to his dad’s last night), but I got a little nervous every time Zach calmly commented on stunning views I knew to be slightly beyond his peripheral vision.
Zach is aware that I’ve inadvertently hit both a deer and a wild turkey within the past year (I’m doing better than most of the area hunters and with the comforts of lumbar support, a heated seat and climate control). He was also with me last week when a truck swerved into my driver’s side mirror. Good education, I’m thinking…
Anyhow… We had actually set out to see Crabtree Falls at the suggestion of Kevin, the 
incredibly helpful bell captain at our hotel. Kevin is a passionate outdoorsman and shared all kinds of useful information on the area’s waterfalls and caves. Unfortunately, a rockslide had closed off northbound traffic to the section of Parkway he had suggested. Nature can be pretty natural sometimes. So, I had to come up with a Plan B. I do a lot of Plan B’s…
Mt. Mitchell seemed a good bet. Our ultimate destination was Zach’s soccer tournament in Charlotte. I’d added on a couple of days in Asheville to break up the driving (and play a little!). It seemed a terrible waste not to hike some new trails on a trip that took us within breathing distance of the Black Mountains of North Carolina. So, we did the requisite hairpin turns on an alternate route that took us far north of the park detour. I will admit to a couple of second-guess moments as we strained to find the landmarks along the new “Plan B” route pieced together with the help of (in order of their appearance) a gas station employee, a helpful trucker, an EMS driver parked outside of Wal-Mart, and a couple of teen-agers at a grocery…But, we did get there! We found the Parkway. Zach drove us an hour south to Mt. Mitchell. And it was magnificent. No embellishment necessary. 
Part Two: Back on the (Blue Ridge) Parkway; Mt Mitchell at last…
