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Upcoming Events
Fridays and Saturdays
through October 21st
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Plates for the Parkway Participating Restaurants
Ridge District
(MP 0 - 106)
Plateau District
(MP 106-217)
Highlands District
(MP 217-305)
Pisgah District
(MP 305-469)
- The Morning Glory Cafe
Black Mountain, NC - Baja Cafe
Asheville, NC - City Lights Cafe
Sylva, NC - Loretta's Cafe
Asheville, NC - Cafe Azalea
Asheville, NC - Chai Pani
Asheville, NC - Chef Mo's Restaurant and Bar
Asheville, NC - Copper River Grill
Asheville, NC - Corner Kitchen
Asheville, NC - Early Girl Eatery
Asheville, NC - Filo Pastries
Asheville, NC - Guadalupe Cafe
Sylva, NC - The Junction
Asheville, NC - The Local Joint
Fairview, NC - Piazza
Asheville, NC - Plant
Asheville, NC - Pomodoros Cafe
Asheville,NC - Salsa's
Asheville, NC - Tomato Jam Cafe
Asheville, NC
Beyond the Parkway
- Bubba's BBQ & Deli
Virginia Beach, VA
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Calling all photographers! We are always looking for beautiful photos of the Blue Ridge Parkway to use in our e-news and other publications. If you have photos that you would be willing to let us use, please get in touch with our communications staff at
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photo by Norris Barnes
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"The scarlet of maples can shake me like a cry of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
to see the frosty asters like
smoke upon the hills." - William Bliss Carman
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Protect the Parkway
For each new or renewed specialty plate, $20 is given to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
The entire specialty plate fee of $30 is tax deductible.
If you are a North Carolina resident,
Click Here to find out how you can help protect the Blue Ridge Parkway's today and in the future.
Already own a
NC Blue Ridge Parkway Specialty Plate?
Enter to Win a 2 Night Stay at Mast Farm Inn and a $100 gift certificate to Mast General Store!
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photo by Vicki Dameron
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"Just before the death of flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow."
- Author Unknown
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Become a
Parkway Protector
With a commitment of just $10 a month, you can become a Parkway Protector and join a special group of our most dedicated monthly supporters - caring people just like you who love the Parkway.
It's easy - simply setup a monthly donation using this link.
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"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence
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Mast General Store Friends' Day
 Thanks to everyone who shopped at the Mast Stores on Friends' Day (Saturday, the 15th). Mast General Stores will be donating 10% of their sales for that day from their stores in Boone, Hendersonville, Asheville and Valle Crucis to the Foundation.
A special thank you to both the management and the employees of the Mast General Stores for being such great supporters of the Foundation and the Blue Ridge Parkway!
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Thank you!
The First Annual Plates for the Parkway kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 18th. Over 30 restaurants participated, donating at least 10% of their proceeds from a meal or the day to the Foundation.
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There was a good crowd at Woodlands in Blowing Rock!
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Despite the rainy weather, a good time was had by all.Many thanks to all of the restaurants that participated! They are all listed in the sidebar - be sure to visit them often during the year to thank them for their support of the Foundation and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Thanks also goes out to our sponsors for the event: Charter Cable in Asheville, Sir Speedy of Asheville and Cox Cable in Roanoke.
Couldn't make Plates for the Parkway on the 18th...or did you have so much fun you want to support the Parkway while dining out again? These restaurants will also be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Foundation - be sure to join them on the dates mentioned below:
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Stewardship Update
Thanks to your generosity, the Parkway has been busy working on our 2012 projects.
The Abbott Lake Trail has been upgraded to be accessible to all populations. Additional sections of the trail have been made accessible and a new fishing and viewing pier has been constructed across the lake from the Lodge The staff and visitors are thrilled with the improvements, and the trail has gotten lots of use since being completed this summer.
 If you've walked around Bass Lake lately, you'll notice that they have begun work on restoring the Heart Pond. The crew is making progress, but are having to dismantle more than they bargained for. The original construction involved placing very large stones at the base, then laying smaller stones on a mortar base. Over the years the wall settled, cracking the mortar and allowing water in the pond to leak out.
Lilypad Removal at Bass Lake has also begun. Two seasonal workers have been removing lilypads along the shore and have just recently started working in the middle of the lake. The goal is to remove about 30 feet of lilypads.
If you'd like to contribute to any of these projects, visit our website using the links above and donate today!
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Linn Cove Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
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photo by Brenda Combs
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The Linn Cove Viaduct turned 25 years old on Tuesday, Sept. 11. It was the final stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway completed in 1987. Members of the National Park Service and the public gathered at the Linn Cove Viaduct Visitor Center to honor the men and women who made the viaduct a reality. A small ceremony was held that included Phil Francis, the Parkway Superintendent, Lloyd Middleton, one of the engineers of the viaduct construction project, and Gary Johnson, a landscape architect who worked on the viaduct project. Following the celebration, rangers led hikers on a trail under the viaduct. A ceremony was also held that afternoon at the Grandfather Mountain Mile-High Swinging Bridge to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
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Vista Clearing
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photo by Karen Nelson
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A new cycle of vista clearing projects begins this month on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The projects include cutting trees, shrubs, brush, briars and vines within specified depths to provide vistas with clear and unobstructed views. This upcoming round of work sees the implementation of a revised maintenance plan for vistas intended to lessen the impact on native species, the Northern Flying Squirrel, and reduce or slow down the growth of invasive plants at vista sites. The new approach will also provide reshaping or realignment of existing vistas to enhance the scenic properties and shield them from recent development impacting the vista view shed. Work will continue through June 2013 in the following locations: Milepost 0 - 90 and Milepost 330 - 393. Work between MP 90 - 330 is slated to begin in the fall of 2013. |
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Land Exchange
A land exchange between the Town of Blowing Rock and the Blue Ridge Parkway that has been in the works for more than a decade has received Congressional Approval. The exchange involves about 20 acres of Parkway land behind Shoppes on the Parkway containing the Blowing Rock Reservoir and a 192-acre undeveloped tract owned by the town. The exchange will allow the Town of Blowing Rock more control over their water supply and provide the Parkway a buffer to protect scenic views and enhance recreational opportunities.
Comments on the proposed exchange must be received by October 21st and can be done online.
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Ottowa To New Orleans
Via the Blue Ridge Parkway
 I briefly rode my motorcycle on the BRP in Sept 2011 and immediately wanted to come back to ride it all. For a year I planned a trip south from Ottawa, Canada to New Orleans via the Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the connecting motorcycle runs described on the Tail of The Dragon web page.
The BRP was everything I had hoped for, the views were fantastic, the curves easy and for the most part gentle. The weather co-operated in every reasonable aspect, I watched a storm brew over the mountains and luckily didn't get hit too hard. I even rescued an Eastern Box Turtle crossing the highway just past Harvey's Knob Overlook (Elev 2524-milepost 95.0), cresting a mountain was the last place I expected to see a turtle. I recommend this ride or drive to anyone wanting a relaxing trip. Take your time, stop at the Overlooks and hike a few trails. - Joseph from Gloucester, Ontario, Canada Do you have a special Parkway story or memory to share?
Share it on our blog. H ave you traveled the entire length of the Parkway? Our end-to-ender program is designed to celebrate those people who have traveled all 469 miles of the Parkway, whether done in one trip or many. To submit your story and receive your rewards package, please go to www.endtoender.org. |
TRACK Trails Program Expands To
the Washington DC area
 | | Local Schoolchildren attended the Grand Opening of the newest TRACK Trail on the National Mall |
On September 20th, 2012, our Kids in Parks program celebrated the expansion of our TRACK Trails program into the Greater Washington DC National Parks with the grand opening of a TRACK Trail on the National Mall and Memorial Park as part of the Healthy Parks, Healthy People DC project.
The grand opening of the National Mall TRACK Trail was immediately followed up with the openings of two other DC region TRACK Trails at Fort DuPont (September 22nd) and Rock Creek Park (September 23rd), creating an instantaneously accessible network of three trails for children in the region to access. Over the following year, 10 more TRACK Trails will be installed in National Parks in the DC Region, including: Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Harper's Ferry, Manassas National Battlefield and the White House.
For a listing of all our TRACK Trails, visit the Kids in Parks website.
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Elk Knob TRACK Trail Opens
On September 22nd, 2012, Kids in Parks expanded their partnership with the NC State parks by celebrating the grand opening of the TRACK Trail at Elk Knob State Park near Boone, NC. The trail at Elk Knob will be the programs fourth in partnership with the North Carolina State Parks Department, adding to our other NC State Park TRACK Trail locations at Chimney Rock, New River and Mount Jefferson.
The Elk Knob State Park TRACK Trail will be located on a portion of the park's Summit Trail that begins at the park's main parking lot and climbs gently for 1.9 miles to the summit of Elk Knob (3.8 miles round trip). However, the TRACK Trail portion of the trail only climbs part of the way to the peak (1.2 miles roundtrip), giving visitors the option to go further, if desired. *Please use caution when visiting the peak.
For directions and more information, visit the Kids in Parks website.
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The 10th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition (AMPC) opened for registration and submissions on Friday, August 10, 2012. Amateur and professional photographers 13 years of age and older are encouraged to submit their photos prior to the competition's close at 5pm on Friday, November 16, 2012. The Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition offers numerous categories that will be chosen as winners with over $4,000 in cash and prizes.
This year's Blue Ridge Parkway Category theme, sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, is Weather on the Parkway. Photographers are challenged to capture images of the Blue Ridge Parkway roadway itself that also incorporates some aspect of the unique and interesting weather events that are so often a part of the ever changing mountain environment. Entries will be judged on creativity, impact, subject matter, center of interest, and storytelling - effectively sharing the journey by celebrating the Blue Ridge Parkway. The winning image in this category will receive a $500 cash award, provided by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
Additional competition categories this year include Best in Show, which wins a $1,000 cash prize, the People's Choice Award presented by Footsloggers which will receive a $350 cash award, Our Ecological Footprint, and the following categories of Culture, Adventure, Flora and Fauna, and Landscape.
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 Christy Bell is our Director of Development. The Parkway holds a special place in the hearts of Christy and her husband: Christy grew up near the Parkway in Martinsville, VA and her husband has family ties to Asheville. As children, both spent many wonderful family vacations on the Parkway. A graduate of James Madison and Appalachian State, Christy has an undergraduate degree in Public Relations and her Master's in Higher Education Administration. Most recently, she was the Director of External Relations/Assistant Director of Development at Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Nashville. After almost ten years away from the mountains, she is thrilled to be back home, along with her husband and rescued dogs Lara and Wally. Christy and her husband have just had their first child and plan to pass on their love of the mountains to him.
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Parkway Place Challenge
Do you know the location of this photo taken on the Parkway? Submit your answer on our website by midnight, October 29th. Three winners will be drawn at random from those who submit the correct answer, and each winner will receive their choice of an array of prizes.
 Last month's correct answer was the Sheets cabin at MP 252 . If you submitted a correct answer, the randomly selected winners will be drawn this week, and you will be notified if you are one of the winners.
Do you have a photo that you think would be a great puzzler? Submit it here!
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