Photos from the Road - Blue Ridge Parkway

I had finished my last project just in time to post a photo for Halloween.  I have come to one of those times where I am between projects.  I do have a new project planned.  I just have to pick up the materials.  In the mean time, I have some photos of a trip earlier this month along the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Skyline Drive is a part of the National Parks System.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is the portion of the road that connects two National Parks: Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.   Land on either side of the road is owned and maintained by the National Park Service.  In some places the land backs up to
National Forestry Lands.  There are laws/rules in place about how people can develop the land around the area in order to keep the Blue Ridge Parkway a pristine environment: the land cannot be developed other than for agriculture.

 We drove through mountains and fields.  The autumn colors were coming in, and the scenery was beautiful.  Below the mountains the day was warm.  At the height of the Skyline Drive the temperature was cool and there was a brisk wind.  The general altitude of the mountains at the height of the drive was between 3,200 and 3,600 feet  (975 - 1097 meters).

The Blue Ridge Mountains part of the Appalachian Mountain Chain  are not really tall mountains, but they
are very beautify.  They are also very old mountains.  The mountains are approximately 480 million years old.  At one time, these mountains were the height of the Alps:  6,000 to 8,000 feet (1828 to 2438 meters). Time and erosion have made the mountains smaller.  The width of the mountain chain varies between 100 and 300 miles (166 to 498 kilometers).

The colors in the mountains this year tended to be russet and gold with pops of bright orange and crimson.  The summer weather has a lot to do with the fall colors.  This year we had a lot of rain.  That causes the leaves to turn to russets, browns, and golds for the most part.   Bright oranges and reds tend to
be on trees that received a lot of direct sunlight.  The brightest years, when the colors really
blaze, are the years that there have had less rain.  Even so, the drive was a delight of amazing color.  To drive along the Parkway at this time of year leaves you saturated in color.  It is something you don't want to miss!

My new project will be started in a day or two.  I expect to have something to blog about on it this coming Sunday.  Please check back then.