Dr. Jolley in 1985 Dr. Jolley with CCC Veteran Petro Kulynych in 2008
The first time that I met Harley Jolley was in 1985 at the 50th birthday party of the Blue Ridge Parkway, celebrated at the Parkway's birthplace --- Cumberland Knob near the North Carolina and Virginia line. I was there then just an average Parkway visitor who had driven up from Winston-Salem to see what was going on. What struck me most about Dr. Jolley was his navy blue blazer with its smartly sewn embroidered Blue Ridge Parkway logotype insignia. When I first saw him, my reaction then as it is now is that "this guy must be official". He was official because he was regarded for years on end as the Parkway's historian and author of the book called nothing else but simply the Blue Ridge Parkway.
My wife and I had the distinction in pre-Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation days to serve as volunteers in the Blue Ridge Parkway's Volunteer-in-Parks program. We must have done something right because our boss lady asked us if we would like to attend staff training at Crossnore -- the North Carolina Forest Service training facility just north of Linville Falls where all newbie and returning seasonal Parkway employees went to be indoctrinated.
The curriculum was basically four days with outside speakers - most motivational, some not. Dr. Jolley was the guest lecturer whose responsibility was to give the audience a sense of history about the Blue Ridge Parkway. Well, half-way through his presentation, he stands upon the desk to dramatize the famous to this day controversy about the location of the Parkway in North Carolina vs. Tennessee. In Patrick Henry fashion, Dr. Jolley exclaimed nearly at the top of his lungs and with animate arms waving "Taking the Parkway into Tennessee would be like taking a sinner to the gates of heaven, turning them around and then sending them into Purgatory" -- not exact, but close...
I always insist driving when my wife and I are on the Parkway, not because I am a road hog or control freak but because we keep our camera loaded between us, ready to aim and fire. Some of our best Parkway photos are those prospect shots that you see out of the corner of your eye driving at 45 miles per hour. I have learned to stop sharply, but safely to avoid the inconvenience of having to go down the Parkway to turn around and come back to find that the shot has been lost.
One recent case was the classic family photo that was being set up at a popular overlook, tripod set with all the family members tightly grouped sans dad. Whoa! "Would you like for us to take that shot for you?"
What greeted us was not the perfunctory, "well, yeah," but "this place is great and we want this photo to be the one to go on our Christmas card." We always ask where people are from but it was obvious from the get-go that they were from "Minnes-soda" and that this was their first trip to the Parkway. "Actually, we were looking for Panera Bread (Hiway 25 south and the Parkway in Asheville) and we discovered the Blue Ridge Parkway! Wow, what a place!"
I had to take my own classic photo with them grouped around the overlook sign and as I was filling out the photogrpahy model release which we do with all of our photography (the parents names are Joel and Janell), the mom began to list the name of her five boys. "Josiah, Jonathan", ...and let me guess where this was going, all the rest of the names would begin with 'J' ... "Jordan and Joshua".
Historically, the section of the Blue Ridge Parkway between its junction with NC State Highway 80 and Mount Mitchell State Park (Yancey County) has been an area heavily impacted by commercial galax poachers. Special coordinated law enforcement operations to detect, track, and apprehend those involved in this unlawful activity along this portion of the Parkway are ongoing. Conducted cooperatively among rangers and officers of the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Yancey and Buncombe County Sheriffs’ Offices, and Mount Mitchell State Park, these operations since mid-February 2008 have resulted in the arrest of ten individuals with prison times up to 6 months.
The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for proposed vista management within high altitude Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel habitats along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BLRI) in North Carolina. The project area is in four locations at Craggy Gardens, Mt. Pisgah, the Graveyard Fields area to Richland Balsam, and Waterrock Knob. The project proposal is to set forth a long-term management strategy that would best protect and preserve Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (CNFS) while providing for an enjoyable visitor experience of traveling the BLRI. The EA analyzes three alternatives:
1) No action (allowing the overlooks and vistas grow up without any periodic cutting),
2) Historic management methods (cutting every 3 years according to rotating schedule as the Parkway currently prescribes)
3) Developing management guidelines and mitigation objectives utilizing mechanical treatment techniques for each individual vista within potential CNFS habitat to satisfy National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and NPS Management Policies .
The Blue Ridge Parkway is proposing as its third and preferred alternative a very labor intensive approach whereas the landscape architect and resource manager for the Parkway will personally supervise the vista management. This assumes that these individuals will be on site when the cutting of these vistas actually occurs. These contracts will be more expensive as the prescription for these will be from on the ground instructions which would go some thing like this: “cut right here, yep, leave that tree; no, not that one --- yes, it is ok to leave that one.” This is not a model for any efficient and effective program of vista management that I have personally witnessed, the crew simply does there job with regard to exclusive plant species which are left standing. Every three years, presumably, this scene would be repeated and the decisions on the ground will be subjective in park manager’s verbal directions to cutting crews.
Currently, the Parkway does not have the staff to manage the preferred alternative. The preferred alternative states that “Biologists and Landscape Architects in the Resource Planning and Professional Services Division would be responsible for the vista management program with potential CNFS habitat and would determine which trees can be cut at each individual vista and any other mitigation measures that are needed.” The Blue Ridge Parkway does not have a traditional resident landscape architect who has the time commitment to give to this program. There are only two park biologists qualified to serve this requirement and their offices are not even in the districts where the program will be administered.
NPS Management Policies of 2006 has language which states that the Service must protect and strive to recover rare, threatened, or endangered species native to national park system units that are listed under (NEPA), and undertake management programs to inventory, monitor, and restore and maintain listed species’ habitats. It is the opinion of this author that continued vista clearing as prescribed in the Historical Management Method (Alternative 2) does not diminish habitat as the CNFS never had this area as habitat in the first place. NPS / BLRI listing of disadvantages in its 127 page document expresses its own self-doubt in stating that “cyclic maintenance of vistas could have an impact…” and that the “Park Service could be out of compliance…” This author contends that there is a big difference in “could” and “would.”
Documented studies (references are available) have shown that the rate of increase of visits to the Blue Ridge Parkway diminishes when Parkway views are compromised or lost. This factor has a direct impact on local tourism revenues.
The operating budget for the Blue Ridge Parkway has only increased one-half of one per cent since 1980. Funding for the National Park Service or the Blue Ridge Parkway is not expected to be increased significantly in the years ahead despite current funding initiatives. A quarter of the permanent work force of the Blue Ridge Parkway has been lost since 2002 and those vacancies still remain unfilled – including the positions of a landscape architect, community planner, and public information officer. Another twenty-five per cent of the work force is eligible for retirement in the next four years. If the Park Service commits to its preferred alternative, it will more than likely find itself down the road unable to service the highly labor intensive management alternative, give up because it can’t keep up, and then completely abandon any vista clearing management program in the CNFS critical habitat areas. The originally conceived and designed historical views of the Blue Ridge Parkway would (I didn’t say could) be lost forever.
Responses are encouraged as the issues are multi-facetted. Individual questions can be responded to in postings.
A Blue Ridge Parkway project could lead to extended detours for motorists in the latter half of the year. Goshen Creek Bridge, located about 5 miles north of the intersection with U.S. 321 at milepost 286, will undergo rehabilitation this spring and the work could continue until 2009.
A detailed history of this unique bridge can be found here.
Alan Hollister, who oversees federal highways projects for the parkway, said the bridge's structure will remain intact but the road surface and deck will be replaced and the bridge rails and steel will be repainted. The $2 million contract was awarded to Taylor & Murphy Construction Company of Asheville. Work could begin as early as March 1, though it's possible it won't start until April 1.
Hollister said signs notifying of the pending detour have been uncovered this week and a closure is in effect. "That section of the parkway could be closed for two seasons," Hollister said.
"We hope to open in December, but it depends on the progress of the contractor."
According to the parkway's road information hotline, the only sections of the road in North Carolina that are open are from milepost 234 to 305 near Grandfather Mountain, milepost 344 to 355 near Mount Mitchell, and milepost 376 to 394 near the French Broad River. For updated parkway road conditions and closings, call (828) 298-0398.
Imagine that it is almost dusk, the sun is low and suddenly you are challenged by a form in front of you that looks like a bicyclist, but is it?
Wearing colors that contrast with the surroundings are a must for Parkway riders. If you are one of the lucky ones to ride on the Parkway when the weather is perfect, you are always riding into and out of shadows.
WEAR BRIGHT COLORS TO HELP MOTORISTS IDENTIFY YOU FOR YOU YOU ARE!
One of the best additions to the cyclists armamentarium in recent years is the "blinky". These LED (light emitting diodes) lights are magical for allowing motorist to see you up the road, even in bright sunlight. They send an instant message even to the near asleep end-to-ender Parkway thru driver that there is danger ahead.
Remember drivers ed? Part of the driving requirment was the effective use of hand signals; their use has even more meaningfulness today if you are on a bike. What makes drivers the most nervous following a bicycle is when the cyclists intentions are not known.
HAND SIGNALS SHOULD BE MADE WITH THE LEFT HAND BECAUSE THAT IS THE SIDE WHERE DRIVERS EXPECT YOU TO MAKE THEM. The photo to the left does not represent the best practice.
There is another reason, particularly if you are preparing to make a turn. The left hand controls the front brake which has the greatest braking power, but the bicycle becomes very unstable if you are applying hand brake pressure with the handle bars slightly turned. I have seen many riders (and motorcyclists particularly) go down when this technique has been used. Remember, give yourself that extra stopping distance needed by applying right brake pressure (i.e. to the rear wheel).
I confess ... I feel safe on the Parkway at all times when I am riding my bike. But I have been doing it all my life and rode competively for many years elbow to elbow in pelotons traveling at 35 miles + down hills and in curves. <Laugh> ... at my age now I wouldn't so my advice to you today is for any age and any level of experience ...
RIDE IN A GROUP AND IN SINGLE FILE!
Making it nearly impossible for an automobile to pass a string of bikes except in a good visibility situation is best practice. There will remain the daredevils filled with impatience and road rage which will make an unsafe move no matter what size your line. In a group, the biker at the rear of the string has the responsibility of informing those up the line that there is a "car back!" so that all the riders know that there is a vehicle probably wishing to pass. That gives the cyclists the opportunity to move to the right as close to the right as a rider's skill level will allow.
Overlooks and pullouts should always be used by cyclists to allow automobile traffic to pass. You don't need to stop in the overlook, only reduce your speed to allow automobiles to saftely pull though.
Last year this time, there was snow on the ground because my wife and I were planning to go to the Moses Cone Estate to observe our first Blue Ridge Parkway Egg Scramble and Raffle. We didn't go, but this year I kept a turned eye towards this past Saturday and waffled about going. But last week, Tina White, the Parkway's district interpreter made a special invitation. The idea of a low impact weekend after some minor surgery seemed to be the right ticket .... and it was.
This is the fifth year of this event; first conceived by Rachael Eldridge, operations manager for the Southern Highland's Craft Guild's Craft Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I asked Rachael about her idea and she said, "this is the perfect way to get kids and families to the Parkway and to the Cone Mansion at the beginning of our retail season to welcome spring."
Over 300 adults and youngsters attended and kids scrambled "on signal" to collect the brightly colored plastic and toy-laden eggs that littered the Mansion's side and front yards. I had never attended one of these events before in my life eventhough I remember growing up and searching for eggs that my parents had hidden for my sister and I in the flower garden.
Ranger Tina White insured that each child left with their own Easter egg
I later saw Ranger Tina with her own basket of eggs which seemed odd to me at the time. I asked my wife about this later on our trip back to Winston-Salem. She said, "Tina made sure that every child who left the Parkway that day left with their very own egg."
Well, of course. As I have told countless audiences .... "People who return to the Parkway year after year do so because their earliest memory is almost always a pleasant childhood memory."
Share the Journey!
A video of the event is now posted on the Parkway Foundation's YouTube Site
Have you noticed how news becomes more impactful the closer it is to home, or if the event or person is known to you or known by someone you know?
Such was my experience last week when I received a call from a former Parkway staff member who started off by saying "have you seen the photo of the Duke University student (Abhijit Mahato) that was killed? ...this guy actually visited the Parkway."
And with a little bit of searching, there it was ... the most authority rendering photograph of a young man standing in front of a Blue Ridge Parkway entrance sign. The question still lingers as to what kind of visitor or Parkway champion he might have become. Interesting in the composite of photos available, he is also seen cooking a 2-egg breakfast over a gas stove at a campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and standing on the pedestrian bridge at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We know of at least three perfect places he visited.
I have only (1) major concern for someone that needs to really give thought about bicyles on the Blue Ridge Parkay. A lot of folks come to bike and enjoy and leave scared to death. If anyone thinks by putting up \"biking\" signs on the side of the road makes its safe really needs a reality check. Lets make funds available to put a bike lane. Today there are more bikers than ever and more trails than ever. Let folks enjoy there family/clubs time but safey should always be #1. There is now and always been only room for two vehicles on the parkway, God forbid if there is camper travling. Either fix the problem or take the signs down. Right now even motorist are in danger as well.
The national audience regards the Blue Ridge Parkway as one of the grandest bike routes in the United States because of its mostly gentle grades and yes, low traffic volume. One would expect that bicycle / automobile incidents would be fairly common; but the fact is, that they are not. Almost no accidents between cars and bikes occur within a season and the belief that the Parkway is unsafe for joint use seems to be untrue. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Bike lanes have been suggested a number of times by various interest groups for the Parkway but we must remember that the Parkway was created in 1935 as a pictorial canvas and as the largest landscape architecture construction project in the history of the United States. The Parkway is now poised to be designated National Historic Landmark and to change the Parkway's aesthetic character by widdening the road, creating bike lanes, whatever ... would significantly alter the Parkway's original design intent and signigicantly alter the subliminal experience that our travelers currently enjoy.
Your vote could select a Blue Ridge Parkway image as part of the People's Choice Award at Applachian State University. Want to have some fun? Examine and select!
The selected images from the 2008 Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition are now on display at the Mezzanine Gallery of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on the ASU campus. The public will be able to view the prints from March 7 through June 7, 2008. These finalists are also eligible for the Footsloggers People's Choice Award, which kicked off on March 7. To vote for your favorite image, please visit the Virtual Blue Ridge voting gallery.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation for six years has been a part of this contest and this year has created a new category to represent the brand and trademark, Share the Journey.
The Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 86 in Virginia is probably the most known area for viewing deer. They have almost become regarded as a nuisance and for years visitors would be inclined to hand feed them which is strictly against park regulations. To alter this behavior, the park service began an extensive poster campaign titled "Dead Doe" which convinced the observer that a fed deer was a dead deer. Deer are not domestic animals (except in the rarest of circumstances) and should be always be regarded as wild and unpredicable.
Approaching wildlife is dangerous ... and not a smart move.
Remember to view wildlife at a distance. Not the way this guy did! Close up nature films are best seen on the National Geographic Channel.
I grew up in the Blue Ridge in the small town of Waynesville. My weekends were spent in the woods with my dad and granddad, learning the natural history of wildlife -- part of which was the behavior of deer. I remember being coached many times "where there is one, there will probably be two -- or more". That advice gave me my first buck at the age of 8.
The same advice still applies as I coached my wife after we were married in 1993 and she began to follow me on her BMW motorbike on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You learn to scan the shoulders of the road, for not to do so could prove fatal. She always follows far enough behind to do an emergency controlled crash stop; for whenever we see a deer on the shoulder, we prepare to come to a complete stop.
My park service friends in high deer population areas like Floyd County Virginia are always reporting their close and real encounters and their hoods and front bumpers are testiment.
My time finally came because I was focused on a glorious sunrise; deer on the shoulder was at the lowest level of consciousness. I saw the motion belatedly and slowed instinctively. The first deer bounded successfully across; the second was not so lucky. The third and fourth that I saw in my rear view mirror were luckier still, as they had not yet made the decision to cross to the other side.
My best advice? Where there is one, there will probably be two -- or more. Be prepared for anything.
Family enjoying a picnic at the Chestnut Cove Overlook south of Asheville
For generations people have come to the Parkway to be inspired, soothed, awed and enlightened. Those who journeyed here as children years ago return now with children and grandchildren. For them the promise of the Parkway thrives not only in a quiet escape to natural splendor, but also in the joy of sharing a profound and unforgettable moment in a predictable safe environment. Loaded weapons have no place on the Blue Ridge Parkway or any national park.
There is another picture of reality and that is the one the public is more often to see on the Parkway now than one did even years ago --- a national park ranger with a fully loaded firearm on one side of his utility belt and a stun gun Taser on the other. I am somewhat conditioned for this experience because I am around it so often; but I admit, there is a always a slight angst of uncomfortableness in being in this proximity. I resolve my issue each time with the question -- am I glad that this guy is here standing next to me or in the overlook? The answer is always "yes".
Now Senator Tom Coburn - R-Oklahoma - is advocating for guns in our national parks and has introduced a bill that would allow gun owners to carry loaded, accessible firearms into national wildlife refuges and parks, including the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See related story in the Asheville Citizen Times
Historically, the section of the Blue Ridge Parkway between its junction with NC State 
The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for proposed vista management within high altitude Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel habitats along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BLRI) in North Carolina. The project area is in four locations at Craggy Gardens, Mt. Pisgah, the Graveyard Fields area to Richland Balsam, and Waterrock Knob. The project proposal is to set forth a long-term management strategy that would best protect and preserve Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (CNFS) while providing for an enjoyable visitor experience of traveling the BLRI. The EA analyzes three alternatives:
A Blue Ridge Parkway project could lead to extended detours for motorists in the latter half of the year. Goshen Creek Bridge, located about 5 miles north of the intersection with U.S. 321 at milepost 286, will undergo rehabilitation this spring and the work could continue until 2009. 
Imagine that it is almost dusk, the sun is low and suddenly you are challenged by a form in front of you that looks like a bicyclist, but is it?
Remember drivers ed? Part of the driving requirment was the effective use of hand signals; their use has even more meaningfulness today if you are on a bike. What makes drivers the most nervous following a bicycle is when the cyclists intentions are not known. 
I confess ... I feel safe on the Parkway at all times when I am riding my bike. 
Rachael Eldridge, author of the event
Ranger Tina White insured that each child left with their own Easter egg
Abhijit at Parkway entrance sign ...
And with a little bit of searching, there it was ... the most authority rendering photograph of a young man standing in front of a Blue Ridge Parkway entrance sign. The question still lingers as to what kind of visitor or Parkway champion he might have become. Interesting in the composite of photos available, he is also seen cooking a 2-egg breakfast over a gas stove at a campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and standing on the pedestrian bridge at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We know of at least three perfect places he visited.
Such a tragedy ...
Your vote could select a Blue Ridge Parkway image as part of the People's Choice Award at Applachian State University. Want to have some fun? Examine and select!
A deer, my bumper, and I ...
Family enjoying a picnic at the Chestnut Cove Overlook south of Asheville