Rock House at Linnville Falls turnoff

One of the many reasons I like traveling with Helen, she saw this heart stone included in the wall.

Our choices of pie and coffee were served in one of the 3 counties which the restaurant straddles.

There are hilarious signs so you can choose which county to sit in.
The table next to us had a sign over it which just said "Lier's Table."

If you're traveling up Highway 226 toward Linville NC, or just going to the Falls, don't miss this lovely family restaurant.

Parkway and sepia photos

Some shots along the Blue Ridge Parkway, going to Mt. Mitchell on May 3, 2017.

Sign says Visitor Center to right, Folk Art Center to left.  I went north, or left, from the entrance at US Hwy 70...about 30 miles to Mt. Mitchell State Park

But we can look back at the historic route with some sepia tones, remembering that the Parkway was built from 1936 till 1987!

Most construction was carried out by private contractors under federal contracts under an authorization by Harold L. Ickes in his role as federal public works administrator. Work began on September 11, 1935, near Cumberland Knob in North Carolina; construction in Virginia began the following February. On June 30, 1936, Congress formally authorized the project as the Blue Ridge Parkway and placed it under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Some work was carried out by various New Deal public works agencies....Construction of the parkway was complete by the end of 1966 with one notable exception.^[8] The 7.7 miles (12.4 km) stretch including the Linn Cove Viaduct around Grandfather Mountain did not open until 1987.^[9] The project took over 52 years to complete.

The parkway runs from the southern terminus of Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive in Virginia at Rockfish Gap to U.S. Route 441 at Oconaluftee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, North Carolina.

Source: Wikipedia

At Craggy Gardens is a Visitor Center, just before the Parkway goes through the Craggy Tunnel (in shadow on right)

 Entrance to the Mount Mitchell State Park.  This is the oldest state park in North Carolina.

Parking lot just below the summit, where there is a large platform for tourists to take a few photos.  I didn't go up to it this trip.

 Considering I live around 2400 feet above sea level, my ears popped three times while driving that 30 miles up here!

Yes I took many more photos, hiked down to a spring (and back up) and saw lots of wild flowers...but they will be in future blogs!

Mt. Mitchell State Park Restaurant

I had to stop for desert on my way back home...

A piece of cheesecake, not at all sepia!

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday this week.  I enjoyed my ride, and I frequently thought of all the engineers who designed and built this magnificent parkway.  See more interesting posts from other Sepians here.

Menu, Milan and Dan Restaurant, Café & Grill, San Francisco : California Historical Society (Flickr Commons)

Today's quote:

Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public. Cornel West

Guess where? (and some new bowls)

second day to try...where are all my friends?

Who can guess where this was? (Note, Black Mountain people won't have much difficulty I think)

 A purple haze over blue for a cereal bowl with a Celtic Cross button on the side.

 The deeper and wider, medium size bowl in Bermuda green glaze.