“There are four reasons people come to Asheville,” the ranger said. “Beer, bears, that big house down the road (the Biltmore) and the Blue Ridge Mountains.”

The ranger didn’t have much to say about the first three, but oh, could he talk about the last one. He seemed to know most everything about the Blue Ridge Parkway, which sections were closed (many of them), the detours and work-arounds, which trails to hike and the views you’ll see from  them. 

This is the vista that greets you on the hike up from Craven Gap: mountains beyond mountains, purplish green in the foreground, smudges of blue in the distance.