Delayed start from Kickstand Lodge due to the fog and long farewells plus an attempt in Cherokee (where you pick up the Parkway) to find a wifi connection. Found one but could not see the screen in the sun light – seems I am destined to be out of touch on a regular basis. I did about 180 miles on the Parkway today but some of it was due to backtracking when I met a road closed sign and a long detour around it. I hit another closure just before dusk so am currently holed up in Boone, North Carolina. The sign says this is where Daniel Boone came from and it is also the home of the Appalachian State University and due to something called the 'home coming game' the traffic in town is the worst rush hour traffic I have ever seen.
The parkway at the Cherokee end is in autumn colours and is beautiful but as I moved north the show came to an end. I am hoping it returns before the parkway ends. I have about 250 miles to go and tomorrow will cross into Kentucky. Petrol is in short supply – most gas stations have the 89 and 93 octane buttons covered over. Tried 87 in the bike but it protested out loud so had to nurse the bike most of the way here.
