Pack your Leather Saddlebag Cooler and come for a Scenic Ride

If you ride a motorcycle or not, and want a great fall ride to enjoy the scenery and have a wonderful picnic, I have just the place for you, Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina. Mt. Mitchell is 35 miles northeast of Ashville, North Carolina and is set in the Great Smoky Mountains. You reach this fabulous place on a very scenic drive via the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is and of itself very well known. It spans 469 miles from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cherokee North Carolina. It's winding road and scenic view make it the most visited unit of Americas National Park System. The parkway is well known to area bikers, as some of the winding hair pin turns make for a thrilling ride. However, if you have never been on it before, I warn you the parkways speed limit is 45mph and there are many tourists doing less than the speed limit as they are taking in the beautiful views. There is also plenty of RV's as there are numerous areas for camping near the parkway. Spanning the parkway there are lots of places to stop for beautiful waterfalls, hiking, camping, and bicycling just off the parkway.

The highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway is in Jackson County, North Carolina. There they have 10 hiking trails, 19 waterfalls, restaurants and over 1000 rooms for rent at the various B&Bs, hotels, etc. The abundance of opportunities along the Blue Ridge Parkway are too numerous for me to tell you about in this article but there is camping, hiking, bicycling, waterfalls and bird watching as the parkway offers an abundance of wildflowers and flowering trees and of course the fall foliage is spectacular.

I can go on and on about the Blue Ridge Parkway and all the different stops and what to do along the way but, I want to let you know about my ride last year. I went to visit Mt. Mitchell for my first time and I was in hopes of capturing beautiful fall foliage with my camera. It took me just under 2 hours to get there as there was quite a bit of traffic, all probably in hopes of the same fall foliage I wanted to view. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Rockies. It has an elevation of 6,684 feet. Mind you, you can not drive all the way to the peak, you have to park at the exhibit hall/restaurant area and walk up about ¼ mile to the peak and observation deck. But they have a wheelchair accessible paved walkway with benches and places to sit along the way. The views from the top and on the observation deck were breathtaking. (I missed the fall foliage by about a week). But it was still beautiful.

Even without the fall colors you could see for miles and the nice thing about this area is I saw how people all over were enjoying the outdoors and enjoying picnics in this tranquil beautiful spot. I did not do my research before going and regretted. it. The park has a picnic area off the parking lot with tables and stone grills and a few picnic shelters and there is a drinking water supply (water is not available in the winter). People were sitting on the side of the paved walkway on the grass having a picnic and there was even a family that had a leather backpack that they brought up to the observation tower and sat on the benches enjoying lunch and the view. I have decided when I go back this year, I will pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the ride with the beautiful view, and picnic and watch the birds, enjoy the flowers and foliage and take lots more pictures.

When packing for a trip like this you should bring a jacket or extra layer of clothes as the temperature can be 10-30 degrees cooler at the top of the mountain than at the bottom. And the weather can change very quickly in the mountains. You will also want to bring your camera and maybe even binoculars. I highly recommend some kind of picnic as you'll want to relax, enjoy and take in the beauty. Pack a leather bag and a cooler and you are all set. This is easy when riding in a car however, on a motorcycle you need storage space to bring these items.

At leathereverything.com we now carry leather saddlebags with removable coolers. That way you can pack your lunch and drinks and keep it cool for you. There is a wide selection of leather tote bags and motorcycle gear to outfit your bike and meet your needs for a ride like this. You will have room for you motorcycle jacket, camera, picnic items and any other items you may want to bring. Visit us at leathereverything.com your source for quality leather motorcycle gear.