Bradley Fork

We had planned well the night before but I had a real hankering to get back on the Blue Ridge Parkway, even if it meant adding extra miles, and at one point I suddenly pulled off the road and had to convince Jo that that tiny little side road was the way to go so a U turn was in order (despite the fact that Elvis has a particular aversion to slow, sharp turns). We go a few minutes along this 'piggly' back road (as all windy roads are called, due to the incredibly named local supermarket chain 'Piggly Wiggly') and pass a rafting place. Jo decides this is the time to mention that this is one of the best rafting spots in the eastern states so a second U turn entails (sorry Elvis!).

6 hours later, we survived 7 foot falls, the corkscrew, jaw bone (to name but a few). It was pretty wild (class 5) but our guide Eric made it look easy and we were the only boat (out of 3!) not to bail. We decided we'd earned a decent meal so local advice took us to the Universal Joint, once a garage now a pub, with the best burgers in town. The 9% double IPAs were delicious, but meant Jo was driving home - which happened to be the Bulls Sluice parking lot where we started our wild water adventure.Read more