The next day we headed for Deal's Gap again (like you do) and were greeted by a live band and free BBQ sammiches. Hard to beat that....

Lots of people watching at the Gap today. No shortage of weirdos in attendance....

And Harley riders doing what Harley riders do - drinking and riding. Now I'm scared to ride anymore...

At least they're wearing the latest and greatest in safety gear (not!).

Hadn't gone to far when we happened upon an accident scene. An older gent on his HD had failed to negotiate a bend in the road and went down pretty hard.....

Rita was kind enough to hold the guy's hand for about about an hour to soothe him while we waited on the ambulance. Due to the remote location, it took quite awhile for it to get there. As there was a 3 hour drive to the nearest hospital, a helicopter was on the way to get him there.

We rode rather carefully the rest of the way back to the cabin that day.

The next day we headed back up to the Cherohala Skyway to see what we missed behind the clouds a few days before...

Enough messing around, we gotta get back to the cabin....

Made it back around 9:30 PM that evening. Long day of riding, but it was worth it.

Just had to stop at the Highest Point for a pic or two.....

The Gang taking it all in.....

Views along the Parkway in the late afternoon Sun are better than average....

From Highlands, North Carolina, we head north and pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway for the rail back to the cabin...

Rita found us a little bistro with outdoor seating along the main street in town...

Good food and good fun with good friends. Doesn't get a whole lot better than this.

Route 28 took us to our destination for the day; Highlands, NC....

...where we searched for a place to eat a late lunch.

Mark even had time for a bit of spelunking...

Bit further down 28, we pass Bridal Veil Falls and stop to cool off a bit. This stop also afforded Mark the much needed opportunity to shower...