With a Brush of a Comet's Tail

With a Brush of a Comet's Tail. Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a collection of diverse and inspiring places. The 469-mile road links Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Like a long beautiful ribbon connecting distinctive gems, the Parkway joins high mountain peaks to deep gorges, Appalachian culture to modern visitors, and rural landscapes to isolated wilderness. Carrying 17 million visitors each year, the Blue Ridge Parkway is the most visited National Park Service area in America. , "I can't imagine a more creative job than locating the Blue Ridge Parkway, because you worked with a ten league canvas and a brush of a comet's tail. Moss and lichens collecting on the shake roof of a Mabry Mill measure against huge panoramas that look out forever." , , Stanley Abbott, Architect of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers graded slopes, planted trees, shrubs, and grasses, and built guardrails, guard walls, and overlooks., Italian stone masons built many bridges along the Parkway., In order to preserve Grandfather Mountain’s fragile environment, engineers designed the Linn Cove Viaduct, a suspended section of the Parkway.