Just got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway without checking for road closures! D’oh.

It turns out a large section of the route is closed for maintenance and bridge work, so I had to double back a bit to rejoin it further down. This means the road is deathly quiet, and I’m now sitting in the car on (or looking at) Mt. Jefferson, surrounded by rain, fog, and clouds.

I stood outside in the rain for a good half hour. The silence is deafeningly beautiful, and the eeriness of the fog and clouds is oddly very calming.

——

Road to Clouds

On misty roads where the silence reigns, Through fog's embrace and morning's chains, A journey starts, with miles ahead, A path unknown, where dreams are fed.

The road splits wide, its cracked facade, A metaphor for hearts once scarred, Yet still it leads through mist and haze, To unknown lands, to brighter days.

In solitude, reflections form, The past, the hopes, the inner storm, Each mile a thought, each turn a choice, The road to clouds, where hearts find voice.

Through rolling hills and veiled green, In shadows deep, in light serene, A road trip not just of the earth, But of the soul, for self-rebirth.

With every step, the future clears, The clouds part ways, dispel the fears, Onward drive, through fog and rain, To find oneself, to heal the pain.

For in the mist, where vision’s blurred, A clearer path, a deeper word, The road to clouds, where we ascend, A journey's start, with no defined end.