The Blue Ridge Parkway connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina. Originally called the “Appalachian Scenic Highway,” the Parkway offers amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and other natural wonders. The Parkway is known for its vibrant autumn foliage and temperate summers, but the Parkway in early spring is quite different. The land is bleak, but as the temperatures warm up, the landscape crackles with a quiet energy, the potential of rebirth and renewal.