Blue Wonder: The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway officially celebrates 75 years

The Linn Cove Viaduct in the fall. The viaduct was the last portion of the parkway to be completed in 1987.

(By Lisa O'Donnell, Winston-Salem Journal) - Seventy-five years ago this week, about 100 unemployed men from Alleghany County showed up at Pack Murphy's farm just south of the Virginia border and turned the first dirt on a project that would produce one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

In the years since, millions of visitors in Studebakers, Corvairs, Hummers and Gold Wings have driven past that first work site along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Although some parkway drivers are merely commuting, most cruise the road to unwind and take in the postcard-perfect scenery, from verdant pastures framed by chestnut post-and-rail fences to sweeping views of the Southern Appalachians.