BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY. Old mills, weathered cabins, the fields and pastures of upland farms with split rail fences, and other evidences of the "hill culture" add to the interest of travel over the Blue Ridge Parkway, as clustered mountains, stretches of woodland, and far distant views unfold along the way. Running through the heart of the Blue Ridge, this scenic parkway connects Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah National Parks.

A national parkway is an elongated park with a road as its major feature. Free from commercial traffic and unsightly developments, it is planned to give motorists maximum pleasure. There are two other national parkways of unusual interest. The Natchez Trace, following the general location of the Old Indian Trail between Natchez, Miss., and Nashville, Tenn., was explored by French adventurers early in the 1700's. Later it was a post road; then a highway binding the Old Southwest to the Nation. The George Washington Memorial Parkway connects many interesting landmarks associated with George Washington and includes the Mount Vernon Highway. When completed it will extend from Mount Vernon on the Virginia side and Fort Washington, opposite in Maryland, to the Great Falls of the Potomac River. The lands for the Blue Ridge and Natchez Trace Parkways were donated by the States through which they run. That for the George Washington Memorial Parkway is being purchased, half with Federal funds and the other half by the States and counties concerned. (Photograph by Arthur Fawcett.)