This is the Blue Ridge Parkway wildflower report for August 24th, 2007. Triple digit temperatures have gripped much of the Virginia and North Carolina piedmont over the past couple of weeks. So the Parkway has been an especially popular place to find temperatures sometimes as much as twenty degrees cooler. It has also been very dry, so be especially careful on your trip to the mountains. No open fires are allowed outside of the nine designated drive-in campgrounds along the Parkway. Summer fields of Queen Anne’s Lace and Coreopsis, and Joe-Pye Weed dominate the agricultural scenes along the Parkway from just south of Roanoke, all the way down into the Doughton Park area of North Carolina. In the Grandfather Mountain corridor, look for White Campion and Horse Balm and Turtleheads-especially nice right now. The high elevations, south of Asheville, are displaying Turkscap Lily, Bee Balm, Jewel Weed, Phlox, and Morning Glory. Right around Mount Pisgah, and Richland-Balsalm, look for Green Headed Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Iron-Weed and White Snakeroot. Have a safe Parkway visit this week by remembering that with the drive along this mountain road, comes some steep inclines, steep curves, built-in distractions-such as wildlife and bicycles. Pull off into one of the overlooks if traffic backs up behind you, everyone will be a lot happier. As we often say to visitors, enjoy the view, but watch the road. Weekly updates at 828-298-0398 will keep you informed of what’s being reported throughout the Parkway.