Manteo to Murphy
When we visited Edenton last November and people wanted to know where we came from, we told them we lived in the far western part of the state. Their response was always, “Are you from Murphy?” Dave and I were both surprised that folks here in the farthest corner of northeastern NC knew about Murphy, a tiny place in the far southwestern corner.
Then we saw it. A big wooden sign on the coast pointing west on US 64: Murphy 876 km/ 545 mi. On subsequent visits we learned more about this anomaly. North Carolina is a large state from the mountainous western boarder to the eastern coastline. US 64, the highway that is my access to everywhere, crosses the state. It ends on the Outer Banks just past Manteo. We’ve traveled this route many times now between our two homes.
There is a sanctioned bike ride from Manteo to Murphy. At first, I understood the route to be entirely on US 64 and I wondered how they did that because around Raleigh US 64 isn’t the country drive but part of a major highway system. I realize now that it begins and ends on US 64, but uses the Blue Ridge Parkway and a series of county bike routes that are designated as part of a Mountains to the Sea Bicycle Route. What a beautiful ride that must be! I’m too old to start a cycling hobby, but I sure admire those who can. They’ve raised money biking for all kinds of good causes; we can all be grateful for that.
When I first learned I could drive all the way from Sapphire to Edenton on US 64, I wanted to try it. I’ve been on US 64 in many parts of the state and they are all beautiful. We were eating supper one night at the coffee shop and the man we were visiting with turned out to be our congressman. When I told him what I was going to do he smiled and said, “It’ll probably only take you about…four days.” It didn’t. It’s a beautiful state, but it is wide. It takes all day even at interstate speeds to cross it. After all, it stretches from Manteo to Murphy!