I decided to take a chance on the Wilson Creek area for color and had all my camping gear packed just in case I wanted to spend more than one day here. Since the Blue Ridge Parkway is still closed around the Craggy Gardens area, I headed down I-40 to Morganton, then north on 181 to Brown Mountain Beach Rd. A gravel road runs along the Wilson Creek gorge with areas to pull off and go down to enjoy the creek. I was expecting more water in the creek and was hoping for more fall color in the view.