Blue Ridge Parkway.

• Position: Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Monsters and a bad case of gas -- make that, monster traffic jams on interstate 77 and bad gas prices -- cut North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway traffic by more than 3% through late summer, although tourism officials hope changing leaves and snowmaking season attract enough peepers and skiers to recoup some of the deficit. Fuel costs contributed to the slowdown, including July, when traffic fell a whopping 11% from a year earlier. Another factor -- three-hour traffic jams...