Stone Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway

View from an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Years ago I read about the Blue Ridge Parkway and how gorgeous it is in the fall. Said to be one of the prettiest drives in the United States, it is actually part of the Park System. It stretches from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, south along much of the top of the Blue Ridge to the Smokey Mountains National Park. It’s over 400 miles long and if one does it right, takes at least three days. The speed limit is 45 most of the way, necking down to 35 along the more curvy sections. At various points, there are pullouts to look out over the vistas to the east or west, and in a few “saddle” spots, both directions offer up stunning views. The Park service has several visitor centers.

Beautiful little details.

I stopped at the Music center which had a wonderful presentation of the evolution of mountain folk music and instruments. The banjo is homegrown, based on an older gourd instrument that the African slaves knew how to make. From Irish tunes and African drumming, Appalachian music evolved, and from that, bluegrass, jazz, C&W, and rock’n’roll. True “roots” music. Outside in the breezeway a 6 piece band sang and played old country tunes with guitar, banjo, a base, and fiddles.

The National Park system owns as little as 10 feet on either side of the Parkway, or as much as half a mile in either direction. As a result, especially in Virginia, the road passes by many farms, small towns, and dairies. In places a second paved road parallels the Parkway, used by the locals to zoom along at higher speeds and for commercial vehicles that are prohibited on the parkway.

Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain, a North Carolina State Park is just east of the parkway.  Two full days, and two nights camping, were spent there. The first afternoon was a hike to the bottom of the falls, 340 steps down and back up…….I heard a couple of kids counting them! The falls are really a giant “slip-n-slide” down the rounded curve of the granite rock that makes up Stone Mountain.  Signs are numerous warning to stay out of the stream, it’s slippery and death can result.

The mountain is a granite intrusion from millions of years ago when the Appalachians were much taller. As the mountains eroded, this huge chunk of solid granite was exposed. In places it looks like a giant egg with trees growing out of the top and in occasional cracks and crevices. Dark stripes decorate the almost white granite, evidence of much rainfall streaming from the forest above.

Tree growing out
of solid granite.

At the base, on the south western side of the mountain, the Hutchinson family built a cabin, a multipurpose barn that was used to store cured pork during the winter and to cure and dry tobacco during the late summer, a blacksmith’s shop, animal pens, and of course an outhouse with a little moon carved into the door. (The outhouse is currently locked and boarded up, presumably to keep anyone from actually using it.) During the summer the buildings are open and I’m sure there are docents around to talk about life back in the 1800s. The farm took up the entire little valley between Stone Mountain, and another exposed section called Wolf Rock. A small stream runs down the valley, which was used to keep things cool in a “spring box” and for drinking water. There are two ways to get to the homestead: by road, reserved for people with handicap stickers on their cars, and a trail through the dense forest along the stream.

The second day, after a very cold night that left frost on the picnic table and all the dishes that had been left out to dry, I hiked to the very top of Stone Mountain, a three and a half mile round trip, with an elevation of about 900 feet.  It was beautiful up there. The granite could be very slippery when wet, but dry it has great traction. It curves down steeply in some places, but at the top a fairly large area of gently slopping rock is exposed. The views to the south and east are spectacular, even on a hazy day, you can see 45 or 50 miles. The mature hardwoods were at the height of their color change. The most colorful leaves are the maples. There aren’t many of those, so the few show up strikingly.

View from the top of Stone Mountain

West of the state park is the much taller Blue Ridge and an overlook up there looks down on Stone Mountain and Wolf Rock. From that vantage point it’s clear that the granite intrusion is quite large. Open areas of it show up like patches of snow in a golden forest several places to the south.

The road south of Roanoke, the only large city near the parkway, has many examples of private land ownership. The forests have been cleared, there are idyllic old farmsteads with weathered barns contrasted by trashed out single wide trailers surrounded by junk. In one area there were rows of identical white McMansions on tiny lots looking like marshmallows on a stick.

Village church along the Parkway.

But north of Roanoke, the parkway enters a national forest, and stays within it most of the way to Shenandoah. It’s rougher country. It becomes clear just how “ridgey” the Blue Ridge really is. Literally, the road travels along the spine of a very tall mountain range. In places the land drops away so sharply on both sides of the two-lane road that the only thing standing between the car and a plunge down the mountain are short rock walls built in the ‘30s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Several “gaps” have amazing views to the east and the west from the same vantage point. The road is extremely curvy. It’s much slower going, taking often ten to fifteen minutes to go seven miles. But the scenery changes with every turn, here a stand of oaks, there a maple or dogwood in red regalia, a sudden bright drop off with no trees whatsoever and views that go on for miles, then a regress into the darker forest, or the road steeply descends down the east or the west side of the ridge, later to rise back up and progress along the spine.

Looking up into those gorgeous trees

The Parkway is known for its abundance of animals. Several times deer could be seen grazing in a field in the late afternoon, or jumping over fences, their long white tails sticking straight up, giving the impression that a puppet master in the sky lifted them. Their only predators are pot bellied men who wear T-shirts emblazoned with  phrases such as: Buck Huntin’, Truck Drivin’, That’s how I Roll!! 

There were almost no dead animals on the road, and that was a surprise considering how long and curvy the Parkway is. A woodchuck sat so still a few feet off the pavement, that at first I thought it was an oddly shaped piece of wood, till it moved and headed back into the trees. Turkeys are fairly numerous, as are Turkey Vultures, ravens, and squirrels.

The Park Service operates several campgrounds along the parkway. I stayed one night at Rocky Nob, high on the ridge and windy. None of the campgrounds have water or electricity at the sites, nor do they have hot water or showers in the bathrooms. At least the toilets flush, a step up from the typical Forest Service campground! Short distances east and west of the Parkway, there are many privately owned RV parks. I decided to stay in Montebello only three miles east of the Parkway. The plunge from the ridge to the valley was the longest three miles I’ve ever driven, all of it in second gear. On the valley floor there’s a general store and a beautiful little stocked lake where one can buy a permit to fish and all fish caught must be taken home! Down a dark road is a large campground with electricity and water available at all the sites. It’s next to a lake with Canada geese and ducks. Paddle boats and kayaks can be rented. It would be a great place to spend the weekend, especially with kids in tow.

On Wednesday, I head back to civilization after 5 days in the woods. (No Internet, little cell phone service, no way to charge batteries, whine, whine!) Next stop will be Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Pumpkin patch in the rural but civilized section of southern Virginia.

Some of the lovely fall foliage

A trail into the woods.

One of many vistas from the occasional "gap" in the ridge.

North Carolina Zoo

Entrance to the Africa
section of the zoo.

By Saturday the 15th, the sun was out in full force, the air almost hot in addition to being constantly humid.  A neighbor, Caroline, asked if I'd like to go see a simulcast of the MET opera Anna Bolena at a theater near Raleigh. I'd seen some videos of operas in movie theaters and thought that's what she meant, but I was just thrilled by this production. It was like being at the Santa Fe opera with front row seats, and possibly even better than that. We could see every facial expression, enjoy the beautiful voices of the singers.......it was fabulous and I would recommend it to any opera fan! For those not interested in Opera, this technology is also available and frequently used to show simulcasts of Broadway shows like Cats and Wicked. It's like being on the stage with the actors.

Big silverback in the gorilla enclosure.

Caroline recommended the zoo if I wanted a neat place to get in my walking exercise and see some very cool things. The state zoological park in Asheboro is an incredible attraction. To begin with: it's huge. They have animals from two continents; North America and Africa, with plenty of room for expansion to add the other continents sometime in the future. Walking, to see each exhibit, covers fully five miles. The day was as perfect a day as anyone could wish for. Temps were in the high 70s and low 80s, the sun shown, clouds periodically drifted by, the animals were active and interactive with people in some cases. The zoo is inside a mature hardwood forest where one is constantly being lightly pelted with tiny acorns. I spent all of Sunday afternoon there, and returned on Monday for another leisurely walk to catch the exhibits I'd missed. One of the surprising and impressive things about this zoo is the number and quality of the artworks. There are sculptures all over, murals on walls, and many kiosks with video and audio story telling going on to enhance the overall zoo experience.

Very muddy African elephant.

As a big fan of zoos, there are few animals I'm unfamiliar with, but this zoo surprised me. They had Red River Pigs from Africa, and a display of white albino alligators, plus many reptiles and amphibians I've probably never seen. Big animals like elephants, rinos, ostriches, and gazelles were housed in an huge wide open field. People followed a path that had viewing platforms interspersed along one edge. Ditto for the North American section where bison and elk shared a pasture.

Snake mural at the entrance to the Sonoran
desert exhibit.

As a native New Mexican, I was almost laughing out loud at the poor bull elk in rut. Compared to ones I've seen up close personally, he was pathetic. Every now and then, in the fall, a couple of friends and I go up into the Valles Caldera west of Los Alamos, NM, and hang out in our sleeping bags up under the pine trees on a moonlit night to watch the elk battle it out. It is important to be protected by the trees, else one of those giants might step on you. They get awfully focused on the other bulls and don't watch where they tromp around. Their mighty trumpeting is magnificent and when they lock antlers and try to throw each other down, it's something to see. Those bulls are three to four thousand pounds with antlers bigger around at the base than I can wrap both hands around.

Chimpanzee sculpture

At the edges of the pasture, signs said to stay back away from the fence, it's mating season and the bull elk is aggressive. What I saw was a skinny looking bull with a very small set of antlers with only 4 points! His bugle was about as impressive as the one Houston Martinez used to make swinging around a corrugated hose......The two cows completely ignored him until he slowly (shyly?) made his way over to them, then they all laid down in the grass together in the shade.

Brown bear

The zoo closed at 5:00 when I was on the other side from where my car was parked. I hopped one of the trams that traverse the two "continents". On the way out, over the bridge that leads across a swampy area next to the lake, I hung around a bit to watch the animals in the lake. There were large black fish, big greenish turtles so round they looked like watermelons with legs, little turtles that swam fast, and lots of frogs in the water and up on rocks near a bank of cat tails. In the trees were a few cardinals, squirrels, and crows. The sun hung low over the forest at the edge of the parking lot as pinkish clouds floated overhead. A lovely day, in every way.

Red River pig

Baboon and baby

Fake Yellowstone geysers,
nice display at the bison yard

Siler City, North Carolina

Aint Bea's home in Siler City

Several quick trips into the main parts of Siler City have revealed a town not unlike Mayberry. In fact, this little town was the permanent home of the actress, Frances Bavier, who played Aint Bea. She's also buried here.

In many ways, the town is suffering from the economic slowdown. Quite a few buildings are empty, some even boarded up, but unlike McLean Texas, none are actually caving in. There are, however, some going art concerns, an interesting general store, and quite a few businesses that cater to a growing Hispanic population.

Barber shop still using
chairs purchased in 1940

I just had to stop in at a store called "Against His Will". It sounded too much like a Biblical reference, but I couldn't imagine which one it could be. Turned out to be a wool store. The owner sells weaving and wool spinning equipment as well as the woolen hats and scarves made by local people. I asked about the name. The owner is from the northeast originally. Years ago, her son wanted a goat for a 4-H project but her husband objected. Against his will, they got a goat, then later, again against his will, they moved to a farm and began to raise sheep and goats in earnest. In the move to the south, she opened the store and they named it Against His Will, which, I suppose it was too. Funny story. It never dawned on her, till they'd moved to the south that it would have such an intriguing effect on the religious locals.

A fun sculptured chair
in the Raleigh Street
Gallery

Another art store, the Raleigh Street Gallery, is a large consignment place that also lets you paint your own pottery. There are the usual carved wooden boxes, stained glass, knitted items, pottery, and sculptures from 83 local artists, but the entire back section of the store is a studio where local clay artists work throwing pots or sculpting. No one was working when I stopped in but some unfinished sculptures showed promise. Along one wall, there are four or five long tables and chairs. The store has a good selection or will order bisque pieces for customers to paint, then dips the finished items in clear glaze and fires them. They even have a "to-go" kit so you can paint at home.

Across the street is a little diner called the Sidewalk Cafe and Bakery. Inside above the counter was a handmade sign advertising a Mossberg 935 12ga shotgun for $550. The food was classic diner: burgers, hot dogs, chopped steak special, fries, coleslaw. Even at 1:30 many people were stopping in for lunch. The waitress knew everyone and often sat with them in their booths while she took the order. It was fun listening to the gossip and conversations spoken in the soft vowels of a southern dialect which, fortunately is missing the harsh twang of the Texas Panhandle.

Mural of Siler City in 1888 on the side of the
Farmer's Alliance store, which is featured in the mural.

Inside the Farmer's
Alliance general store.

Down the main street are several establishments: barber shops and beauty salons, coffee with internet cafe, a custom tailor in a skinny strip of a store, latino tienda with all the familiar soul foods of a Mexican mercado, and a general store called The Farmer's Alliance, which has been in business since 1888. Walking in the door the nose is assaulted by the sharp tang of fertilizer. The front quarter of the store is devoted to bee keeper's supplies, plants, and gardening. Further back are tools, and in the far back, a counter with bags of locally-made peanut brittle, peanut brittle dipped in chocolate, jams and jellies, and honey with the comb left in. An opening revealed the other half of the store; ladies wear, and in the basement, work clothes for men. I'll have to take a gander in the basement next time I visit. It was too interesting to talk with the woman who has worked there for the last 44 years, and has to be in her eighties. A large poster has school photos of kids from the 30s and 40s with hand written names under some of them. I suppose people who grew up in Siler City can stop in and write the names of the people they recognize.

Highway 64 runs through town and is the site of the Food Lion, drive through banks, and fast food joints. It was busier, but not nearly as interesting as the few little streets in the old part of town. There are quite a few large warehouses that either have some kind of industry, like making cloth or cosmetics, and many are shut down with "for Lease" signs. The rest of the town appears to be homes, some old and decrepit, others old and well maintained. All have large lawns and stately trees. It's nice to be here in the early fall, the weather is cool, the sun hot, and there is always the chance of clouds and rain, though it's been nice since a few days ago when it rained quite a bit. Now the humid air is causing my very short hair to curl or just stick straight out. Maybe I should stop in one of the beauty salons for a trim, something more suitable for the deep south. I'm not sure how much they could cut off without making me bald though, and that would definitely not be a good look!!

The regal Miss Cloe at the home where I am
house sitting.

The much more down to earth and sweet: Domino

Lost and found, all by accident

As a relatively good outdoors person, I'm almost never lost. Almost never. India was an exception, but there, the spring sky was reddish brown with dust, the sun popped up off the horizon and was nothing but a hot spot directly overhead, the streets of most towns are merely paved ancient donkey trails meandering all over the place, and since I can't read Hindi, I couldn't even memorize the names of the streets.

Lots of mushrooms, but they wouldn't have
provided much sustenance if I'd not
found my way back to civilization!!

Here in Siler City, there is forest everywhere except where roads have been paved. Along the roadsides the forest almost looks shaved. A flat wide open grassy area bordered by thick trees and undergrowth that shoots skyward to form a green wall.

Beside the cottage there is a wide trail, almost an old road but overgrown with grasses. I followed it to come out into a horse pasture with an electric fence, and one lonely horse. On the eastern side of the pasture ran a two lane blacktop road which I followed north, thinking I would just make a big loop and end up back at the house. A couple of miles later, following streets that narrowed into a gravel path leading to a single house, I was plainly lost. It was difficult to tell where the sun was exactly thanks to the tall trees and overcast sky. I hadn't brought a cell phone, a compass or even water with me. The plan had been a leisurely stroll in a town, not to get lost in a dense wood.

Luckily, sound carries well through the trees. There was a narrow animal trail through the undergrowth that seemed to lead in the direction of traffic, and eventually emerged onto a muddy road. Finally out on a paved road which looked vaguely familiar, and with the sun acting as a psuedo guide to what I assumed was south, I walked a mile down the highway. A sign pointed towards the downtown area of Siler City, and I then knew Pine View street had to be just a little way further. Whew. Lessons learned: take a cell phone, a map, water, and a compass.

Cat tails growing
next to the pond.

But of course I don't follow my own advice. Much later in the evening, after dinner, I wandered down a nice open trail leading north from the cottage. It led to a lake with a path around it. It belongs to the homeowner's association and has a shelter with picnic table, some chairs circling a fire pit and someone's chained up canoe on a couple of sawhorses. I sat on a bench watching the sky and its reflection in the pond change colors as the sun set, then wandered on further north to see where the trail led. At the top of the hill, the trail ended at the gravel path leading to that single house. I had been so close to circling back to the cottage before getting lost in the woods!

The little pond near the house.

And some leaves finally turning red....