Southern Appalachia Wild
I am not sure what I expected other than cool temps up in these mountains. What I found was a place so rich in history and folklore, I am still digging deeper to understand how people made it in these hollows (hollers). The land is so rugged and the terrain sometimes insurmountable; the heights and the vistas awe inspiring and downright scary… at least on the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I hug those mountain road curves at 25 mph!
A stop along the way is Brinegar Cabin, an Appalachian farmstead listed in the National Register in 1972. The landscape provides a view of middle class Appalachian farming and family life from 1885 to 1935, interpreting activities such as loom weaving, traditional subsistence agriculture, regional use of springhouses, and the family cemetery of the Brinegars. Sitka and I sit with the ranger for two hours listening to tales of mountain life for this family and how life is now on the mountain.
I also pull into the Blue Ridge Music Center, I just missed an Allison Krause concert the night before, but manage to catch some bluegrass before going to find a campsite on Rocky Knob. I pick up Allison Kraus and Carolina Chocolate Drops cds…. only seems fitting for my drive in dese dem der hills.
Rocky Knob is one of the first developed areas on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its rustic and rural landscape, is perfect for camping and hiking. It is an outdoor lovers' paradise with easy access to the Parkway's Mabry Mill and the Chateau Morrisette Winery. There are no water or electrical hookups to individual sites. There is a shower and it is greatly appreciated. Letting the water run to wash this hair is a necessary luxury from time to time. I am using the shower in the RV and taking a navy shower is a must to conserve water and not fill the grey tank.
Rocky Knob is an accurate description of the shape of the mountain that bears its name. Rock Castle Gorge, known for its beautiful rock crystalline quartz formations, was once home for several mountain families whose lives are remembered through the apple orchards and abandoned stone chimneys.
Just as Sitka and I settle in, some folks drive up to ask about the van. Connie and Kenny Moles are thinking of purchasing a class B camper in the very near future. As the chat about RVing continues we delve into necessary side chores like laundry and internet ... soon they are offering me a space to camp up at their mountain cabin directly across the road from Chateau Morrisette Winery. Sounds like an ideal situation to me. Turns out we become fast friends and I end up staying five days with them, both at their mountain cabin in Meadows of Dan, Virginia… more on that in a minute, and their fabulous seven bedroom home on 10 acres of spectacularly beautiful property in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Mt. Airy is home to Andy Griffith and so much of the script comes from right out of the lives of folks in this close knit town. Even though Connie was born and raised in northern Michigan, she is now completely a southern gal and now my personal guide to this Americana kitsch.
Evenings are spent hearing from Kenny what life was like being raised in these hollows and mountains– complete subsistence living. They introduce me to a book about the wild, proud, impoverished and violent times up on Buffalo Mountain. A mountain man himself, Bob Chlldress came to live there. He came to believe we are not predestined by God to live and die by ignorance, alcohol and murder and he nearly single handedly changed the culture of the people on the mountain. His life is chronicled in the book The Man Who Moved a Mountain by Richard C. Davis.
Connie took me to many of the places depicted in the book and I am excited about returning to exploring more of all that I read. Childress built five stone churches, I believe to show value and to give worth to the people of the mountain. Primitive baptists were a superstitious lot and showed little value for life. Childress converted many and the quality of life improved greatly.
Both Connie and Kenny’s lives, independently of each other, could be a prime time movies. I am beyond grateful for their hospitality and now friendship. I am hoping they can make their way to Cape Coral in early March. Kenny and my birthdays are just two weeks apart and we have a big one to celebrate! Sounds like fair turn about to me.
If you ever find your way up onto the Parkway, please consider a stay at their mountain cabins they have to rent in Meadows of Dan. Just below their main cabin, they built two adorable and exquisitely appointed, peaceful mountain cabins. Check them out here: Conner Mountain Retreat
Difficult as it was, the Moles and I part ways and I am off to become and End to Ender, someone who drives from the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway to the end. I will continue on to the Shenandoah Skyline Drive. and get a chance to hike the Appalachian Trail for a few miles anyway. So grateful to have spent 12 days in the cool mountain air, enjoying a campfire and down comforter while everyone down below was experiencing high 90s and 100º+ temps. I broke a tooth and need to make an emergency dental appointment in Roanoke, Virginia and when we leave that city it is 104º!
So glad to get back up on Blue Ridge Parkway.
This post is getting long enough...I'll come back soon with more. This trip far exceeds anything I could have imagined.
Onward!