This summer, take time out and enjoy the mountains, any mountains will do, but I would strongly suggest a secluded section of the Blue Ridge Mountains located in western North Carolina…more specifically Boone, North Carolina. Located just minutes off the Blue Ridge Parkway and nestled at the base of Grandfathers Mountain; Boone NC affords travelers both scenic beauty and hospitality while allowing and an easy commute to numerous travel destinations throughout western North Carolina.
Although one can travel with relative ease to locations like Asheville NC home of the Biltmore Estate or Hickory NC home to numerous furniture manufactures while making Boone an ideal “base camp” so to speak, however, for me it is Boone NC itself that has drawn me to the region since my youth. As is the case with most Appalachian descendents a periodic emersion into ones roots is essential to maintain a connection with the “hills” and being that Boone was the birth place of my father it seems travel to the region was an obvious no-brainer. On more then one ocassion I can recall my travels to Boone in my early years with me always sandwiched between Mom and Dad on the front seat while my five siblings consumed the back seat of the old Chrysler sound a sleep as Dad navigated various narrow back roads from Morgantown WV to Boone prior to the development of I-79… all in an attempt to find the shortest and ultimately the quickest route home.
Boone NC named after that famous frontiersman Daniel Boone served as home and base camp too many excursions of the famed frontiersman into what was then unexplored regions of Tennessee, Kentucky and NC. The region in and around Boone has assuredly changed since Daniel trekked these mountains, but rest assured the mountains have remained the same while offering up the needed amenities of modern day life in a cohabitation between man and nature. Today Boone offers both the Mayberry downtown atmosphere and minutes away the growth that is needed to maintain a small town economy, wedged between the two distinct sections of town as if bridging the present with the past is Appalachian State University home of the Mountaineers.
Uniquely the campus has liberal arts feel while maintaining a dynamic presence in the bible belt foothills, as with most campuses it tends to dictate the retail economy in and around the area and Boone is no exception; offering up trendy juice bars, health food stores and restaurants all within walking distance of campus. Downtown is an exceptional experience beckoning the traveler to explore the small and inviting antique stores, coffee shops, book stores and various restaurants exclusive to Boone. The Mast General Store in itself affords a trip back in time completing the whole Mayberry experience with squeaky wooden floors, stacks of durable apparel and hard to find candies and sundries. While the aging hippy and Andy Griffith atmosphere may not appeal to everyone, just minutes away one can have your present day culinary and shopping needs met within a variety of chain restaurants and retail clothing stores.
Regardless of your shopping needs and culinary desires it is the Blue Ridge Mountains that one must experience just as Daniel and my predecessors have done for decades. Just north of Boone on RT 194 lies the community of Meat Camp an unincorporated community that harkens back to the early 1900’s, a picturesque vicinity complete with cool streams, rolling hillsides abundant with young tree farms and an age old grist meal which up until just recently still afforded farmers the ability to have local field grains ground and bagged for easier storage.
Minutes in the opposite direction located on RT 321 lies the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, catching the parkway here allows one to travel either north into Virginia or further south into North Carolina, traveling through such areas as Linville Falls and the Cherokee reservation. Along the way travelers enjoy some of very enticing scenic wonders, a few not to be overlooked include Linville Falls, Blue Ridge Viaduct and the film location for the movie Last of the Mohicans; not to mention the unobstructed view of the mountains. The view from the Parkway is to be enjoyed at subdued pace, take time to stop at scenic overlooks and experience the vista and don’t forget the camera. You will be surprised how often you find yourself saving “hey honey, quick bring the camera.” Closer to Boone and still on the Parkway one can experience the Moses Cone Estate and craft store…bring your credit card because you will certainly find something that your home can not do without.
Unbeknownst to many the Parkway has become a Mecca of sorts for motorcycle enthusiast from across the country offering and easy and also safe ride with very few intersecting junctions, which as we know can be problem for motorcyclist who have to share the road with their larger cousin the car. It is not uncommon to see vacationing motorcyclist tucked well off the side of the road in a grassy meadow; blanket spread, either enjoying a nap or a box lunch under a tree. When you stop and think, aside from hiking parallel to the Parkway traveling by motorcycle is as close to experiencing the mountains in the same manner as our frontiersman did from horseback.
Although you may be traveling up the Parkway into the mountains you are actually traveling south so take the time and make the return trip back to Boone via Rt.105 thus affording you the experience of the Grandfathers Mountain. Before leaving the mountain I would strongly suggest allowing the children to get out and stretch their legs while exploring the natural animal reserve and swinging bridge, documented as the highest swinging bridge east of the Mississippi River.
During the return trip off the mountain take time and experience the roadside stands most are operated today as they were by generations of families before them and offer a variety of farm fresh fare; while you have the car pulled to the side of the road selecting your various jams and jellies remember to look up. I can remember years ago a professor telling me if you want to get a feel for a piece of architecture before it was changed “look up” as is the case with Grandfathers Mountain the view of the mountain from the south west is by far the best means to capture the this colossal giant in picture.
With your daytime filled with small road trips and excursions to places like Mystery Mountain and Tweetsie Railroad and by the way both are excellent stops for children of all ages, you may be asking at this point what does Boone have to offer for evening adventure? In Part II of Blue Ridge Mountains…Simply Beautiful I will conclude my stay in Boone and offer suggestions for evening dining, accommodation, and additional outdoor adventures.
See Photo Gallery Below.
