9/22/20: Mount Airy & Blue Ridge Parkway Sights, NC

Looming up over the highway as we drove from Greensboro toward Mount Airy, North Carolina, was Pilot Mountain. The rock monolith was known locally as Jomeokee, an Indigenous American word that meant 'Great Guide' or 'Pilot.' Jomeokee had guided the country's first inhabitants, early colonial settlers, and present-day travelers, and was mapped in 1751 by President Thomas Jefferson's father, Peter Jefferson, and James Fry.

Our first stop was Mount Airy, the town closest to the northernmost part of the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Parkway is a 469-mile scenic road that connects Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in southern North Carolina and Tennessee. The goal of constructing the parkway during the 1930s was to spur tourism and provide jobs for those left unemployed at the height of the Great Depression.

When we stopped in Mount Airy for gas, it seems almost unbelievable now, almost nine months later, that the price was a mere $1.79 a gallon. That's half of what it is here in Chicago now where I'm writing this! Mount Airy was a tiny riverbed settlement back in 1750 and 270 years later, it still retained elements of the quintessential small town that served as the model for Mayberry, the setting for the Andy Griffith Show, the American TV comedy series that ran in the 1960s. Griffith grew up in Mount Airy and included references to many places in and around the town. 

Andy Griffith's home in Mount Airy from 1935-1966:

Photos from in front of the Andy Griffith Playhouse in Mount Airy:

In Episode #123 called Fun Girls, the girls were from Mount Pilot and one of them wanted Andy and Barney, the two main characters, to take them to Mount Pilot's Kit Kat Club. There were many references to the town of Mount Pilot which was based on the town of Pilot Mountain just a dozen miles away. 

In Episode #154, Andy was seen reading a copy of Mount Airy News, a paper that was established in 1880 and still published daily. The paper even prints the Mayberry Confidential for Mayberry Days!

In Andy the Matchmaker in Episode #9, Andy suggested to Barney they take the girls to grab a bite at Snappy Lunch. Opened in 1929, it was the only place mentioned in the show that was still open today. 

Andy Griffith and his wife, Cindi, were shown in 2002 during their visit to the Andy Griffith Playhouse. I read that he chose to sit in that particular seat because it was about where he sat when he got up on stage during third grade to sing Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet at what was then Rockaway Street School!

Iconic places in Mount Airy were included in the downtown mural.

Welcome to Mount Airy!

If you ever want to experience a slice of life in White America during the 1960s, you can't go wrong driving or walking up down Main St. in Mount Airy as it's about as American as apple pie!

Upon hearing that Andy had eaten at Snappy Lunch as a boy, I decided to order a grilled cheese sandwich to go at the same lunch counter. The cost was the princely sum of $2 and it was the best two bucks I ever spent on a sandwich! I don't think a penny had been spent updating the place since Andy's day either.

When we first spotted this ancient car in front of the Snappy Lunch diner, we mistakenly believed it was a period piece and hadn't been moved in fifty years!

We continued on to the nearby Parkway as that was our main goal for the day. Many local residents worked for the National Park Service on the Blue Ridge Parkway as administrative and maintenance staff when the road was being built and later as park rangers. 

Cumberland Knob at Milepost 217.5 and an elevation of 2737 ft. was about halfway on the Parkway and its northern terminus in North Carolina. It was also where the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC, the public work relief program started by President Franklin Roosevelt, began the Parkway's construction in 1935. The Knob was also the parkway's first recreation area, opening up in 1937 with a picnic area and hiking trails. During the 1940s, it was the most popular recreation area for families to enjoy picnics and family reunions. 

We walked part of the trail along Gully Creek.

When the park planners began laying out the route, the Blue Ridge Mountains weren't as beautiful as they are now because poor farming practices, logging, erosion, and forest fires had taken a toll on their natural beauty. Fortunately, the visionary planners put in place practices that restored the land and preserved the scenery for future generations to enjoy.

The goal of the Parkway was that it be part of the landscape, that it remain simple and the road did not draw attention from its natural setting. The Parkway was based on thousands of carefully drawn out plans and drawings where even the smallest elements were taken into consideration and appear to be part of the environment. Drawings were drafted by engineers for the 26 tunnels, 264 overlooks, and 168 bridges.

Local stone from with a few miles of each location was used for stairways and retaining walls along the Parkway. 

The Parkway was designed by out-of-work landscape architects and engineers but local laborers cleared the land, operated the heavy machinery, and constructed the roadbed before the Federal Bureau of Public Roads oversaw the road construction. The rock walls and the laying of stone for the tunnel portals and arch bridges were done by Spanish and Italian stonemasons. 

One of the CCC work camps:

The beginning of the Parkway's construction made headline news in the September 19, 1935, Mount Airy News.

It was rather gruesome to learn that there were more than 75 cemeteries within the boundaries of the Parkway - some maintained by the park service and others cared for by family members of the deceased. The people buried in the cemeteries had lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains long before the scenic road was constructed. The Cumberland Knob Cemetery contained 19 graves belonging to three families from 1908 to 1960.

Steven and I had definitely lucked out with starting our drive along the North Carolina portion of the Parkway at Cumberland Knob as we hadn't known that was where the Parkway had started! It was great to get a feel for the history behind the Parkway before beginning our scenic drive last September. 

When we turned in for the High Piney Spur Lookout at 2805 ft. elevation, we had some spectacular views. You could see how the scenic road achieved its name from the haze in the distance!

A little further on we turned to see Little Glade Mill Pond.

What a dream it was driving on the Parkway with no commercial vehicles, no annoying billboards to mar the views, and no services at all!

Stone Mountain was the name given to the massive gray rock that was formed about 350 million years ago from intense heat and pressure deep within the earth. The rock was uncovered after centuries of erosion to become the interesting rock we viewed. The rock's hard granite surface attracted miners but, after it was found to be too difficult to mine, it was donated to the state to be protected for a state park. 

If we had gotten closer to the mountain, we would have caught sight of the 'train tracks' due to the erosion that had occurred as depicted in this photo at the lookout.

The drive along the Parkway was not designed for those wanting a quick through route as every few miles there were turnoffs for scenic lookouts, picnic areas, or items of historical importance. That made the drive more interesting as otherwise it would have been boring driving along the two-lane road with nothing but trees on both sides broken up by low stone walls or massive chunks of granite.

Bullhead Mountain Overlook at an elevation of 3200 ft. was a great example of the former!

We almost didn't stop at the 3420 ft. elevation Mahogany Rock Overlook because it seemed to Steven as the driver we were stopping and starting every few miles and how much more 'exciting' could another overlook possibly be after all? But the huge crowd of people seated on lawn chairs caught our attention. After chatting with some of them, I learned that people come out in droves to this one overlook in late September and early October to count the number of hawks that fly over the Parkway. There had been over 3,000 just the day before, I was told! The number of monarch butterflies was way down, though.

Someone had spotted a red-tailed hawk while we were there but we saw nothing with our naked eyes. We didn't have binoculars with us to help in the count but took some time to relish in the exquisite sight of Stone Mountain from the overlook. 

At Air Bellows Lookout, a sign referred to the Indigenous Americans who had farmed the fertile valleys of the Blue Ridge region, using techniques called 'slash' and 'burn' to clear small areas of forested land and fertilize the soil. The Cherokee raised the 'three sister crops' - corn, beans, and squash. European immigrants settling the region adopted many Cherokee crops and techniques while also using practices they brought with them. This combination resulted in a distinctive regional farming heritage. 

In recognition of the North Carolina mountains' natural beauty and traditions of music, craft, farming, and Cherokee culture, the area was designated the Blue Ridge Natural History Area. 

Bluff Mountain Overlook had an elevation of 3421 ft. although the mountain in the distance was several hundred feet higher. With the temperature at this higher elevation only in the 50s, it would have made for some cool hiking.

Five minutes off the Parkway was the small town of Glendale Springs, home of the 'world-famous' frescoes by Ben Long at Holy Trinity Church. I thought it surprising that much of the church's early work had been done by women, beginning with Jenny Field, a trained nurse and midwife who taught Sunday School and read prayers when no clergy was available. Other women missionaries from the Episcopal Church Army followed, serving hot meals to school children during the Depression.

The church became famous in the 1970s when artist Ben Long and his students began working on the church's frescoes. Interest was aroused by residents in the community curious to see what was going on in their old church. People from many denominations took turns feeding the artists, even competing to make meals better than the last one! More and more people came daily from far and wide to watch the progress and also spread the word to friends in their communities and churches. 

By the time the frescoes were complete, huge numbers of people were making pilgrimages to Holy Trinity Church that resulted in even further publicity regionally and nationally. As a result, the church was no longer a quaint mountain church but the scope of the frescoes' influence had become vast reaching all over the world. Locals became models as the disciples in The Last Supper. 

The fresco at the back of the church showed Moses bringing down the tablets. 

The stained-glass window depicted a hand raised in forgiveness. 

A further fifteen minutes northwest, across from a Christmas tree farm in West Jefferson, was St. Mary's Church with even more Ben Long frescoes. Both churches were part of the Episcopal Parish of the Holy Communion. I loved how the church was open 24 hours a day for "whenever you need to pray or spend some special time with God." The church originated in 1895 when 19 candidates were presented for Confirmation. The first service was held on Christmas Eve of 1905 and the church was consecrated the following summer. 

Thanks to the leadership of an energetic and imaginative priest in the 1970s, the membership of St. Mary's grew and it became the scene of much activity. After Ben Long painted three frescoes at the church beginning in 1974, St. Mary's became quite famous. Since the frescoes were finished at both churches, it was estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have visited them and approximately 50,000 pilgrims come to the churches annually. 

We listened to an audio recording that stated the church was constructed with native ash in 'carpenter's Gothic style,' one that was entirely new to me, certainly. Long, we learned, had returned to his native North Carolina in 1973 from Italy where he had been studying applying mineral pigments into wet plaster so that it becomes a permanent part of the wall.

The first fresco Long did on his return to North Carolina was Mary Great with Child in 1974. I may well be wrong but it's only the second image I recall seeing of a pregnant Mary. Long stated that he depicted an anonymous mountain girl in Mary's face and his wife's body who was pregnant at the time. An eclipse of the sun was hanging over Mary's head which people thought was hugely important at the time as it portrayed the light of the world.

The following year Long returned to paint John the Baptist whom he showed as a wild hairy man of the desert saying, "Turn your eyes and hearts around."

After the brick wall was replaced in 1977, Long was back at St. Mary's to do the central fresco called The Mystery of Faith depicting both the crucified Christ with the risen Christ above.

Sitting in one of the pews while gazing on Long's fresco, it was hard not to be reminded of the words I had heard and uttered countless times in Roman Catholic churches, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again." The words became less rote as we admired that fresco and realized the three frescoes at St. Mary's depicted the total life of Christ.

A photo like this one I took should represent the magic and beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rarely, if ever, had I so been taken with haze before!

We drove to E.B. Jeffress Park next in Deep Gap whose 600 acres of mountain, field, and forest comprised a memorial to the late North Carolinian who rose to prominence as a teacher, newspaper publisher, and public servant. Jeffress was responsible for routing the Parkway through scenic North Carolina. 

If we'd been here in early May, these dogwoods, the state flower of both North Carolina and Virginia, would have been blooming in a profusion of white leaves. 

Hearing the Cascades Trail would be a leisurely short loop trail through a mixed hardwood forest to the cascades of Falls Creek, we were all in! Here was a tuliptree, the tallest broad-leaved tree in the country that is also called yellow poplar by lumberjacks. Because the wood is so light and easily worked, it's used for woodenware, veneer, and furniture.

Thanks to a sign, we knew these were serviceberries, a plant that blooms in April in a maze of white flowers before the leaves appear and the pea-sized fruit ripens in July. We were delighted that the plant was still full of white flowers this late in the season.

The dominant tree over the knobs and ridge crests in the Carolina mountains was the chestnut oak. Rabbits, turkeys, grouse, and deer feast on its plump acorns.

Falls Creek:

These pretty white flowers were white wood asters that only bloom in the fall.

The trail returned in an evergreen maze of rhododendrons and mountain laurel. 

The Rosebay variety of rhododendrons flourished beneath the forest shade and frequently in extensive thickets known locally as 'laurel hells.' That was because the trunks and branches form a frustrating 'obstacle course' for hunters and hikers alike!

We had to keep our eyes almost glued to the ground and tread very carefully because of the tree roots.

We continued onto the Parkway until we reached Tomkins Knob Overlook as we wanted to hike to the Jesse Brown cabin and the Cool Springs Baptist Church in a forest clearing near there. 

Mountain families long ago used to gather at Cool Spring Baptist Church here from miles around on summer Sundays to hear a circuit-riding preacher expound from the shade of a large maple tree. The 'church' was mostly a weather shelter as 'church' was generally an outdoor affair. The preachers, after spending the night in Brown's cabin, would then ride onto other "soul-saving appointments." How refreshing to witness another type of church.

When planning this travel day, Steven and I had vastly underestimated how much we could comfortably 'do' in one day while driving along a good stretch of the North Carolina portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were so many lookouts and other interesting places to stop, Steven came to the conclusion faster than I that we simply couldn't stop and 'smell the roses' at all the lookouts. This is something I suggest others keep in mind when planning an unforgettable trip on one of this nation's most scenic byways. 

Our last stop of the day was the 3600-acre Moses Cone Memorial Park that had been the Cone family's mountain summer estate before being donated to the National Park Service as a public 'pleasure ground' in 1950.  Cone was also a conservationist and a philanthropist during the Gilded Age. Cone was known as the Denim King as he built his fortune with textile mills that produced denim fabric for companies such as Levi Strauss. when the home was completed in 1901, it featured central heating, indoor plumbing, and gas lighting.

Though the historic, white, 23-room, almost 14,000 ft. mansion known as Flat Top Manor appeared superficially to be in decent shape, further examination revealed its peeling paint and crumbling wood. A funding drive was underway to raise money for substantial repairs to the exterior of the Colonial Revival home to return it to its former glory. 

I could dream how peaceful it would be to hike or ride horses on the 25 miles of carriage roads in the park if one had longer than we did.

Near one of the original entrances to the Cone estate, we had the same view of Bass Lake they also would have relished during the summers.

I simply cannot finish this post before one last photo of the Blue Ridge Mountains to remind myself and you how spectacular they are! Steven and I had driven on stretches of the famous Parkway before but never had we ventured so far on it in one day. We enjoyed ourselves so thoroughly that we decided then and there we would return. That is why, just a month from now, we will be touring the entire Virginia portion of the Parkway for two days. Stay tuned for those posts but please don't hold your breath as look how far behind I am already writing the posts from last fall!

Next post: Exploring Asheville, one of the prettiest cities not only in North Carolina but anywhere in the country in our minds!

Posted on Father's Day, June 20th, 2021, from Chicago, Illinois where we had the joy of spending three marvelous days with our 11-month-old granddaughter, Clara, and her parents. It has been a scream watching her point to ads of the actress Julia Roberts in magazines; her face wreathe in smiles when you say the word 'cucumber;' see her make an elephant sound when prompted; or use the sign for 'more' when wanting a longer ride on the park swing or the Roomba, their robot vacuum, to be activated. As you might have guessed, we're somewhat besotted with her antics and already miss her as we won't see her again until near the end of the road trip in late August.