A sneek peak to Appalachian life at the Humpback Rock

 

Another sidetrip along the parkway is the Humpback Rock Mountain Farm. It is located at milepost 5.8 on the Blueridge Parkway. The farm serves as an outdoor museum, reminiscent of an 1800s Southern America mountain farm. Most if not all of the buildings in the farm were relocated from nearby locations.

 

 

 

 

 Inside the cabin you will see old knick-knacks on display, such as a small bed, a wooden crib, an old-fashioned mouse trap, a spinning wheel, a witch broom, and a home-made doll made from corn husks. The cabin is not fitted with indoor plumbing. You will learn that Appalachian life is a little backward as compared to the rest of 19th century America. Isolation is seen as one major reason, hence, the construction of the Blueridge Parkway.

 

 

 

 

Throw your cares away and be a hillbilly (but certainly not stupid) for a day. Take a pick of your spot and enjoy the breeze while listening to bluegrass music.

 

 

The best time to visit is during the summer months when the cabin and the outbuildings are open and when costumed rangers demonstrate early mountain life.

 

 

 

A visit to this mountain farm opened my eyes to how some of the early mountain settlers lived in America. I didn't know about Appalachian Culture apart from stories of the hillbillies from the movies and books. Indeed, it is a great place to learn about another culture that is totally different from the America we now know.

 

 

 

Road Trippin' over at the Blue Ridge Parkway

 

 

 

Cited as one of America's scenic highways, the Blue Ridge Parkway stretches over North Carolina all the way to Virginia. Along the highway, there are several scenic points where motorists can stop and enjoy the  scenery. Ravens Roost is one such place. Located at milepost 10.7 on the Virginia side of the parkway, it is a great side trip prior to a wine tasting spree in the area.

 

 

 

 

Aside from the "official" viewing deck, there are other interesting spots not far from Ravens Roost that offer equally magnificent views of the highway as well as the mountains.

 

 

 

Just be careful while traversing the sharp and pointed rocks over the steep cliff. Be on the lookout also for poison ivies (at least there were some when we went there).

 

 

 Don't lean too far! It's a long way down.

 

 

If you do decide to go on looking for secret cliffs like we had, do it another day or prior to any wine tasting tours you have planned. The idea of danger is always fun, but one wrong step and it would be bye-bye world. Don't do it our way -- that is .. rock climbing after wine tasting.

 

What were we thinking, you ask. The truth is, we were not thinking at all. Our trainer took us wine tasting in the morning and rock climbing after. Maybe he thought his "secret" cliff is too good to pass up when it was just along the highway back to Charlottesville where we were staying.  The wine robbed us of reason for that brief period of time.

 

Looking back, maybe the idea that we had  just wine, were not wearing proper footwear, and that we were about to traverse a steep cliff sort of awakened senses we didn't  know we had.  (read: we were extra careful.) Our senses worked full-time that whole time that we were still full of energy at sun down. It was as if our bodies were recharged. lol

 

It may have been liberating to do something spontaneous and for once not think of the consequence, but we were just lucky nothing bad happened. Not everyone will be lucky so don't risk it. Don't drink and climb!

 

 

 

** Please excuse the morbid closing as I am now back to my lucid and over-analytical state. :)

 

 

Photo Wednesday: Views of a View

Distance lends enchantment to the view.
- Mark Twain

 

More often than not, what happens during a trip makes the destination much more memorable.  Pictures are a great way to reminisce those experiences and certainly there would be different views of the "view" when shared with others. For the outsider, a picture could be insignificant. For the traveler, it could mean so much more. The distance that he had to cover are partly the reasons why a particluar place holds a special place in his heart.

This photo was taken after climbing a steep cliff at the side of the road after a wine tasting spree at two wineries (read entry, here.) in the Virginia area. The wine-tasting spree wouldn't have been as memorable if we didn't climb that cliff, considering that one of us was terrified of heights. The one who had a problem with heights would certainly have a different view, don't you think? Read more about our road trip along the Blueridge Parkway, here.

 

 (Photo: At the Blueridge Parkway in Virginia, 2009)