We departed the KOA on Route 70 West. We planned on
following this get back onto Route 25 and eventually it would intersect with Route
23.
We passed this painted fence, it really caught my eye.
Artspace. I was figuring that is was some form out outdoor art. Wrong! ArtSpace
Charter School is a K-8, tuition-free public charter school. Since 2001, ArtSpace has delivered an
innovative education to the children of Western North Carolina through the
integration of the arts. Arts-Integrated education naturally harnesses the joy
of discovery and creation to give students the skills they need for a rich and
successful life. At the school, students’ academic lives are marked with the
milestones of their own creation. Abstract concepts leave tangible results –
artistic achievements, mastery of skills, lasting memories of proud
performances – these educational artifacts testify to an exceptional culture.
This culture creates exceptional human beings.
On Route 70, we traveled under a bridge on the Blue
Ridge Parkway. Oh, I loved the year we traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will
follow that route again, it affords so awesome views of the mountains and
surrounding areas!
Route 70 is Tunnel Road, as we drove I could not
figure out why it was called that. But at the end of it, or the beginning
depending on your direction of travel. There is a tunnel. It is where Tunnel
Road becomes College Street.
We skirted around Asheville NC along two lane roads
with more tree canopies. Have I told you how much I love to travel on roads
with foliage canopies over them? Well, I do!
All our roads have come together … US Routes 23, 25, 70
and 19. I love it when a plan from the atlas comes together. Everyone asks how
we do these two lane adventures … just like that. Plot it out in the atlas and
hope and pray that the roads you pick, take you where you want to go! Oh well,
if they don’t … it is about the journey, not just the destination!
The best part about traveling in the late spring is
the beautiful roadside flowers. They are just beautiful!
Looks like this will be our fate today … up and down,
up and down! Oh, what a climb we have ahead of us!
But, at the top of every climb, we have beautiful
views! I love to see the heart of America in these farms.
Sams Gap, at
3760 ft, is the pass in the Bald Mountains section of the Appalachian chain
through which US Highway 23 winds across the North Carolina and Tennessee border.
The old route, now known as Flag Pond Road, was an extremely dangerous route
during winter with sharp turns and limited guard rails. The Appalachian Trail
also runs along the state’s borders here.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail
is a hiking trail more than 2,175 miles long from Maine to Georgia. It was
conceived in 1921 and first completed in 1937. It’s used for everything from
short walks, to day hikes and long-distance backpacking journeys, and offers
spectacular scenery along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains. On its way,
the Trail passes through more than 75 different federal and state forests and
other park lands.
Driving on US 23 the Cherokee National Forest
surround you. It is the largest tract of public land in Tennessee and
Tennessee's only National Forest. Land for the forest was first acquired in 1911.
It initially also included lands in both North Carolina and Georgia, but in
1936 Cherokee National Forest and Unaka National Forest were reorganized along
state lines. We traveled through the forest from North Carolina to here. At
Erwin, Tennessee, the Rock Creek Recreation Area within the forest has a hike
to two waterfalls. Nearby is the Erwin National Fish Hatchery. You’ll never see
more fish than at a hatchery, they have been raising fish since 1894. There is
a small visitor center with information on fish. Also on site is the Unicoi
County Heritage Museum, which occupies the former hatchery superintendent’s
residence.
As we drive through Erwin on US 23, we passed a bit
of history. It is the former Clinchfield RR Depot, but now the county library.
No trains stop here now, but, the tracks are still active. Along with the history
of these hills, there are the modern conveniences too. There is a Wal-Mart Superstore
in nearby Unicoi!
While driving through, we cross part of US 11. This
route runs from the Canadian border at Rouses Point, New York to New Orleans,
Louisiana, right down the spine of the Appalachian Mountains and it often runs
near Interstate 81, but it has not been eliminated. It splits into US 11E and
US 11W in Bristol, Virginia, less than a mile north of the Tennessee-Virginia
state line, so we are only crossing US-11W at this time. We have traveled on US
11 before, verses traveling on the Interstate. Almost out of Tennessee, we move
from rural forests to cities, like Johnson City and Kingsport, Tennessee is
only 8 miles from Gate City Kentucky. We drove just over 60 miles in Tennessee!
Crossing the state line from Tennessee to Virginia,
we are still on US 23. Here it is also known as Daniel Boone Heritage Trail. One
of the nation's most historic routes, the trail was blazed by the legendary
frontiersman in 1775 and has become the route for hundreds of thousands of
settlers of the western frontier.
Moccasin Gap in the Clinch Mountains is one of two
ground level water gaps leading from the western reaches of the Great Valley of
Virginia into the interior of the Alleghenies. The Great Warriors path crossed
through here and American settlers pouring through Moccasin Gap and into
Kentucky violated a treaty with the Shawnee, which led to Lord Dunmore's War in
1774.
The Wilderness Trail intersects the Clinch River here
and follows Stock Creek upstream. By 1789, John Wallen built a cabin at the
mouth of Stock Creek - Chief Benge attacked it and was driven off after 3 of
his Indian party were killed. Pictured is the Carter Cabin, an original
dwelling that was home to the famous Carter Family – donated to the Wilderness
Trail Association and rebuilt along the bank of Stock Creek near Natural Tunnel
State Park.
In the 1880s the “natural tunnel” was declared the
"Eighth Wonder of the World" and has long been attracting sightseers.
Daniel Boone was among the first non-native Americans to see the tunnel. This
850-foot long tunnel was carved by water running underground through fault
lines in the local limestone and only later did Stock Creek, which flows
through it today, enter the cave. Other scenic features include a wide chasm
between steep stone walls surrounded by several pinnacles, or
"chimneys."
In Duffield, Virginia, at the intersection of State
Route 871 and US 23, one picks up the major shortcut of the Wilderness Trail -
the so-called "Devil's Race Path." As the wagons labored up a steep
grade they were easy prey for thieves who lived there. This intersection is
referred to as "Little Flat Lick" and named after a salt spring that
oozed from the ground under the road. From here one can look at Powell Mountain
and see a notch that is Kane Gap, the only significant section of the trail
that has not been paved over.
In Virginia, US 23 is also part of The Crooked Road Heritage
Music Trail. The trail winds through almost 300 miles of scenic terrain in
southwest Virginia, including 19 counties, four cities, and 54 towns. The
sounds of country music beat strong and pure in Virginia, especially in the
Blue Ridge Highlands and Heart of Appalachia regions, connected by The Crooked
Road. Day and night, the plaintive strains of the mountain ballads and
toe-tapping, old-time dance music echo across this region's sharp ridges and
deep valleys. Look for the sign along the Trail as you explore the musical soul
of Virginia's country connections and experience a unique and unforgettable
experience!
In Big Stone Gap, you can see one of these
connections. The ‘Trail of the Lonesome Pine Outdoor Drama.’ It is the longest
continually running outdoor drama in Virginia, and it is now the official
Outdoor Drama of Virginia. It provides
an exciting entertaining and accurate accounting of the story made famous in
the early 1900's by the noted author John Fox, Jr. It depicts the effect that the discovery of
coal in the Appalachian Mountains had on the people of this beautiful mountain
region.
Route 23 is a busy road, not only because of the
traffic! It also carries the designation of ‘Country Music Highway’ and the ‘Virginia
Coal Scenic Byway.’ That makes a total of four designations for the same stretch
of road in Virginia … yes, busy!
On US 23 at Horse Gap, in Pound Virginia,
there is a mural, which depicts historic figures and times in the town. It is
painted on a 50-by-15-foot wall remnant of the C&O trestle that once
carried trains through the Pine Mountain Tunnel to the Meade Fork coal mine. The
wall had stood at that gap for 66 years and remarkably had never seen graffiti
or public damage. It was the ideal place to let travelers know they were near
the historic and 'infamous' yet noble town called Pound. Historical elements
featured on the wall include a coal train; tunnel; Meade Mine Tipple; Robinson
Mill; U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers and plane; Napoleon Hill and his most
famous motivational quotation: “What the mind of man can conceive and believe,
the mind can achieve”; Chant Kelly, founder of the town of Pound; and Glenn
Roberts, innovator of the basketball jump shot.
At the border of Virginia and Kentucky on US 23,
perched atop a knoll is the Kentucky Civil War Memorial. We would have stopped,
but the drive was too steep for our rig and there were no parking on the
shoulder signs.
It looked very interesting from below.
Y’all can’t tell by their distinguished town sign,
but Pikesville Kentucky is home to the annual Hillbilly Festival. Y’all be sure
to come and enjoy one of the state’s largest festivals, Hillbilly Days! Since
1977, Pike County has been celebrating Hillbilly Days. This nationally known
annual event is a fundraiser to benefit the Shriners’ Children’s Hospital in
Lexington, Kentucky. Held in downtown Pikeville Kentucky, as early as the 11th
of April and as late as the 21st of April. This is one festival you’ve got to
see to believe! Artists and craftspeople showcase their talents and sell their
handiwork amidst mountain music, clogging, and square dancing. Men, women and
youngsters pick and grin while trying to outdo each other with their wild
hillbilly outfits. You could even enter the Possum Queen contest, come on … who
would not want to be name Possum Queen?!
It also has the strange distinction of being part
of the territory of the famous Hatfield-McCoy feud. There is a driving tour of
some of the sites where over 100 years ago these two families began to fight
each other. Apparently over a stolen pig, though no one is sure. The tour takes
you to ten or twelve sites where the feud took place, including the home and
grave of Randolph McCoy.
Just northeast of Van Lear is Butcher Hollow. This
little valley was the birthplace of country music star Loretta Lynn, and is one
of the reasons this part of US-23 is the Country Music Highway.
Something to consider as we drive through the hills
and valleys is that this area was in the thick of Civil War fighting. As we
approach Prestonburg, a few miles west of town is the Middle Creek National
Battlefield. Here we can see where over a hundred years ago, on January 10,
1862 a battle was fought that ended Confederate supremacy in the region. It
also launched the career of James A. Garfield, who became our twentieth
president. The battle at Middle Creek took place just after the Battle of Ivy
Creek, mentioned below, and some men fought in both. The Middle Creek valley
provided excellent defensive positions for the Confederates, who were poorly
armed and equipped. The Union, under Garfield, mounted a piecemeal attack which
slowly forced the Confederates up the hill. As the fighting petered out at
sundown, the Confederate Brigadier Gen. Humphrey Marshall retreated southward,
knowing that food for his men and horses could be found near modern-day
Hueysville. Garfield kept to the battlefield, buried the dead of both sides,
and then withdrew to Prestonsburg, where he commandeered a house for his
temporary headquarters.
We arrived at the Ashland – Huntington KOA, our home for the
night. It’s been rather a slow day of driving, as the old two-lane road of US 23
was not built for speed. Hope you enjoyed the scenery though as we wandered
through mountains and small towns; I did.
