The Blue Ridge Parkway

We live in such a scenic area.  This week we took some time to get out and enjoy a bit of it as a family.  We loaded up the family, a few snacks and set out on “another adventure” as Olivia calls it.    This time we tackled The Blue Ridge Parkway.  

There are so many trails, overlooks and scenic areas that I can’t begin to do it justice in this blog post.   So I’ll just cover the Carter Family farm and a few scenic shots later in the post.

During the summer months the buildings are open and their are period clad persons on site.  We’ll be making a trip back next spring! 

Here is the family home.  I found it interesting that the house had no openings for windows, but maybe that was a frivolous endeavor at the time? 

Below are the chicken coop, and the entry way to the smoke house. 

 

The barn, pictured below was more to protect the animals from predators than the elements.  As you can see it’s still very much open to cold and rain/snow.

Below is a bear proof pig pen.  The logs across the top were held in place by pole across the middle, which in turn was held in place the by X sections.  Pretty creative, eh?

The springhouse was a  open, and quite cool inside.  I still prefer my refrigerator, thank you!

Below is the inside of the spring house, the dark section in the middle is the little stream of water that runs through to help keep foods cool.

This particular homestead had a lot of hickory trees.  We even tried some hickory nuts (I prefer almonds).   However, based on the “squirrel buffet” below, I don’t think the squirrels mind the taste a bit.After we left the farm, we traveled along the Parkway and enjoyed the scenery.   Even way up here, graffiti is present.

Then on the way home we found (not that it was lost, but we didn’t know it was there) this lovely lake.  We’ll be going back next summer to swim, fish and camp.

Prior to our outing we did a brief study, here is a list of the book and videos we used:

Visual Character of the Blue Ridge Parkway; U.S. Dept. of The Interior
Blue Ridge Mountain Memories; Windows of the World VHS Series

Having my husband home for an entire week has been wonderful.  We’ve been able to spend time together and do things as a family, at a leisurely pace.  No rushing to get to work or activities, and for that I am truly thankful!