| Author | Message | ||
     Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  well, for nearly two weeks we'd been riding TOWARD Ivan... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  ...now we were running FROM it. these two images were posted at our stop at Mabry Mill, and were a stark reminder of the fury that was poised to pound the South. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 06, 2004) | ||
| S2pengy |
The sad part to this story is the fact that the Feds stole the land to build the parkway and displaced many families.. Some were aloud to stay but alot were treated no better than the Indians earlier in history | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Todd, i just spent about a half hour on line doing searches trying to find any mention of the Federal Government "stealing" land (i used words like "repossession", "acquisition", "assessment", etc. in my searches) to build the Parkway, and could not. in fact, on line and in the book i purchased from Scott Graham were many references to how much effort the Government went to during the design and acquisition process to work with existing land owners, and also mention the much-needed employment that construction of the Parkway provided local residents. not disagreeing with you, as the whole Parkway experience (including its history) is still very new to me, but do you know of an online source that details your viewpoint? best regards, Ferris | ||
| S2pengy |
Jerry I was floored when my mother gave me an article from a magazine (Smithsonion???) about it... Alot of the property of was homesteaded with no paperwork sooo the Feds took advantage of the situation... | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
AZ SpringFast 2005 sorry to spam your thread but thought this public service announcement was worth it  | ||
| Firemanjim |
Hey,Jerry.JB2 just clued me in about the 2 Norcal folks you met that knew me,any names to go with the story?Details--- | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Todd, i did a search of Smithsonian magazine, came up with nothing. FMJ, no names, sorry. the guy owns a carpet store somewhere in your neck of the woods, and it sounds like business has been good. i got the impression the lady with him was a good friend. both riding Beemers. they were very tight-lipped about their plans. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Sam Weems didn’t like the idea of forcing people to give up their land — even for the Parkway. A federal land bank employee before the National Park Service "borrowed" him in the spring of 1935, Weems was assigned the task of assessing land for the recreation areas that were to be developed along the Parkway...How did Weems — who was proud of the fact he never had to resort to condemnation to acquire land for the Parkway — persuade landowners to sell? "It took a lot of talking and petting of people’s dogs," he said, and in one case making much of a landowner’s pet billy goat. Elizabeth C. Hunter, "Blue Ridge Parkway – America’s Favorite Journey" | ||
| Racerboy |
My daughter, Robyn, after her freshman year in college obtained a job working on the Ocoee River in Ducktown TN (right next to Turtletown)...The Ocoee is the river the Atlanta Olympics used as it's white water venue...Ducktown is about 90 s'miles from Deals Gap so, naturally, I just was forced to visit my daughter three or four times each summer while she was in college...On one of my trips I was up on the BRP and had pulled into the Plott Balsam Overlook...While enjoying the view a minivan also pulled in disgorging three senior couples...With great reluctance I engaged them in a bit of conversation and was very surprised to learn that the old farm in the valley below was the Plott homestead and one of the ladies was the great, great granddaughter of said farmer Plott...She told wonderful tales handed down through her family probably the most interesting of which is the tale (tail?) of their dogs...You see her great, great grandfather was the originator of the Plott Hound that is the state dog of North Carolina... The Plott Balsam overlook: http://www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway_tour/overlooks/00458.asp The Plott Hound: http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-plott.htm And, although they had to get over it, she related that the story in her family is that they were none too pleased at the way they were treated by the feds... And that reminds me of the story of "The "Road to Nowhere"...When the feds acquired the land for the Great Smoky Mountains NP and the TVA built Fontana Dam they dislocated all the people living on the north side of the lake from the family properties...Most notable and missed were the family graveyards...Well the government promised to build them a road from Bryson City (near Cherokee) into the north side of the lake in order that they could visit all the old graveyards and pay their respects...Never happened...Today there is a road that is exactly built like the BRP that leaves Bryson City and heads west, northwest into the hills...For a ways you ride and think you're on the BRP, especially as you enter a tunnel...The thing is, though, the road doesn't emerge from the tunnel...It just ends and is "The Road to Nowhere"...To this day the completion of this road is a political hot potato in that part of North Carolina...During the last BRAG regional event we went looking for, found and rode "The Road to Nowhere"...As you leave Bryson City there is a sign that is privately maintained that so informs you of the broken promise of the gov'mint...Oh, and the graveyards are visited twice a year when the NP Service provides free boat service to the north shore of Fontana Lake for the families... Bob | ||
| Jb2 |
I won't defend the Gov'ment nor the original land owners. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Smoky Mnts. Nat. Park, and the Foothills Parkway are all beautiful places that require public ownership to support, protect and maintain. Our tax dollars paid for them and I intend to use them, without guilt, for my personal enjoyment. At least those places are SPAM FREE!!! | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
this thread - up to this point, anyway - has been incredibly positive, a recount in words and photos of the most amazing motorcycle journey i've ever taken, and i've ridden a long time. the positivity shall prevail. Ferris (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Dino |
Ferris: The history of mankind is one of war, famine, dislocation, relocation, etc. While I don't mean to trivialize the trauma to the families involved, I don't think that the relocations involved in the creation of the Parkway ranks real high in the list of human tragedies. I'm sure that pretty much any location on this earth has seen its share of human triumph and tragedy. That only adds to the richness of the experience. Your trip was epic on many levels, only a few of which can be appreciated by those of us monitoring this thread. None the less, we've been enjoying the hell out out of riding along with you through your words and photographs. Onward and upward, my friend. Dino | ||
| Blake |
Rest easy Jerry, as I can assure all here that no people, dogs or even kitties have been displaced to make room for your wonderful tail of travel on the BRP. Thanks for taking me back to trips that are near and dear to my heart. You rock brother.  | ||
| Court |
>>>You rock brother Each and every one of these installments brings back a memory of trips on Buells when Buells were not a household word. Plus Ferris does it classier than I. . . the last time I jetted down the Parkway, I had what was to, the following year, become the S2T. at 3:30AM that morning I spewed an IBM laptop, ejected from the right bag, down the parkway. Keep writing Ferris.... Court | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Dino, Blake, and Court - thanks for your positive words and support. 'tis exactly what i needed to hear, so much so that i went back and "cleaned up" my post above. as it should be, the high road is quite often the best road. thanks guys. FB | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  this is Mabry Mill. it's still operational, and you can walk inside the mill and MARVEL at the complexity of the workings. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  part of the network of flumes that supply water to the mill. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  the smithy's shop at Mabry Mill. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  a close-up of one of the cabins on the site... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  ...with a local resident hard at work on her loom inside the cabin. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  Ed and Lizzie Mabry brewed their own hootch on-site. my kind of people. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  we'd wandered the grounds for a bit, and were preparing to nose around in the store, when a small bevy of bikes pulled up, a collection of fellows heading south on the Parkway as it turns out. (um, you guys DO know that there's a hurricane a'comin', right???) (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  they turned out to be good ol' boys, and JB2 regaled them in fine fashion with his and our tales of the twisted, turning road. whilst he was keepin' 'em busy, i took the opportunity to duck into a stall in the men's room to, well... several minutes later they all came trooping in, unaware that i was unintentionally eavesdropping, and were, to a man, FLABBERGASTED at the mileage that JB2 had done thus far on this trip, particularly astounded at the 800-mile day he logged on his way west from Indiana to originally meet me. one of the boys spoke up. "Hey, we've been on the road THREE days and HOW many miles have we done?" "About five hundred TOTAL," came the reply. astonishment at what me 'n JB2 were doing was then offered up in large, generous portions. i popped out the stall about that time (much to their surprise) and quite enjoyed, even if it was fleeting, our newfound "icon" status. say, you boys DO know there's a hurricane a'comin', right??? (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  there's a lot more to this day (heck, there's a lot more to our stop at Mabry Mill), but time's marching on, both then, there, and here, now. we stopped and shopped at the Folk Art Center. we mailed Henrik some post cards. and we talked to Court on the phone, who, if anything, was even more excited than we were that we were doing the Parkway. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  beware of spiral curves... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  ...ESPECIALLY ones that cause... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 07, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY THIRTEEN, cont.  ...poor Joe, the 954 rider, to unwittingly levitate off into space. ok, that's all the pix this day, epic day 13, a full day on the unforgettable Blue Ridge Parkway. JB2 did a masterful job of keeping us moving, in spite of how many photo stops we made. he knows the Parkway, and knew we had some ground to cover. as it turns out, the last 30 miles were in the dark and the fog, fog as chewy as i've ever ridden in. thirty miles doesn't seem like much, but when you're tired, and cold, and you can't see two feet in front of you, and you're doing all of about 15 miles an hour, in the mountains, well, it was a long 30 miles. the Parkway is beyond words. i've barely tried to describe it on this day, for if you haven't been there, all the words in the world can't take you there. maybe THIS will get you close: the next time you're riding your very most favorite section of road, imagine that Your Road is 470 miles long. we certainly had pushed to do the deal. the extra time we'd spent in Colorado had caught up to us. two days to ride 625 miles, at the glacial pace we were setting, well, two days wasn't enough. two WEEKS might not be enough. i'll be back to the BRP. i can't wait. we pulled in to our motel in Waynesboro, Virginia pretty well whupped, and pretty well stoked. stoked for several reasons, one of which was that "Hillbilly" Ed Manning had been on the road himself for several days, and was waiting there for us in Waynesboro, ready to add his rich eastern Kentucky character to the mix. party on, Garth. TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 346.3 (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 08, 2004) | ||
| Edmanning |
Tennawhat? I guess you were tired. (Message edited by edmanning on November 08, 2004) | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Jerry, I live here, I ride here, I've ridden here for the longest, and your work is impressive. You, sir, should put out your own coffee table book. Milepost 312 (NC 181) is my old/current stomping grounds and a couple other folks on this board. Greg |
