FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway eNewsletter
|
Volume 3, Issue 2 This Month's Features Message from FRIENDS' President President and Mrs. Bush Visit Shenandoah National Park Parkway Seeks Public Input For Repair of Unstable Roadbed at MP 270.3 A Visit to the Blue Ridge Music Center Blue Ridge Parkway Road Closures National Trails Day, June 2, 2007 Hiking 101 - The Trail Beneath Your Feet Adopt-A-Trail Groups' Trail Dates Donate or HELP Support FRIENDS Contact Your State or District Representative FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education. FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia, whose current principal business address for identification purposes is P.O. Box 20986, Roanoke, Virginia 24018. 
|
Message from FRIENDS' PresidentDear Friend,
President Bush has asked Congress to provide more money to the Blue Ridge Parkway for visitor services, upkeep, and law enforcement. Under the proposed budget, the National Park Service (NPS) would receive $2.4 billion, of which $1.5 million would be allocated to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Superintendent Phil Francis has estimated that he could fund 47 additional seasonal employees. How could this be anything but good news? According to the Congressional Research Service report two years ago, the maintenance backlog for the NPS was between $4.5 billion to $9.7 billion. The annual operating shortfall was more than $600 million a year. As we are all aware, these staggering numbers translate to neglected trails, facilities in need of upkeep, and a dearth of staffers to assist the Parkway visitors. The 57 vacant permanent staff positions will remain unfilled. Too many years of under-funding the NPS has left the Parkway with a $3 million annual operating budget deficit – a cloud under which it will continue to labor. Click on the news articles below for further explanation of how this budget will be allocated and to which parks. Link to PDF:
Budget would give N.C. Parks more.pdf And, let your congressional representatives hear from you! Call your representative or click on the links at the end of the eNewsletter. To call your Member of Congress: US Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121 To locate your Representative on-line: Scroll to the end of this eNewsletter for the link to your Senator's or Representative's website. Send a message that states: I urge you to support increased funding for the Blue Ridge Parkway as part of the National Park Service fiscal year operating budget. Tell them you are supporting FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway! Thank you, J. Richard Wells, President President and Mrs. Bush Visit Shenandoah National Park
President Bush has recently released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2008, and the news for the National Park Service has generated much discussion. On Wednesday, February 7th the President spoke to a gathering of concerned citizens at Shenandoah National Park outlining his Centennial Initiative, explaining how it ties to the $2.4 billion operating budget he has proposed for the National Park Service. Bush describes his Centennial Initiative in this way. Over the next 10 years, Bush challenges public and private investment up to $3 billion to prepare the parks for their 100th anniversary in 2016. Currently the Parks receive about $20 million per year in cash gifts. The Centennial Challenge will increase the level of giving and help fund the signature programs and projects identified through a public, open, and transparent process.
To read more about President and Mrs. Bush’s visit, link to PDF: President’s_Remarks_National_Parks_Centennial_Initiative.pdf As members of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, you can make the difference by supporting our efforts. Dig deep and DONATE If you’re not currently a member, JOIN TODAY. Parkway Seeks Public Input For Repair of Unstable Roadbed at MP 270.3
Parkway officials said the EA evaluates the impacts of developing corrective measures that will either arrest the slide movement to stabilize the slope using a system of anchor blocks or to stabilize the road bed by spanning the slide with a bridge. The project will alleviate continuing safety concerns and maintenance efforts on this portion of the Parkway. Those who wish to review and comment on this document may do so by visiting the Internet site http://parkplanning.nps.gov. Select Blue Ridge Parkway, "Plans/Documents Open for Comment" then click on the document link. ( Direct Link ) Even though using this website is recommended, written comments may also be submitted to: Blue Ridge Parkway, ATTN: Suzette Molling, 199 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, NC 28803. Comments must be sent by March 15. Ideas and concerns expressed by those who comment will be used to prepare the final proposal and impact analysis. Comments are typically treated as a public record and made available for public review. Individuals may request that the National Park Service withhold their name and address from disclosure. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowable by law. A Visit to the Blue Ridge Music CenterBy Fred First
My wife will never let me live down the fact that for nine years we lived an hour's drive east or west of the Biltmore House in Asheville, and I never once took her there to see it. There is a kind of perverse inertia that comes over us such that the closer we live to a widely-popular landmark or destination; the less likely we are to go there to see it ourselves. Tourists will drive a half day to see the sights just beyond our back fence, and we can't be bothered to drive across the county. Go figure! This being the case, I was pleased when the opportunity to write for High Vistas gave me just the needed motivation to do what I'd said I would "someday" get around to doing. In late January, I drove the Parkway from Route 8 (in Floyd County, MP 165) to the Blue Ridge Music Center and Museum (MP 213 south of Galax). And now I wonder why it took me so long, and I regret that I've missed seeing this wonderful facility grow to a full-fledged destination--right in our back yard! But it isn't finished growing yet! Much remains to be done, and the Fishers Peak Chapter of FRIENDS is central to that continued improvement. You'll read in the next print newsletter of the need for bridges to cross the sensitive trout streams--a necessary and expensive addition before the trails can be officially open to visitors. On my visit to the Center on a very cold day in late January, my tour guide, trails ramrod Pete Bramley and I took a shortcut back to the warmth of the Museum. And what a wonderful photo-op we discovered: a setting where natural and cultural history come pleasantly together--a beaver dam in the meadow just a stone's throw away from the music amphitheatre! Fred First is a physical therapist, author and photographer from Floyd County, Virginia. He will be helping from time to time with the newsletter and keeps up a daily weblog, http://fragmentsfromfloyd.com where you can find more Blue Ridge photography and writing. I would like to donate to help save Parkway views Blue Ridge Parkway Road ClosuresAs of February 12, 2007 the following road information was recorded and is subject to change by calling (828) 298-0398. Virginia The motor road is open and clear for travel with the exception of:
North Carolina The motor road is open and clear for travel with the exception of:
For more information about Blue Ridge Parkway Closures call (828) 298-0398 JeopardyBy Eileen Kelly, former secretary to the Blue Ridge Parkway Superintendent
Not a bad dream, as far as PG-rated ones go, and certainly more feasible than winning the lottery, which I nevertheless dream about on a daily basis. The reason my Parkway dream is so feasible is because that's where I work and, since starting last summer, I've learned LOTS of facts and figures about it, which I now rattle off at every conceivable opportunity. This has had a somewhat unfortunate effect on my marriage and friends' dinner invitations are drying up, but I don't care because I've never had a job that appeals to me on so many levels. For one thing, my office windows frame woods abounding with wildflowers and plants, and I've actually seen real animals poking through the underbrush. Folks stop in all the time, usually brimming with good cheer and questions about flowers and trees, birds and bears. I even know the answers once in awhile, which is pretty heady stuff for a city girl who only recently discovered that pickles and cucumbers are somehow related. For another thing, the Blue Ridge Parkway – all 469 glorious miles of it – is much more than a road. It's a concept that captures a sense of time and place that's gone forever even as it holds a promise for the future in its vibrant grasp. And my job with the National Park Service is to make sure this promise is met and that this concept is as viable 100 years from now as it is today. The Parkway wends it way from Virginia to North Carolina, connecting the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. It travels beside meandering creeks and the crests of mountains to the tilt and sway of long-ago times, passing ancient Indian sites and early homesteaders' cabins. It was conceived as a make-work project for the folks in Appalachia during the Great Depression. Foreseeing the rush of tourists and the revenue they’d bring with them, both North Carolina and Tennessee fought bitterly to bring the Parkway through their states once it left the borders of Virginia. North Carolina won and the work began. The first shovel clanged through the stony ground in 1936, but the natives were skeptical. No way a person could make roads and tunnels through these mountains. These mountains would skin a person alive if they tried. But they did try, and they won. They battled the heat in the summer and the snow in the winter and the mind-numbing doldrums in between. They constructed bridges over turbulent rivers, leveled rocky terrain and blasted their way through the mountains much like they blasted their way through life. It took 55 years to finish, longer than a lot of lifetimes in Southern Appalachia, where poverty was as palpable as the mountains in which it was nestled. The Depression was wracking the entire country in 1936 but nowhere more savagely then here. You can see it in the faces of the people staring out from the timeworn photos. You can still feel a jolt of uneasiness at the intensity of their expressions and the way their Scots-Irish pride transcends their raggedy clothing. Very few people smile in these photos. Instead, they stare fiercely - almost menacingly - at the camera – as if to say, "You kin take our pictures but that's all you're gettin." You see women in aprons with huge goiters on their necks and men in suspenders with no teeth. You see kids standing stiff and straight and barefoot in their homemade clothes, gazing at the camera with a wariness that belies their years. You see ramshackle cabins and barns in the distance, and drooping tractors vying with equally drooping animals for right-of-way in fields. Then you see photos of the land, and think how remarkably unchanged it seems. The mountains still soar to the sky in a haze of blue mist, shadow-silhouetted by the approaching dusk. The meadows still sway in the mid-day sun, enclosed and protected by the bordering forests. The land is gorgeous, as luxurious as the people are austere, and you can see why it drew them here in spite of the sparseness of its soil and the remoteness of its location. After all, that's why it drew me here. I never heard of the Blue Ridge Parkway until a few years ago and would have scoffed at anyone who said a road could be mesmerizing. But that was before I traveled that road and heard its music: the rush of a waterfall at Looking Glass Falls, the scolding of a blue jay at Craggy Gardens, the strum of a banjo at the Blue Ridge Music Center. You hope the land will go on as it always has, immutable and impervious, but you know it's a forlorn hope. There are too many people and too much development. There are pollution and acid rain and blight and a thousand and one other challenges to this fragile place. That's why I’m glad for my job and for what I do, however insignificant it seems in the grand scheme of things. Volunteer SpotlightMary Guynn
Mary has always loved the Parkway. As a young girl in the Depression it was the only free recreation to be had in the area. So she essentially grew up on the Parkway and wants to do whatever she can to help preserve its beauty. As Federal funding has decreased over the years, more and more volunteers are needed to keep it in the pristine condition that she has always known it. During the ten years or so as a Board Member, she was involved in the creation of the Viaduct Project and the 50th Anniversary celebrations, to name just two of the many projects. Since then she has become a member of FRIENDS' first Chapter, the Fishers Peak Chapter. Mary helps the trail building crew by taking them lunch and water to enjoy after a hard morning's work on the trail. She is so full of energy and a nicer person you could not meet. Mary is an inspiration to us all. Mary's best friend, Charlie, pictured here with Mary, passed away in December. We honor Charlie with this picture of Mary and Charlie. I would like to donate to help the Volunteers in Parks. From the American Hiking Society's Paperless TrailNational Trails Day, June 2, 2007
For more information about National Trails Day, contact Ivan Levin, Trail Programs Manager, at 301-565-6704 x 208 or ILevin@AmericanHiking.org. Hiking 101 - The Trail Beneath Your Feet
One of the important principles of Leave No Trace environmental ethics is to camp and travel on durable surfaces. Not only does this mean that we should not travel on easily-eroded surfaces, but also that we should follow these dictums:
For more info on Leave No Trace ethics please visit our website. Adopt-A-Trail Groups' Trail DatesFRIENDS' Fishers Peak Chapter The schedule is: Meet at the trail head parking lot on Foothills Road. Volunteers must sign up in advance by contacting: Dottie Bramley, pdbramley@valink.com Telephone: (276) 236-7658 Volunteers bring a sack lunch, if you would like to eat together after the trail work. Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Pictures from Cascade Creek Bridge on the MST by the BRP
Mountains-to-Sea Trail StoryBy Tom Dillon That sign "MST WORK" that you may see along the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, once the weather warms up, does not indicate that someone is down on his luck and wants to wash your car in exchange for lunch. It indicates that a volunteer work crew is nearby working on North Carolina's Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a 900-mile-plus hiking trail that will one day let people walk all the way from Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Jockey's Ridge on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Much of the trail route in the mountains will follow the right-of-way of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the trail promises travelers on the Parkway many new chances to get out of their cars and stretch their legs. The trail joins the Parkway where the road ends at U.S. 441 just outside of Cherokee, N.C., and it follows the road – with some detours -- all the way to the Devil's Garden overlook just north of Doughton Park in Alleghany County, N.C. That's a distance of more than 200 trail (and Parkway) miles. Not all of that is complete, says Allen de Hart, trail guide author and the current motivating force behind the trail. But it's getting close. This summer, trail workers will be working on trail sections from the Northwest Trading Post, milepost 257, north to N.C. 18, and also east of Blowing Rock. Once those and a section near Soco Gap are done, some 300 miles of trail will be complete in western North Carolina, giving access not only to the Parkway but to such scenic wonders as Linville Gorge, the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests and various state parks, notably including Mount Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi River. The trail crossings are identified by small "MST" markers along the Parkway, and they will often lead to places you wouldn't find otherwise. Some that have attracted de Hart during his years of mapping out trail include the Devil's Courthouse and Craggy Gardens, trail sections maintained by the Carolina Mountain Club out of Asheville, and the Bald Knob and Linville Gorge areas near Morganton. De Hart and Alan Householder, today a llama wrangler in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hiked the entire trail route in 1997, and de Hart described the experience in "Hiking North Carolina's Mountains- to-Sea Trail," published by University of North Carolina Press in the year 2000. It's a good guidebook. Designating new trail mileage is a complex job, requiring environmental and archeological evaluations, but the trail has nevertheless attracted many people in recent years. A volunteer group called Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (FMST) was organized in 1997 and will celebrate its 10th year in 2007. It includes many of the volunteers who work on the trail. The American Hiking Society sponsored a "Volunteer Vacation" week on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in the fall of 2006, and many other groups have participated, both in the mountains and the North Carolina Piedmont and Coastal Plain. De Hart said the nearly complete mountain section of the trail is one of its most alluring parts, and it's to be hoped that more day hikers will discover it. "Some of us who've done this, we hate to leave the mountains," de Hart said. More information on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is available in de Hart's guidebook. Or visit the Web site of Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. It's at www.ncmst.org. Volunteer workdays are set this year on March 3, April 14, June 2 (National Trails Day), July 28-29, and Nov. 3. A Southeastern Trails Conference will take place May 3-6 at Montreat, N.C. Tom Dillon is a member of both the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I would like to donate to the Trails Forever Program. Peaks of Otter LodgeBy Kitty Coleman, Volunteer and Marketing Consultant My husband and I drove home Saturday morning after spending a quiet Friday evening at the Blue Ridge Parkway's premier facility, Peaks of Otter Lodge (MP 96) just outside Bedford, VA. My hesitation to stay at the lodge in the middle of a very cold winter month was not so much about the sub-zero temperatures, but more about the sensory deprivation I feared in a room that boasted "no phones, no radios, no TVs, and (gasp!) no Internet connection". How in the world did they expect a modern, 21st century technology gal to survive? I knew how to beat odds. I would guarantee my connection to the outside world. I would circumvent their promise of peace and quiet by packing my trusty laptop and three DVD rentals from my local video rental store. I charged my cell phone, and we headed out to the Peaks of Otter Friday afternoon. I've yet to unpack the laptop and movies from the car. The cell phone lies quietly somewhere at the bottom of my purse.
For those who haven't had the awesome experience of staying at the Peaks of Otter Lodge, let me tell you what you're missing. Although the temperatures remained in the low 30s, my husband and I sat on the 2nd floor balcony and watched the sun go down over a frozen lake edged by deer prints in the solid, snowy ground. I wore no coat, my feet stayed warm in toasty slippers. But the minute the sun set, we raced inside to prepare for a sumptuous seafood buffet at the Lodge Restaurant. The menu tempted us with tasty dishes of shrimp, salmon mousse, seafood jambalaya, deviled crab, fried catfish, baked halibut, fried scallops, fried clams, crab legs, and fried frog legs. I tried everything but that last item. We arrived at 6:00 and waddled out at 7:00. But not before checking out the surroundings. In the lounge, we walked by a young couple sitting on a cozy couch in front of a roaring fire. Since this was Valentine's weekend, I fully expected them to be staring into each other's eyes. Instead, they were reading The Parkway Milepost. When we checked in Friday afternoon, I had noticed a stack of these publications at the front desk. The Parkway Milepost, published for the National Park Service, free of charge to its readers, is the ONLY publication that the Parkway can distribute to the millions of visitors who travel their roads every year. This information-packed magazine promised to further educate me about the incredible landscape, trails, animals, and activities awaiting me when I return in warmer weather. And return I will. But this time I’ll leave the laptop, the movie rentals, and the cell phone at home. The calm and silence of the mountains was just what I needed to recharge my batteries and allow me to face the Monday morning race with sweet memories of peace and quiet. Note: As a member of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, I've recently learned that the National Park Service lacks the funds to print The Parkway Milepost which is scheduled to appear at Visitors Centers and accommodations along the Parkway in mid-April. They’ve called FRIENDS and asked for their support. I've learned that this valuable Parkway resource will reach more than 350,000 visitors at the most important time – while they are in their cars looking for lodging, restaurants, attractions, and museums. And, it's an annual publication that will not appear again until spring of 2008. If you’d like to help FRIENDS support the Parkway, please consider an advertising spot for the mid-April printing of The Parkway Milepost. Just click on the link below and learn how easy it is to reserve your space. Learn more about advertising in The Parkway Milepost Visit our Online Store
FRIENDS Front License Plate Donate or HELP Support FRIENDSHelp Us Preserve the Legacy FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway offers young and old, together, the opportunity to connect with friends and family to save the Blue Ridge Parkway for their continuing enjoyment - and for future generations. The Blue Ridge Parkway connects the Shenandoah National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is America's most scenic drive encompassing 469 miles traversing 29 counties in Virginia and North Carolina. Over 20 million people touch its borders annually - making it America's most frequented park treasure! By joining Preserving the Legacy you will be supporting projects that will protect this extraordinary Parkway and adjacent land and views for yourselves and for future generations. FRIENDS is an official National Park Service partner. Please join us by choosing one of our deserving Programs today! Contact Your State or District RepresentativeThe following information provides easy links to your State's Senator and your District's Representatives. Just click on the link and send a message to Congress! In support of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, I urge you to support increased funding for the Blue Ridge Parkway as part of the National Park Service fiscal year operating budget. Please forward this e-newsletter to anyone you feel would be interested! If this message was forwarded to you by a friend, you can receive your own subscription by visiting our web site. If you have any questions, please contact us. |
Good news. Bad news.
(Asheville)—The Blue Ridge Parkway is seeking public input,
through March 15, on an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the repair
of approximately 200 linear feet of unstable roadbed on the Blue Ridge
Parkway at Milepost 270.3 near West Jefferson in Wilkes County, North Carolina.
I've been having this recurring dream: I'm standing inside a
hot television studio, the camera zeroing in on me like a giant
sea creature that has lost the ability to blink. Little beads
of perspiration bounce around my forehead, skittering here and
there as I wait for the final Jeopardy question, the one that
will win the championship match. "What," Alex Trebek inquires,
"is the most visited national park in the United States?"
"What is -- The Blue Ridge Parkway, Alex!" I reply and, oozing
humility, wait for accolades and money which I then spend on
good deeds and cosmetics.
Mary has been involved as a volunteer with FRIENDS from its beginning.
She was a member of the original Board along with about twenty others.
Over the first few years they defined and organized the whole FRIENDS
concept, defining what their mission was and organizing how they aimed
to accomplish it.
It's never too early to start thinking about where you are going to
celebrate National Trails Day (NTD). Over 120 events have already
been registered with more registrations coming in every day.
2007 marks the 15th anniversary of NTD and this year promises to be
the best yet with more events across the country than ever before.
Starting in late February, be sure to check out American Hiking
Society's Hiker's Store to purchase the 2007 NTD collector's edition
t-shirt as well as other American Hiking/NTD promotional items.
Visit 
