Heading west? Make sure you’re in tune with the music traditions of the North Carolina mountains. In 29 counties from Rockingham to Cherokee, from Ashe on down to Cleveland, banjos, fiddles, and voices combine to form a melodic patchwork of people and places. This is where the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina (BRMT) wind through our Foothills and mountains. In their 2013 book, Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, Fred C. Fussell and Steve Kruger provide a guide — plus a 26-track CD of traditional tunes — to the artists, festivals, concerts, jam sessions, and dances along the BRMT route, preserving and promoting the music that has thrived in our western counties for generations. Music is a part of life here in North Carolina, and the BRMT project helps ensure that it will remain so for years to come.
Hitting the trail has never have been more popular, but getting started can be intimidating. Let super hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis tell you how to prepare for everything from a short day trip to a state-wide hike.
The 1960s architecture, croaking call boxes, and carhops toting plastic trays stacked with steaming fries and frosty shakes: What-A-Burger — the beloved North Carolina chain, not the popular Texas franchise — is a living remnant from a time when cars were king.
Memories of hitchhiking across North Carolina — and the United States — in the 1970s never dimmed for this author.
In North Carolina, Pig Pickin' Cake is an essential companion to any good barbecue (noun, not a verb).
