The scenic drive from Cherokee to the Virginia state line guarantees beauty in more ways than one. Take a detour off the Blue Ridge Parkway to meet some of the artists inspired by our majestic mountains, wild landscapes, and natural diversity — and to appreciate a different sort of view.
North Carolinian Georgia “Tiny” Broadwich was the first woman in history to parachute from an airplane.
Watch the leaves change from these beautiful mountain stays.
At the Folk Art Center just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, artisans share the language of Appalachian craft with younger generations.
Onion gravy and a cast-iron skillet turn pork raised in the Piedmont into a mountain meal.
Sweet, melted sorghum butter is irresistible on piping-hot skillet cornbread.
In this Appalachian recipe, fresh lettuce is tossed with hot bacon grease, vinegar, and green onions, causing the lettuce to wilt and “killing” it.
We followed the Blue Ridge Parkway down through North Carolina, from Cumberland Knob just below the Virginia state line all the way to Cherokee, compiling our favorite vistas along the way.
On fall break from college in the early 1980s, a writer and his loyal English setter took a road trip from Watauga County to the Qualla Boundary, accompanied by the sweet sounds of fiddles, banjos, and high-lonesome harmonies.
