Inspired by the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, Trip Rogers and Tom Eure team up as the Thistledown Tinkers, producing a sound that mixes old traditions with new interpretations.
The Town: Murphy
Although it is closer to the state capitals of five other states than it is to its own, the remote mountain town breathes with the trademark down-home kindness that makes it undeniably North Carolina.
The Town: Manteo
The first settlement was lost. But in the 400 years since a colony vanished, just about everybody who’s moved here has come to stay, giving this small community on Roanoke Island a permanence that is generations deep.
The Grape: Yadkin Valley
As the first vines began to grow in the Yadkin Valley, few people believed European wine grapes would make it in the clay loam of the foothills and Piedmont. A few pioneers took a chance, however, and a region’s farming heritage lives on.
The Grape: Duplin Winery
Using the thick-skinned muscadines that thrive in the heat of their eastern North Carolina homeland, one gritty family built the biggest winery in the state, one sweet smile and taste at a time.
The Catch: Shrimp
From May until October, Danny Galloway spends five days a week on his boat following shrimp. It’s a tough, often unrewarding trade. But it’s the only life this Varnamtown native has ever known.
The Legend: Mountain Man Eustace Conway
In the serenity of the mountains, Eustace Conway found his place. Today, he welcomes others to his Turtle Island Preserve.
The Legend: Fort Fisher Hermit
Few, if any, people claim to have known Robert Harrill well. He left a troubled life and chose instead to make his way within our state’s coastal wilds. Perhaps understanding the man better known as the Fort Fisher Hermit begins with understanding the land that sustained him.
The Road: U.S. Highway 64 West
To experience a land, and to experience life, travel along a route that follows the natural tendencies, a route that winds around, rises up, and flattens out again.
