Gift Ideas

For the discriminating Appalachian in your life, might I suggest these two finds as ideal holiday gifts?

Carver's Gap

One of our favorite places to hike, picnic, and lounge around on big rocks is Carver's Gap. It's a heavily visited part of Roan Mountain State Park, right on the Tennessee-North Carolina border. We're hoping to incorporate the Gap into a backpacking trip, but we just went up for a day-hike today. It's one of the first places we took our dog when we got her from the shelter four years ago, so we loved watching her romp around in the windswept grasses on the balds today.

Two Fun Music Blogs

A WDVX deejay named Nelson maintains a thoughtful music review blog named for a Scott Miller song, full of links and sound files for you to enjoy. I've gotten pretty hooked on this one.

Another new music source I found is called I am Fuel, You are Friends. Lots of sound files and clips.

More soon, I've got a profile in the works.

AppyLove hits the Big Time, thanks to The Small Story

My friend Cara over at The Small Story gave AppyLove a great shout-out on blogtalkradio the week before last. Sincere thanks to her for such humbling support, and for the great writing on The Small Story. Cara is a veteran journalist committed to telling the kinds of stories that knit communities together. Her work at TSS is simultaneously heartbreaking and inspirational. Her latest piece, about a man who lost his sight and the innovative way he experiences visual art, is my favorite one yet.

Expert Advice from the Blogosphere

A couple of weeks ago I sent a question to one of my favorite writer-photographer-outdoorsmen-whom-I've-never-met, Mark Peacock over at Appalachian Treks. His blog is wonderfully and thoughtfully written, beautiful, and brimming with information about gorgeous hikes around our region.

In response to my question, he consulted two regional experts and posted the results of those conversations on his blog--incroyable et magnifique! See, I'm so excited I can't even restrict myself to English adjectives!

Also, this will probably result in more solicitation of advice on the part of AppyLove.

Johnson City Train Depot

The old train depot in Johnson City shows a lot of promise as a beautiful home for a business, but needs extensive restoration and rescue from foreclosure status.

Know anyone with $53,000? With a 20% match, the Johnson City Development Agency could secure state grant funding to save the depot.

Driving by, you can envision a dry space for the farmer's market, an outdoor patio for a trendy new restaurant, or a second stage for the cozier acts at the Blue Plum Festival.

Here's hoping the JCDA takes advantage of the momentum they're beginning to achieve with First Fridays and the downtown concert series to begin raising matching funds to salvage the depot. There is, after all, a railroad museum in this town.

Brewers' Jam 2009

Just a quick note about Brewers' Jam:

It was awesome. Here's a nice shot of it from a stranger's flickr page.

The crowd was friendly, the ground was muddy, the Vols almost won, and over a hundred breweries of all stripes provided a quality supply of brewskies for the sold-out crowd.

My personal favorite of the day was the Carolina Pumpkin, from Carolina Beer Company.

Next time you're looking to spend a fall afternoon hazily paying attention to UT football while sampling beers from around the country, listening to local music, and eating free cheese, check it out.