Blowing Rock, NC

On our drive to Blowing Rock, NC we passed “Off the Grid Adventures” in Elizabethtown, TN. It looked like a fun place to check out - they have ATVs, zip-lines and lots more! That will be a must-do the next time we are in this area.

The small charming town of Blowing Rock is home to a little over 1,000 residents, the main street is lined with art galleries, small craft shops and restaurants. We ate at a little BBQ place and then went out exploring.

There is a “Blowing Rock”, it sits 4,000 ft. above sea level, dangling over Johns River Gorge which is at 3,000 ft. We had to give the blowing rock a try - we climbed up on the rock and stood at the edge and released a handful of small dried leaves and watched as most of them rode the stream of air up and a couple of them floated directly back up to us - a cool sight to see. 

There is an old legend about Blowing Rock:

The legend of the Chickasaw Chieftain's daughter is:  The Chief moved his daughter to the remote location high on the mountain for her protection. One day, the daughter saw a brave Cherokee hunting - she shot an arrow at him as a form of flirtation and it worked; the two met and fell in love. One day, the sky grew red and the maiden and her brave love worried trouble was to come. She begged him not to leave - but duty calls, he had to leave to fight along side the other braves and he leaped from the rock into the woods. Heartbroken, she prayed daily to the Great Spirit, until one day, the sky reddened and from the bottoms of the gorge she could see her love float up  - a gust of wind blew him back onto the rock and into her arms. The legends says from that day, a strong wind has blown upwards from the Blowing Rock.

We were told that local scientist studied the rock and said that the up-draft is caused by the rocky walls of the gorge creating a flume when the wind blows.

Leaving Blowing Rock we decided to get in one more visit with John's brother and sister-in-law and they live along a fabulous road that is fun to drive. Sports car, Jeep and motorcycle drivers all love the challenge of "The Snake", it is 33 miles, 489 curves; it runs right by Eddie's and Arleen's home in Shady Valley, TN. "The Snake" consists of 3 mountains and 1 valley and we always enjoy driving it. After a nice drive and a great visit with family we called it a day.