Some thoughts on Central Appalachia

Sorry about being offline for a couple of days.  We had lots of rain and fog my last day outside of Asheville and while the computer connection said it was good, in fact, nothing wanted to work.  Then, yesterday, I stayed in a cabin in the woods that had no connectivity of any sort - no cell service, no TV, no Internet.  It was meditating in the woods, peaceful, quiet, and just a bit disconcerting.

For some time now I have been driving through central Appalachia - eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and western Virginia.  As you know from my last entry, I find the terrain here magnificent.  I expected that.  What I also expected to find was all the stereotypes of  the residents of Appalachia - uneducated, violent, clannish people who love their moonshine and hate outsiders.  Now I know I didn't go looking, and I know that I have the money to choose nicer places, and so I know that this snapshot I have may not be the whole story.  But I am sure that what I experienced is at least part of the story and it may be the more accurate story these days.
The Appalachia in our minds' eyes may make for good novels and movies and even TV journalism, but it may also be myth and distortion.

Ponder Cove B&B from the driveway

Living room at Ponder Cove from upstairs

What I found at Ponder Cove and at Miracle Farms were residents who are just like me - people who care deeply about our environment, about real food, about the arts and excellence in crafts.  The owner of Ponder Cove grew up in Memphis and has lived all over the US.  She fell in love with Madison County and bought the house she has made into this inn.  She is a few years younger than I and has been doing this for about 10 years.   Her husband is a cabinet maker of the first order hand making the most beautiful chairs, tables and cabinets from exquisite pieces of local wood.  Martha, like me, finds herself a mostly vegetarian who wants to cook with locally sourced foods.  She tells me that Madison County is still in-bred in its politics and racist and distrustful, but she also says it is changing as the Asheville area is growing.  She has seen the changes over the last decade and, while she is impatient, she is also encouraged.  She debates selling the B&B and moving into Asheville or staying where she is and waiting for her neighbors to catch up.  I hope she stays.  Her home and her hospitality are four star.

Floyd, Va countryside

Two of the cabins of Miracle Farm

Stream at Miracle Farms

I drove north and east following the chain of mountains into Virginia (I did not drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway partly because I have driven that before and partly because it would have been terribly foggy on the ridge) and stopped in Floyd, Virginia at the Miracle Farm.  I had never heard of Floyd or Miracle Farm.  It was just along the route I wanted to drive and so my being there was serendipitous.  Floyd is a tiny Asheville.  It is a village of young people who want to live simply, "off the grid" to the extent it makes sense.  These are people - artists, musicians, and craftspeople - who have found each other and made a community.  And it seems to work.  Miracle Farm is a non-profit farm a little outside of town, dedicated to experimenting with living ecologically and they run an Eco-tourism inn which is really just a few cabins that are designed to leave as little impact on the environment as possible.  It is a B&B; and breakfast  is made from veggies picked that morning and eggs from their chickens and fruits from their orchard  and is delivered to your cabin at a pre-determined time.  The cabins are all along a creek with lots of hiking or biking trails and a stream and campfire site.  One of the owners is also a pilates instructor and massage therapist so one cabin is devoted to her studio.  I had an hour with her this morning where she helped me to stretch my lower back and hips and massaged me afterward so that I felt wonderful despite what is now nearly 7000 miles at the wheel.  My guess is that this young woman is in her 40's and that she truly enjoys her life.  My cabin was rustic to say the least - none of the luxuries of Ponder Cove - but it was quiet and peaceful, stocked with an interesting assortment of books,  and I slept well with cool fresh air wafting over me cuddled under 3 (yes 3!) quilts and blankets.

I left Floyd around noon and continued driving along the mountains north and east to Louden County in northern Virgina.  I am now in a home in another small Appalachian town.  The drive here, while still deep in the Appalachian mountains, was nothing like Tennessee or western NC.  Virginia may be for lovers, but only for the rich ones.  I actually don't know if that is true, but the land looks like it.  I I have learned that Louden county is both the fasted growing county and the richest per capita country in the US as of 2007)  It is magnificent.  It is aristocratic.  The roads are just as narrow and squiggly as in the other states, but the farms are groomed and populated with a few handsome horses grazing here and there.  Everything looks picture perfect.  The ponds are just the right size to fit in the field just so.  The size and shapes of the trees are perfectly proportioned to the size and shapes of the meadow.  There are no crops on these farms.  Just beautiful meadows marked off with handsome fences.  And stately homes - even the small ones are set back and stand proud.  The people are friendly, open, eager to be of help and to please.  Their homes are open.  Locks unnecessary.  This is a confident small town where the occasional teenage boy (there are only 17 of them)  might misbehave, but that's the worst the police need worry about.  Or so it feels at any rate.

I had a long chat with the owner of  this inn over breakfast this morning.  Turns out we are only 70 miles from DC and that she has been very busy this year with people who want some time away, but not very far or very expensive.  Lovettsville is only 1200 people total, but that's twice what it was just a few years ago.  She, too, has become environmentally aware and uses as much organic and local foods as possible.  Here she says that is pretty easy.  Many of the farms are now sustainably managed, organic, and owned not by large agribusiness entities, but by locals who serve their communities.  Lots of new restaurants that buy local only and there are vineyards and wineries that produce pesticide free wines.  I am beginning to think maybe, just maybe, this is not a fringe thing.  Maybe mainstream America actually cares.  Let's hope...