Composed in Miller's Creek, NC, capital of... quiet.
When looking for places to do the non-Michigan week-off this summer, we searched for the opposite of DC: quiet, clean air, low population density, plentiful woodlands, plentiful wild critters, friendly local inhabitants, slow pace of life, lots of outdoor recreational opportunities, and quiet [repeated for emphasis]. Having some experience in the mountains of NC, it's the first place that came to mind. We let the web help us find a week-long mountain rental cabin. The "musts" were seclusion, quiet (!), and an outdoor hot-tub. We found just such a place near Miller's Creek, NC, a suburb of West Jefferson. We rented a 2-br octagonal house with a wrap-around deck that faces the forested Blue Ridge range of the Appalachian mountains. After the cacophony of DC the place is eerily quiet. The only road noise is from the state highway several miles away. One can hear clearly every bird call, squirrel forage, and drop of acorns onto the expansive deck. There is no cell phone coverage and no internet. We're in a dry county so the nearest beer is in West Jefferson, 12 miles away. We're two miles from an entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and five miles from a canoe livery on the New River, which led to a lovely three-hour walk in the woods along a stream, and getting a canoe stuck on the rocks on the New River. The BRP is perhaps my favorite road in the world. There's no commercial traffic, a breathtaking vista every mile or so, and hiking opportunities along the way. It's ideal for cycling but is very hilly, which makes it perfect for those with little gears, big legs, or both. The only inconvenience, and that's very slight, is getting stuck behind lumbering motorhomes or (worse) noisy Harley-Davidsons inching their way around the curves. There are photos of the mountains and the BQP (see previous post) on the Flickr site.
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