Tag Archives: Blue Ridge Mountains,

The Hana Chronicles: Month 10, Day 5

0
Posted by on in children, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

October 26, 2026- Hana looked at a small photograph, which showed Aram as a 6-year-old boy. I told her that was her Daddy when he was much younger. She looked over at his Navy Boot Camp graduation picture and then again at the small photo. Back and forth a few times, she made the connection.

Hana has taught herself how to climb up onto a cloth chair. She also knows how to go from there up onto a futon bed next to it. I kept her off the bed and then guided her down off the chair. The climbing fun has begun, and so has the increased vigilance.

HANA’S NOTE- I am feeling more like I can climb up things now. Papa is watching me very close, though, so I won’t be able to go everywhere.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: North Carolina- I have been to, or through, the Tar Heel State eight times. My first was a bus ride that stopped in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, in 1987. Aram and I spent a night in Charlotte, in late 2000, while driving a car back from New Jersey. Our family road trip, in 2007, saw us stay in Fayetteville, going north and Greensboro, going back south. Salisbury and Raleigh were other northbound overnight stops, in 2017 and 2022, respectively. I visited Asheville and Tryon briefly, in 2021. Each of these places has offered a hearty welcome. I have extended family in Winston-Salem, as well.

The turf- The Appalachian Mountains cover North Carolina’s west, and may be divided into four ranges: The Blue Ridge, Great Smokies, Black Mountains and Brushy Mountains. East of the Appalachians is the Piedmont Plateau, a hilly and forested region, which is also NC’s most populous area. The eastern third of the state is Coastal Plain. This includes the peninsula and islands of the Outer Banks. North Carolina celebrates its geographical diversity with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which has 18 segments, starting in Kuwohi, on the Tennessee border and ending at Jockey’s Ridge, in the Outer Banks. North Carolina features the Eastern Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains ( divides between water flowing towards the Atlantic and that flowing towards the Gulf of Mexico.). The state is drained by the French Broad, Kanawha, Hiawassee, Catawba, Yadkin, Chowan, Roanoke, Tar, Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers, along with their tributaries.

First Nations-North Carolina is the ancestral home of the Saponi, Cherokee, Haliwa, Meherrin, Coharie, Lumbee and Waccamaw peoples. The Tuscarora Nation lived in the Coastal Plain, until the 1710s. They were defeated by British settlers, in Barnwell’s War, (1713), at Fort Noherooka. The Tuscarora then moved to New York and Ontario.The Catawba were numerous in the Piedmont region, but were decimated by disease and conflict with the Cherokee. They primarily live today in South Carolina. The Cherokee, originally allowed to own land in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, under treaties of 1777 and 1792, were forcibly removed in 1838, under an edict from President Martin Van Buren. This removal was part of the Trail of Tears, which saw 20,000 people die, en route to Oklahoma. Today, there are eight State Reservations in North Carolina, including the Quall Boundary Reservation (Cherokee) in the Blue Ridge.

Where I most feel at home: Tryon, Asheville, Salisbury, Raleigh, Wilmington.

Where I most feel at peace: Tryon, Salisbury

NEXT: Virginia

The Hana Chronicles: Month 10, Day 3

0
Posted by on in children, Family, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Travel

October 24, 2026- Hana was dressed up,this noon, as we went as a family to a Vietnamese restaurant, in nearby Garland. She had already eaten her lunch, and contented herself with a couple of cucumber slices and leaves of lettuce. We adults had egg rolls, a stuffed rice pancake, shredded shrimp and spicy peanut on crispy rice and the central Vietnamese counterpart to pho. In our family practice, we shared these items.

Earlier, while my three loved ones were walking around Hoblitzelle Park, I took Sportage for a thorough servicing and got a haircut. The car has new wiper blades, fresh oil, brake fluid and a clean fuel system. I have a cleaned up noggin.

Hana was a bit thrown off by my cleaned up appearance, as she had been asleep when I got back from my errands. She pouted a bit, until she heard my voice and felt my hand on her arm. Then all was well again. When we went to the restaurant, she was quite sociable with the other patrons, especially with the other children.

HANA’S NOTE- I thought a strange man was in the house, when I woke from my nap. Then I heard Papa’s voice and everything was okay.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Georgia- I have been in Georgia about a dozen times. The Peachtree State was the third state in which I ever set foot, outside of New England. That was in 1969, and it was only a short transit at Atlanta Hartsfield, between Columbia and Louisville, en route to Indianapolis, from Basic Training to Advanced Individual Training, at the beginning of my Army active duty. Georgia became much more important in the 2000s and 2010s, when my middle brother and his family lived in Newnan, about an hour south of Atlanta. Visits in 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022. either with the whole “Atlanta” family or just passing through, in their absence, have cemented Georgia in my heart. One of my nephews and his family still live in Metro Atlanta.

The turf- Georgia’s north is fully Appalachian, and serves as the starting point of the Appalachian Trail- at Springer Mountain. The Appalachian Plateau dominates the state’s northwest and the Blue Ridge, its northeast. The mountains are bordered to the south by Piedmont, a rocky area of rolling hills and dense forest. The Coastal Plain, alternating between rich, black soil and red clay, covers the southern two-thirds of Georgia. Peanut farms are common in the southwest and cotton farms, in the southeast. Okefenokee Swamp is a key wetland in the southernmost part of Georgia.and is a National Wildlife Refuge. The state is drained by the Chattahoochee, Savannah, Suwannee, Flint, Towaliga, Ocmulgee, Etowah and Altamaha Rivers, as well as their tributaries. Georgia has several lakes, most prominently Lake Lanier and Lake Oconee. Georgia’s Atlantic Coast features several of the Sea Islands, a chain it shares with South Carolina. Georgia’s Sea Islands include Cumberland, St. Simon’s, Ossabaw, Sapelo and Jekyll.

First Nations- Two nations, Guale and Yamasee, thrived in Georgia until the coming of Spanish and British colonists, in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. The Guale, in particular, were mound builders and had longhouses, similar to other Mississippian Culture groups. They were forcibly converted to Catholicism, by the Spanish, who largely removed the Guale into Florida. The Yamasee were able to survive in the Low Country, a while longer, due to their alliance with Scottish colonists. They eventually clashed with colonists from Carolina, and were defeated in 1715. They then dispersed and were absorbed into the Muscogee Nation. Nacoochee Mound remains today, as remnant of the Guale Culture.

Georgia is the ancestral home of the Cherokee and Muscogee peoples, both of which were forcibly removed during the campaigns initiated by Andrew Jackson and continued by Martin Van Buren, from 1830-1841. Most Georgia First Nations people were removed by 1835, along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. Today, the State of Georgia recognizes the Cherokee of Georgia, Eastern Cherokee and Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe. These are not Federally-recognized groups, but are protected by the State.

Where I most feel at home- Americus, Newnan, Folkston, St. Simon’s, Dublin, Cairo, mid-town Atlanta.

Where I most feel at peace- Amicalola, Americus, Okefenokee

NEXT: South Carolina