 A
Sense of the Mountains: Impressions and
Inspirations
The Appalachian mountains are some of the
oldest mountains in the world. The smooth,
rounded profiles have been sculpted by
thousands of years of weather and erosion.
These ancient battered and misty mountains
seem to have fostered our eastern mountain
folklore and folk life.
These mountains are the reason why Mountain
Construction Enterprises, Incorporated
chooses to build the kind of homes that both
complement and preserve the community
character that is so rich in culture and
tradition in Western North Carolina and
Eastern Tennessee.
The concept for the Grandfather National
Scenic Area (GNSA) was borne from an
ill-conceived Forest Service logging project
in the Pisgah National Forest one mile south
of Blowing Rock, NC. What followed was an
unprecedented response from the
community--over 1,800 citizens submitted
comments to the agency opposing the project.
The Blowing Rock Town Council followed suit
and called for the creation of the
Grandfather National Scenic Area in a
unanimous resolution. Boone's City Council
and the Watauga County Commission also
passed similar unanimous resolutions.
Working with the community, Wild South and
the Southern Environmental Law Center helped
draft proposed language for a bill that
would set aside 25,500 acres of Pisgah
National Forest as a National Scenic Area.
The proposed Grandfather National Scenic
Area lies across the 5th and 10th
Congressional Districts, with the majority
of the area found in Caldwell and Avery
Counties. Economists agree that the
Grandfather National Scenic Area
designation, while costing taxpayers
nothing, would provide a significant boost
to the local economy.
Website: GNSAforNC.com
Email:
GNSAforNC@gmail.com
Tell your Congressperson you support the
GNSA! See GNSAforNC.com for contact
information and other ways to support the
GNSA.
We are Western NC Builders that specialize
in a variety of services including NC Green
Home Improvements, NC Green Building, New
Home Construction NC, Boone NC Construction,
Blowing Rock NC Remodeling, Banner Elk
Remodeling and East Tennessee Construction
Services. We are North Carolina Timber
Frame Builders that understand how to take
full advantage of the natural elements of
the area.
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Linville Falls and Gorge
The 10,975-acre wilderness of Linville
Gorge is the deepest gorge east of the
Mississippi. |
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Grandfather Mountain
The second highest peak in the Blue
Ridge range with some of the oldest
formations in the world, the mountain
stands at 5,964 feet above sea level. |
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Brown Mountain Lights
Brown Mountain is on the border of Burke
and Caldwell Counties and is a long,
low-lying mountain in the Blue Ridge
Foothills. For about 800 years ghostly
lights have been seen flaring and
creeping along and below the ridge at
night. |
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Mount Mitchell
In the Crest of the Black Mountain chain
lies the highest peak east of the
Mississippi, standing 6,684 feet, Mount
Mitchell showcases some of the most
spectacular views of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. |
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Mountain to Sea Trail
A 900+ mile trail that spans across NC
from the TN line in the great Smoky
Mountains National Park to the coast at
Jockey's Ridge State Park. |
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Beacon Heights Trail
The Beacon Heights trail is a section of
the Mountain to Sea Trail (MST) that
begins at the Greentown Trail parking
area on NC 181 in Burke County. Numerous
waterfalls can be seen from this trail
and several more are short hikes from
the trail. |
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Linn Cove Viaduct
All but 7.5 miles of the Blue Ridge
Parkway were completed in 1967; the last
section that runs along the backside of
Grandfather Mountain was not completed
until 20 years later in 1987. The feat
was to preserve one of the oldest
mountains in the world while building a
road that sits at an elevation of 4,100
feet; the result was the Linn Cove
Viaduct at milepost 304.6, the most
complicated concrete bridge ever built. |
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Table Rock Mountain & Hawksbill
Mountain
These mountains are in Burke County and
overlook the spectacular Linville Gorge.
Both Mountains have easy access off of
Hwy 181 and provide visitors with some
great hiking opportunities. |
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Sitting Bear Mountain
Sitting Bear Mountain is located on the
eastern rim of Linville Gorge, between
Gingercake Mountain and Hawksbill
Mountain. The huge and fascinating rock
monolith, from which Sitting Bear is
named, is almost a vertical column of
rock. Experienced rock climbers are
welcome to climb the rock. |
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Blue Ridge Parkway
The Parkway follows the Appalachian
Mountain chain and provides seemingly
endless views of many parallel ranges
connected by cross ranges and scattered
hills. |
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Lake James
Tucked away in rolling hills at the base
of Linville Gorge is Lake James, a 6,510
acre lake with more than 150 miles of
shoreline. |
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New River
The New River is the second oldest
river in the world and one of the few
that flow north. The river collects its
headwaters and begins high in the Blue
Ridge Mountains of Ashe and Alleghany
Counties, NC. |
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Watauga Lake
The third-cleanest lake in America,
Watauga Lake beckons water enthusiasts.
The lake is located just 45 minutes from
Boone, NC. The 6,430 acre lake has about
100 miles of shoreline. |
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Mt Rogers
The trails of Mt. Rogers are some of the
most beautiful in the Eastern US. Mount
Rogers is the highest elevation in
Virginia (5,729 feet) and is located
near the tri-state boundary. |
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Grayson Highlands State Park
The road into Grayson takes hikers to a
parking lot at Massie Gap that's 4,200
feet above sea level. The 4,935 acre
Grayson Highlands State Park showcases
the natural beauty of waterfalls,
spruce-fir forests, igneous rock
outcroppings, native trout streams,
rugged mountains, and high alpine
meadows with panoramic vistas of valleys
below. |
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Three Top Mountain
Three Top Mountain is named for the
three rock outcrops forming the spine of
the mountain's ridge. This area offers
rugged hiking, cliffs, waterfalls, and
great views. |
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To find out more about the beauty
that is the Appalachian Mountains please
contact the Boone, Banner Elk or Blowing
Rock Chambers of Commerce or High
Country Host. |
