Mountain

Virginia is a place for sightseers, especially in the fall. Thanks to the trees lining the region's forests, the state's skyline is painted warm colors of red, orange, and yellow. But you don't necessarily have to be visiting Virginia's countryside to experience the visual beauty that it has to offer. There are many roads throughout the state that offer scenic views. In fact, more than 2,500 miles of roadways are designated as scenic byways, according to the Virginia Department of…

After the war pioneers began crossing the mountains in large numbers. By 1820, Missouri, on the western side of the Mississippi River, had enough people to apply for statehood! The idea of “the West” constantly changed as Americans pushed the farther and farther away from what had been the original 13 colonies. In the early 1800’s the "West" was generally considered to be the area west of the Appalachian Mountains to the territories and states in the Mississippi River Valley.…

The Uinta Mountains are known for their great appearance of life and its tranquility. This can be seen just a couple of feet away from the well known Mirror Lake Highway. While I am here, I witness multiple coyotes, beaver dams, deer, cows, and much more. The geographical features are outstanding as well. Magnificent, clear lakes stood in sequence one after the other in the mountains. Any traces of wind shatter the lakes of their once untouched state. Also, the Provo River slices its way through…

is learning as you travel. You see how things work or how things live. Mountain Men like Kit were the best at it. They were so good at it that they would get to guide other explorers like John Freedmont. Kit guided John through the great basin, Oregon, and California. If it wasn’t for Kit the United States wouldn’t be the size it is today. John even described Kit as having supernatural powers. Most would think of a mountain man as being nasty and illiterate, but kit was intelligent. He could…

Last Fall my family visited Shenandoah National Park. It is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. It is only 75 miles outside of the nation’s capitol, Washington D.C. The first traces of humans on the land that would later become the park are estimated to be almost nine thousand years ago. Native Americans visited these Appalachian Mountains seasonally to hunt, collect nuts and berries, and to gather stone to construct tools. Europeans did not start to settle the land prior to three…

up against your jacket. But there’s no need to strap in or grab your poles. Instead, you grab the handle bars and push off, cruising on the three “skis” of Snogo, a new downhill snow bike due to hit the market in early 2016. “I wouldn’t be on the mountain if it wasn’t for ski bikes,” says Obed Marrder,…

Inez has four grids, Spring Creek has three, Tally has nine, and Marcum Mountain has two. We began "Snowshoe Hare School" on June 11, 2016 by setting two of the Inez grids. According to Dr. Mills and his current graduate student, Brandon Davis, Inez is good to learn on before moving further northwest to Tally. Now that I have…

Washington Irving’s story “Rip Van Winkle” uses common literary characteristics to bring to life a new version of a mythology for America. Some of the characteristics he uses are a time setting of the past; a positive message about the people it is written for and about; and magical, mysterious, and incredible events. All of these characteristics help convey a mood and theme that allows the reader to envision how the US changed dramatically over a short period of time. At the very beginning of…

Throughout this course we’ve examined Appalachia as a separate and distinct region within the United States. The question of whether it’s a subculture or a colony is rather muddy at best. The Oxford Dictionary defines subculture as: “A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture”. While this is true of Appalachia to some degree, the problem lies within its geographical area and the large number of subcultures that live in…

Nest” both poets Ron Rash and Robert Morgan describe to readers what it was like to be raised in the southern Appalachian Mountains as a child throughout seasons of life. Both poets Rash and Morgan were natives to the land of southwest North Carolina and created poems that would allow readers to interpret what life was like for these two growing up in the Appalachian Mountains. The authors write in narratives that are delightful to the senses and use imagery to assist readers in the…