Over the Ridge

Fighting for the New River

2008-09-16T01:26:00.004-04:00

Boone has initiated efforts to draw 4 million gallons of water a day from the South Fork of the New River at Todd.
This project is still not a done deal and citizens of Todd are organizing to fight this project which threatens to destroy a national treasure. Boone has some two dozen other possible sites from which they could draw water, but they've chosen the South Fork because it's the cheapest. They've gone to the trouble to contract with a public relations firm to spin public opinion in their favor -- claiming that they'll put nearly all the water back in the river and it will be cleaner when they took it out. If you've seen or gone down the river in recent years, you know there's not nearly as much water in the South Fork as their used to be. Sucking more water out of it may just destroy it and everything in it.
There are plenty of opportunities to challenge this proposal and more information will be posted here in coming days. If you're a friend of the river and willing to help, let us know. Drop an email to jimlewis@skybest.com to get involved.

Drought buster

2008-03-05T22:47:00.002-05:00

We had lots of rain earlier this week (3+ inches in some places) and the South Fork got a good cleaning as a result. Here, some of the debris collected on the first low-water bridge past Todd. The Castle Ford Bridge also was closed for a time Tuesday and Wednesday while DOT removed a big tree that was lodged against the bridge deck.

It was a dark and snowy night...

2008-02-27T21:43:00.002-05:00

Bridge Collapse

2008-02-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

A brutal mid-winter wind storm has brought down the covered bridge at the Todd Crossroads, pushing most of the cover right into Elk Creek. The bridge itself is concrete and still sturdy -- just blocked by a collapsed wall. It's perhaps the most exciting thing to happen here since ... well, things aren't very exciting in Todd this time of year. We've discussed bringing in the Minnesota bridge collapse study committee to investigate and some have suggested singing a chorus of "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Maybe "London Bridge is Falling Down" works.

Latest edition of Todd Tribune

2008-02-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest news from Todd from the Todd Tribune. To paraphrase an old newspaper publisher from North Carolina, "it's the only newsletter that gives a hoot about Todd."

http://newrivertrain.googlepages.com/tribunewinter2008.pdf

Ice Storm II

2008-02-01T17:19:00.001-05:00

The above photographs come from Laurel Springs along the Blue Ridge Parkway where the ice was thicker and the damage more widespread. Here in Todd, few trees fell, but the old corner cherry tree in front of Todd General Store did lose its biggest limb(below).

Slip 'n' Slide

2008-02-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

The only sounds this morning are the salt trucks rolling and the crash of limbs under the weight of a hefty accretion of freezing rain. For some reason, I'm always drawn to ice-covered fences. The folks over at Blue Ridge Electric have a nifty realtime map of power outtages http://bremco.maps.sienatech.com/ which makes for good indoor entertainment, unless you happen to be one of the dots on the map.

Winter sparkle

2008-01-21T20:46:00.000-05:00

Temps near zero over the past few days have transformed the last week's snowfall into an icy landscape. Tonight's full moon created a sparkly twilight.

Snow Day!

2008-01-17T16:19:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since the High Country has seen a still, heavy snowfall of any kind. A system from the Gulf delivered a healthy amount of the white stuff last night (4.5 inches by my measurement).

Under a Rock

2008-01-15T23:12:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a cave with caveman drawings on Saturday, but I instead found an old landmark on the old Proffitt place up Elk Creek that they call the Rock House.

It's a massive rock perched on a few smaller boulders, creating enough room for five or six people to sit under comfortably. It must have been a great place to play as a kid and a magical place to sit next to a small campfire. It sits up on a little knoll at the foot of Black Mountain and is much like the Rock Cliff on my grandparents old farm on toward the Bald. The rocks are the same material; I'm no rockhound so I have no idea what it's called.

Bow to Your Partner, Now to Your Neighbor

2007-11-17T01:27:00.000-05:00

Caller Warren Doyle had CommUnity Dance goers going in circles on Friday night at the Todd Mercantile. Contra dancing, square dancing and more had them going for hours. Moses (below, under table) found refuge under a table and took a short break from his full dance card.

First Skiff of Snow

2007-11-15T17:50:00.000-05:00

After the record heat this summer, I'd started doubting whether we'd ever see snow in these mountains again. Who knew it would be so soon?

Flurries started coming down after daybreak today, and by late afternoon, woods and pastures were turning white on the west-facing slopes. The air is brisk at sunset and filled with snow so there's sure to be a good skiff by morning's light.

It seems like it has been a long time since we've had snow on the ground a full week before Turkey Day.

One More Dance

2007-11-12T23:54:00.001-05:00

There was plenty of music and hardly a parking place to be found downtown last Friday night. The General Store drew a robust crowd to the weekly bluegrass jam session and the Mercantile gallery accommodated a respectable congregation for Mac and Jenny Traynham http://macandjenny.blogspot.com/ from nearby Floyd County, Va. The duo's mountain music kept things warm and toasty inside even though the evening saw a bit of much needed rain outside.
Emilie is gearing up for theMercantile's last dance of 2007 this Friday. The Todd CommUnity Dance starts at 7:30 p.m. and admission is a bargain at only $2. Friday night's caller is the wholesome and energetic Warren Doyle, calling a nice mix of dances during the evening -- contras, circles, squares: something to tickle everyone's feet fancy.

Back in '02

2007-11-12T23:50:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across this little gem over the weekend. It's a USGS map of the area published in 1902 based on surveys from 1892 and 1897. Todd's the same size as Boone and both are dwarfed by Zionville. My, how times have changed. I can only imagine the tales the government surveyors had to tell when they got back to Washington after rambling through these mountains.

This Old Church

2007-11-12T23:10:00.000-05:00

Most of the leaves are down now and revealed again the things which have been hidden since spring. I'd almost forgotten about this old church building sitting off in the woods on the north side of Laurel Knob. Despite development encroaching ever closer, the old building is still standing -- barely. I'm not sure of the name, but it sits just a few hundred yards from the present Laurel Knob Baptist Church. Dad use to tell me a story about a fight that almost happened there years ago when he was growing up -- probably sometime in the 1930s. One of his brothers had become fond of one of the local girls there -- but she already had a beau. The beau and his friends planned on catching my uncle there to teach him to stay away from the girl. Dad spotted the gang and pulled his brother into a ditch where he kept him -- despite his attempts to get up and fight them single-handedly -- until the gang left.