SW

Jane Chatterjee came up with a new twist on our trip to Bynum with the a hike along the Haw River to Pokeberry Creek adding more than 2 miles more.  Along the way we survey the progress from the old mill to a State Park.

2012

White Pines

Jan. 7th

Jane & Mary

View of Rivers

2011

Haw River, Pokeberry Creek	Nov. 12th	First a little walk across Bynum bridge	Mary's with their dogs			Glistening water on the Haw
White Pines	Oct. 22nd						Triangle Land Conservancy
Bynum, Haw River, Pokeberry Creek	May 7th				Sam, Linda, Jane entering tulgey woods		Listen to thousands of cicadas
	Jan. 29th		View of the dam on the Haw River, Rt. 15			The old mill gone; now a State Park
					The refreshing scent of the river passing over rocks...		Then to the General Store Café

2010

Hickory Mountain Weavery, 10435 US Hwy. 64 E., Staley, NC

Jean Vollrath has completed her husband Greg's mission of preserving the nineteenth century architecture of North Carolina.  Her homestead is the Marley House which was a stage coach way station on the Salisbury Road between Fayetteville and Salisbury.  The main part of the house was built by Thomas Marley for his bride in 1816 and was expanded to 1850, as it appears today.  Marley House is on the National Register of Historic Places and has hosted Marley family visitors through the years.

The Little Office Building was originally a board and batten tractor shed, dating from 1910.  Greg converted it to a weaving/office space when they ran out of room for children in the house and Jean needed to move.

Pluck P.O. dates from the 1800s serving the community of Pluck, near the current Castle Rock area north of Pittsboro.  It is now a fiber studio.

The Blacksmithing Shed was a double corn crib from near Snow Camp, NC, north and east of Staley.  There are thirteen lovingly restored buildings and corn cribs in this little village which you can wander through to get a sense of the way it was in the 19th century.

The showcase of the site is the Ellis Barn where Jean will be hosting instructional sessions in weaving and related arts.  It is equipped with many looms from beginner types on up to modern computer controlled ones.

 I'm sure students would get a good background in weaving at the Weavery.  Jean's first planned event will be "Cabin Fever" in February, 2011.  Click on this thumbnail to read the brochure.

Staley	Oct. 9th, 2010	Marley House	butterly captured in front of Marley House	Little Office	Which is now a rag rug weaving studio.	Linda meeting guests	Pluck, NC Post Office	Sue and Rosmarie
		Carding wool	Spinning	Against His Will studio	Nixon Barn dye studio	detail of Womble House	Ben in Blacksmithing shed
				Black Tulip Farms
		Ellis Barn	white cedar throughout, oh the aroma	detail	Jean talking to guests	Other looms	Hickory Mountain Weavery, Jean Vollrath
Bynum and Pittsboro	Aug. 21st		Chatham Crossing in Google Maps	Steve, Gabrielle and Shiangtai				Paving for an old ford of the Haw
		Just the other side of the Bynum bridge	Pittsboro	The burnt courthouse under construction		At the General Store Cafe		Earl likes the foam

It has been two months since we last visited Pittsboro.  Linda and I like going there for a little shopping and a visit to the General Store with lunch at Fearrington Village.  However, we heard that The General Store Café has now been enhanced with a large restaurant, bar and bandstand.  We visited there and found it to be pleasant and suitable for large groups like MATA.  Our trip to the Triangle Land Conservancy's White Pines Preserve was marred by the attack of the mosquitos.  Our last visit, a month later in the year, was free of these invaders.  Next time we do White Pines in cooler weather.  The lunch at the General Store Cafe was quite pleasant.  At least one of us, Ralph, raved about the ham sandwiches.  I got my Sam Adams, on tap!

Believe it or not we try another train trip to Charlotte.  It usually is hectic but we had to try the new Durham station.  Last time we did the trip was in 2001.

2009

Siler City	Oct. 17th	3rd Friday Art Walk at "The Other Person"
Charlotte	Aug. 8th	Gathering at the new Durham station		Bike race in Mebane as we pass by.	Mary and Bill enjoy the morning paper.	We toast Earl's birthday	Earl and Nancy greet cousin Tom and Judy
			At the Therapy Cafe	Earl gets crowned	Paul and Linda see Earl open gag card.	We go round the corner to see the B of A mural.  Note the nude bathers at Ocracoke.
			Favorite museum to visit			Sylvia	We arrive home a little late but happy.

But now we return with the MATA hikers to catch the latest critters created by Clyde Jones in Bynum; antique shopping in Pittsboro; and lunch at Virlie's Grille.  Clyde is a legendary folk artist who has populated many a garden with his imaginative art works.  His home in Bynum is now a destination on RoadsideAmerica.com.

2008

White Pines, Gilbert Yager Trail	Oct. 11th	Merrily galumphing into the tulgey woods		One of the denizens besides the mosquitos	Elaine's flower	Confluence of the White and Rocky rivers	Do this hike in late Nov. to avoid mosquitos.
Bynum - Pittsboro	Aug. 2nd	Crossing the bridge over the Haw River	Suzy and Ralph at the front	The dam on the Haw - canoed that more than a few times	Joan and Sam	Pat, Linda and Suzy and Ralph	Enjoying Virlie's Grille in Pittsboro

Now I have lots of photos in the southwest sector.  Earl and I both remember doing a hike at the White Pines Nature Preserve, years ago.  Finally, after John McCann and I went over and pre-screened the hike and an attendant nearby eating place, Earl reminded me that the time was right to hike it again.  It is the flagship property of the Triangle Land Conservancy being purchased in 1986.  Located at the confluence of the Deep and Rocky rivers, White Pines is a great place to hike. The preserve supports several stands of white pines, a tree that is normally found in the cooler mountain region of North Carolina.  A large turnout enjoyed the hike and finished the morning with a toast to newly retired Nancy Thornton.  We then went to the Chatham Marketplace, a newly-minted coop just north of Pittsboro on route 15-501.  Good food at a reasonable price.

White Pines, Gilbert Yager Trail	Nov. 18th, 2006	Kay Ziegler joins us.	Linda, John and Jane		Linda and Tara lead over a rocky ledge.		Then we take the trail to the Howells memorial.
River Trail				Jack and Caroline	Rocky River on June 20th	Champagne for Nancy's Retirement!	We dined al fresco at the Chatham Marketplace.

Our most recent trip to this sector of the state was to Charlotte on the Amtrak.  I personally planned this trip and led the somewhat doubtful but merry group to the center of Charlotte via the Amtrak from the Triangle area.  The doubt came in when we had to get from the train station to the city.  We planned on using the bus and had the right one picked out but we had to rely on the locals to tell us where to get it.  In the end, we took an alternate bus which pulled in just around the corner.  It worked fine.  As a matter of fact, we could have walked, as it turned out.

Charlotte on the Amtrak	Nov. 17th, 2001
Afternoon in the city	Mint Museum of Craft + Design		Discovery Place - Imax Theatre

Every now and then we do a tour of the tiny towns and abandoned bridges near Pittsboro.  This includes side trips to Bynum, its general store and Clide Jones's shop.  He is a primitive artist that has quite a reputation in North Carolina for his chain saw carvings of animals.  You'll see these everywhere in the area.  Pittsboro is a lovely town which seems to have become the place to go to find antiques.  Our final destination is always the old bridge into Lee County.  Long abandoned, it now is a choice location for weddings and picnics.  We always make refreshing discoveries whenever we do this little car tour.  

Bynum and the Clyde Jones	Jan. 15th, 2000	Reserved for pix of Clyde Jones's art shop			NCDOT reports that the old Bynum bridge will remain.
Antiquing in Pittsboro					Visit the website of the Pittsboro General Store Café.
Drive to the Camelback Bridge, Lee County				Pittsboro General Store and Café reviewed.	The relaxed style of the Market Café (Fearrington Village) - Reviewed by Greg Cox of the News & Observer.

Linda had a conference to attend and I tagged along to catch all of the reflections from the crystal city.  I know, the Queen City has connections to the past but all of the construction and growth that is evident makes it visually exciting and a challenge to a photographer.  Here you will find some hints of what attracts people to live in and visit Charlotte.  This weekend, Charlotte hosts a Memorial day race and Thursday they closed off two of the major streets and made the morning rush hour a nightmare for all of the white collar workers wending their way to their cubbyholes.

Corner of Trade & Tryon Sts., Charlotte	May 25th, 1999				A link to Charlottenet
Was it the Vatican or the Bank of America?	May 25th			In the evening, we heard jazz at the Cosmos Cafe, 6th and N. College Sts. More about Charlotte
Independence Center reflects Bank of Am Corp. Center	May 26th