Backroad Odyssey : Travel, Van Life & Lost Locations
Traveling America's backroads, road trip experts - Noah and Noodles - explore fascinating locations overlooked while traveling.
Living out of a van, they unravel the - often shocking - story behind each neglected story or location.
If you love travel, exploration and unique locations - join us on the road!
Backroad Odyssey : Travel, Van Life & Lost Locations
Van Life Diaries - Blue Ridge Mountains: Beyond the Haze
Today Noodles and I camp in the Haze of the Blue Ridge Mountains to answer the following questions:
What are the blue ridge mountains?
Why are they worth exploring?
Why has this section of the country long been steeped in mystery, supernatural stories and the occasional strain of true crime.
We also answer listener questions including:
- What place would you not revisit?
- What’s a funny story from the road?
- What makes van life worth it?
- Do you have a favorite Noodles story?
Recommendations:
The absolute best brewery tour of Asheville NC (trust me):
https://www.beercitybrewerytoursavl.com/
My personal favorite brewery in Asheville:
Great civil war site in Chattanooga, TN:
https://www.lookoutmountain.com/
Top 5 places to catch a sunset:
https://www.southeasttennessee.com/hiking-to-lookout-mountains-sunset-rock/
Follow our insta for more recommendations - backroad_odyssey
Works Cited:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Appalachian-National-Scenic-Trail
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/blue-ridge-mountains/
https://blueridgetales.com/tales-of-the-moon-eyed-people/
https://www.nps.gov/blri/learn/nature/mountains.htm
https://hendersonvillebest.com/have-you-ever-wondered-how-the-blue-ridge-mountains-got-their-name/
https://friendsofblueridge.org/our-mountains/mountains-history/
https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/omni-grove-park-inn/ghost-stories.php
https://www.exploreasheville.com/article/top-10-haunted-spots-asheville
Noah and Noodles here!
We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to every listener of Backroad Odyssey.
Your support fuels our passion and inspires us to keep sharing stories and discover overlooked locations.
Follow each adventure visually at:
https://www.instagram.com/backroadsodyssey/
Welcome to Van Life Diaries. I'm your host, noah, joined as always by my dog and co-host, noodles the Woodle. If you've been with the show, welcome back. If you're new here, welcome. Thanks for traveling with us Today.
Speaker 1:I'm very excited about our topic because we dive deep into the haze of the Blue Ridge Mountains and ask ourselves the following questions what exactly are the Blue Ridge Mountains? Why are they worth exploring? And, last but certainly not least, why has this small section of the country long been steeped in mystery and supernatural stories and the occasional strands of true crime For all you true crime enthusiasts out there? On that note, hop in the van and join Noodles and I in our research trip through the Smokies. Cruisin' down the street, I wonder where this road would lead. Where this road would lead so many possibilities. Care to share what you think. Oh, noodle, what do you see? Back road odyssey. Distant mountains lurk beneath a blue haze. Waking birds signal the coming sun. As a nearby stream lulls you back to sleep, you don't resist the pull to rest. Any worry you have lies beyond the surrounding heights. Such is life. Slow and contained here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Speaker 1:We're currently driving the northeastern section of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, far and away the most visited national park in the US. But you wouldn't guess this where I'm at because it's pretty sparse. The entrance I took is long, hilly and uneven gravel Stuff's flying everywhere across the band. But I digress. Here we get to my first question. Okay, we've all heard the song, john Denver almost having West Virginia, blue Ridge Mountains, shenandoah River, etc.
Speaker 1:But what are the Blue Ridge Mountains? You know? How are they different from, let's say, the Appalachian Mountains? The Appalachian Mountains, inland from America's east coast, once stood as tall as the modern-day Rocky Mountains, but they've been through it. They're old. Over millions of years, erosion from ice, wind and water sculpted the relatively tame mountains we see today, an unbroken chain stretching from the state of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, and one narrow section of this ancient mountain range is what we're here to talk about today. The Blue Ridge Mountains, which, as only a section of the Appalachians, traverse through eight states Pennsylvania, maryland, west Virginia, virginia, north Carolina, south Carolina, tennessee and Georgia. It's this section of states, this section of the Appalachian Mountains in particular, that, because of its unique temperate climate, rolling and gentle character and abundant wildlife, remained attractive and accessible to people residing near the area. Humans first arrived in the area probably as early as 12,000 years ago. The Iroquois, shawnee and Cherokee all lived and hunted the area for generations, with the latter of them residing for thousands of years in what's now the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Speaker 1:I'm currently in the middle of a stream deep inside Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Here's a question. I have now standing in the very cold but crystal clear water. This whole area is relatively temperate, beautiful, secluded. Why would anybody leave this place? Some didn't have a choice.
Speaker 1:In what's becoming a trend in the stories we tell on this podcast, the established tribes throughout the Blue Ridge area are forced west onto unfamiliar lands. The ancestral slopes they once knew are then left behind as desolate land for others to conquer Open ground. The repurposed land then becomes a site for civil war skirmishes, logging operations, the establishment of cities, a national park. History happens, but remarkably, this hazy subsection of America's Appalachians, its flowing creeks, gentle slopes and lush forests, largely endure. They remain relatively untouched. Today, nearly 85% of the Blue Ridge Mountains are covered in forests. Mountains are covered in forests.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we're pulled over. There's a bull elk on the side of the road just grazing, hanging out, and huge antlers. Really they're always more massive than you think they are, especially up close. But looking around and going for a little hike, the forests, the nature, the streams, the animals all here are just fantastic and slightly unexpected for a lot of people. You know it's funny. The West, the Pacific Northwest, far north, all have reputations for nature, for grandiosity, for wildlife. But here in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, all along, these mountains, I'd say, are overlooked, particularly if you drive or hike up to an overlook and view the never-ending layers of blue hazy mountains stretching to the horizon.
Speaker 1:And this brings us to our next question what makes the Blue Ridge Mountains live up to its namesake? The term Blue Ridge Mountains can be traced back to the Cherokee term for their hazy mountain home, shaw Canoogie, or the Land of Blue Smoke. And this blue smoke, this haze, isn't an illusion of distance or a trick of the eyes. The blue character of the Blue Ridge Mountains is caused by the area's deep biological diversity. The truly wild amount of vegetation in the Blue Ridge area, more than 700 varieties of trees and plants, grow in such numbers so close together that they then collectively release enough organic compounds to change the nature of the surrounding air. These concentrated compounds form vapors at normal temperatures, which then react with the natural ozone molecules already in the air, and this compound cocktail then scatters incoming light from the sun making. Then the mountains appear blue, hence the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Speaker 1:I've been driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic byway that goes from the Smokies all the way up to Virginia. It's really long. I'm a bit north. What is it east of Asheville, north Carolina, thought I'd stop and record at one of these here overlooks.
Speaker 1:The Blue Ridge Mountains in general have two coinciding, coexisting reputations. On one hand they're breathtaking, deeply relaxing, filled with nature, beautiful. On another, slightly darker hand, they're known for their tendency towards isolation from everything else. They're paranormal stories and, yes, true crime. And actually where I'm at now, the parkway has a ton of stories about ghosts and tunnels and unexplained noises. I lean a bit less towards the latter, darker reputation that comes with what people imagine the Blue Ridge Mountains to be, but I think it's worth exploring Because it's part of the picture. It completes the story.
Speaker 1:The Cherokee held the Blue Ridge area in high spiritual regard. It was a sacred place, a place thought to be slightly outside your own control, a truly wild place. The blue haze of their home To the Cherokee, cloaked both good and evil spirits. Descending valleys held mysteries as well. The darkness brought out the unexplained Flocks of ravens would signal the liver-harvesting entity Spearfinger. The fearsome shrills of the hybrid lion-woman, the Wampus Cat, would strike fear into the hearts of those unfortunate enough to hear it. The mountains were then, to the Cherokee, a place to thrive and to cherish, but also a place to be feared, to be respected, and the stories brought about by the mystery of these hazy mountains continue well beyond the legends and fables of the Cherokee.
Speaker 1:We're walking along Omni Grove Park in Asheville, north Carolina. It's a place with history. It's hosted presidents, important figures and generally well-to-do people looking to relax a little bit, but also is the reported home to a spirit simply known as the Pink Lady. After falling two stories to an early death in the 1920s. The Pink Lady, whose name remains hidden I couldn't find it anywhere has been moving objects and awakening guests by tickling their feet Not the most welcome wake-up call, I'd say their feet. Not the most welcome wake-up call, I'd say. But hotel employees and guests have been reporting a lingering, dense pink smoke roaming around the halls of this hidden mountain retreat. And this is just one example.
Speaker 1:But beyond Asheville. Deep in the mountains we've got Mothman, the Flatwoods Monster, bigfoot, the stories regarding the Brown Mountain Lights and sometimes stories about other humans doing terrible things Far from the safety of the cities. The slopes and dense blue haze of the mountains have also concealed its share of crime, not least of which being the Blue Ridge murders, an unsolved case of three friends whose bodies were found lying along Lake Summit in the mountains of North Carolina. The Blue Ridge bloodshed, murder on the Blue Ridge Parkway, among other dark stories, provide other examples of the sometimes sinister reputation of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But let's not overshoot the point. Maybe the reason these stories exist and have existed and have existed is because this area of the Appalachians remains relatively untouched, upholds its isolation and therefore remains out of our control. The ghosts, monsters, murderers, what have you? All could be created or at the very least intensified by the simple fact that the Blue Ridge Mountains belong to themselves.
Speaker 1:I'm at my campsite for the night, by the fire, by the creek, or creek, by the stream. The sun's going down. Here's what I'll say. Noodles and I have been driving around the Blue Ridge Mountain area for well over a week now, taking in the views, hiking Occasionally, feeling a bit uncomfortable with late-night forest bathroom trips For noodles, but I've found that to focus on either one of these, to focus solely on either reputation of the Blue Ridge Mountains the good the bad is to miss the point. It's overlooking the entire picture that this small, beautiful, sometimes mysterious part of the country should be both enjoyed and respected. Distant mountains lurk beneath a blue haze. Retreating birds signal the coming of darkness. You've heard the stories. It'll look down as night intensifies. The light of your small fire. It's all right, you think to yourself here as sure as the night. The sun always rises, the birds always wake here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Speaker 1:With that said, let's get to Lister Questions. What place would you not revisit? That's a great question and a really hard question at the same time, because you can go to a place and have a bad experience. That's not representative of the entirety of where you go. But if I had to answer, I love New Mexico I really do. It's one of my top ten states. But Albuquerque I did not particularly enjoy the couple days that I spent there, and you know who knows, I could go back, but it was one of those times where I got there and just didn't feel comfortable. I didn't really understand what the city was. But maybe in the future, you know, I can try again. But I would have a hard time going out of my way to revisit Albuquerque, new Mexico.
Speaker 1:What's a funny story from the road? Oh, there's a lot. There really is, especially when I think about noodles. But this goes way back before. I had noodles two plus years ago, something like that, and I was still getting used to the van, still getting used to where I should stay, what I should do when I go somewhere, and I was in the beaches of Galveston, texas. There's a series of beach that you can park on and I get there and get stuck immediately and luckily there's a lot of people already there, so they helped me out after a bit.
Speaker 1:Um, but I'm like, all right, I'm not going to go into deep sand again and I park and, you know, work a little bit, take some pictures and go back in the van and I was facing the ocean. It really was a beautiful view. I could hear the waves, it was just great. I was like, wow, this is what it's about. You know what I really could use like a nice breeze, a nice sea breeze. So I open my window next to where my bed is and put down the bug screen and for 30 minutes I'm like, wow, this is so nice and all the lights are out at this point and it's getting dark and I didn't realize that there was a huge rip in the bug screen and I turn on the light. I hear like buzzing. I turn the light and there's literally like 40 mosquitoes zooming around, like different bugs zooming around inside my van, and I'm like, ah, uh, I, I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get rid of them and, um, it's funny in retrospect, but, man, it just was one of those reality checks where you're like, all right, yeah, you need to make sure everything's working before you use it when you're on the road. And, yeah, funny, not funny, but that's the first story that came to mind, especially without noodles.
Speaker 1:Do you have a favorite noodles Story? Yeah, I do. I told this story actually in an earlier episode about Descend 10, which is a van life gathering festival in Oregon, and, without repeating myself, basically, I went to this festival. Everybody brings their van, everybody brings their dogs. There's music, there's food that people share. It's fantastic. I really enjoyed myself, but dogs are supposed to be on leashes and I was doing great up until one of the last days when, during a concert which was right by where we were parked for the weekend, noodles sprints out of the van and weaves between all the people who are listening to this kind of bluegrass band and it took, you know, 15 minutes to try and catch her. She's just playing. She's not being mean or whatever, but when I do finally catch Noodles, everybody starts to clap, including the band, and that is a really good memory that I have about Noodles, even though she was a naughty girl.
Speaker 1:What makes Van life worth it? My first response is it keeps you on your toes. For me, as somebody who has a lot of anxiety, it makes you think about what you're doing for the day. You have to do your chores, you know, otherwise you're not going to be comfortable, and it makes you appreciate the good times, not only on the road but in life too, because van life is hard and it can be very hard and lonely and you can feel depressed, but when you wake up with a great view and take your dog for a walk and find a cool place that I can share with all of you who I appreciate so much, it does kind of pull you out of it, you know, and that's 20%, it's the 80-20 rule of van life. It's 20% of the time really. 20 rule of van life it's 20% of the time really, but in my view it's worth it because those times are great and I wouldn't change it for the world. So that's what makes van life for me worth it.
Speaker 1:It's Noah here. Thank you for traveling with us this week, noodles, and I always appreciate every minute you spend with us. So the Blue Ridge Mountains if you haven't been, go, enjoy it, respect it, take it all in. It really is such an amazing part of the country Asheville, Chattanooga, the hikes, the lore behind it, the history Couldn't recommend it more. I will put some of my recommendations for the week plus that we spent there in the show notes. So check that out and, if you find value in the show, if you'd like to see us continue to improve, put the research and the work we'd like to into each episode. Rating and reviewing is genuinely the best thing you can do to help. So we really do appreciate that. With that said, where to next Be good to each other?
