Althouse: In the Blue Ridge Mountains.

July 19, 2009

In the Blue Ridge Mountains.

21 comments:

Ann Althouse said...: Post title hastily changed, as the URL reveals. I thought these were the Smokies. I'm told, no, those are the Smokies off in the distance, but we are *in* the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sorry!; 7/19/09, 5:29 PM
rhhardin said...: The edge-on view of a cloud layer bottom means to me to fly a little lower.; 7/19/09, 5:57 PM
The Dude said...: You can go now - quit posting pictures of my state and go where ever it is that you are going to go. There are enough Y*nkees here already. We don't need more of you Obama-votin' idiots clogging up our roads.; 7/19/09, 6:05 PM
ricpic said...: The Gift Outright

The land was ours before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia.
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak.
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.

Robert Frost

This poem feels right, to me at least, for these pictures.

It is the poem Frost read at JFK's inauguration.

To the land vaguely realizing westward

That line always gets me.; 7/19/09, 6:33 PM
luckylegis said...: I'm in the Blue Ridges too- up in Virginia, though. I'm from out west and I have a special soft spot for the Rockies, but the Blue Ridges have grown on me in the year that I've been here for law school. Beautiful pictures!

-K

http://not-so-newly-weds.blogspot.com
http://apothegmaker.blogspot.com; 7/19/09, 7:01 PM
theobromophile said...: I think that Mrs. B might be at my alma mater. :)

Prof. Althouse - if you have a chance to drive up through the Shenandoah Valley, please do it. (The Blue Ridge Parkway is amazing.); 7/19/09, 8:09 PM
AmPowerBlog said...: Titles, schmitles! I'm always in for a treat when Althouse posts pics!; 7/19/09, 8:25 PM
Penny said...: Donald, I love Althouse's pictures as well. I say it so often that I sometimes worry she might take my admiration as a meaningless "atta girl".

In this case, I am pleased she corrected herself on the mountain ranges, but only because it reminded me that I grew up in one of the valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Sweet.

And thanks, Althouse.; 7/19/09, 9:37 PM
The Dude said...: Blue Ridge do you call to all your children
Like you've been calling me
Blue Ridge why are you calling me home?

There came a time when I traveled too far
To too many places and too many bars
But all that I traveled and all that I learned
Were no consolation for all that I yearned
The dew on the laurel the tall swayin' pines
The clear mountain water the bluest of skies
Take me back take me back to

The dew on the laurel the tall swayin' pines
The clear mountain water the bluest of skies
Take me back take me back to

Blue Ridge why are you calling me home?

Best when perfprmed by Seldom Scene.; 7/19/09, 9:57 PM
JAL said...: NKVD - is that online anywhere?

The dew on the laurel calls me.; 7/19/09, 10:56 PM
Penny said...: "The dew on the laurel the tall swayin' pines
The clear mountain water the bluest of skies".

I just love how artists help us to see and hear and smell and taste and FEEL more human.; 7/19/09, 11:02 PM
Alex said...: It's only a matter of time before we blow up every single one of those mountains to get at the coal. You can thank your friendly local anti-nuclear activist for that!; 7/20/09, 12:05 AM
JAL said...: Fotrunately there is no coal under the mountains in Althouse's pictures today.; 7/20/09, 12:13 AM
JAL said...: Fortunately; 7/20/09, 12:13 AM
Penny said...: It's almost funny how much activists and special interest groups piss us ALL off.

"Dammit, I just might have to DO something about this!" lol

And some of us are writing checks, while others are building fences around our property.; 7/20/09, 12:51 AM
Ralph L said...: As I recall, the Blue Ridge is more of a plateau than a mountain range north of Boone and south of Roanoke. You'd think they'd have different names in the two states, but it's convenient for the Parkway to have one name.; 7/20/09, 12:53 AM
Michael Haz said...: The Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful drive, from one end to the other. It connects to Skyline Drive on its northern end.

I sat transfixed for hours the first time I viewed the Shenandoah Valley from above.; 7/20/09, 1:47 AM
The Dude said...: The song, Blue Ridge, is on Seldom Scene's 15th anniversary album. CD. Compilation. It is a good song.

As stated above, there is no coal in those mountains. There is a lot of coal in West, by God, Virginia, and frankly, those inbred leftwing idiots who keep sending Robert Byrd (KKK) to the senate deserve all the environmental destruction they get. It is a pathetic place, full of pathetic people. Also, coal is in Ohio, and the same screed applies to them, minus the R. Byrd hatred.

Have you seen how coal is mined these days? They simply blow up the mountain and scrape up the coal. Mountain top removal, they call it. WVA isn't worth spit these days. Probably never has been. Democrats - what have they done for the environment lately? Huh, absolutely nothin', say it again.; 7/20/09, 5:24 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Once there was a girl on rocky top,
Half bear the other half cat.
Wild as a mink, sweet as soda pop,
I still dream about that.; 7/20/09, 7:37 AM
The Dude said...: Ah yes, a quote from the most requested and most reviled bluegrass song in the world.

Corn don't grow up on Rocky Top
Ground's too rocky by far
All the folks up on Rocky Top
Get their corn in a jar.; 7/20/09, 8:01 AM
Rockport Conservative said...: I'm thinking of lines from two songs, one is in your title, I hope I can get it out of my head now, I'm going, da da in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virgina.... da da da.
The other is just the phrase "purple mountains majesty," written for the Rockies but perfectly applicable here.; 7/20/09, 10:01 AM