North Carolina – Page 2 – Bill Torgerson

Accused of Being a Pessimist: Journal Entry June 30, 2018

We’ve accepted an offer on our house in Greenwood, Indiana. When you put a house up for sale, there are moments when you think it will never sell. Even with an accepted offer, most times I’ve been involved in the process, there are lots of highs and lows. I am the sort of person who tries to keep an even level of emotions. I have been accused of being a pessimist. For example, if we’re on a road trip and my daughters are excited about the hotel pool, I try and get them to at least be open to the possibility that the pool is going to be closed. Maybe there will be a problem with the chlorine levels? My writing here just reminded me of Wally World being closed. It can happen! There were some premature victory laps on our house sale. We hope this deal continues to completion.

William Bill Torgerson journal — It can happen! (image from Bad Idea T-Shirts)

We are moving to the Boone, North Carolina area. It’s where Appalachian State University is, and I will be a lecturer in composition there starting next fall. Boone is in Watauga County, very close to Tennessee and Virginia. I know that the county shares a border with Tennessee.

We don’t know if we are going to rent or purchase a home. The school set up in Watauga County is unlike what I am used to. There are eight K-8 schools that all feed into a high school in Boone that has an enrollment of approximately 1300 students. The school size is similar to where I was teaching this year at Greenwood High. However, unlike Greenwood which is probably one of the smallest geographical areas in the state, Watauga Schools are really spread out. There can be as much as 20-30 miles between schools.

Other news at our house? Our oldest got her braces off. My mom and youngests daughter’s birthdays are coming up. My sis is coming from LA for the 4th of July.

Maybe next time:

New Job, Looking back, Looking ahead, Giving up a high school coaching position

7 minute writing: 323 words

Thanks for reading!

Grandfather Mountain Hike

We Torgs used a day off from school (thank you for your service, Veterans!) to drive east and hike at Grandfather Mountain near Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

Upon our arrival, we were told the top of the mountain, where the swinging bridge and most of the trails are located, was closed due to high winds. Warning to anyone who is interested in going: it’s $20 per adult and $9 for kids to be admitted to the park. Also of note: you can park on the Blue Ridge Parkway and hike in if you’re up for it. That’s what I’ll do as soon as our kids can handle the hike. We were admitted for half price since the top of the mountain was closed.

After about an hour inside the park, the top was opened. Here are some pictures and video from our visit:

DCIM100GOPROG0022096. — the bridge at Grandfather Mountain

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it was still windy on the bridge

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ladders were fun and scary

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a video from the ladders

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Grandfather Mountain, hiking, Blowing Rock, North Carolina — My wife Megan started to get nervous here.

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Grandfather Mountain, Blowing Rock, Boone, North Carolina, Hiking, Blue Ridge Parkway — We did it!

Western North Carolina as Biodiversity Hotspot

Western North Carolina and the French Broad River as hotspot for biodiversity.

Do you even know the names of the trees in your backyard?

I came across that question in an article written by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert, a biologist and professor of environmental studies at Brevard College. Her question grabbed my attention and caused me to think about the 147 miles of water I’d passed through with my family on our recent French Broad River rafting trip. I knew I couldn’t name all of the trees in my backyard and certainly not many of the organisms big or small that live in the French Broad River. I got in touch with Jennifer and she said she was willing to tell me about organisms that live in the water and their importance to the region of Western North Carolina. I learned a lot talking to Jennifer. Hope you enjoy our conversation!

ruppert-brevard — I talk biodiversity and the French Broad River with Professor Jennifer Frick-Ruppert of Brevard College

Two of Professor Jennifer Frick-Ruppert’s books have been published with more on the way:

Mountain Nature: A Seasonal Natural History of the Southern Appalachians
Waterways: Sailing the Southeastern Coast
Click here to learn more about Professor Frick-Ruppert’s books on her Amazon page.

You can also listen to the podcast by searching for “Torg Stories” on the podcast app of your iPhone. We’d appreciate it if you’d subscribe and review on iTunes.

Thanks for listening!

Scouting the Film Location: A Drive Along the French Broad River

Asheville on the French Broad movie progress report number one.

French Broad River Movie Progress Report

July 29, 2016.

Be sure to check out the video at the bottom of this post.

Since at the moment we four Torgs have plans to raft the entire length of the 149 miles of the French Broad River in sections, we decided to check things out by driving along the river from Asheville, North Carolina where we live to Newport, Tennessee.

French Broad River, rafting, kayaking, Asheville, things to do, movie, documentary, Rosman, river access, Grail Moviehouse — lunch by the French Broad River

This would normally be about a seventy mile drive from our house, but we lengthened it by criss crossing the French Broad as much as we could.

French Broad River, MountainTrue, Asheville, things to do, rafting, kayaking, tubing, Grail Moviehouse — Section 9 River Map from River Keeper’s Guide by Chris Gibbs and Hartwell Carson

I wanted to get a glimpse of what is called Section 9, the wildest part of the river. We stopped at as many access sites as we could to shoot some video and so we would have a general idea of what to expect when we make it this far north. We also talked with lots of people, a few of whom you’ll see in our video below.

The plan is to make the film about the community that surrounds the French Broad, and the social and political issues that surround it. What you’re watching know is just an update on our progress. Thanks for checking it out!

1,000 Miles for a Used Raft: Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

The French Broad River runs right through where we live in Asheville, North Carolina and everywhere you go there are kayaks perched on top of automobiles. With daughters the ages seven and ten, my wife Megan and I thought we’d enjoy either tandem kayaks or maybe a raft. The typical tandem kayak in town went for around $800 and rafts like what I thought we’d need ranged from $2,500 to over $5,000. Not knowing if we’d actually enjoy our time on the river (would it be too slow? too much of a hassle to get the boat in and out of the water and cars arranged at the appropriate geographical points) I thought I’d see if I could find anything used. There was almost nothing for sale. I took this to be a good sign. People were buying kayaks and rafts and liking them enough that they weren’t for sale. Check Craigslist for exercise equipment and a different story is told.

“I like the idea of us being together,” my wife Megan had said. And so we decided on a raft for the whole family and the best deal on a used one I could find was in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. This is about 470 miles from where we live. I’d vaguely heard of the town as one where the Appalachian Trail passed through.

Would I really drive seven hours each way for a used raft?

Turns out, I was willing to drive even farther than that. First I thought if we added The Skyline Drive in Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina, we could make a family trip out of it. Megan said she and her parents used to go on such trips as vacation. Now we wouldn’t be so crazy, going so far for a used raft. We were going on vacation!

The plan evolved and we decided we would also buy a tent and do our first camping as a family. Why not take our dog Indy too? The following pictures show a little of how our pilgrimage went:

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Torgerson, Asheville, Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, Harper's Ferry — loaded up and ready for take off

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Torgerson, Asheville, Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, Harper's Ferry, River Riders — destination #1: the nice folks at River Riders in Harper’s Ferry

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Not long after dinner, we saw our first bear. Actually we saw three of them, a mother and two cubs who’d climbed up a tree. We saw this from The Skyline Drive. There were several cars pulled off to the side of the road, and probably ten or so people pointing up into the trees. At this point, my youngest started keeping track of the wildlife we spotted.

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Torgerson, Asheville, Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, Harper's Ferry, wildlife, snakes, bears, deer, turkeys — My Youngest Kept Track of Our Wildlife Sightings

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Not long after the first bear sighting, I hit one with our van. I was driving around a corner, my sight impaired from the sunset, when I could just make out a bear when it was only a few feet from our bumper. I hit the brakes and gently turned away from the bear as it rammed the front left of our car. With no shoulder to pull onto and because we were on a curve, we didn’t stop right away. The bear was not visible in the rearview mirror or the side mirrors. Looking back, it seemed to be gone, having run off into the woods. We stopped at the next pull off and inspected the car. There was a small scratch and the bumper was covered with bear slobber.

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Torgerson, Asheville, Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, Harper's Ferry, Bears — the first bears we saw

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Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail, River Riders — Now which way are the falls?

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Tag: North Carolina

Accused of Being a Pessimist: Journal Entry June 30, 2018

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Grandfather Mountain Hike

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Western North Carolina as Biodiversity Hotspot

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Scouting the Film Location: A Drive Along the French Broad River

French Broad River Movie Progress Report

July 29, 2016.

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1,000 Miles for a Used Raft: Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway

Coming Soon:

Reports from our raft on The French Broad River

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French Broad River Movie Progress Report

July 29, 2016.

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Coming Soon:

Reports from our raft on The French Broad River

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