You are looking into Basin Creek Cove. The log cabin 1500 feet below was the home of Martin and Janie Caudill and their 14 children. Martin’s father, Harrison, who fathered 22 children, lived about a mile down the creek in the community of Basin Cove. The nearest settlement was 8 miles distant, reachable half by foot trail and half by road.
In 1916 a natural disaster brought tragedy to the Basin Cove community. Rain began falling one morning and continued through the night, by which time “whole half-acres just started sliding with timber ’til they hit the hollow.” The storm left three persons dead and many homes destroyed. The storm left three persons dead and many homes destroyed. The Basin Cove community never recovered.
Source: NPS
The Road to Wildcat Rock
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The Brinegar Cabin at Doughton Park is an unassuming little structure, a window into a bygone era, a time when life was simpler, and hard.
Brinegar Cabin, Doughton Park
Built by Martin Brinegar in the 1880’s over a three year span, it was made from chestnut logs, sturdy and unpretentious. It’s a testament to his craftsmanship that the cabin still stands today, albeit with a bit of help from the National Park Service.
Martin and his wife, Caroline, raised their three children in the small cabin. Together they faced the unpredictable nature of the mountains.
Caroline was a woman of many talents. Not only did she manage the household and raise the children, but she was also an accomplished weaver. Visitors to the cabin today can still see her original loom, a contraption of wood and strings that looks more like a medieval torture device than a tool for making cloth. But under Caroline’s skilled hands, that loom was not just a tool; it was a lifeline, a means of survival. She augmented their income by gathering medicinal plants like bloodroot, snakeroot, and black cherry bark and selling them to nearby drug merchants.
Brinegar Garden, Doughton Park
The Brinegars were subsistence farmers, eking out a living from the rocky Appalachian soil. They grew corn, beans, and other staples, like flax and sorghum, and kept a few animals for milk and meat. Life was not easy, but it was honest. Every meal, every piece of cloth, every warm night by the fire was earned.
Today, the Brinegar Cabin stands as a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Appalachian people. It’s a place where you can step back in time, feel Martin’s rough-hewn handywork, and imagine the sound of Caroline’s loom or the smell of sorghum syrup on a billowy biscuit.
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Brinegar Cabin & Gardens, Doughton Park
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Waiting To See & Know (originally posted March 20, 2019)
Our Spot
We call it “our spot.” On a clear day, to Susan’s far right (off camera), you can just make out Grandfather Mountain where the ole guy still sleeps. And to her far left (also off camera) rising from the ashes of Big Tobacco the Winston-Salem skyline.
From Salem to Grandpappy, as the crow flies, about 100 miles. And all of it, every square mile of it, right there in front of us. At our spot.
Sitting there you could almost imagine omniscience. I mean, of course, if you had the best possible vantage point. And perfect vision. Panoramic vision to widen the frame. Telescopic vision to cover the distance. Microscopic vision to get really close. But more, a vision that penetrates the surface, a vision that uncovers the hidden. That detects the subtlest fold of the heart. With vision like that, from a place like that, you could see and know it all.
We spent hours at our spot. Hours full of small talk. Big talk. And re-creative silence. Munching on crackers and cheese. Salami and prosciutto. Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Laughing. Loving. Thinking. Contemplating the meal set before us, the view set before us, the hours and days to come, hoping to see, hoping to know. Convinced we are known. And given our limited vision, by Faith willing to embrace the mystery. Grateful for the beauty we could see.
The ViewThe View
All the while sipping a nice Pinot Noir or easing back a water bottle of “Magic Elixir” both carefully crafted to make the heart glad. And they did!
Stretching below us the Yadkin Valley boasts of 38 wineries. We visited many of them. But none of them with a view like this. Up high like this. As elevating as this. We loved our spot. Our place in the world.
“Magic Elixir”My Sweetie My Sweetie Selfie
A day with my best friend. Waiting to see and know…
Psalm 33:13-22 The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all humankind. From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth-- He who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.... Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and shield. Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (NRSV)
Our Spot – At Dawn (Aug 19, 2023)
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Here is my email address: blog@blueridgemountain.life
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