Meadows of Dan, locals crossing
Short takes » A sleepy mountain village but a busy intersection on the Parkway
My first actual post in Substack was back in March. It was one of the National Park Service archival images, four men in a small wooden boat on Lake Yellowstone. I’ll be posting artwork often as the primary subject, with a short to medium read whether digital hybrids, illustrations, collage, paintings, or traditional photography. Photo-based works will predominate at likely 60% frequency, with illustrations derived from photos at 25% and digital hybrids following at around 15% with sometimes the primary artworks, the Hybrid Digitals and Paintings/Mixed Media works being highlighted more often. While much of my other photography is a bit more abstract than traditional, here in ‘The Parkways Projects,’ though abstracts may be featured as a written topic in and of themselves as I may apply to certain series of works with a strong relevance to the National Parks and State Parks, or used as abstract illustrations, the majority of images will be traditional photographic images.
At some point soon I’ll be starting my general artist’s page as Tom Ogburn, which is my site here on Substack. It will have a very broad array of the art I do and have done in the past, and I’m planning to have a discounted offer for those of you who would enjoy toggling back and forth.
My previous post was a long one, as it involved an introductory story as well. A reflection bridge as a change of pace. An introductory tour of past artworks
While most of the Blue Ridge Parkway is pretty much the same as it was when completed and opened to the public, there are growing communities of rural condominiums and homes being built on lands purchased in the last 15 years. Many which have been heavily developed and now one can see private homes and condos from even some of the campground sites.
I’m not sure if Meadows of Dan is, or is not, one of those, although I’m sure with its location originally so close to the Parkway that it has had its share of suburban sprawl. I plan to spend more time there this year and see what the community is like today, and do some research into its past. I just read that it has been a very rural community for some time. I expect to find it was a heavily farmed region in the early 1800’s.
But what I do know is that I spent a pretty relaxed and wonderful hour and a half there in October 2023, having lunch, recharging my phone quickly, and trying to upload some images. Sadly that did not come to pass, due to bandwidth restraints. One of the things I need to do logistically is to establish regular points where fast Wifi allows me large uploads. It had, however a very old vibe and feel to it, even though it has only been a census designated place since 2020.
One of the oldest and still family owned businesses in the community is the Mayberry General Store. There’s more to come on this classic old general store in a later post. I stopped in there in 2019, and found it almost a Brigadoon. That is a wonder unto itself, in a manner of speaking.
Ahh, the joys of the 21st century.