A Change in the Air

I am fortunate enough to live in the mountains of North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway which is famous for its scenic vistas. In spring the hills are filled with wildflowers and lilies, summer shows her beauty in the outbursts of rhododendrons, while fall rolls out her royal colors as the leaves burnish a welcome for the Ice Queen blowing in with the sparkling snows of winter.  Truly we have four seasons – each one discernible by the changes nature bestows upon us. But around here, we have another way to tell the changes in the seasons.

When I lived in Oklahoma, the state fair was sure to conjure up the anticipation of the passing of hot summers into miserably cold winters. OK, maybe anticipation is not quite the adjective I would use, but I was a different person then. I’m sure it is much better now. In Key West we had Fantasy Fest , and although the weather doesn’t really change – we needed something to let us know it was happening in other parts of the world and for Key West there is nothing like a drunken half-naked parade to bring out that holiday feeling.

While I’m sure there are other areas of the world that have similar…shall we say…unique... ways of noting the passing from summer to fall and winter to spring, up here in my mountains all it takes is a drive down Highway 321.

Between the town of Boone and the town of Blowing Rock, there are two entertainment venues. Closer to Boone is Tweetsie, the railroad theme park, which you may notice by way of the entrance sign advertising what is happening in the upcoming weekends. The park itself is set off the highway up on a hill, buffered by its parking lot. A bit further towards Blowing Rock is Appalachian Ski Mountain which has a billboard advertising its whereabouts, including a giant arrow in case you don’t notice the road onto which you can only turn one direction, but some of us need the obvious. Thanks to these two attractions, you don’t need to see a wildflower blossom or a single leaf start its bittersweet journey’s end to know that indeed the seasons are changing. You just need to make that drive down 321 between our two big entertainment areas to know when the changes happen - because you see, they share a traffic light.

Right now the light is at the junction of Tweetsie Road and Hwy. 321 and it will remain there until just after Halloween, when the Ghost Train Halloween Festival, Tweetsie’s last hurrah, will signal the end of the season. Then, the traffic light fairies come in the middle of the night and like magic – the light appears at the intersection of 321 and Edmisten Road, the turnoff for App Ski Mountain, where it will stay until spring, as Tweetsie will once again begin operations and the light returns to Tweetsie Road.

Yes, the leaves are bursting out in tiny patches of auburn hues and the nights have a bit more chill to them, but the real signal for me that winter is on her way will be when the traffic light moves two miles down the highway. Then I'll pull out my mukluks and settle in for my winter wonderland and wonder what interesting ways of noting the seasons other places have...anyone else have a roving traffic light?