Hidden Yellow Brick Road

We headed to the mountains this weekend to escape the post-inauguration craziness. On the slopes, nobody wants to bore you with politics. 

The backside of Beech Mountain Resort is called Oz. As you head over from the summit to Oz Run, you can catch a glimpse of the yellow brick road from the Land of Oz, the only Wizard of Oz theme park in the world. Despite what Vice tells you on Facebook, the park is not abandoned. It is open on select weekends in the summer, every year in the fall during Autumn at Oz and best of all — it's always open to private tours with a little planning.

If you want to check out Beech Mountain Resort for some skiing or the Land of Oz for a little adventure, check out our Beech Mountain chalet, Slopeside. 

This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.

Front Row at Figure Eight Island

I took this photograph about a year ago. North Carolina's Figure Eight Island is stunning even in the winter! We've been traveling to the mountains a lot lately... I think We're overdue for a visit to the coast! 

This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.

Beech Mountain Ski Village

It's been a tough week up on Beech Mountain as far as snow goes with the temperature getting up into the 50s. Starting Monday, the lows will be below freezing every day for the rest of the week so we'll be back into snow making territory, with natural snow on the books Thursday and Saturday. Winter is back! If you're thinking of making a trip up to the NC mountains for a ski getaway in February or March, we've still got a little availability left at Slopeside. 

This photograph was captured with the tremendous DJI Mavic Pro drone.

Peaceful Bridge

This bridge is on the Blue Ridge Parkway just north of Blowing Rock. I pass over this bridge at least once a month and I'm always fascinated by the dozen dead trees towering over the forest. It's reforestation happening right before your eyes. If the trees were all hit by the same storm, it must have been a sight to behold. 

This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.

London Eye or Bicycle

As an addition to the London skyline, the London Eye brings a distinct, modern flair to the generally traditional landscape. Its outline is unmistakeable from a distance. Get close, however, and it turns into a giant bicycle wheel. 

USN M-35 6x6

This camper retrofit from a United States Navy M-35 6x6 was one of the beasts of Overland Expo. Rather than go for clever cubbies and sleeping bays like you see on most overlanding vehicles, this one was simply a studio apartment on wheels. Everything was full-size from the 10-foot+ ceilings to the giant porcelain toilet in the bathroom. The guy who commissioned the build was just trying to make an extremely comfortable and capable home on wheels for a couple of people. And he knocked it out of the park! It even had a rooftop terrace for enjoying the views from 20-feet up in the air. 

This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.

Civil War Surveillance

If they had satellites or drones during the Civil War, the view above Fort Moultrie probably would not have been too different — at least from an architectural perspective. Missing from this photograph are the hundreds of troops and cannons who previously occupied the fort. 

This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone. 

Berlin's on King

Berlin's has been dressing men in Charleston since 1883. Having survived a major earthquake and hurricane, Berlin's sill stands proudly at the prime corner of King and Broad streets.

This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300. 

Charlotte Metropolitan

Not long ago, this entire "Midtown" area of Charlotte was entirely overlooked. It's amazing to see the boom in development in the last ten years. The same development that has revitalized this area is also threatening the surrounding neighborhoods as it expands. Progress always seems to come with unintended consequences. 

This photograph was captured with the tremendously good DJI Mavic Pro drone.

Snowy Beech Mountain

The sunrises and sunsets over Beech Mountain are nearly always amazing. On this cold night, the hills were alive with an orange and purple glow that reflected off the snow.

There are still a few weekends available at Slopeside on Beech Mountain this ski season. Check out Slopeside on Facebook.

This photograph was captured with a DJI Mavic Pro drone.