Grannie is wiping down her folding tables and counting the days until the Hillsville Flea Market. She and her partner Jim are known for what they call "junking"--finding and selling furniture, antique tools, old guns, and oddities like a handmade knife I once bought from them. Made of jagged metal and bone, it looks like it was used to carve fresh-killed mammoth.
[caption id="attachment_1587" align="alignleft" width="180"] Granny and Jim[/caption]
They trade their quirky wares from a booth at Chic's Antiques in Floyd, Virginia and from two wood-sided sheds that abut their house. Granny and Jim are the go-to source for interesting finds and fair deals. Their business stays brisk all year long, but nothing tops Hillsville Flea Market weekend. Which is remarkable because they don't even go.
The event is some forty-five miles away from their house on Route 221, but they don't bother to pack, load or haul a thing. They sit up a few signs and from the comfort of their yard, pick up sales from the 500,000+ eager shoppers that stream towards Hillsville over Labor Day weekend.
In the course of four days, the event attracts as many people as ten sold-out Virginia Tech football games. It's a huge boon to the region's economy. Hotels and restaurants rely on the spike in customers. Local "junk" dealers like Grannie and Jim piggyback on the event. Residents even sell parking spaces in their yards and rent out guest bedrooms, but no one benefits like the local VFW.
"Honor the dead by helping the living." In the below clip, one member says that's the mission of the VFW and that's what's happening with the flea market. Since the 1960s, all of the proceeds from the ever-expanding event have benefited the local veteran's group. According to the market's website, "Money realized from the show keep the Post in operation for the entire year, and a lot of the money that is taken in is returned to the Community in the form of donations to many civic groups and individuals in need."
Where else can you help the needy while loading up on every imaginable knick-knack and doo-dad known to human kind?
That's exactly what you'll find in Hillsville, according to Mary who blogs at SimplyForties. She attended last year's event and describes the selection this way...
"I saw pitch men hawking the ShamWow chamois, knives, vegetable choppers and various cleaning products. I saw purses and shoes, socks and bird houses, t-shirts and feather boas, confederate flags, cds, leather goods, key chains, wind chimes and decorative license plates. I saw funnel cakes and hot dogs, ice creams and apple cider. I saw Chinese food, Italian food, German and Greek food. There were beautiful antiques including furniture, glassware, crockery, cast iron, stoneware and cutlery. Everything you could imagine was for sale in Hillsville that weekend."
It's all happening again this Labor Day weekend. Drive on over and check it out for yourself. If you pass through Copper Hill on the way, watch for yard sale signs. Granny and Jim won't charge you to park, and you might just find that mammoth carving knife you've been needing.
[youtube]MxuglIwlhVQ[/youtube]
(Related: Call Southern Rubbish Junk Removal of Roswell GA to get rid of all the junk on your property)

Remember that post about iPhone apps for National Parks?

OneTravel.com's blog picked it up as a guest post. If you click over today, you'll find it as the latest post, alongside other interesting stories from bloggers all over the world.
Also, if you're planning a summer adventure, you might check out the regular OneTravel.com site where you can pick up cheap tickets and other travel deals.

Want to shed a couple pounds from your pack? Ditch the guidebook and try one of the digital versions now available for the iPhone. Apps are popping up left and right for the two national parks in the Appalachians. Here are two of my favorites:
 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The folks at Nomad Mobile Guides have mastered their trade. They're guide to the Great Smoky Mountains is user friendly, chock full of handy info, and most importantly, available without a mobile signal. Developed in partnership with the Great Smoky Mountains Association, it covers a lot--restrooms, hiking trails, camping spots, historic structures, horseback riding, even family-friendly activities like carriage rides.
[caption id="attachment_1206" align="alignleft" width="170"] Nomad App for Great Smoky Mountains[/caption]
What's more, you can win a $200 REI gift card or a Ken Burns DVD collection by reviewing the app. The contest is only open to the first 250 reviewers so tap on over to the App Store and get yours today.
Shenandoah National Park
For all you armchair naturalists and historians out there, there's the Shenandoah National Park App from NaturePods.
Authored by renowned nature photographers, Ann and Rob Simpson whose work has appeared in National Geographic and other leading publications, the app provides wonderful detail on the natural and cultural history of the park. Learn about 29 wildflower species, eight of the park's most notable mammals, tribes native to the park's land and the geologic origins of these world famous mountains.
Ann and Rob taught me that white tailed deer were nearly extinct within Virginia. (Hard to imagine now, isn't it?) Check out the below clip from the app for more deer facts.
After you take these digital guides for a spin, leave a comment here letting us all know what you think.
[youtube]bPOUWC9GZnI&feature[/youtube]

Tennessee residents may be able to show their Appalachian Trail pride with a special license plate. It seems that an all-important 1000 applicant threshold has been met and the final decision is now up to the state Department of Revenue.
[caption id="attachment_1183" align="alignleft" width="210"] Design by Matt Montgomery and subject to approval from TN DMV[/caption]
The plates could be available as soon as early November, but if you live in Tennessee, you can apply for yours now and support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
The Conservancy will receive $15.56 annually for each AT plate purchased or renewed. They're also offering a free, one-time annual membership for each plate.
This is a sure-fire fundraising model for a great organization, but does anyone else think it's odd to show your hiking enthusiasm by driving? Isn't it kind of like "Love Your Mother Earth" bumper stickers?

The Lost River Valley is long and narrow, a peninsula of farmland flanked by steep mountains. It lies between George Washington National Forest and the lush, low range that ripples off to its West. There are cattle, old houses, and a meandering creek that locals call a river.
Driving down State Road 259 yesterday, I was struck that no one element dominates this scene. Even the rolling Allegheny ridges blend into it, balanced against the farm valley, which is symmetrically peppered with barns and chicken coops.  The proportions looked planned, as if they could appear on a Courier & Ives plate.
My partner Ryan and I came to Lost River for the holiday weekend. We were drawn by the promise of vast woods and cool creeks. Both are here, but to be honest, we've not experienced much of either. In the last two months, we have been caught in a vortex of house hunting, buying, and moving. This is our first weekend away in a long time. Though I had envisioned us tackling the great outdoors, hiking and kayaking, maybe riding horses up precariously steep inclines, we've mostly just been sitting.
[caption id="attachment_1144" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rose Cottage[/caption]
A while ago, I sat in the yard of the little house that we're renting, watching my dog pry at a root. Right now, I'm sitting on the porch, overlooking treetops to a cliff framed by full grown pines. We're staying at Rose Cottage, which is newer than the hundred year old cabins I usually seek out. This weekend, though, air conditioned convenience has its appeal.  The place has a spacious wrap around porch, a cozy loft, and an ice maker. Three different kinds of tea are provided. There's no complaining.
When we've had a enough of sitting here, we've gone to a nearby inn to do the same. The Guest House at Lost River has been providing gay friendly accommodations since the 1980s when it was a two story log cabin. Today, it has grown to four connected buildings and several stand alone cottages. They're all thoughtfully aligned to create a balance of intimate nooks, courtyards, and open spaces. The Guest House even boasts a full service restaurant, which attracted us the first night, and it hosts poolside get togethers, which brought us back the next day.
[caption id="attachment_1145" align="alignright" width="300"] The Guest House at Lost River[/caption]
Like the valley, everything at The Guest House is well balanced. The hosts, Bob Dillard and his partner David Mickow, are fun and attentive but not intrusive. Upbeat music is piped throughout the inn, but it's not too loud. The food isn't quite gourmet, but it is very, very good. Think tender, sweet pulled pork; country style mac and cheese; and moist cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla. Even the crowd was balanced. Most guests were gay, but there were enough straight couples (who seemed to be both locals and overnighters) to keep it from being a Fire Island parody.
While writing this, I've moved inside to the loft at Rose Cottage. The dog is curled up beside me snoozing. My feet are propped on a stool. Between pecks at the computer keys, I'm watching bluejays dart through tree limbs outside.
There's a lot of talk about West Virginia being "wild and wonderful." Maybe when you're rafting the New River Gorge or climbing Spruce Knob it is. Here in Lost River, though, there's no need for the superlatives. It's a good place to sit and read, sit and eat, or sit and stare blankly at the ridge line, appreciating it's beauty but not feeling any particular need to get up.

Remember Budget Travel's coolest small towns contest?
Good news! Brevard, North Carolina won the title for the Southeast and emerged as the third coolest town in the entire nation.
Your votes helped, and here's your chance to celebrate. The White Squirrel Festivalstarts this Saturday. For two days, the heart of Brevard will be small-town party-central complete with a box car derby and nearly twenty bands.
The lineup includes jazz guitarist Marc Yaxley, award winning singer-songwriter Tom Fisch, and Woody Pines, an Asheville quintet that has channeled early 20th century Mississippi Delta music right into my iTunes playlist.
In fact, why not get a jump on the festivities?
Grab a hot pretzel and crank up this sample:

Ever watch forest squirrels bounce from limb to limb and wonder what the world looks like from up there?
Starting next Saturday, you can find out. A company called Navitat is opening a new canopy tour in the Asheville area. Riding on zip lines, visitors traverse from one forest tree to another.
According to the screeching and whooping folks in the below video, it's thrilling. One guy can't stand still long enough to be unhooked from the line. He does a little jig in place, laughing uncontrollably while saying, "That was crazy. It was fast!"
Navitat's tagline is "where exhilaration meets contemplation." They slow things down enough for guests to take in the view and be immersed in their surroundings.
Located in Moody Cove, a biologically diverse area with century year old trees, Navitat engaged an environmentalist to develop its interpretive program. A recent guest said, "You see it in a different way when you're actually up in it, rather than just looking up at it."
If Asheville is too far flung for you,  check out this robust list of canopy tours. More than forty have sprung up all around the country.

navitat Canopy Adventures from kurt mann, americangreen.tv on Vimeo.

Haven't found them yet?
The below video tells you how. Watch it and you'll have a pleasant, rash-free restroom experience.
This clip is one in a twenty part series--How to Survive Hiking in the Appalachian Mountains. The other videos are full of helpful tid-bits like what to look for when you're seeking shelter in a cave, the best ways to deter bugs, and how to protect your feet while hiking.
Have a favorite hiking tip? Do share!
[youtube]v9OuQDXrKY8[/youtube]

Were you too busy eating factory-farmed beef lips out of a styrofoam container to properly celebrate Earth Day?
Don't worry. We won't tell, and it's not too late to make a difference. With Appalachian Carbon Partnership (ACP), you can offset your carbon emissions and at the same time preserve Appalachian forests.
Buying carbon offsets with ACP works like it does with most organizations. You, the energy grubbing proletariat, use an online calculator to estimate the amount of CO2 you produce annually. A dollar value is applied. You pay it, knowing that it is invested in greening things up.
Here's where ACP stands out. The money you give is spent to preserve and expand central Appalachian forests--specifically, the 90% of forestland that is owned by individuals. This is the kind of private property that your grandpa and grannie own, where maybe you collected pinecones as a kid, dammed streams to make swimming holes, or learned to hunt.
No one protects this land. According to ACP, less than five percent is under any kind of management plan, and it is being developed at an alarming rate. Every week, more than one square mile is converted to roads, sub-developments, and mines.
Often, the original landowners cave under financial pressure to sell the land they love. With ACP, they can generate income off their forests and help curb climate change.
But it all starts with your donation.  If you support ACP, how 's it working out for you? Whether you give or not, what do you think of the model?

Budget Travel wants to know the coolest small towns in America, and our mountain brethren in Brevard, North Carolina have made the short list. Competing against twenty other towns, Brevard is currently in second place. Only Ely, Minnesota has more votes.
[caption id="attachment_775" align="alignright" width="240"] Rocky’s Grill and Soda Shop[/caption]
Never been to Brevard?
Me neither, but thanks to Google Maps and Carolina" href="http://brevardnc.org/" target="_blank">Heart of Brevard, I feel like I have. The adorable downtown is chock full of quirky establishments--an old theater called the Co-Ed, an arts cooperative, a gallery in a fire station.
Its town maskot is even a little odd. The locally celebrated white squirrel has inspired a store full of chachkies and an annual festival.
Budget Travel says that it wants to highlight edgy towns--"think avant-garde galleries, not country stores." Brevard's got that covered and then some. In addition to its burgeoning arts scene, it also abuts the Pisgah National Forest. Just minutes from the town center, the park boasts 250 waterfalls and some of the largest swaths of old growth forest in the South. Take that Ely, Minnesota!
It's time we show the nation that mountain people actually do know how to use computers and that we stick together. Vote now!

Planning a month-long trek? Looking for fresh air this weekend? In your cubical, thinking that you should grab a backpack and walk away like Johnny Appleseed?
[caption id="attachment_744" align="alignleft" width="200"] White Oak Canyon[/caption]
Before you hit the trails, check out HikingUpward.com. This sharp, little site gives user-friendly overviews about hikes in Virginia, West Virginia and beyond. In a concise format, it covers a lot of information.
For example, White Oak Canyon is one of my favorite hikes. It has amazing waterfalls, swimming holes, and the lovely vista pictured here. On HikingUpward.com, I found all needed when I planned my first trip--an elevation map, photos of the falls, hiking time, user reviews, and a handy five-star ratings system. White Oak Canyon scores 3 for difficulty, 5 for streams, 1 for solitude, 1 for camping, and 1 for views.
Everything is dead-on accurate except the "views" rating, but I'll give them a break. You have to wade to the middle of the creek for this scene, which, if you're sure footed, you should do. Above the topmost fall, the pool is shallow and crisp; the water has sprung straight from the mountainside; and it rushes by on all sides. You can plant your rump in the stream and take in the magnificent folds of the Shenandoah.
So when are you hiking upward? Where? Post a comment below and tell us about your next outdoor adventure or favorite spot.

Wilderness is a privilege, not a right. If you ever doubt it, look at Southern Environmental Law Center's (SELC) 2010 list of Top Ten Endangered Places. From whale calving grounds off Georgia's coast to coal decimated tracts in the Appalachians, the South's most pristine places are under threat.

Coal damage is, of course, legendary. SELC named one specific affected area, Alabama's Black Warrior River, but it also included a sweeping listing for VA/TN Mountains.

The problem is that big. Mountain top removal has now taken more than 500 mountains and damaged or destroyed more than 1,500 miles of Appalachian streams, according to Federal estimates. While everyone supports the hard working folks who feed their families by mining, this destruction must be stopped. It's creating a wasteland out of some of the most biologically diverse and scenic land in the world.

As if coal wasn't enough of a problem, we also have to fight asphalt. The Ocoee Region in Tennessee is well known to whitewater buffs. Its gorge was home to whitewater slalom events in the 1996 Summer Olympics. It is surrounded by pristine wilderness that apparently wouldn't be complete without a highway.
Since God was a boy, there's been talk of linking Chattanooga and Asheville with an unbroken chain of four-lane highways. Tennessee's transportation department is taking another look at the plan, which would run right through the Ocoee Region. According to SELC, it would "devastate wildlife habitat, send polluted runoff into clear-running streams, and take a huge and unnecessary bite out of taxpayers’ pocketbooks." Alternate routes are being considered, but they aren't much better. One lays miles of asphalt through the middle Cherokee National Forest. Another would cut almost 3,000 feet of tunnel under the Snowbird Mountains. SELC is taking a bold stance, suggesting that the road's economic and environmental damage might outweigh its return.

ROI really is the measure. Government, big business, whoever makes decisions about wilderness areas, they want to know the return. That is their responsibility. Our responsibility as concerned citizens, as stewards, is to expand what ROI means. It is not the fast profit, the short term gain. True ROI accounts for economic opportunities that are lost, not just the ones created; health risks to ourselves and our loved ones; and also the impact we make on living creatures that can't speak for themselves.

Luckily, you can speak, and I hope you do. Support the work of SELC and keep the lines to your elected reps hot. Your action really does influence what happens to Dixie's most endangered places.