Road closures to be aware of in WNC this weekend – not all of these are currently marked on navigation apps:
– Hwy 19E from Ingalls to Cranberry (Avery County)
– Hwy 221 in Linville (Avery County)
– Hwy 70 in Old Fort (McDowell County)
– Hwy 9 in Black Mountain (Broad River) [Buncombe County?]
– Hwy 74A/64 in Bat Creek (Henderson County?)
– Hwy 176 in Tryon/Saluda Gorge (Polk County)
– Tunnel Rd in Asheville (Buncombe County)
– Cane Creek Rd in Fletcher (Henderson County)
Sometimes I see stuff that is straight up apocalyptic
and I go home thinking “How can this happen? What can be done?”
and then from doing research online, I find out that the situation was actually much worse weeks ago before I could even get there.
I hear from locals and they talk about how lucky they are to be alive. How their friends lost their homes and much of what they owned. How blessed we’ve been to have mostly clear, dry, warm weather since the storm, providing this chance to rebuild.
Some areas are just extremely dangerous to even access right now. Some places are opening back up for tourism. Some of the “open for business” towns are still seriously hurting. WNC alone is 200 miles long and 100 miles at its widest, a diverse collection of tiny but diverse communities in different climate zones and unique geographic features. There are 25 counties in WNC alone, and that’s not counting the affected areas in East TN, Southwestern VA, Northwestern GA, and Upstate SC. This means that each challenge is different, and there are hundreds of thousands of challenges in the wake of the storm – today, after more than six weeks of tackling challenges for a lot of us. Everyone is exhausted – emotionally, physically, mentally wore out.
I need to remind myself to be patient with folks who aren’t in this, who are watching from afar, just trying to figure out what the hell is going on in the mountains.
It’s been a rough ride for a lot of people. But sometimes we gotta appreciate just how much progress we’ve made, overcoming something so massive.
We are gonna get through this, and we will be alright.
Appalachia strong 
If you were affected in ANY way by the storm, and there is a supply distribution hub operating in your area with more donations than they can handle,
go get what you need.
I mean it.
It is there for you. It is meant for you. It is being given to you. Just take what you need and save the money for helping your neighbors later.
If you end up with too much, just share with the folks next to you and count your blessings.
The Velo Fellow is closing its doors
This is a big blow to Greenville
I have never felt so betrayed
Why, for years and years, did NONE of you tell me that there was gas station Thai food in Fletcher???
And that it is THE BOMB DIGGITY???
This is like that time I had the best crab mac n cheese of my life in TRYON of all places. 
–
Western Carolina’s got the best food in the world, and it comes from ALL over, just like our people and culture.
I’ve been a whole lot of places. I’ve seen a whole lot of things. I’ve taken a whole lot of photos.
Some of these places don’t exist anymore… or they don’t look quite the same. So I’m glad I took these photos when I could.
For the first time in almost two months, I hear the owl outside my home again 
Been a long time buddy, welcome home. Good morning!!!
At this point, I was in a state of constant exhaustion, especially after an overnight trip to the High Country making three supply runs to Minneapolis, NC. I felt like I had a cold or bad allergies, which do not have any apparent cause – but also, thankfully, do not appear to have been transmitted to anyone else.
I spent as much time this week sleeping as I could, to be honest. It still doesn’t feel like enough. And at the same time, it’s been maddening to be stuck at home, instead of back in the mountains.
Bringing this back today with the rain moving through the area. Be on alert, especially in steeper terrain!!
Some road areas are patched up, but not 100% fixed yet – as they really just needed to stabilize them enough to let residents come and go, and so crews could move forward to the next damaged area.
I-26 and I-40 are pretty good and secure in the areas that are opened back up, at least as far as to Asheville/Swannanoa; it’s the traffic you need to worry about on the interstates. I am more concerned about the smaller highways – especially in the Saluda Gorge, Hickory Nut Gorge, or going up into the High Country. You also might see some road washouts get worse, so don’t take any unnecessary risks!!
Drive safe 
There’s something about the vibe…
Sitting in a warm, dark, dimly lit coffee house, sipping a warm, foamy glass mug, listening to piano jazz, and looking out the window as the rain comes pouring down. Dripping down the windows into the gutters like piano keys.
It hasn’t rained like this since the days before the storm. I’m not talking about Helene herself; I’m talking about that slow, steady, windless downpour that continued on and off for days before the hurricane ever showed up. If you don’t know what I’m talking about by now, the locals will sure tell you. It’s the one consistent theme in every story I’ve heard, the one key detail everyone wants to make sure you remember: the rain didn’t start with Helene.
Today is not like seven Thursdays ago. The rain isn’t pouring off the ground in sheets this time. I didn’t listen to trees breaking around me in the middle of the night, and I didn’t wake up to the sound of the river roaring next to me. And that river is running high today, but it won’t flood the banks. Not this time. Sometimes, I find, it helps to remind yourself both where and WHEN you are, when your mind starts to slip back into survival mode from emergencies long past.
I’ll be thankful not to see the mud lines anymore. The researchers have had seven weeks to study how high the floodwaters rose – let us clear away the toxic dust and give us all a chance to breathe a little more easily now.
But today is a day that drives the urgent necessity of warm shelter for so many across the mountains. We have been absolutely blessed by the weather so far, remaining relatively warm and dry ever since the hurricane. Unfortunately, WNC – especially Buncombe County – was facing a severe housing and homelessness crisis long before the storm. Tent camping, and asking for help on the street, is technically illegal in some areas – and I suspect outside volunteers are not highly aware of this. It is time to finally tackle a topic that was deferred for far too long. It is also time for Upstate South Carolina to face our own homelessness and rental crisis as well. None of us likes to think about how we might be just one unlucky day away from losing it all. I want to see us, as a society, come together for ALL of our folks in need – not just at times like this, when the crisis is dramatic and is more than we can handle.
Like a suspended chord that leads into the relative major, and ends the song on a lighter note. We can transform a rainy day into a brighter future. I believe in this.
Coffee shop thoughts 
If ya’ll could have been there the moment I pulled into downtown Tryon and the very first thing I see is the Tryon Theatre marquis, “NOW SHOWING: MY OLD ASS” 
P.S. this little town is looking beautiful and is wide open for business
Dark Corner Media & Entertainment 