Your daily outdoor news update for November 7th, the day the coolest guy to ever escape the Nazis on a motorcycle in a movie died in 1980:
National Parks Free This Weekend
This Monday is Veterans Day in the United States, and in honor of the occasion the National Park Service will wave all national parks fees throughout the weekend, November 9 through 11, for all visitors. The connection between our military and our national parks is long and intricate. Places like Mount Rushmore, the National Mall, Civil and Revolutionary war battlefields, and other historic sites all fall under the National Park Service authority, and make up the fabric of the U.S. military veterans fight for and come home to. Check out this video featuring a combat vet and park ranger speaking to the connection, and check out the NPS event calendar to find Veterans Day themed events in Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, and other parks in the region. This is also a great opportunity to show support for our parks and our park rangers and staff following that unfortunate incident when the government shut down. Remember that? Feels like it was only weeks ago….wait….
Honor our veterans this weekend by enjoying a national park, any national park, and if you see a veteran, shake their hand and thank them for your freedom.
WNC Reps U.S. on Water
We move from fighting for U.S. freedom, to fighting fish for the U.S. – a stretch of a segue, but whatever. Three western North Carolina anglers were named to the 2013 Fly Fishing Team USA, a team that consists of only 15 anglers in total. That’s 20 percent of the team from WNC, for those of you scoring at home. Paul Bourcq of Franklin, Brown Hobson of Black Mountain, and Scott Enloe of Hudson secured spots on the team at the National Fly Fishing Championships in Basalt, Colorado this past October, beating out 55 other competitors for the coveted spots. Team North Carolina was heavily represented at the Championships, with 11 members competing, more than any other regional team. Three more WNC anglers also qualified for the U.S. team, but were too young – under 18 – to compete in the Worlds, a testament to the rise in youth fishing in the Southeast. So what is it about fly fishing in North Carolina that makes these guys some of the best in the land? Must be something in the water. Right? Right? Right, guys?
BRP Crack Weather
That pesky crack in the Blue Ridge Parkway will close the byway again between milepost 376 and milepost 355, this is a section between Asheville and Mount Mitchell State Park. Parkway officials say this project will be a permanent repair, as oppose to the temporary bypass lanes and detours set up over the summer, when the crack first appeared.
On a more positive note, the Blue Ridge Parkway will now have its own weather website. A partnership between the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, Appalachian State University, and RaysWeather.com produces BRPweather.com and BRPwebcams.com to keep tabs on the weather along the length of the 469-mile road. Through a system of eight cameras and 22 weather stations, visitors will be able to view live weather and road conditions, custom forecasts, video, and radar images. Given the nature of the roadway, this will help visitors understand why the Parkway is closed in certain sections when there does not appear to be any bad weather, ice or snow. This will also help people plan outings and experience the Parkway more safely in general.
