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From The Editor

CURRENT From The Editor

From The Editor: Remembering Audie Murphy

A Monument that Continues to Grow. On Brush Mountain west of Roanoke, Virginia, people place rocks and leave pieces of their lives in honor of a World War II hero and actor.

Our States Dominate A.T. Backpacker Dining Favorites

Eat where the thru-hikers do!

From the Editor: New Life for a Downtown – Mast General Store is Coming!

Our town of Roanoke, Virginia has not had a downtown retail anchor for nearly a quarter century. That will change—and gloriously so—come next year.

From the Editor: Every Day’s a Great Day for a Picnic

If you have the gear and the goodies, the context and the companion, there’s no reason that every lunch in the woods shouldn’t be a full delight.

From the Editor: Army-Surplus Canteens and Packs – Keeping the Old Ways Alive (or not)

The accoutrements for hiking have changed over the years, but remnants of the old ways remain.

Current Issue

The Murphy monument atop Virginia’s Brush Mountain. Inset: Audie Murphy as Tom Smith from the TV program “Whispering Smith.”

From The Editor: Remembering Audie Murphy

A Monument that Continues to Grow. On Brush Mountain west of Roanoke, Virginia, people place rocks and leave pieces of their lives in honor of a World War II hero and actor.
Proprietors Joe and Sonya Miller don’t consider themselves “owners” so much as caretakers of the legendary restaurant.

Our States Dominate A.T. Backpacker Dining Favorites

Eat where the thru-hikers do!
The old Heironimus building in downtown Roanoke, Virginia, will get new life when Mast General Store arrives next year.

From the Editor: New Life for a Downtown – Mast General Store is Coming!

Our town of Roanoke, Virginia has not had a downtown retail anchor for nearly a quarter century. That will change—and gloriously so—come next year.
There are hints in this sequence of Kurt Rheinheimer’s brilliant (!)deploying of his rain tarp of what it takes to stop for a great lunch in any season: See silly cap, jillion-dollar rain jacket, waterproof boots and red pack cover still protecting Gail Rheinheimer’s pack contents.

From the Editor: Every Day’s a Great Day for a Picnic

If you have the gear and the goodies, the context and the companion, there’s no reason that every lunch in the woods shouldn’t be a full delight.
The Appalachian Trail shelter in this 1955 photo is strongly suggestive of old ways remaining alive today; the chair and the packs not so much. Kurt Rheinheimer (green hat), here with his late father, also seems to have changed a bit over those years.

From the Editor: Army-Surplus Canteens and Packs – Keeping the Old Ways Alive (or not)

The accoutrements for hiking have changed over the years, but remnants of the old ways remain.
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Knoxville Asian Festival, August 29-30,  Knoxville, Tennessee. Photo courtesy of Asian Culture Center of TN
Events

Fall 2026 Festivals & Events Guide

From the Virginias and the Carolinas to Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, our annual compendium is the perfect travel companion. Inside,

April 20, 2026
4th of July Parade & Festival, July 4, Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Events

Summer 2026 Festivals & Events Guide

From the Virginias and the Carolinas to Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, our annual compendium is the perfect travel companion. Inside,

April 20, 2026

CALENDAR OF EVENTS