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Festive Fun in the Mountains
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November 1, 2026
Guest Columnists
CURRENT Guest Columnists
He’s the architect of “Semester-A-Trail” and outdoor director at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia—the only college in the nation offering academic credit for a semester on the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail.
Usually our Mountain Q & A asks multiple questions. For this 35th anniversary issue we’ve asked our founder and publisher just one: Would you tell us about the background, conception and realization of Blue Ridge Country?
Tracy Swartout, the Blue Ridge Parkway’s first female superintendent, was deputy superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park, superintendent at Congaree National Park and was the southeast region’s superintendent of the year in 2012.
As executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation, Carol Evans helps East Tennesseans get outside and play by connecting the urban and the wild.
Harris Prevost is former vice president of Grandfather Mountain and continues to serve after 50 years, saying “running the mountain was never work.”
He’s the architect of “Semester-A-Trail” and outdoor director at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia—the only college in the nation offering academic credit for a semester on the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail.
Usually our Mountain Q & A asks multiple questions. For this 35th anniversary issue we’ve asked our founder and publisher just one: Would you tell us about the background, conception and realization of Blue Ridge Country?
Tracy Swartout, the Blue Ridge Parkway’s first female superintendent, was deputy superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park, superintendent at Congaree National Park and was the southeast region’s superintendent of the year in 2012.
As executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation, Carol Evans helps East Tennesseans get outside and play by connecting the urban and the wild.
Harris Prevost is former vice president of Grandfather Mountain and continues to serve after 50 years, saying “running the mountain was never work.”
Departments
Web Extras
25 Years of Rhythm and Roots at the Birthplace of Country Music
Twenty-five years ago, a small festival dedicated to the music forged from the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains took
September 14, 2026
Singing in the Garden
Singing in the Garden: The Practically Perfect Pear
“There are only 10 minutes in the life of [the average] pear when it is perfect to eat.” —Abraham Lincoln,
September 1, 2026
