A week or so ago we went up to the high ridges that surround Wilson Holler. The views are spectacular as they are in much of Appalachia.
For generations folks who lived in Appalachia built their homes in the coves and hollers where they were sheltered from the wind and the weather, where they were closer to the settlements and closer to water. Yet, they were drawn to those high ridge tops. Whether it was to hunt or to catch a moment’s peace they carved out trails that led to the sloping flats found on top of mountains that are steep as a mule’s face.
Things have changed. Yet there are still folks like us who seek out the solace and beauty that can be found on high mountain ridges.
Little Ira tagged along with us on our journey. His little feet walked all they could and his eyes feasted on the grandeur until he was plumb wore out. He slept on his momma’s shoulder as we made our way down the ridges toward home.
I can’t stop the changes that have come to our mountains, but I can pass my great love of high ridges on to my grandchildren and hope that someday they find solace on high mountain ridges that are steep as a mule’s face.
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Beautifully written.. Sorry to hear that Papaw Tony is not doing well, I will pray for him.
I always say that if there were such a thing as another life (aside from our Eternal one!) I am positive I’d live in Appalachia!
I was born close- Nashville- but our family moved all over as my Dad climbed the corporate ladder. We never made it to the Appalachian mountains though..Thanks for letting me see it through your eyes.❤️
What a wonderful life y’all have, Tipper. I always planned to move to the NC mountains since I was a child, but life took me another direction. And, now I’m too old to make the move, plus I’m taking care of my 99 yr old Mom. Please pray for Mom. She has been in the hospital twice in the last 2 months. Now she has C-Diff. That Ira is a handsome little fella? It appears he has red hair, is that correct? My son had auburn hair when he was Ira’s age, but it turned black when he was about 10. Ira & little Woody don’t know it yet, but they are so fortunate to have a family like yours & the freedom of enjoying God’s beauty. I always found spiritual peace when I visited the mountains & I find spiritual peace in nature in general. I simply love your family! Sure wish I had had a family like yours! Hugs to all!
I’m so sorry I will pray for her! Ira’s hair is a sandy brown 🙂
So precious !
Greetings Miss Tipper and all you Acorns. What beauty God has given us to take in with our eyes. Like a beautiful sunrise, sunset or all the nature around us. As a young girl, my siblings and our cousins use to get out in the woods, the creeks, the hills of Missouri and explore the areas around where our families lived. We even went spelunking in caves around some of the creeks where our Aunt and Uncle lived. What a joy to all of us and precious memories too. Thank you dear Miss Tipper for bringing these moments back to me. I’ve always been in awe to what surrounds us when we’re out and about in God’s country. That’s what we always called it. Loved the pictures you posted and the beautiful colors. God is so good to us and so many do not appreciate what we have. Take care everyone and prayers up for all in need.
I think Tipper expressed her emotions perfectly. Many a summer day, I climbed to the top of the mountains with my dad and my little brother. Oh I sometimes wish we could go back in time. That little sweet Ira you just want to squeeze him and give him a great big hug.
What a precious picture of your grandson!
I enjoy taking walks up the hills where I live, so many childhood memories flood my mind. When I walk with my granddaughter she will always ask me,
“tell me one of your memories grandma!”
beautiful spoken ms tipper,,when i was younger and able i use to love to walk thru the woods…nature is beauty…
What a cutie pie. Both boys sure are blessings and blessed with living the good life. God is so good!
Psalm 121:1 stirs here.
Whoops, I meant my paternal grandma, which was my mom’s mother-in-law. I think that’s why that got crossed in my brain. 🙂
Have drawn at last from time which takes away
And taking leaves all things in their right place
An image of forever
One and whole.
-Edwin Muir
Your post today has conjured up sweet memories from my childhood of picnicking on the top of a bluff with my family. The sights from up high were breathtaking. My mom always packed summer sausage and mustard sandwhiches or “dog” sandwhiches, which was ground bologna, mayo and pickles. I don’t know why we called them “dog” sandwhiches. I just know my paternal mother-in-law always made them and passed on the recipe and name to my mom.
We don’t have mountains here, but we are blessed to live in the “Driftless Region” of our state and have many beautiful hills, valleys and bluffs. From Google: “…a rugged landscape of steep hills, limestone bluffs, and deep river valleys, unlike the flattened terrain of the surrounding glaciated areas. Its name comes from the lack of “glacial drift” (the silt and gravel left by glaciers). This topography supports unique ecosystems, including cold-water trout streams, caves, and rare species, making it popular for outdoor recreation like hiking, fishing, and scenic drives.” It truly is beautiful here. The big hills/bluffs and valleys are lovely. We enjoy taking long, meandering, scenic drives when we can.
Last night we were under a tornado warning for a while but thankfully didn’t have one touch down. No damage except a tree went down across our driveway. One that is manageable enough in size that we should be able to clear it fairly easily.
I pray you all have a blessed day. I am so thankful for this community and truly enjoy every post each day.
Beautiful!
Beautiful!
Three generations walking together enjoying the beauty of Appalachia. Priceless!
I LOVE this!!! The views, the hike through such a beautiful area, the memories remembered and being passed on, and the new ones being made, and to see sweet Ira who will help carry those memories forward, along with sweet little Woody, when he can join in. Just Precious.
Wow what a great picture! Can’t believe how big he is getting! Yes I agree with others you truly do have the gift of writing that pulls the reader right into the story! Love you and your family and this blog
Brings back memories of camping high on the ridges with nothing but an old WWII Army surplus sleeping bag and back pack ,watching the sun go down between the Mt. tops only to wake up above the clouds, and smelling coffee and bacon cooking over a fire felling a cool breeze only mountain air can bring. Good memories for this old man.
Those high mountain ridges were not only a place of beauty for me and my ancestors, they were a convenience. We were the Ridge Runners, and are still to this day. We had trails the followed those high mountain ridgelines. We used those trails not only for their panoramic views and endless horizons but as our primary mode of travel. Not the high mountain highways built for the entertainment of sightseers from far away places but narrow mountain pathways for the feet of those who lived and loved the land.
The famous Appalachian Trail is part of our trail system meaning most of the Trail was already there when in 1921 the AT was established. I imagine other places along the Trail have similar histories going back thousands of years to when Native Americans left their footprints there.
I’ve never walked the Appalachian Trail but have intersected it many times. Or maybe I walked along it thinking I was following my own ancestorial thoroughfare.
As with you, similar scenic places I once savored in my youth are still there, untouched but by the feet of wayfarers like us. Unlike you I am old and unable to return. But they are there and in my mind into eternity.
Tipper, thank you for posting the beautiful pictures of your mountains. I bet Ira had a great time!
God bless Wilson Holler!
There’s a book by James York Glimm called Flatlanders and Ridgerunners, it’s about folktales of the mountains of northern Pennsylvania. It’s on Amazon. You might enjoy it.
Oh how fast time goes. Seems like yesterday we were just seeing glimpses of Ira’s little hands or feet and now he is a handsome toddler running around! Precious memories.
Beautiful!!!!!
I’m guessing you found no ramps, apropos of the last article? (They mostly grow near streams, I’ve heard, and if there’s no spring or lake up there, you probably won’t have a stream on a sunny day.) But my mother was a dandelion and wild onion picker, so she brought me and my sister along. I have a friend whose father taught him to find safe-to-eat mushrooms, and it reminded me of my mother telling us how her mother (our Grandma) used to pick mushrooms and put a coin (when they were silver) with a mushroom, and that was supposed to indicate it was safe if the coin didn’t change color. (My mother wasn’t much into mushrooms and we didn’t pick them.)
There are springs everywhere in those mountains where Tipper lives. Not “wet weather springs” but those that flow continuously throughout the year. Those mountains are like sponges that trap rain and snowfall and release it steadily through all seasons.
Ramps grow best on north and east facing slopes of those mountains. They like moist but well drained soil and prefer to live amongst the hardwoods like birch, beech and maple who can endure the conditions there. Springs provide the moisture, slopes provide the drainage and trees provide the shade where ramps thrive.
Enjoyed reading the post today. The picture of Ira is priceless
Good morning, Tipper and Acorns. What a sweet story and photo of Ira. I hope one day he will tote his sleeping grandson down off the mountain. I have the Iron Mountain and the Appalachian Trail to the west northwest of the trailer and Doe Mountain to the east. The hill across the holler on our north affords long range mountain views of both mountains and is kept clear by grazing cattle. The hill to the south behind the trailer isn’t as tall and is heavily wooded. It is filled with wildlife like black bears, deer, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, mink, coyote, black widow and Brown Recluse spiders, Eastern Rattlers and Copperheads. Crows, hawks, Bald Eagles, blue birds, doves, cardinals, gold finches, owls, Blue Herrin, moles, voles, black snakes, tiny field mice, possum, skunk, raccoon, trout, crawfish, and all kinds of insects and varmints fill the property. I love it here. Y’all keep an eye to the East horizon at about an hour before and till sunrise for PanStarrs comet 14-17 as well as Lyrids Meteor showers till the 17th. I’m blessed that GOD planted me here. I keep everyone here and up Wilson Holler in my prayers. I love y’all.
I love view from a high ridge, especially if it faces the sunset.
Do I see little Ira and his beautiful red hair? I think red hair is lovely and Murr (when he had hair) sported a big, red, kinky Afro in the late 70’s and early 80’s. He was COOL. Anyway, Ira is a cute little fella trudging those high hills stomping about like his people have done for well over a hundred years. He’s making hillbillies everywhere proud as he carries on the tradition of climbing big hills just to see God’s glory in his spectacular creation that bears witness to the fact HE IS REAL AND MADE EVERYTHING THAT IS BEAUTIFUL. The view from atop your ridge is a priceless perfect view and it looks like you can see plumb into Georgia from where you are… I bet you wouldn’t take a million dollars for what you have in your back yard every day of the year! You’re what I call a LUCKY DUCK!!!! I now have 16 new outlets (that cords don’t fall out of after 50 years of use) and 2 new ceiling fans after trashing a tacky chandelier hanging to crack us in the skull. It was truly awful cause when the cords fell out, it made me mad. Thank God for the small things like cords that STICK IN AN OUTLET and an ugly chandelier hanging like a gawdy dress from Walmart… geesh…
I have wondered many times if Native Americans had and used a network of ridge top trails, following the high divides like the AT does. I expect they did but their trails I know about are mostly valley bottom. I think probably the original explorers went up high to “get the lay of the land”. That allowed them to plan the route ahead and pick out landmarks though it often put them far from water. Considering the ‘laurel.slicks’ in Appalachia, unless there already was a trail I wouldn’t want to have to make one on the creeks! By the way, the famed “Wilderness Road” from Kingsport, TN to the Kentucky Bluegrass was first the “Boone Trace” only suitable for walkers and pack horses and steadily improved through about 250 years since. Nowadays there are trails being built on the ridges; the Pine Mountain Trail and the Cumberland Trail are two of them.
One of those old trails ran across my grandparents’ property in NC. Once in awhile, they’d get a hiker or two asking permission to cross the land.
A warm spring day with new foliage still in bud–a perfect moment to tramp the carpet of spent leaves up through the forest to high vistas that cheer the souls of young and old alike.
Thank you for your beautiful writing and the precious picture of Ira. That boy is going to have a wonderful childhood. I used to explore the hills of southern Ohio when I was little. We would find the neatest rocks and leaves. So fun!
Blessings
Tipper, there aren’t many people I’ve come across that can express their feelings about a place and how it makes them feel, like you can. Those are my exact feelings about being out in nature and finding peace & awe when soaking it in. It fills me♡ I’ve spent the last 20+ years sharing my love with my 3 grandkids and I know long after I’m gone, they’ll remember our rides and all of the (silly to them) things I’ve pointed out. Several years ago, on such a ride, I took my youngest granddaughter a few counties over to enjoy the fall colors and the beautiful bluffs near the Spoon River in Fulton Co. IL. As we were riding through the hills in the country I spotted two eagles. A majestic, mature one and a good sized “toddler”. They were in an already harvested corn field and the parent appeared to be giving lessons. I carefully found a place to turn around and headed back, in hopes of watching this wonderous sight. To the 16 year old, it just didn’t land on what a special occasion this was. I know she spent (patiently) that 20 minutes thinking Mommer was crazy as she narrated, babbled and took pictures. Last year, she was on a trip and I got an excited text from her. “Mommer!!! I just saw an eagle landing in a field!!!” Only 2 years had passed but I knew right then our day in Fulton Co had made a lasting memory. Seeing little Ira in that picture made my heart smile. What a lucky little boy to have you for grandparents and Katie for his mama♡♡♡♡
My thoughts and prayers are with you all and Pappaw Tony♡
So true. From my youth growing up on the edge of a forest to my first mountain climb with my father and brother to the numerous hikes to the highest peaks of the northern Appalachian Mt chain to my quiet solitude sitting watching the waves crash against the rocky coast of the North Shore I have found my peace in nature and renewed my love of a God that has created such beauty. Thank you for your thoughts. Praying for Tony.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Tipper, I think you should write a book! You have the ability to bring us all to where you stand in those beautiful mountains. The girls should write a children’s book from Ira and Woody’s perspective. Katie has demonstrated her ability at poetry (which she got from Granny). I have never seen a family like yours!
Tipper, your writing and all the comments really fill my heart this morning. My own memories are triggered, relived and enjoyed again. The most striking thing is the miracle of life. Your photograph of little Ira traversing a ” new land” for him is so beautiful. Five years ago, he was not on this earth. Now, “boom!” There goes another little person, straight from God, beginning his life’s journey in this world. I’m counting blessings today.
My grandparents lived in Willow Ridge Kentucky before they moved to Kings Mountain Kentucky and us kids would go up the hills and pick Blackberries it was so much fun with their dog Butterball! What memories. We played all day on those hills!
Since I have gotten older and my grand parents are not alive any longer and we live here in Indiana I wish I could go back and relive some of those wonderful memories!
God bless little Ira, God bless everybody
The pictures sure do show the wonderful views you have and it’s so sweet to see your grandson playing. While we don’t have the mountains you have, here in Indiana, we do have some pretty steep hills that have great views from them. Brown county is especially known for its hills and the views to be seen from them.
Well written, Thankyou !
Well said! These mountains are beautiful!
The high hills remind me of home. As a kid momma would sometimes pack us kids a little dinner in her old Stanley Picnic Pack and take us 8 kids to the top of the ridge behind our house. The view was to die for. We could see Bluff Mountain a in the distance and our house. We would lay down on one of her old quilts and have our lunch. Usually some cornbread and beans and maybe a little fried potatoes, some form of hog meat andsweet bread. There was a stump up there and our brother Connie would stand on it and pretend he was preaching. We would sing and quote Bible verses. Daddy, Momma and Connie have been gone since 2009. Thank you for the memories. Make all you can with those sweet grand babies. God bless all.
Beautifully written ❣️
“Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The words of this Proverb pertain not only teaching a child good behavior, manner and morals, but also to appreciate and honor family roots and traditions. Little Ira’s roots grow deeper as he sees and experiences the sights and sounds and love of all things Appalachia.
sweetest picture of rhat precious child learning about his homeplace….
It is not the mountains, but many changes are going on in my neck of the woods too. Homes, subdivisions and people moving in from other areas. Any vacant land is being bought and homes put on it like there is no tomorrow. Some people in charge are beginning to notice now that it is too late that the roads, schools, water, electric, sewage, etc. in some areas can not support this much growth. I am very grateful to live on enough acreage to get away from some of it. I have always had a dream that will never happen of having a cabin in the mountains. I would rather go to the mountains of NC than the beaches of SC anytime.
I am going to write this and then shut up about the drought in my area. Before going to bed last night, I read an article on the website of a news station in Spartanburg, SC that during the months of September 2025 to March 2026 we are 15 inches behind in rainfall and it is only going to get worse before it gets better. This winter has been the third driest in last 135 years. This does not include the extremely hot dry months of June and July 2025. In July we had less than 1 inch of rain and entire month of above 90 degree temperatures- a new record. We did have some better rain and lower temperatures during the month of August. I think it may be a little worse in my neck of the woods because much of this information is gathered at the Greenville Spartanburg Airport. It usually get rain or thunderstorms we do not get.