A Crown of the Blue Ridge: Blowing Rock, NC

The charming town of Blowing Rock, often called “The Crown of the Blue Ridge,” is nestled amid the sweeping scenery of North Carolina’s High Country. It offers a perfect blend of mountain hospitality and unrivaled natural beauty that begs to be explored. This destination is a personal favorite of mine, a retreat where you can […]

Blue Ridge Back Roads: Beautiful Banner Elk, NC

Welcome back to American Nomad Traveler! Our journey through North Carolina’s High Country continues today in Banner Elk. This heavenly town, surrounded by the towering Blue Ridge Mountains, lies in the shadow of two major ski resorts, Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain. Banner Elk is more than just a mountain town; it’s a base camp […]

Blue Ridge Back Roads: Discover Mitchell County NC

In our last American Nomad adventure, we traveled the Carolina and Tennessee backroads atop magnificent Roan Mountain. Today, we’re heading over Roan and into the heart of North Carolina’s breathtaking Mitchell County. Here, you’ll discover a rare blend of wilderness adventure, art, and Appalachian charm. Mitchell County is a place where you can get lost […]

Mountain Back Roads: Radiant Roan Mountain

Today on American Nomad, we’re taking to the backroads of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains to explore one of my favorite retreats: Roan Mountain. Straddling the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, Roan Mountain is a wonderland of majestic scenery and diverse ecosystems. Here, you’ll find everything from rich Fraser Fir and mixed forests to […]

Elizabethton, TN: A Historic Gem in the Appalachian Highlands

Sheltered by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and cut by the Doe and Watauga Rivers, Elizabethton, Tennessee, is a charming mountain community with a deep history. From the prehistoric Native American tribes that lived and hunted here to being home to the first permanent settlement in Tennessee and the first constitutional American government […]

America 250-Overmountain Victory Trail: Sycamore Shoals

Today we’re continuing our Overmountain Victory Trail adventures from our last stop in Abingdon to a visit to Sycamore Shoals and Fort Watauga State Park in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Known for its fertile lands and a strategic location on the rocky shoals of the Watauga River, Sycamore Shoals is truly a crossroads of history. For centuries, […]

America 250: Overmountain Victory Trail – It Starts in Abingdon VA

Get ready for a Revolutionary Adventure! We’re tracing the legendary journey of the Overmountain Men, a band of frontier patriots who, in September and October 1780, decided to take a stand against British tyranny. Traveling from the rugged frontier lands of Southwestern Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and the Carolinas, their epic march culminated in a decisive […]

Taste of Abingdon: A Guide to Virginia’s Hidden Culinary Gem

Our American Nomad journey recently took us to Abingdon, a beautiful town in Southwestern Virginia known for its deep history and arts scene. We spent time exploring its historical sites and fun local attractions, but there was one thing that kept calling us back: the food. Abingdon’s culinary scene has exploded. This isn’t just about […]

Where the River Meets the Sea: Discovering Southport, NC

Just forty minutes south of Wilmington, where the mighty Cape Fear River spills into the Atlantic, lies the charming town of Southport, North Carolina. Here, Spanish Moss-draped live oaks shade centuries-old streets that have stood witness to pivotal moments in American history, from the Revolution to the Civil War. Southport is the kind of laid-back […]

America 250-Liberty Trails: Fires of Fort Johnston, NC

On July 19, 2025, I had the exciting opportunity to travel to Southport, North Carolina to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Burning of Fort Johnston, a pivotal moment in North Carolina’s Revolutionary War history. I felt as if I had traveled back to 1775, when Patriot Militiamen Cornelius Harnett, John Ashe, and Robert Howe […]