Back when I was a student at Chapel Hill High, my friends and I frequently skipped school.  Chapel Hill was a small enough place then that we couldn’t risk staying in town and, unlike Ferris Bueller, we didn’t have a big city like Chicago nearby in which to lose ourselves.  Instead, we spent those out-of-school days driving country roads near Chapel Hill.  In our wanderings, we came upon several abandoned mill towns along the Haw River.  Having read our fair share of Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew mysteries as kids, we never doubted that we had in fact discovered these towns and that no one else knew about them (sort of like Christopher Columbus “discovering” a world people had been living in for centuries).

One of those mill towns my high school friends and I stumbled upon was Saxapahaw, a community in southern Alamance County.  Since my skipping school days, Saxapahaw has been most emphatically discovered.  The old mill itself has been turned into condominiums, musical Saturday night gatherings are held there in the summer, and there’s even a general store where you can pick up both Slim Jims and cashew butter.

Interstate 40/85 slices horizontally through Alamance County.  North of the highway you find the familiar outlet malls of Burlington and a conglomeration of commercial sprawl that could be Anywhere, USA.  Even the attractive college town of Elon lacks a spirit of vibrancy.

South of the interstate though, Alamance County retains its soul.  It’s hard to imagine anyone not being charmed by Saxapahaw.  Other rural communities like Eli Whitney and Alamance are similarly situated among rolling green fields and the land almost pulsates with history.  The village of Alamance may not have been incorporated until 1979 but it is a spot where Indians, Revolutionary War, and Civil War soldiers all once gathered.

On a particularly gorgeous day in June, driving the roads of Alamance County with my daughter was an ideal way to spend my birthday.  Time has marched on for me and for Saxapahaw since those long ago high school days.  The change is good.

June 14, 2012 – County #7 – Alamance

Yesterday I headed to Town Creek Indian Mound in Montgomery County with my long-time friend, Anne Geer (what a good feeling it is spending time with someone you’ve known since elementary school).  I learned a lot at Town Creek about pre-1500 Native American culture and hope to learn more from a book Anne recommended to me, 1491.  After leaving Town Creek, we found fresh peaches at a local Moore County farm Anne had heard about from a friend and rewarded ourselves with the special treat of homemade peach ice cream from a roadside stand.

Each time I travel to a county, I try to be open to whatever I may experience there.  My goal isn’t to have a fabulous time on each visit but to experience that county for whatever it has to offer on a particular day.  Still, as often as I tell myself that, I do harbor a desire to happen upon something unexpected as I’m traveling along.  With today’s technology keeping the world abreast of everyone’s waking moment, it’s less and less likely that we might find surprises along the way but that doesn’t stop me from hoping.

That’s why I was excited to experience just such an unexpected surprise when Anne and I came upon this whimsically decorated crossroads in rural Moore County.  A two-story house stands on one corner with a couple of friendly dogs on the front porch.   We could only guess that the owners of that home were responsible for the bottle tree, the plantings around road signs, and the decorations on the signs themselves.  I would love to know more about the story behind it all but, regardless of what that story might be, the crossroads at Glendon was the highlight of a fun trip through the counties of Montgomery and Moore.

Counties #5 & 6 – Montgomery and Moore – June 9, 2012