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Come journey with us as we explore and highlight the people and places that make the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian Mountains special and unique. We explore the towns, trails, rivers, scenic byways, businesses, and people that fuel the life & adventurous spirit in these mountains. Listen in on this relaxed conversational style podcast as host Mike Andress interviews Authors, Business Owners, Photographers, Athletes, Adventurers, Travelers and Friends who have a deep connection to the outdoors and directly influence the culture of the Blue Ridge. We’ll even explore the many ways nature & the outdoors can positivity influence our health and well being.
125 Episodes
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Send us Fan Mail A railroad line that once climbed one of the steepest grades in the country is getting a second life and it might become one of the most memorable rail-trails in the Southeast. We sit down with Leigh MacDonald (PAL) and Summer Flynn (Conserving Carolina) to unpack the Saluda Grade Trail: a 31.5-mile vision that links communities across North Carolina and South Carolina while honoring the corridor that helped build them in the first place. We talk candidly about what it real...
Send us Fan Mail Every bike has a story, and so do the people who build them. At the inaugural CRAFTED Bike & Gear Show at Cane Creek in Western North Carolina, I set out to hear those stories—and came away with far more conversations than I could fit into a typical episode. In this extended episode of Exploration Local, we meet the people behind the bikes, gear, and ideas shaping the cycling world. There’s a look at how open-source design could help make adaptive cycling more accessible,...
Send us Fan Mail 58 million acres of national forest land have stayed largely free of new road building for more than two decades and that protection is now under real pressure. I sit down with Carla Fox, Membership Director at The Conservation Alliance, to break down what the Roadless Rule actually does, why it was created, and what the U.S. Forest Service is proposing through its draft environmental impact statement. We get specific about what “inventoried roadless areas” are, how they dif...
Send us Fan Mail Trailside Brewing is one of those places that makes you rethink what a “local brewery” can be. In this episode, I sit down with David Schnitzer, CEO and Owner who built his career in summer camps and outdoor leadership, and you can hear that DNA in everything Trailside has become in Hendersonville, North Carolina. This isn’t just a stop for a pint. It’s a gathering point where people show up after a ride on the Ecusta Trail, linger for a meal, and leave with new friends. We ...
Send us Fan Mail What happens when you connect people to nature? For Carolyn Ashworth, President & CEO of FIND Outdoors, that connection is at the heart of their work. FIND Outdoors grew out of the Cradle of Forestry in Western North Carolina and today works across North Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky, helping people experience public lands through campgrounds, visitor centers, recreation sites, guided experiences and education. Carolyn's connection to the Cradle is personal. She spent ti...
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