One of our bike rides out of camp was down Hughes Gap Road, over to a side road, and up to a church cemetery that was the resting site of Sam Brinkley. His beard was legend.

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For #WorldBeardDay we're spotlighting Sam Brinkley, who became known for one of the world’s longest beards in the early 20th century. He was born near Burnsville in Yancey County.

As an adult, Brinkley stood at 6 feet, two inches with a beard that measured in at 5 feet, 4 inches at its peak length. Notoriety came with the remarkable growth of his beard. He began by exhibiting it to the curious, and he went on tour with the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He reportedly earned thousands of dollars by charging people to see his beard, which he kept tucked in a pouch.

Brinkley was a late bloomer when it came to facial hair. According to newspaper accounts, until he was 21, he had no real beard to shave. By 23, the growth had reached the astounding rate of a full beard in a week’s time. One article reported that the beard was entirely natural, not the result of restorers or invigorators. Another called it “soft and beautiful.” For decades Brinkley was known as the world’s expert on the cultivation of beards.

He died in 1929 from complications of tonsillitis, and he is buried at Buladean in Mitchell County with a striking photo featuring his legendary beard recessed into his tombstone.

-Original post from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources (9/5/20)

The scanning is over. As of now, all the individual photos I had (that were originally attached to camp applications) have been posted on the website. There are over 400 of you. Of course, I'm sure we're missing another hundred or so. We can fix that. Just read the notes at the top of page one and bottom of page 9.

I did a quick tally of where everyone came from in the listings. I counted 23 states, DC, and Mexico. I feel certain we had a few more states represented. However, for being the "world's smallest camp," even I'm impressed.

Camper Photos -- Check 'em out.

I've just started to finally scan the photos that parents attached to the camp applications. It will be a slow process, so check back. You can find the page here at this link. And of course, under the "Photo Galleries" tab you'll find a link to "Camper Photos."Camper Photos - p 1

Enjoy.

During some of our earliest years at TrailRidge, our neighbor across Hughes Gap Road from camp, would spend his own money each Fourth of July to put on a show for the camp. Stan served as our maintenance man and we couldn't have gotten stuff done without him. He took great joy in shooting off about 15 minutes worth of firepower for those first few summers. The boys and staff would sit on the bank of the pond and enjoy the show. We enjoyed it just about as much as Stan did.

And now, nearly 40 years later, I've put on my own fireworks show. The background is the Town of Columbus had to cancel their festivities because of COVID-19. I decided I "could be like Stan." 

Click this link to check out my video to see how I did.

So TrailRidge folks, after traveling with my MindStretch Travel Adventures groups for years...we finally took the guys on a trip into the old TMC neck of the woods. We hiked up to Round Bald and a little beyond from Carvers Gap. It was 59 degrees when we arrived there this past Wednesday. And when we were done...guess where we had lunch with those famous milkshakes? You guessed it - Bob's Dairyland. Nothing has changed except the "outhouse" at Carver's Gap is slightly fancier than before.
We did meet a couple of Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy caretakers and they had some news about the old TMC property. I will wait until I visit the old TrailRidge before posting any info. That's not happening for several weeks.