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history mystery
What is a “blowing rock”?
According to local legend, two star-crossed lovers from the Chickasaw and Cherokee tribes courted along the Blue Ridge Mountains and around The Blowing Rock. As their flirtations continued, a conflict was brewing. The Chickasaw woman was drawn to The Blowing Rock one day as the sky turned red, and her lover foresaw this omen as one of a future filled with conflict and trouble. He felt compelled to return to the Plains, but she begged him not to leave. Torn between head and heart, the man leapt from the Blowing Rock to the forest far below. Heartbroken by the loss, the woman prayed to the Great Spirit daily until one evening as the sky again turned red, a gust of wind blew her beloved up from the forest floor, onto the Blowing Rock and into her arms.
The unique airflow of Blowing Rock causes the winds to gust almost completely vertical. This is more than likely due to the unique shape of the rock itself which is 4,000 ft. above sea level and juts over 3,000 ft above the Johns River Gorge. The wind currents whip up and often blow vertically and cause light objects to “float” in the sky. It was named by the infamous Ripley’s Believe It or Not cartoon as “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” This geological structure, made of 1,055 million year old metamorphic gneiss rock has been officially designated The Blowing Rock Gneiss by Geological Survey of The United States.
The Green Park Inn is located less than half a mile from The Blowing Rock where visitors can hike up to the look out. The entire trail is about a half mile long and takes an average of 20 minutes to complete. Grounds are pet friendly and majority handicap accessible.
According to local legend, two star-crossed lovers from the Chickasaw and Cherokee tribes courted along the Blue Ridge Mountains and around The Blowing Rock. As their flirtations continued, a conflict was brewing. The Chickasaw woman was drawn to The Blowing Rock one day as the sky turned red, and her lover foresaw this omen as one of a future filled with conflict and trouble. He felt compelled to return to the Plains, but she begged him not to leave. Torn between head and heart, the man leapt from the Blowing Rock to the forest far below. Heartbroken by the loss, the woman prayed to the Great Spirit daily until one evening as the sky again turned red, a gust of wind blew her beloved up from the forest floor, onto the Blowing Rock and into her arms.
The unique airflow of Blowing Rock causes the winds to gust almost completely vertical. This is more than likely due to the unique shape of the rock itself which is 4,000 ft. above sea level and juts over 3,000 ft above the Johns River Gorge. The wind currents whip up and often blow vertically and cause light objects to “float” in the sky. It was named by the infamous Ripley’s Believe It or Not cartoon as “the only place in the world where snow falls upside down.” This geological structure, made of 1,055 million year old metamorphic gneiss rock has been officially designated The Blowing Rock Gneiss by Geological Survey of The United States.
The Green Park Inn is located less than half a mile from The Blowing Rock where visitors can hike up to the look out. The entire trail is about a half mile long and takes an average of 20 minutes to complete. Grounds are pet friendly and majority handicap accessible.
