{"id":9740,"date":"2025-06-21T04:52:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T08:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tubridy.net\/newblog\/?p=9740"},"modified":"2025-06-27T12:04:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T16:04:08","slug":"ld-ranch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.tubridy.net\/newblog\/excellent\/ld-ranch\/","title":{"rendered":"L&D Ranch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last stop for the trip at my brother and sister-in-law’s retreat in the beautiful mountains in western North Carolina. This will be our second visit. The Dead Horton’s Tour <\/a>was timed around the Highlands Motoring Festival taking place in nearby Highlands.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Jake enjoying the sensational view!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This Excellent Adventure has had some great visits to museum. I have been coming to this area since the late 90s and one museum I never made it to was the famous Firefox Appalachian Village and home to the phenomenal series of books detailing early Appalachian life in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highland Motoring Festival <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Highlands Motoring Festival Street Parade 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We first experienced the parade that occurs the night before the show. I was excellent and some of my favorite cars were on display. Good thing too since they were not on the festival grounds the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The next day featured the cars on display. There was a special pre-WW2 section which had some unbelievable cars! A real treat to see some of this older engineering and style marvels in such good condition.<\/p>\n\n\n

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1925 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster, once owned by Howard Hughes. This car is one of only 79 left-hand-drive Piccadilly Roadsters built in Springfield, Massachusetts, specifically for the US market. Hughes ordered the car in December 1924, paying $13,450. The vehicle is known for its unique features, including a golf club compartment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The rest of the show featured several modern marquees: Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Porsche. BMWs were far and few. There were some interesting cars including a Shelby Cobra.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Shelby Ford Cobra at Highlands Motoring Festival<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

By far the most interesting marquee was Ferrari. The post war cars up to the $750K Green SF90 Spyder were on display. One guy told me they feature one marquee every year and this year it was Ferrari. I even saw a Ferrari F40 similar to the one I drove in Las Vegas all those years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Foxfire Museum<\/h2>\n\n\n
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What is Firefox?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In high school, my girlfriend introduced me to the Firefox books. Her father was a mountain man from the Pacific Northwest, and her mother was a librarian. I didn’t really pay much attention to it, but it fit into the mood of the early 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is much more interesting now. Turns out it was about enabling the young people of this region to fit into a rapidly changing world of the 1960s. Educators and the students attending a local school came up with a project to interview their elderly forebears. In the process, they learned the skills necessary to survive in the wilds of Appalachia. It was right up my alley now.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Firefox Museum: Nestled in the hills of Georgia, brings insight into the early Appalachian region through their successful life skills education programs for young people.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The museum showcases both work by the students as well as preserved homes, barns, and other structures. Signs gave you a basic understanding of what was being shown. I especially liked the woodworking and tools. I also appreciate the fact that the museum is still working with the local youth.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Foxfire Museum: Every year, students come and experience the life skills of their forebears. It’s a proven success to help the children of this area lead more successful lives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The feel was very similar to the experiences I had at the Wright Brothers Monument, Mystic Seaport, the museum in Lancaster County, and Monticello. A fitting end to two great learning experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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