CATAWBA NC
by LoriPori
A small town in the heart of the beautiful Catawba Valley in the western Piedmont of North Carolina CATAWBA is one of only two municipalities in Catawba County that borders the Catawba River. The town is located on Old Highway 70, approximately 20 minutes drive from Hickory and one hour from Charlotte.
We drove through Catawba as I wanted to find a Mill that I saw in the Hickory area attractions booklet. We saw a brown sign pointing to the Mill, but alas did not find it. It was a cute town with lots of old buildings. I put it in "Off the Beaten Path" as it is on the old Highway 70 that runs along the I-40.
Small Town with Big Flavor!
by Hexepatty
"The View"
It's in the foot hills of the Appalchian Mountains. Rolling hills with lakes, rivers and streams all over. Quite pretty. Nice people. Close to everything.
" A few things I like about my new hometown"
Hickory is close to everything but the ocean. And while that is a bit of a bummer, you could still be oceanside within 5 - 6 hours. So it's still better than living in the middle of the US. We are one hour to Boone (the mountains), one hour to Asheville (hip town plus in the mountains), one hour to Charlotte (urban-lite, but also has a major airport), one hour to Winston Salem (I don't what that means, having never been to Winston Salem, but I suspect Winston Salem is still more known than Hickory...)
We are really close -- within one hour! -- to wineries and lush vineyards. That means everything when you lack all other things. Decent wines with quite a few varieties.
Nice people here, too! Give you the clothes off your back, kind of good folk.
It's pretty. Everywhere you turn you see rolling hills or mountains in the background. And I feel pretty safe here, too.
"Things to Know about Hickory"
Hickory is in Catawba County, which is located in Western North Carolina. As large a city as Hickory is, it is not the county seat (think capitol!) of the county. Newton is the county seat. Newton is pretty small in comparison to the city limits of Hickory. Other cities, towns, villages located in Catawba County include: Hickory, Newton, Conover, Claremont, Maiden, Mountain View, Long View, Viewmont. There are more, but I won't bore you with the rest as they are quite tiny.
In addition to Hickory being the major city of Catawba, it is also, as a city, the hub of activity for a four county region. It is not unusual to hear someone mention "Uni-Four" or the "Greater Hickory Region". This is because Catawba County, combined with three other counties comprise a unique region.
Catawba, Burke, Caldwell and Alexander Counties are the counties that make up the "Uni-Four" or "Greater Hickory Region."
Burke County has Morganton as its county seat. Caldwell calls Lenoir their principal city and county seat. Alexander's county seat is Taylorsville.
Many people from Burke, Caldwell and Alexander shop, work and eat in Hickory. We are "it" another words. We have the Sam's Club. And Hooters. Believe me, we are 'it'...
I find that strange and yet endearing because Hickory lacks lots of things I would like to have in a small city. Certainly, you get the gist, however: this should give you an idea of what it might be like to live in Morganton, Lenoir and/or Taylorsville.
The reason I am explaining this is because most folks outside of N Carolina are unfamiliar with Hickory. But they will know Hickory before knowing all the other small towns mentioned above. Therefore I will have all my tips for the Greater Hickory region placed under Hickory. I will not separate tips out for the smaller towns of Taylorsville or Lenoir or Claremont, for example... They'll be filed under Hickory until the day comes when the Hickory pages have to compete with Morganton, or dare I say Taylorsville (a dry county no less!!!)... at which time I'll separate my tips out accordingly. I'll always point out where the location is in my tips if it is not in Hickory proper.
I love my little hometown, but I won't kid you or myself. We really are a small town with big heart. But we are a small town!
Enjoy my musings and tips...
BUNKER HILL COVERED BRIDGE
by LoriPori
"BUNKER HILL COVERED BRIDGE"
The gentleman pictured here is Phil and he owns the land on which the Covered Bridge is situated. He and two other friends were checking out the property as just the day before a tornado tore through Claremont and much damage was done. Phil lost a barn and his house sustained a lot of damage.
Sh!t Happens... Find Something Good in it!
by NC_Ziggy
"Into Every Life, a Little Crap Must Come! :-)"
I had been searching for an opportunity to photograph a butterfly for Kasia... This was not exactly where I expected to find one, but here it was and actually there were two on this pleasant pile of cow ploppage! Who Knew the beautiful butterfly would choose processed grass through a cow's nine stomachs as a meal? Not me! Did You? Still, there is a lesson for us all here... Take Beauty where you find it! I hope you find yours, but not on a cow pile! :-)
"Itsy Bitsy Spider Climbed Up The Water Spout..."
Now why would this creature of nature have such a bad reputation? After all, it is colorful, interesting, and a pacifist. Like you and me, it's just trying to live it's life as nature has provided such life. This one was on the overhead of my deck which made it worth a picture... I'm sure most will agree with me that if it were inside the house it would be a much different story! I've heard that for all the bad reputation and those pesky spider webs, spiders rid our homes of other insects and pests! So, take your pick! Spiders or creepy crawling jumping other bugs...
"A Captivating Sky!"
There are times when words simply get in the way. This picture is best left to your viewing.
"More Sky Pics w/o commentary"
"More Sky Pics"
"The Moon Only Comes Out at Night?"
Sign in with Facebook
Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church
Blowing Rock Brochure
Sign on Highway 70
Olde Hickory Brewery Trolly Car
