CARL SANDBURG HOME, National Historic Site

“It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask himself, ‘Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?’”

Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. In 1965 he received honors from the NAACP for his coverage of the 1919 Chicago race riots and for his life-long struggle to extend the frontiers of social justice. Carl Sandburg spent a lifetime exploring what it meant to be an American and asked the eternal questions, “Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?” He did this through poetry, song, lectures, writing and lasting friendships with kindred spirits. Carl Sandburg and his family moved to a Flat Rock, North Carolina estate, Connemara, in 1945 and lived there until his death on July 22, 1967. In 1968 Congress authorized the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, the first park to honor a poet. The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is located on 264 acres in Western North Carolina. In addition to tours of the house, it also has over five miles of trails and beautiful gardens. 

 (Click on photos to enlarge.)

 The garage.

 The beautiful barn for the goats.

 This is another small house on the property. 
Visiting  poets are allowed to use it to write.

Mrs. Sandburg owned and operated a premier goat dairy from 1935 to 1965. At Connemara, the dairy became a Grade A operation, with milk being distributed to local dairies and sold in stores around the community. Mrs. Sandburg's goat breeding program produced champion goats and led to the improvement of goats as milk producing animals.

The very best part of the visit is when you are greeted by

the descendents of Mrs. Sandburg's dairy goat herd.

They are beautiful goats!

(Click the play button to watch the little video.)

TOUR OF THE HOME

This is the family room. Everything in the house

is very 50s and original. Nothing is in the home

that didn't belong to the Sandburgs.

 Carl Sandburg's Office

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK (10/2010)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most pristine natural areas in the East. It offers breathtaking mountain scenery, including panoramic views, rushing mountain streams, and mature hardwood forests stretching to the horizon. The Appalachian Mountains are among the oldest mountains in the world, and the Smokies are among the tallest mountains in the Appalachian chain. Inside the park, elevations range from about 875' to 6,643', with sixteen peaks rising more than 5,000 feet. The park's highest summit, Clingmans Dome, is the third tallest peak east of the Mississippi River.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)



Fantastic views of the Smokies like this

are everywhere in this park. 

 This is a great hike up to the observation tower.

You can see into 3 states from the top!

 I love it that dogs are allowed in the National Parks!

The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest continuous footpaths in the world. The trail winds more than 2,150 miles through 14 states (Georgia to Maine). Few stretches are more remote or difficult than the section through the Great Smokies. These are some of the highest ridges in the Appalachians, paralleling the Tennessee-North Carolina border for 70 miles.

 This is a particularly beautiful part of the AT.

 Moare amazing views of the mountains.