{"id":4254,"date":"2011-03-30T16:45:15","date_gmt":"2011-03-30T20:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/?p=4254"},"modified":"2011-04-04T16:13:14","modified_gmt":"2011-04-04T20:13:14","slug":"a-guide-to-the-wonders-around-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/2011\/03\/a-guide-to-the-wonders-around-us\/","title":{"rendered":"A GUIDE TO THE WONDERS AROUND US"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>by Vicky Dickson<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/reader.100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/reader.100.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"reader.100\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-4092\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/reader.100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/reader.100-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nThe view out an airplane window changed the trajectory of Joe Miller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career. Specifically, the view of Umstead State Park. To a visitor from Dallas, that expanse of green in the midst of the Triangle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s urban sprawl looked pretty enticing.<!--more--> So Miller, a business writer for the Dallas Times Herald who had been invited to interview with the News &#038; Observer, spent six hours exploring Umstead on his first full day in the state. That January day was bitterly cold, but sunny, and he says he knew right then he was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gonna like this place.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4255\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4255\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/joe.miller.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/joe.miller.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"joe.miller\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/joe.miller.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/joe.miller-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/joe.miller-60x80.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4255\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Marcy Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>Miller took the job he was offered on the N &#038; O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s business desk, then went on to write about the outdoors for the paper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s travel section. His column, Take It Outside, led to two guidebooks, 100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina and Take it Outside: A Guide to Hiking and Backpacking in the Triangle. He started a fitness blog, GetGoingNC.com, after taking a buyout from the newspaper in 2009. His most recent achievement is Backpacking North Carolina, a book he was encouraged to write by the folks at UNC Press.<br \/>\nThese days, Miller sees it as his job to get people moving and get them outdoors. He wants to show that backpacking is something more of us can do, and not just do, but enjoy. Noting that many people still think of backpacking as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sufferfest\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it often was back before ultra-light equipment and tasty freeze-dried meals were invented, he says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If we still backpacked today like we did in the 1970s, someone else would have had to write this book.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nFortunately, backpacking did change, and Miller was lured into spending a year researching hiking trips in North Carolina. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a natural-born writer \u00e2\u20ac\u201c one who realized early on that writing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153was about the only thing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he could do \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the guidebook that resulted from all that research stands out for both its clarity and ability to inspire and entertain. And even those who never set foot on a trail can profit from the wealth of information Backpacking North Carolina delivers about our state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s natural wonders.<br \/>\nThose wonders range from Bear Island in the east, with 892 acres a hiker can have all to himself in winter, to the rhododendron and mountain laurel jungles of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness in the west, and 41 equally enticing destinations in between. Miller profiles trips for seasoned hikers as well as those just starting out, and his concise, detailed trail descriptions provide all the information hikers are likely to need.<br \/>\nEven more importantly, he explains the rationale for backpacking \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153why\u00e2\u20ac\u009d along with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153how.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for a reason to head outdoors, the ridgeline vista from a grassy bald on a dazzling summer day is pretty compelling, as is the chance to explore, all by yourself, a one-room cabin built in the 1890s, or the silence that descends when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on a peak and the world below you is all socked in.<br \/>\nAs Miller puts it, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You backpack so you can clear your mind, so you can think, so you can simply be and not have to worry about being something in addition to yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nIf that sounds appealing (how could it not?), do yourself a favor and get hold of a copy of Backpacking North Carolina. And then take a hike. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n<p>If Andrea Reusing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fried okra and hot tomato relish recipe in this month\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Taste of the Town has you salivating for more, head over to Flyleaf Books at 2 p.m. on April 9. The award-winning chef, leader in the sustainable-agriculture movement and mother of two will present and sign copies of her new cookbook, Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes. From all indications, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a book that Lantern devotees and lovers of fine cooking will surely cherish.<br \/>\nAt 7 p.m. on April 5, UNC religion professor Bart Ehrman will be at Flyleaf to discuss his latest book, Forged: Writing in the Name of God &#8211; Why the Bible\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. If the title itself doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hook you, the fact that Ehrman has appeared on shows ranging from NBC Dateline to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart certainly should. Come see what all that talk is about.<br \/>\nAllan Gurganus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 legions of fans will welcome the opportunity to spend an evening with the novelist at Flyleaf at 7 p.m. on April 12, when he and photographer Frank Hunter discuss the documentary they collaborated on featuring Gurganus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 home in Hillsborough. This event is co-sponsored by the Brooklyn literary journal A Public Space, and the journal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s founder and editor, Brigid Hughes, will moderate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Vicky Dickson The view out an airplane window changed the trajectory of Joe Miller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career. Specifically, the view of Umstead State Park. To a visitor from Dallas, that expanse of green in the midst of the Triangle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s urban sprawl looked pretty enticing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4254"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4279,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254\/revisions\/4279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}