By Logan Keller

It was a cool fall day in November when my grandfather and I finally arrived at the lineup for the Exploring Joara Tour. They were serving coffee and hors d'oeuvres, but we hadn’t time to grab them: by the time we got there, we had just enough time to finish registration before we were whisked off on our two hour adventure. There had to be over fifty cars there ranging from a Riley Elf MK III to a 2007 Mercedes SL500 to our own ‘63 Austin Healey!

Joara is a historical Native American town from the 17th century that is famous for fighting off the Spaniards. It was the largest town in North Carolina at the time, and the Exploring Joara Foundation is dedicated to excavating and raising awareness of the site. My grandpa “Papa” has gone every year on the tour to raise money for the cause, but this was my first time navigating this specific rally. In total, I navigated seven rallies since I was nine until now.

I navigated Papa through gorgeous Appalachian scenery, until we reached our first destination: the McDowell house located in Marion, NC. This house is known for its (and its county’s) namesake Colonel Joseph McDowell. McDowell was a Revolutionary War hero who fought in the Battle of King’s mountain against Patrick Ferguson’s loyalist regime. He fought as a member of the Overmountain Men, and was a part of the 3rd National Congress from 1793-1795. Though it was not a part of Joara, it was interesting to see the only namesake of a county standing in NC and one of its oldest houses.

Beautiful scenic stops were of course included; a closed beach was available for walking and viewing while we took a restroom break and check point.

Along the way, one car took a curve too quickly and ended up flipped in the river. Both of the passengers were safe, but it’s an important reminder of how

safety comes first! Our final destination was the beautiful town of Boone, where we stopped at the vegan gastropub Wisteria for a quick lunch. A man taught us how to create arrows out of glass, and there was a meeting and raffle to end the beautiful day. However, the best part was hearing my grandfather’s important words of wisdom as we traveled some of the best historical sites in one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. No one ever forgets those sacred moments.