KWBaker

While perfect at the beach, Tiki drinks aren't just for tropical vacations. To help, we've curated the best, proving it's always a great time for a Tiki drink.

The post Warm up with these 10 stellar Tiki cocktails appeared first on The Manual.

Expectations for what makes a good cooler have radically shifted in the last decade — thanks in no small part to a few companies building better gear that stubbornly outlasts and outclasses coolers from familiar old names.

After spending many years evaluating more than 50 cooler models, we’ve chosen six that are well made, well insulated, and well suited for a range of outings.

The RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Cooler is our best pick for most people who want a lightweight cooler that can do it all at a decent price.

However, we also have a pick for adventuring, one that rolls, a space-saving option, a soft cooler for light work, a backpack cooler, and a disposable cooler.

When millions of iPhones update to iOS 14.5 in the coming weeks, it will become much more obvious that many of the most common apps—including weather trackers, dating apps, and games—are advertising-data tools as much as they are anything else. When you open apps for the first time after Apple’s latest system update, you’ll get a pop-up asking to “track your activity,” and your approval will give permission for developers to link information about you to an advertising profile that can track you across apps (and across the web). On the App Store, Apple’s recently introduced “privacy nutrition label” helps detail what information each app seeks to collect, store, and share, but the implications aren’t always clear.

The past year has been a rollercoaster. Though most grocery stores are well stocked again, for many of us, the memories of long lines and food shortages are still too close for comfort. Which is to say, sometimes the best canned tomatoes are whatever you can find in your cupboard or on store shelves. So take the ranking below with a grain of salt, especially if the recommended brands happen to be out of stock. Although we liked some brands more than others, most will serve you well in a comforting pot of chili or batch of sauce. If you’re looking for inspiration, try making Marcella Hazan’s perfectly simple tomato sauce, our favorite Instant Pot butter chicken, a bright shakshuka, or a hearty vegetarian ribollita.

Having worked in the food and restaurant industry for a decade, I can tell you that no two brands of canned tomatoes are exactly alike. Some tomatoes are tough, underripe, and insipid. Others are velvety, brilliantly red, and full of flavor. In early 2020, before the pandemic changed everything, I organized a blind taste test with some of my colleagues from the Wirecutter test kitchen and NYT Cooking in an effort to find the best cans of whole peeled tomatoes. We tasted 28-ounce cans from 12 different brands and found a huge range—from tomatoes that were sweet enough to eat straight out of the can to ones that carried a whiff of dead animal. We were also surprised to learn that price didn’t always correspond to quality.

Due to the pandemic, I wasn’t able to assemble a panel of taste testers for our 2021 update, so I retried our top four picks from 2020 on my own (except for Target’s Market Pantry Tomatoes, which have been discontinued). I wanted to see how the new crop of tomatoes compared to when we first tested them. I also tasted two new cans of tomatoes: Target’s Good & Gather Whole Peeled Tomatoes and the Cento Italian Style Peeled Tomatoes. Like our panel did in 2020, I tasted all of the tomatoes twice: once straight out of the can and heated through, and then again made into Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce.

Here’s our updated ranking. You can also find a rundown of our original results from 2020, along with a few more recipe suggestions, on NYT Cooking.

And finally, a note on pricing: We list the online prices of these cans, and we acknowledge that some of them are slightly marked up—that’s the cost of nationwide availability and convenience. But keep in mind that you may be able to find these tomatoes for significantly less at your local grocery store. (For an explanation of why we avoided regional brands and stuck to cans that could be found throughout the country, read How we picked and tested.)

The best

1. The Bianco DiNapoli Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($6.50 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were hands down the best canned tomatoes we tasted two years running. They had a nice balance of sweetness and acidity, with a strong tomato flavor. NYT Cooking’s Julia Moskin said she wouldn’t hesitate to put these tomatoes on a sandwich right out of the can. In fact, she liked them so much she ordered an entire case. I found that their attractive deep red color, slightly thick puree, and semi-firm texture resulted in a rich, velvety sauce. The Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes are sold at some Whole Foods stores or online. Keep in mind that these tomatoes are canned with a sprig of fresh basil, so they lend themselves best to Italian food.

2. The San Merican (SMT) Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($5 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were a close second to the Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes we tested. Though not as brilliantly red, they were well peeled, consistently shaped, and quite meaty. NYT Cooking editor Sara Bonisteel noted their “good mouth texture,” which we all found to be pleasantly firm without seeming unripe or crunchy. NYT Cooking’s Ligaya Mishan wrote in her testing notes, “I felt like I could eat this on its own without even cooking.” Wirecutter senior editor Marguerite Preston enjoyed the buttery richness of these tomatoes in the sauce. Unlike our other picks, the SMT tomatoes don’t contain basil, so they’ll work for a wider range of recipes.

Better than average

3. The Cento Italian Style Peeled Tomatoes (about $2 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) and the Cento San Marzano Certified Peeled Tomatoes ($3.20 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were about on a par with each other. The Italian-style tomatoes have a strong tomato flavor that’s sweeter than the San Marzano ones. The San Marzano tomatoes have a slightly chunkier puree, and they’re a bit more acidic. In our 2020 tasting, Ligaya found the Certified San Marzano variety “velvety tasting, but more earthy than bright.” And Wirecutter supervising editor Winnie Yang “discerned more tomato flavor in the [juice] than in the solids.” The same was true in my 2021 tasting. Both tomatoes are on the sweeter side but not bad overall. Like the Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, both versions of the Cento tomatoes contain basil.

4. The Target Good & Gather Whole Peeled Tomatoes (about $1 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were packed in a thinner, more watery juice that wasn’t quite as flavorful as that of our other top-rated tomatoes. The tomatoes had a milder muted flavor when tasted raw. They weren’t as velvety when used for sauce, and they had more of a crushed tomato consistency. That said, these tomatoes produced a much brighter, more flavorful sauce than similarly priced brands did. If you want to spend under a dollar per can, this is the brand to get. Like the SMT tomatoes, the Target tomatoes don’t contain basil.

Just okay

5. The Hunt’s Whole Plum Tomatoes ($2.40 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) had a nice balance of sweetness and acidity when tasted raw. The tomatoes are quite firm. And when they were used for sauce, they didn’t break apart as easily as our top-rated tomatoes. There were some unripe tomatoes and peel mixed in, which was unpleasant. The sauce we made using these tomatoes was less flavorful, chunky, and not as homogenous as sauces made with others we tasted.
6. The Whole Foods 365 Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($1.70 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were serviceable and much better than the non-organic Whole Foods 365 tomatoes we tasted, but nothing special. Winnie wrote that the raw tomatoes “lacked depth, but they’re bright.” Marguerite said the sauce was “a little too sweet and a bit tart.”
7. The Rega San Marzano Tomatoes ($5.30 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were the only ones we tested that were certified DOP. They were acidic, not too sweet, and had a pleasant tomato flavor. They also had a soft, velvety texture and a deep red color. But the sauce was pretty sour, and it received only average marks.

Not recommended

1. The Organico Bello Premium Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($5.30 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were not well balanced. The word sour came up again and again in our tasting notes. Sara wrote that the raw tomatoes “smelled like bones—that whiff you get when walking through the woods when you know you’re passing a dead animal. Astringent.” The tartness didn’t mellow with cooking, either, and it dominated the sauce.
2. The Bella Terra Organic Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($6.50 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) had an off flavor discerned by several tasters. NYT Cooking editor Alexa Weibel wrote, “Tastes like chemicals, a flavor that should not exist in nature. Vile.”
3. The Whole Foods 365 Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($1.40 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) tasted notably different than their organic counterpart’s tomatoes. These tomatoes were flat, bland, and poorly peeled—a cardboard cutout of a tomato, if you will. The sauce was both bland and overly tart, with very little tomato flavor coming through.
4. The Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes ($3 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) had a surprising amount of peels left on and a dull, predominantly sour flavor. Several of our testers also sensed an off, chemical fragrance emanating from the tomatoes. And the sauce was overly acidic.
5. The Contadina Whole Roma Tomatoes With Basil ($2.50 per 28-ounce can at the time of writing) were the most repulsive ones we opened. The addition of dried Italian seasoning overpowered the flavor of the tomatoes and the sauce, flooding the kitchen with the smell of oregano. On top of that, these tomatoes were cloyingly sweet and had a doleful, muddy-brown color. Julia summed this can up in two words: not good.

How we picked and tested

With countless canned tomato options to consider, I first polled Wirecutter employees living in 10 different states across the country to get a sense of which brands were available in their areas. I wanted to test tomatoes that would be relatively easy for most people in the US to find at major grocery-store chains or online. We intentionally avoided regional supermarket brand tomatoes, such as those sold by Safeway or Winn-Dixie, since they’re difficult to find outside the area in which they’re sold. That’s not to say that supermarket-brand tomatoes are better or worse than national brands. So if you’ve found a can you like, keep using it.

I also spent some time examining ingredients and labels. If you’re browsing canned tomatoes in the store, it’s helpful to be familiar with a few terms and ingredients:

• San Marzano and DOP: These terms are sometimes conflated. San Marzano tomatoes, which are prized for their mellow flavor, can be grown anywhere. Certain San Marzano tomatoes are certified DOP (or protected designation of origin), which guarantees that they’ve been grown, processed, and canned in a specific geographical zone in Italy. As our tests show, neither term is necessarily an indicator of flavor or quality.
• Calcium chloride: Many US brands include this additive in their ingredients. It gives the tomatoes a firmer texture and prevents them from breaking down as readily. So if you prefer tomatoes that have a softer texture for, say, putting on pizza, look for ones without calcium chloride (of our top five picks, only the SMT and Target brand tomatoes contained calcium chloride).
• Added flavors: I generally steered clear of tomatoes with sugar or “natural flavors” (read: dried herbs) among the ingredients. I made an exception for Contadina tomatoes because the seasoned version was so widely available (and the unseasoned version wasn’t), but I regretted it. The one flavor addition we didn’t mind (besides salt) was fresh basil. In fact, three of our five favorite brands included it.

For our 2020 blind taste test, I enlisted the palates of a few members of the NYT Cooking team: writers Julia Moskin and Ligaya Mishan, and editors Sara Bonisteel and Alexa Weibel. I also included three editors from Wirecutter’s kitchen and appliance teams: Marguerite Preston, Marilyn Ong, and Winnie Yang. The panel tasted each can of tomatoes twice: once straight out of the can and heated through, and the second time used in Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce (which I cooked in advance, using a teaspoon of kosher salt and 195 grams of onions each time, for consistency). I also decanted one can from each brand into a quart container, for testers to examine the contents whole. I repeated these tests on my own for our 2021 update.

In 2020 I had each panelist evaluate the sweetness, acidity, texture, color, flavor, and overall appearance of the canned tomatoes. Between tastings they cleansed their palates with water, saltine crackers, and Italian bread. (In 2021, I evaluated all of the tomatoes using the same criteria. We were largely in agreement on our favorites.) We’ve found the quality of each brand to be consistent from one can to the next, and from year to year. However, that could change in the future. So once we return to our test kitchen, we plan to revisit our favorites to see whether there’s much variation in next year’s crop (and to test some new options).

What to look forward to

When our test kitchen is fully operational again, later this year, we plan to do another round of testing with more brands, particularly those from big-box stores like Walmart and Costco. We’d also like to test Contadina (sans dried Italian seasoning), Contadina San Marzano Style, Pastene, Sclafani, and Red Gold. (Other brands sold under Red Gold include Red Pack and Tuttorosso; they use the same tomatoes as the Red Gold brand, according to the representative we spoke to.) We’ve had requests to taste-test Del Monte tomatoes, but we’ve had a hard time locating them online and in stores, so we didn’t include them in our initial roundup. But we’ll look for them again for our next taste test.

You could easily spend thousands on a fishing rod that’s ultra lightweight or designed for a specific species. However, most casual fishers — and even some experts — would be happier with something more versatile and less expensive.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours over the past decade testing spinning rods (and reels) for casual anglers on reasonable budgets, and right now our favorite all-around rod for most people is the Ugly Stik Carbon Inshore Spinning Rod. (We also have a standalone guide to fishing reels.)

It’s approachable enough for a novice to learn on, yet it performs well enough for a seasoned veteran to depend on. And it won’t give up its ghost without some considerable abuse.

The post 14 Tips for Powerful Storytelling Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ben McKechnie.

Discover the art of visual storytelling through photography. We share expert techniques to communicate powerful narratives and make your images unforgettable!

As a photographer of people and cultures, I spend a lot of time thinking about storytelling with my images – how I can convey emotions and narratives through a few simple frames.

Beginners often fail to think about the storytelling aspect of photography, and that’s okay. When you’re just starting out, it’s important to focus on lighting, composition, and camera settings. But once you’ve familiarized yourself with those key concepts, what’s the next logical step? How do you hook people for more than just a few seconds?

Storytelling.

In this article, I share fourteen tips to get you started with storytelling photography, accompanied by plenty of example images to help illustrate the points. The photos may be taken in far-flung locations, but I promise you: the tips I offer can be applied anywhere on Earth.

What is storytelling photography?

Storytelling photography is all about capturing images that tell a compelling narrative. It’s not limited to a specific genre; it can be documentary, candid, posed, or even abstract. The beauty of storytelling photography lies in its ability to engage viewers and make them connect with the story being portrayed.

When you come across a powerful storytelling photo, it can hold your attention for minutes as you explore its intricate details. These images have the remarkable ability to spark your imagination, allowing you to ponder what might happen next or reflect on the emotions conveyed.

It’s important to note that storytelling photography can be achieved through a single image or a series of images. Some photographers excel at encapsulating an entire story within a single frame, while others choose to create a collection of images that, when combined, create a comprehensive narrative.

For street photographers, wildlife photographers, and bird photographers, capturing a single photo that tells a story is often the norm. On the other hand, fine-art photographers and photojournalists often lean towards creating a series of images that, when sequenced, convey a larger and more intricate story.

No matter the approach, storytelling photography allows you to engage viewers on a deeper level, making them active participants in the narrative you present. It’s a powerful tool that enables you to evoke emotions, provoke thought, and transport your audience into a whole new world.

Storytelling photography tips

Including stories in your shots is a great way to interest – and engage – viewers. But how do you do it? How can you capture the kind of shots that are full of narrative? Here are plenty of tips to help you out:

1. Try to understand the story from all angles

If you’re capturing a newsworthy event – like a protest, ceremony, or even a party – it’s crucial to do your homework and grasp the event from every perspective before you arrive on site. Get to know all the key players, be aware of scheduled activities, and understand the event’s objective.

Once you’re there, take the time to engage with a variety of people involved in the event. Have conversations, listen to their thoughts, and gain different perspectives. Armed with this valuable information, direct your photography to tell the story from all angles. Ensure it’s not one-sided, capture essential elements, and strive to create a series of images that presents a neutral account.

Bottom line: Understanding the story from multiple angles enables you to create a comprehensive visual narrative that resonates with viewers.

2. Decide if you want to capture a single image or multiple shots

Now comes the fun part – deciding how you want to tell your story through photography. You have two options: capturing a single image that encapsulates the entire narrative or creating a series of shots that collectively weave the story together.

If you opt for a single image approach, you’ll need to focus on capturing that one perfect shot that conveys your entire story. It’s like hitting the bullseye in one shot – impactful and direct. This method works well when your story has a clear and straightforward message, and you want to make a strong statement that leaves a lasting impression.

On the other hand, creating a series of shots allows you to unfold the story gradually, piece by piece. Each photo adds a layer of depth and reveals a different aspect of the narrative. It’s like assembling a puzzle where each piece matters. This approach is ideal for more complex stories with multiple angles, subjects, and nuances that require a broader context to be fully understood.

Both approaches have their strengths, and the choice depends on the story you want to tell and the impact you want to make. Just decide which style suits your vision best and get ready to capture that story through your lens!

3. Include small details to tell a story in a single frame

Imagine your task is to tell the story of a person. A parent, or even yourself.

How would you do it?

A standard portrait wouldn’t tell the full story. A person’s full story is often in the details: a picture of their desk, travel books strewn across a bedroom floor, a close-up of their hands dirty from working in the garden, a wide-angle portrait of them surrounded by a few of their favorite things.

So the next time you’re photographing a person, try to include small details that add to their story.

I didn’t visit India to focus my lens on poverty alone. However, when trying to tell the story of Mumbai, it would have been dishonest of me not to include it. Confronted with the scene above, I saw the gap between the rich and poor. The small details here are my subject’s plastic bag, the skin condition on his arm, and his frail body. A big (and still important) detail is his juxtaposition with a backdrop of expensive high-rise buildings.

4. Give yourself plenty of time

Sometimes, you know exactly what story you want to capture, but turning it into a stunning photograph takes time – it’s not an instant process! So here’s the deal: don’t rush yourself. Take the time to research your subject beforehand, and then give yourself an ample amount of time to actually capture your images.

Look, let’s be real here: storytelling photography isn’t something you can rush through. It requires patience and dedication. And guess what? Sometimes, you might spend days or even weeks on a project without completing it. That’s totally okay! Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

Here’s a little tip: try estimating how long you think your storytelling project will take, and then double it. That way, you won’t be caught off guard and get frustrated if things take longer than expected.

5. Aim for variety in a series of shots

This storytelling tip is related to the last point:

You must take a variety of different images of a single situation. Whether you want to photograph a camel market in India, a farmers’ market in a Chicago suburb, or your niece’s birthday party, just creating one type of photo won’t tell the whole story.

Instead, you need portraits, wide-angle shots, shots from up high, shots from down low, action shots, zoomed-in details, and more. All of these perspectives combined tell the whole story.

In the image series below, I tried to tell the story of a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the ancient, temple-strewn plain of Bagan, Myanmar. Capturing a variety of images was key to my success.

6. Take control of the entire frame

Now that you’re thinking about telling stories, you’re not just a photographer; you’re a storyteller, too. And that role involves taking control of the whole frame.

In other words:

Don’t just think about your subject, their lighting, their positioning. Be aware of the whole scene in front of you, including surrounding details, backdrops, shadows, bright areas, etc.

Sometimes, I lie flat on the ground with my camera. Why? I want to include environmental details in the frame that improve the shot through storytelling. I get strange looks, but I don’t care; it’s the price of telling the real story.

7. Plan ahead with a shot list

Whether you’re heading out into your hometown for some street photography or to the Eiffel Tower for some vacation photography, why not create a shot list? I’m talking about ideas for specific shots, angles you want to try, and people you might include in the frame.

Research the kind of shots that other photographers have taken at your destination. Seek out new angles that’ll produce fresh storytelling even at well-known locations.

8. Don’t be afraid to start without a plan

I know, I know; I just explained all about the value of using a shot list – but while a shot list can be extremely helpful, you don’t always need a meticulous plan to get started. Sometimes, it’s liberating to let go of the reins and follow your instincts.

Instead of overthinking every shot, embrace spontaneity. Head out with your camera, keep your senses open, and let your curiosity guide you. Capture whatever catches your eye, and trust that the story will unfold naturally.

Sure, having a subject or a location in mind can help focus your efforts, but don’t be bound by rigid expectations. Give yourself the freedom to explore, experiment, and see where the journey takes you. Often, the most unexpected moments and connections lead to the most captivating stories.

So, pack your gear, follow your intuition, and let the adventure begin. Remember, great storytelling photography often starts with an open mind and a willingness to embrace the unknown.

9. Learn to narrow down, trim, and exclude

Uploading a hundred photos to Facebook, all of a similar setting and taken from the same few angles, is a surefire way to lose people’s attention. Those 100 photos could easily be narrowed down to the 10 essential storytelling shots.

So learn to be selective! Start sharing only your best images.

Loktak Lake (pictured below) was so spectacular that I wandered around a single hilltop taking hundreds of images. It was bliss. A lot of the results were great, but would I really want to dump them all online for friends, family, and followers to sift through? No, I would not!

Instead, it’s important to find a favorite or two that tells your subject’s story:

10. Show emotions

Emotions are a central part of storytelling photography, and to capture emotions, you’ll primarily need people and faces. Emotion can also be communicated through body language, so capturing whole bodies works sometimes, too.

At the marvelous Mother’s Market in Manipur, India, I met these lovely ladies (above) animatedly playing a board game. I broke the ice by asking if I could join in. They said “No,” but it made them laugh and I got permission to shoot away. The best photos came after they’d forgotten about me; their natural expressions returned and I was able to capture their emotions.

11. Show human interaction

People are the heart and soul of storytelling photography. They bring life and emotion to our images. So let’s focus on capturing those genuine moments of interaction that make stories come alive.

When you have the opportunity to include human interaction in your shots, go for it! Look for those moments when people embrace, hold hands, or even touch each other gently. These gestures create a connection that resonates with viewers and sparks their imagination.

Stay alert and aware of your surroundings, even if the interaction is happening just outside the frame. Be ready to turn and click the shutter when you sense a captivating moment unfolding.

Remember, timing is key in capturing these interactions. Trust your instincts, be quick on the draw, and don’t hesitate to take multiple shots. Not all of them will be perfect, but the few that truly capture the essence of the story will make it all worthwhile.

12. Don’t forget about the basics

In your bid to learn storytelling, don’t forget about settings, composition, and lighting. It’s all too easy to fall out of touch with photography basics, especially when you’re first learning to tell a story with pictures.

After all, when you’re thinking about storytelling, you might start to drift away from photographic fundamentals.

So instead of replacing composition, settings, and lighting with storytelling, make sure everything works together. A shot with beautiful light, excellent composition, perfect exposure, and a great story? That’s how you capture people’s attention!

13. Use narrative structure

How does a traditional novel or movie work? Novels and movies are stories, so they contain beginnings, middles, and ends.

You can do the same with your photos!

If you’re just starting out taking a series of storytelling pictures, try creating a chronological narrative. It’s by no means the only or even recommended narrative structure to follow, but it’s a fun and easy way to practice.

You might tell the story of a single day in a place you know well. Start with sunrise, then take photos throughout the day as the light changes. Conclude the series with sunset and night shots.

Here, I attempted to tell the story of day and night on the rivers running through the cities of Chittagong and Dhaka:

14. Do some (but not too much!) editing

Editing is a crucial part of photography, and it’s no different when it comes to storytelling. Post-processing allows you to enhance your images and convey your story more effectively. However, it’s important to strike a balance and avoid going overboard.

Make adjustments that bring out the best in your photos without losing their authenticity. You can fine-tune elements like white balance and tones to accurately represent the scene. Experiment with techniques like vignettes and color grading to enhance the mood and atmosphere of your storytelling shots.

But remember, less is often more. Don’t get carried away and lose sight of the authenticity. Stay true to the story you captured through your lens. Let your editing enhance the mood, intensify emotions, and make your viewers connect with the narrative. Just strike the right balance and let your storytelling photos shine!

Telling a story with pictures: final words

Now that you’ve finished this article, you’re ready to begin telling stories with your photos!

So remember these tips, get out there with your camera, and have fun.

Now over to you:

Have you tried doing storytelling photography? What was it like? Did you enjoy it? Share your thoughts and storytelling images in the comments below!

The post 14 Tips for Powerful Storytelling Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ben McKechnie.

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The post Invoxia GPS Tracker for Motorcycles – TMW Reviews! appeared first on Total Motorcycle.

Amazon has more than 1,800 partnerships with local law enforcement agencies that can request recorded video content from Ring users without a warrant, circumventing the Fourth Amendment. Ring creates a giant database that allows the government to analyze our every move.

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When you practice the perceptual positions technique, you give yourself an opportunity to perceive difficult situations or people in your life from a more objective lens.

Cross-country road trips are a great way to explore the good old U.S. of A. Here are the best road trip cars to take you there.

The post From efficient to exotic, these are the best road trip cars for exploring the country appeared first on The Manual.

703 points, 43 comments.

A few miles west of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, near milepost 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is Price Lake. In 1972, my cousin Mike and I fished here. He was just back from Vietnam. We fished until dark, little disappointed at our having no luck. His being home safe was all the luck we needed. Drive north a few miles and you’ll cross over a stone bridge built by the WPA during the 1930s. The stream that passes underneath is Middlefork Creek, where once I caught a rainbow trout big enough to warrant a paragraph in the Watauga Democrat. Another half mile down on the right is a road that leads to where my aunt Lee and uncle Roy lived. Besides their growing the best corn I’ve ever eaten, Aunt Lee tended an immense flower garden. One of my earliest memories is of watching butterflies brighten the mountain air above it.

Farther along, you’ll come to a pull-off on the right for Thunder Hill Overlook. In daylight the view is marvelous, a blue expanse that appears as endless as the sea. If you come at night to this area, you might look out and see the Brown Mountain Lights. Scientists have theorized that their source is fox fire or automobiles. However, local lore holds that the roving lights are lanterns carried by restless spirits. In their adolescence, my uncles and aunts came here with their dates, but I suspect their focus was not on otherworldly matters.

In another mile, if you look closely on the right, you might glimpse some graying locust posts linked by sagging strands of rusty barbed wire. My grandfather built that fence in the 1930s when he decided to raise cattle. In that pasture is a hill atop which, sixty years ago, you might have seen my cousins and me. We would be looking in your direction, playing a game where we guessed the next car tag’s color. Sometimes we’d venture closer to the parkway to identify the states: yellow could be Maine or Michigan, white Idaho or Kentucky, and the rarest color of all, the bright red of New Mexico. How strange it was as a child to know that people from so many places passed so close to our lives. 

The parkway curves again, and as it straightens you will see an intersection at which there will be a sign that reads, Aho Gap Elev. 3722 ft. On the right is a meadow that was once a hayfield. When I was in high school, several afternoons I rode on the back of a battered Ford pickup, stacking hay bales my uncles tossed up to me. Next to the meadow is a small white house that belonged to my great-aunt Nell and great-uncle Col. If you turn right and follow this road, you’ll pass a brick house where my cousin Mike now lives. A few more miles and you will enter Dismal Gorge, a shadowy place where my uncles sometimes took me hunting and fishing. Once my uncle Earl and I came upon a rusting whiskey still, perhaps built and tended by one of our relatives, since plenty of kinfolk lived nearby.

On the left side of the parkway is another road. This turnoff was once the site of a general store. On an afternoon in the late 1800s, a group of men gathered here to decide what to call this community. No consensus came until one of the men stretched his arms and yawned: Ah ho. The community had its name. The store closed during the Depression, but my mother remembers lifting an orange soda from the icy slush of the metal box.

You may choose to go farther on the parkway toward Boone, but I will follow this road, which in memory is made of dirt. There is a pasture on the right, on the left a one-story clapboard farmhouse my grandfather built in the 1920s. My aunt Anna Belle lives there now, but I am remembering a summer evening when I was seven years old. I am on the front steps, my grandmother and my parents sitting on the porch. It is past my bedtime, but the thickening night hides me. The voices on the porch have a soft intimacy that makes the dark feel sheltering.

Even at this altitude, there are surrounding hills to block a view, but at night they seem to recede. Stars appear and the sky widens, gains depth. I am getting sleepy. Tomorrow morning I will awake early to the smell of eggs and bacon, for my uncle Earl is taking me fishing. We may go to Price Lake or take a left at the intersection and fish the stream that follows the parkway toward Boone. My cousin Mike will join us. In the afternoon, we’ll visit relatives, perhaps cross the parkway to visit Aunt Nell and Uncle Col. My cousins Jeff and Janet will come for supper, and later we’ll climb the pasture hill and watch the cars pass. But that is tomorrow.

More stars appear. Soon crickets trill in the pasture. The grass dampens with dew. If I leave the steps and go to sleep, tomorrow and its promises will come sooner. Instead, I wish only to linger on these porch steps, listening to the night, listening to those voices.

---

The post The Blue Ridge Roads that Raised Ron Rash appeared first on Garden & Gun.

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The post Honda RC30/VFR750R Forever Parts Program Launches appeared first on Total Motorcycle.

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Read the full review here: https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2021-ducati-monster-review-first-ride.html

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The post What is Cognac? A quick guide to the classic French spirit appeared first on The Manual.

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