Introduction
The State of North Carolina has a network of scenic byways that cover many of the historic and scenic parts of the state. If you go to the
Department of Transport web page, you can download a book of the byways and look at an interactive map. You can also request a printed copy of the book.
The screen capture above is the online map on the NC-DOT web page. The blue line in the west is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Long-term readers may remember that I have driven much of the Parkway in 2017 and 2018. I have also driven the Nantahala and Fontana (Rte. 28) Byways. It is beautiful terrain in the west.
For the urban decay photographer, the state is a treasure trove of old farmhouses, mills, factories, and quiet little towns that look like time passed by.
The Football Road (west of Chapel Hill)
The DOT calls the route between Chapel Hill and the outskirts of Greensboro the Football Road. I do not know why it has this name. But it goes through nice farm country and avoids the boring Interstate 40. Part of it is Old Greensboro Road and then becomes the Old Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road.
 |
| Barn on Old Greensboro Road, near Chapel Hill |
 |
| Farm house, Dawson Road near Chapel Hill |
 |
| Farm, Old Greensboro Road near Chapel Hill |
 |
| Barn, Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road near Snow Camp |
 |
| Farm, Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road near Snow Camp (Jupiter-8 lens, yellow filter) |
 |
| Happy cows, Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road near Eli Whitney |
The Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road winds its way past farms and woods. An occasional car or tractor passes by. I was surprised that many of the silos consist of concrete tubes reinforced with exterior steel bands. It is a cylindrical version of a barrel.
 |
| Fixer-upper house, Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road, near Snow Camp |
Snow Camp
 |
| Historic school, Snow Camp Outdoor Theatre, Snow Camp |
 |
| Restaurant next to Snow Camp Outdoor Theatre |
The Snow Camp Outdoor Theatre is at 301 Drama Rd. (great name!) in Snow Camp. The site was empty when I visited in October, but in-season, the semi-professional company has been presenting plays for over 40 years. The restaurant next door will not be providing any meals for a long time.....
 |
| Unoccupied farm, Holman Mill Road, Snow Camp |
This ends our short excursion on the Football Road in central North Carolina. The time was late and I had to return to Chapel Hill.
These photographs are all on Kodak BW400CN film from my little
Leica IIIC camera. I used my 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar and 50mm ƒ/2
Jupiter-8 lenses, often with a yellow filter to enhance clouds.
