At home on the Blue Ridge Parkway

If you asked any of my colleagues why they like working at Russell Tree Experts, you might expect to hear answers about our great equipment, our camaraderie, or the training we provide and knowledge, etc. These things are all true. It may surprise you though that one of the most interesting and exciting things we offer as a tree care company is the unique opportunity for our employees to travel and work on out of town projects.

Over the last year our crews have mobilized to the far SE corners of Ohio, West Virginia, Niagara Falls, South Carolina, Tennessee, Valley Forge Historic Park, Pennsylvania and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia - all in the name of arboriculture.  These projects give us opportunities to observe a wide range of tree species and environments. They also provide an opportunity for us to see new places and experience new things.

I had the privilege of working several weeks on the Blue Ridge Parkway this past fall and winter with our crews that have been steadily working there over the last six months. Our mission is to clear 317 vistas between Ashville, NC and Roanoke, VA and we’re about a week away from the finish line.

If you aren’t familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway, it is 469 miles of breathtaking, long-range vistas as well as close-up views of the rugged mountains and amazing flora. It runs from Cherokee, North Carolina to Waynesboro, Virginia mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, a mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian mountains.

Throughout the parkway the National Park Service has created over 900 vistas by removing large swaths of trees and vegetation so that hikers and motorists can easily enjoy the long range views of the valleys and surrounding landscapes.  The work that we are performing is to maintain these views by re-removing trees that have been cut down previously and also removing invasive species that are quick to attempt to colonize these sunny locations. 

While working on this project I have crossed paths with the some of most spectacular specimen of sourwood, hemlock, American holly, Carolina silverbell, mountain ash, rhododendron, American chestnut, witch-hazel, frasier fir, red spruce, pitch pine, striped maple, magnolia, chestnut oak and many others.  Many of these trees are growing at home in my garden; Some better than others.

I’d like to share some of my favorite parts of my Blue Ridge Parkway experience with you:

Sunrise near Burnsville, North Carolina

Frasier fir as far as I can see from the top of Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, the highest point East of the Mississippi

Seeing Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum, in full flower and peak red fall color at the same time

The ice formations that would often form on the sides of mountains

The almost impenetrable understory of rhododendron, mountain laurel, leucothoe and azaleas in North Carolina along the parkway

Seeing the remnants of American chestnut (a nearly extinct tree species)

and the cankers of chestnut blight for the first time in my life

Our 1917 farmhouse on the 700 acre Cypher Ridge cattle Farm in Montvale, Virginia. This has been home to several of my colleagues for the better half of the Blue Ridge project. It was not unusual to come home to a couple of cows in the front yard.

Crossing the Appalachian trail while clearing a vista in Virginia

Standing on purgatory mountain with my colleagues getting ready for the start of another day

The black bears. We crossed paths with several and it was always a peaceful encounter. This picture was taken courtesy of my colleague Steve who was also courteous enough to leave all the trees standing around this bear’s den so as not to disturb its hibernation.

Every part of the Blue Ridge parkway is inspiring.  It is open 24 hours a day (barring extreme weather events) and every part of it is free.  There is a direct relationship between happiness and humans getting back into nature, and my time at the Blue Ridge Parkway reinforced that.

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TJ Nagel | Scheduling Production Manager, Russell Tree Experts

ISA Certified Arborist® OH-6298A // Graduated from The Ohio State University in 2012, Earned B.S. in Agriculture with a major in Landscape Horticulture and minor in Entomology // Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) // Russell Tree Experts Arborist Since 2010