Sir Malcolm to visit Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Chief of the Colquhouns, will be a Distinguished Guest at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games near Linville, NC the weekend of July 13^th, 2013.

The GMGH (www.gmhg.org) are held about ½ mile up the mountain in MacRae Meadow off US 221. The general public attending the games are required to park in various designated locations and be shuttled up to MacRae Meadow usually on a bus. The closest public parking is in Linville at US 221 and Hwy 105. Here is what the games published on their website for last year:

Shuttle Bus Information

Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from Boone are $10.00 per person. The Shuttle buses run from Caldwell Community College Parking lot in Boone to MacRae Meadows and back. Boone shuttle service is available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the games during the day events only. Security is provided at the Parking lot. If you purchase a 4-day advance ticket the round-trip shuttle bus ride is free all 3 days from Caldwell Community College Parking lot in Boone and from the Avery County High School (Friday and Saturday) and the Linville Lot (Saturday and Sunday). No Shuttle bus services for the night events. Those riding the shuttle buses to the day events must shuttle off the mountain by 5:00 pm and drive back to the mountain. The night events are general public parking. Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from Linville lot are $5.00 roundtrip, $3.00 one-way. (Saturday and Sunday) Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from the paved parking lots at Avery County High School (Friday and Saturday) are $5.00.

There is no general handicap parking.

There is RV and primitive tent camping available at MacRae Meadow. If you were to use an RV you should count on getting there by Wednesday or Thursday and staying until at least Monday. The best (and flattest) tent spots go quickly and it is quite crowded by Friday and Saturday nights. There is also a fine state campground on the Parkway (Julian Price) in between Blowing Rock and the exit for Grandfather Mountain.

There are several small towns surrounding GMHG to stay at. The Sugar Mountain/Beech Mountain/Banner Elk area is a ski resort during the winter. Traffic can be heavy on Hwy 105 going to the games leaving from this area, so be sure to leave early. Boone is a larger town past this area. Last week there was a reasonable rate at the InnPlace in Boone on the Hotels.com website. It’s not far from the Caldwell Community College parking mentioned above. Blowing Rock is a smaller town south of Boone. It’s possible to reach GMHG using the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone or Blowing Rock. You would actually pass the games entrance on Hwy 221, go down the mountain, park, and ride the shuttle back up. 

If you would like to go and have any questions beyond this description please contact me and I’ll do my best to answer them. We would love to see you there and we’re hoping for a large turnout for our chief!

Skeets Cahoon. Past president Hollis B. Skeets Cahoon is seriously ill. Skeets’ oldest daughter Fran is keeping everyone up to date on his condition through the website www.carepages.com Patients are listed with code names on this site; Skeets’ code name is “ScotlandForever”. You will have to register and sign in with a password to see the updates and post comments. From the website: “Skeets, a dyed-in-the-wool Hokie (literally), is suffering from a serious brain injury he sustained in a fall on September 22, 2012. He needs your prayers to lift him up and help him find his way. He is a Va. Tech graduate, electrical engineer, consultant and co-founder of Collegiate Tartan Apparel.” Skeets doesn’t always recognize even his family and his condition seems to be on a downward spiral with good days and bad days. We wish all the best to him and his family in this difficult time.