Old Photos: 2006 Campbell Mtn Estates Fire (Part 1)

Photo from the day in 2006 when I learned that I could not safely watch three widely separated burning brush piles at the same time...

I'll post a few more photos from this fire next week, then move on to other photos I took during that time period.

The camera I took this photo with was an itty bitty silver no name camera (it had a name, but I forget what it was) that had a resolution of 1.9 Megapixels. It had no display to let me know if the shots I was taking were good or not, just an LCD counter telling me how many photos I had taken and how many more I could take. I had 128 and 256 MB SD Cards that I used in the camera. I still have some of them that I use as memory cards for a couple of old MP3 Players.


What brought this on was the rediscovery of a bunch of old Kodak Photo CDs from the 2005-2007 time frame that I had thought were lost (accidentally thrown away) when I moved from Jackson County back to the homestead in Macon County. Over the next few months, I'll be posting some of them.

I found these CDs because I was looking for an old keyboard to use with a desktop that someone has donated to me to use for video editing.

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Memories of Ghost Town in the Sky: 2007 Opening Day Videos/Photos

Sign at Entrance to Ghost town in the Sky




Ghost Town in the Sky has been facing bankruptcy lately and can't seem to generate enough tourist traffic to keep the amusement park solvent. I've always thought that odd. Perhaps the park is just a victim of a slumping economy or a lack of marketing. If you're planning to be in the area (or if you live in the area, I'd suggest checking it out this spring and summer.


Official Website


Wikipedia article


I went to the park on the Opening Day and took a video of the first public gunfight in the re-opened amusement park, and it remains my most popular video in my three years on YouTube, currently grossing over 142,000 views:












I also recorded the bus ride to the top (the chairlift was not working on opening day) of the mountain that Ghost Town is on:










Here are a few of the photos I took that day:








The View of Maggie Valley was stunning in May of 2007








Main Street, Ghost Town in the Sky








Don't Mess with the Law Enforcement in Ghost Town








The actors posing for photos after a gunfight








Frontier Church in Ghost Town








The pulpit inside Frontier Church


I should probably go back to Ghost Town this spring since I've got a better video camera (Kodak Zi6 HD camera) and photographic camera (Kodak Z950). Back then, my trusty Kodak Z710 did double duty as video camera (at 320x240 resolution) and 7 megapixel still shots.

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Accident at the Dellwood Intersection

I witnessed an automobile accident today, and was lucky enough to have had prior training and experience to be able to render appropriate assistance to the elderly female in the maroon car. Many other witnesses also came to the aid of the other people in the pickup.

Within minutes, sheriff's deputies and First Responders were on scene, with EMS not far behind.

I am proud of the professionalism exhibited by the other good Samaritans on scene, and of the volunteer fire fighters, First Responders, and the EMS Personnel.

I took a few photos while I waited to be interviewed by the NC Highway Patrol after they had conducted their initial investigation of the scene.

The accident happened at the four-way intersection on Dellwood Road and 276. I travel the road everyday, but sadly, that's the best I can do. I have known it as the Dellwood Exxon Intersection for years. The pix...





The car that was T-Boned by the pickup.



This is where the truck ended up after flipping at least twice. (I wasn't exactly counting.)



Firefighters apply foam to the truck before righting it to safeguard against sparks igniting a fuel fire.

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