Small Town America - Dash Cam Drive through Tryon & Saluda, North Carolina

TRANSCRIPT
The small town of Tryon and city of Saluda lie along the Blue Ridge in Polk County North Carolina, one at top of the famous Saluda Grade and the other at the bottom. Tryon, located at the bottom of the Grade is famous as the childhood home of singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist, Nina Simone. The town has a population of 1,562 and has numerous historic sites, such as the Downtown Historic District, Pine Crest Inn, which has hosted both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemmingway, Mill Farm Inn, Seven Hearths, Sunnydale, and the Bank of Tryon Building.

Saluda, at the top of the Saluda Grade, is famous, especially among Train Enthusiasts, as the focal point of what was the steepest mainline standard gauge railroad line in the United States. The town is also home to the oldest grocery store in North Carolina, Thompson’s Store. Other historic sites include the Church of the Transfiguration, Railway Clerk’s Mountain House, now the Orchard Inn and Spa, Ryder Hall and the Saluda Main Street Historic District.

Let’s get ready for a dash cam drive up US 176 from Tryon to Saluda on Dash Cam Travels!

Our drive starts just inside South Carolina as we travel westbound on US route 176. We cross the North Carolina State Line, into both Polk County and the Town of Tryon. Once inside the town limits, we continue on US 176/Trade Street and cross the railroad tracks into historic Downtown Tryon. We cross back over the railroad tracks onto Pacolet Street, Walnut Street, Melrose Avenue and Chestnut Street before rejoining Pacolet Street and back into the downtown historic area. We cross Trade Street onto Oak Street and then Cleveland Road. At the end of Cleveland Road, we turn right onto Markham Road and then left onto Livingston Street, where we see the childhood home of Nina Simone. We continue on and off various sections of both Livingston Street and Markham Road for several minutes. We turn left onto Grady Avenue, right onto Howard Street and then right onto Trade Street as we follow US 176 north and out of the town of Tryon.

US 176 starts in a relatively flat grassy valley along the Pacolet River as it turns to the west. As we get closer to the turnoff for Pearson Falls, the valley narrows, steepens and becomes decidedly curvier. You can leave US 176 at the Pearson Falls turnoff if you’d like a gravelly route that follows along side the tracks for the Saluda Grade, but we stay on US 176 and continue up the mountain on paved, but winding roads. We enter the city limits of Saluda on US 176/Main Street and enter historic downtown as the railroad tracks reach the top of the Saluda Grade. We pass the historic storefronts and then turn right onto Church Street. We then make a left on Henderson Street and Carolina Street before turning right back onto Main Street and crossing over the railroad tracks on an overpass. We then turn left onto Ervin Street, paralleling the railroad tracks. We make another left turn onto Greenville Street to get one last look at downtown, before once again turning left back on Main Street and leaving Saluda. We continue on US 176, crossing into Henderson County and crossing the Green River Gorge. As we cross the Gorge, you can see the old historic Green River Gorge Arch Bridge, which you can still cross, but only as a pedestrian. The final leg of our journey continues on US Route 176 until we turn right onto the entrance ramp onto US Route 25 North that can take us to I-26 and either Asheville, North Carolina or Spartanburg, South Carolina

INDEX
0:00 - Introduction
4:23 - US 176 in South Carolina
5:56 - North Carolina State Line/Polk County Line/Tryon Town Limits
7:45 - Downtown Tryon
12:10 - Nina Simone Birthplace
18:00 - US 176/Ascent to Saluda
27:38 - Saluda City Limits
32:06 - Henderson County Line/Green River Gorge Bridge

MUSIC
Kindness by LiQWYD | https://www.liqwydmusic.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

A Weekday In A Small Town by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Fugitive by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Water Drop by Glitch |   / glitch  
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Chill Downtempo by NIKI |   / lukyanovnikita  
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...