Miller Stays — Field NotesNo. 01 · Winter

A photo adventure

Photographs & words — Josh LetchworthThe Ridge · Yellowtop Mountain, NCFebruary 2024
The long two-lane road into the North Carolina mountains

fig. 01 — Somewhere past Forest City, the road starts to climb.

I. The drive up

We invited Josh Letchworth — a photographer who has chased stories across six continents — to spend a weekend at The Ridge with no brief and no shot list. He left Florida after work, drove into the dark, and let the headlights find the way up Yellowtop Mountain.

By the time the pavement turned to gravel, the only lights left were his own.

Headlights on a dark mountain road at night
fig. 02 — Last light in town; none on the mountain.
The cabin at sunrise, morning light flaring through bare trees

fig. 03 — Morning revealed what the dark had hidden.

II. Morning at 3,000 feet

Blue Ridge mountains framed by the cabin window
fig. 04 — The first thing you see. Grandfather Mountain, framed.
Breakfast bowls with strawberries and blueberries
fig. 05 — Breakfast, unhurried.
A mug of coffee catching the morning sun
fig. 06 — 9:40 a.m. Nowhere to be.
A slow brunch spread across the table in window light
fig. 07 — A brunch that took its time.

"Wanna hit the reset button? This is your place."

III. Kitchen hours

Morning light at the kitchen window
fig. 08 — The kitchen faces east. Plan accordingly.
The kitchen island glowing after dark
fig. 09 — And it works the night shift too.

IV. Out on the porch

Adirondack chairs waiting in the yard

fig. 10 — Two chairs, one view, zero notifications.

A silhouette leaning on the balcony rail against the winter sun
fig. 11 — Golden hour from the rail.
Steam rising from a mug on the porch at first light
fig. 12 — Cold air, hot coffee.

V. The reset

Curled up with coffee on the great room sofa
fig. 13 — The sofa won the afternoon.
Reading a book on the sofa
fig. 14 — Paper over pixels.
Warm lamplight over a striped throw
fig. 15 — Lamplight hours.
Postcards spread across the dining table
fig. 16 — Postcards on the table.
The dining table by the window
fig. 17 — A table meant for lingering.
Boots by the porch rail in morning light
fig. 18 — Boots off. Stay a while.
Deep in a book by the window
fig. 19 — Chapters, not channels.
Soft rumpled linens in morning light
fig. 20 — Beds that argue against alarms.
The cabin settling in for the night, lamps low
fig. 21 — The house, winding down.
Josh's self-portrait in the wallpapered powder room mirror
fig. 22 — The author, caught in the powder room.
The van packed and parked in front of the cabin, time to leave

fig. 23 — Packed, reluctantly.

Winter field and mountain ridgeline in soft light

fig. 24 — The valley below, on the way home.

The Ridge sets a new bar for peace, quiet, and soul-soothing details. You won't find a better host that has thought of everything.

Josh Letchworth, self-portrait in the cabin window

Josh Letchworth — March 2024

End of No. 01

Come make your own story.

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