The 2.8 mile carriage road from Cone Manor to Flat Top Mountain, meanders through fields for the first mile. Today these fields were bathed in solidago, commonly called goldenrod. Aside from inflicting allergy misery, what a great looking flower. It briefly created some interest as an industrial plant, for the production of rubber. Thomas Edison experimented with it, growing a hybrid species 12 feet tall and containing 12% rubber. His buddy, Henry Ford, gave him a Model T with tires made from goldenrod rubber.
Milkweed was also all over the meadows. Its status has been raised recently, as publicity of the decline in Monarch butterfly population has been in the news. The plant is so instrumental in the life cycle of Monarchs, it is being planted as breeding grounds and waystations for the butterfly. This seed pod is covered with Milkweed bugs. They are harmless but too many of them will make milkweed less desirable for butterflies.
At the top of Flat Top is a 40 foot observation tower. Moses Cone named his nearby Colonial Revival home "Flat Top Manor", due to the mountain's proximity. The Cones built a tower out of Chestnut logs on the mountain top in 1900. When the National Park Service took over the property in 1949, that tower was torn down. Several years later in 1954, the current steel and wood structure was erected. There are great views in all directions. Boone and Blowing Rock are visible. Grandfather Mountain lies to the south and the Amphibolites are to the northwest.
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