Visit the only place in the world where snow falls upside down

Take a short drive from Boone to explore The Blowing Rock, a rocky cliff that formed after more than 250 million years of pressure, weather and erosion. The northwest wind that hits the walls of the gorge drafts upward so forcefully it will return light objects that fall over the cliff. Legend says a young Chickasaw maiden lost her lover who jumped over the cliff. Grief-stricken, she prayed to the Great Spirit every day until one evening a gust of wind blew him back onto The Rock from the valley below and into her arms. You can visit Blowing Rock to try it yourself; if you throw something light over the side, it will be blown back to the rock. The location inspired the Ripley’s “Believe-It-Or-Not” cartoon about the “only place in the world that snow falls upside down.”