ANNOUNCER: Ready for adventure?

Enjoy this sneak peek of America: The Land We Live In where you can join in on a modern-day adventure to rediscover America's hidden treasures, forgotten national wonders and rich history through the lens of a 19th-century travel book, "Picturesque America."

Hosts, Doc Varn and Sophia Michelen... SOPHIA: Stunning.

ANNOUNCER: Follow the clues in the epic tales and intricate engravings of the book to retrace the steps of the early adventurers who created America's first travel guide.

SOPHIA: Oh my gosh, this is better than Google Maps, it's 3D.

ANNOUNCER: And with PBS Passport, you can experience the full version of America: The Land We Live In.

Just make a qualifying donation to your local PBS station right now to take advantage of this amazing member benefit.

Explore all that PBS has to offer - drama, arts, music, science, nature and so much more!

It's all here for you to enjoy anytime you like with PBS Passport.

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Now, enjoy this sneak peek of America: The Land We Live In.

NARRATOR: An epic treasure hunt.

TIA: Go, go, go!

NARRATOR: Clues that go back 150 years.

SOPHIA: Stunning.

NARRATOR: And now a brand-new adventure across America.

SOPHIA: This is so amazing!

NARRATOR: Retracing the steps of early explorers artists and writers.

SOPHIA: I think this is it!

DOC: No doubt about it.

NARRATOR: The daring journeys.

SARAH: Let's go, let's go!

NARRATOR: The forgotten secrets of the country's very first travel guide.

DOC: That starts clinching it for me.

NARRATOR: For two explorers, it's the quest of a lifetime.

(Sophia and Doc laughing) SOPHIA: We found it.

NARRATOR: To rediscover America's extraordinary treasures.

♪ In the aftermath of the Civil War, a group of artists and writers set out to reunite the country.

Their mission to discover and celebrate America's picturesque wonders.

Their artwork and tales were bound into the very first travel log for this brand new nation, but it's been largely forgotten until now.

A new chapter is about to begin at America's largest private home.

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

SOPHIA: Hold up.

Am I in France or North Carolina?

NARRATOR: Grand, opulent.

It was George Vanderbilt's country estate at the height of the Gilded Age.

SOPHIA: This is incredible.

I'm a photojournalist focused on cultural anthropology.

The past is a guide to the present.

It makes you feel so small.

NARRATOR: Inside this private residence is a library teeming with rare books.

DOC: Oh.

(Sophia laughs) Just so many details.

I am a woodcut artist and also do watercolors.

I couldn't help but fall in love with the technology of art that was hundreds of years old.

I'm comfortable in the 1800s.

It seems like home to me.

SOPHIA: Here we are.

DOC: In one of the most amazing libraries on the planet.

NARRATOR: And inside the library... SOPHIA: This is a dream library.

NARRATOR: A treasure of its own.

It's the key to rediscovering America's greatest treasures.

Picturesque America.

♪ A monumental publication.

Over 950 images across 65 serials with art and prose by valiant explorers who changed the way Americans saw their country.

SOPHIA: Let's go!

NARRATOR: Now Sophia and Doc hope to connect the past to the present.

DOC: We're gonna be following those clues from Picturesque America to find the exact location where the artists were, and share how it is today.

SOPHIA: The challenge is finding the locations when you don't think they will still exist after 150 years.

It's kind of daunting.

NARRATOR: A great majority of the artwork in Picturesque America was created by artist Harry Fenn.

DOC: I cannot wait to follow in Harry's footsteps to find these places.

NARRATOR: He was one of the most prolific landscape artists of the 19th century.

DOC: He did so much of this.

There were other artists involved, but he was the key artist.

SOPHIA: Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: The editor was the famed romantic poet, William Cullen Bryant.

DOC: William Cullen Bryant was all about nature.

Embracing it, taking it in.

SOPHIA: Yeah.

NARRATOR: The passion and influence of Fenn, Cullen Bryant and Vanderbilt contributed to the conservation movement in the United States.

DOC: Let's look for the clues that are gonna help us find all of these places.

NARRATOR: Sophia and Doc will dive into the adventure, starting with The French Broad chapter.

SOPHIA: Well, The French Broad, it's a big river.

It- it covers two states.

(Doc laughing) DOC: One of the things we're have to figure out is the route they took.

SOPHIA: The Buncombe Turnpike which is also mentioned, it's the main thoroughfare of the time.

NARRATOR: Sophia and Doc head outside to get a lay of the land.

♪ SOPHIA: Doc, look at this view and not a skyscraper in sight.

(all laughing) NARRATOR: They are joined by Lauren Henry, Biltmore curator of interpretation.

LAUREN: These are the views that George Vanderbilt fell in love with.

At its peak, the estate was about 125,000 acres.

SOPHIA: Wow.

LAUREN: So pretty much everything that you can see.

DOC: I can see why the Vanderbilts came here.

LAUREN: This is recognized as the birthplace of American forestry.

SOPHIA: Wow.

♪ DOC: So in The French Broad, they didn't give us all the hints we wish they had.

But looking at this map, does this tell you anything that would help us?

Can you give us any more clues?

LAUREN: I do know that the Buncombe Turnpike actually passed through part of what is the estate today, just right near our entrance.

SOPHIA: I like the sound of this.

LAUREN: Yeah, so you started in the right place and certainly follow the French Broad River.

I see Warm Springs on this map here.

SOPHIA: Oh yes.

LAUREN: Wondering if that might be what we call Hot Springs today here in North Carolina.

DOC: That's what I would think.

LAUREN: Yeah.

SOPHIA: Okay, so I guess we know where we're heading to next.

Let's go to Hot Springs.

NARRATOR: The treasure hunt has only just begun.

Their first major clue.

Follow the historic Buncombe Turnpike north along the French Broad River, to Hot Springs, North Carolina.

In the 1800s, it would've been a day's journey in a stagecoach.

Today the trip is only an hour's drive, but Hot Springs remains off the beaten path.

It's the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains.

Here, their goal is to hunt for the exact locations of images in The French Broad chapter, their first order of business, talk to the locals for clues.

DOC: We're kind of on a hunt, Sophia and I. SOPHIA: We are looking for the exact location of the artist Harry Fenns stood to capture these gorgeous images.

DOC: Yeah, where was he- SOPHIA: 150 years ago.

JIM: Yeah, that's a great concept.

NARRATOR: Sophia is a first generation American, here from New York City.

SOPHIA: Being first generation, I'm starting a new story in this country.

Being able to absorb people's stories really makes me understand the world around me.

DOC: You got any idea where that might be?

JIM: I would assume that this would be nearer the headwaters, but you know, I'm just guessing.

SOPHIA: I've traveled all over the world and I have really never explored the American South.

DOC: Have you seen any rock formations like that?

WOMAN: Nah.

DOC: As an artist, I'm so focused on the visual clues.

Does this even look familiar to you guys?

MAN: No.

DOC: No?

MAN 2: No.

DOC: Buried within those images is all the clues we need, but they're not always easy.

NARRATOR: No matter the challenge, Doc has dedicated his life to this quest.

DOC: Before I die, I'm gonna find every one of them.

And it just says, "the Smoky Mountains," and that's kind of broad.

♪ SOPHIA: Hello.

DOC: We are looking for Wayne.

WAYNE: I might be Wayne.

(all laugh) I'm Wayne.

Yeah.

DOC: This is Sophia.

SOPHIA: Hi.

WAYNE: Hey Sophia.

SOPHIA: Very nice to meet you.

DOC: And Doc.

That's my trail name.

WAYNE: Oh, so what's up doc?

DOC: We're actually on kind of a treasure hunt.

WAYNE: Well, I have a map room upstairs.

I can show you all on big maps.

NARRATOR: Wayne Crosby came to Hot Springs on the Appalachian Trail over 30 years ago, and never left.

SOPHIA: Whoa.

DOC: Now we're talking.

SOPHIA: Oh my gosh.

This is better than Google Maps.

It's 3D.

DOC: So that's where we are now.

So where's the French Broad?

It's connecting us, right?

WAYNE: Yeah, pretty much follows right along through there, and down towards the loop and then it goes on to Tennessee.

DOC: Their route took them along the French Broad.

WAYNE: That was the original road back then.

It's the Drover's Road.

DOC: So that's the route along the river.

SOPHIA: And that's the oldest road in this area.

WAYNE: The oldest road through the area.

It came over the lone pine gap and then down to the river and followed the river up to Asheville.

SOPHIA: That's good that we're on- on the right track.

DOC: Happy trails to you.

WAYNE: Yeah, maybe I'll pull you out of the river.

SOPHIA: We might need all the help we can get.

NARRATOR: Word travels fast in a small town like Hot Springs.

Local historian Taylor Barnhill caught wind of their treasure hunt and invited Doc and Sophia to stop by.

TAYLOR: Welcome to the Paradise of Nowhere.

(Sophia laughs) DOC: We are on an adventure to find all of the places from Picturesque America all over the country.

But we don't know where these locations are.

So hopefully you can help us identify some of these places.

TAYLOR: That's the Drovers Road right there.

DOC: You recognize it?

TAYLOR: The first interstate highway.

DOC: This one might be a little bit more of a challenge.

Mountain Island.

TAYLOR: Well, there's a lot of mountain islands in the French Broad River.

It's a- it's a big river.

DOC: And then we're looking for this one.

They talk about Lover's Leap.

This is "Approach By Night" Another view of Lover's Leap.

TAYLOR: This is not far away.

This is 10 minutes away SOPHIA: From where we are?

DOC: Really?

Could you give us directions or... TAYLOR: I'll take you over there.

DOC: Even better.

♪ NARRATOR: More than 1000 years ago, the Cherokee came to Hot Springs for the healing power of the geothermal springs.

SOPHIA: What a quaint town you have here.

TAYLOR: Isn't it amazing?

NARRATOR: The town grew up around the springs, and became a popular destination for tourists, artists, and writers back in the 1800s.

SOPHIA: Wait, you guys.

We're officially on it.

TAYLOR: We are.

NARRATOR: Hot Springs is one of three places where the Appalachian Trail is also Main Street.

SOPHIA: Oh my gosh.

TAYLOR: The Appalachian Trail.

SOPHIA: We need to commemorate this.

We'll take a feetie.

DOC: Our feet have officially been on the Appalachian Trail.

TAYLOR: Rough looking crowd.

SOPHIA: Everyone say AT.

ALL: AT.

♪ TAYLOR: We are on the Drover's Road right now.

Drovers were usually men and boys driving small herds of animals.

Turkeys, geese, pigs, lots of pigs.

(both laugh) And they wanted to upgrade the old Drover's road to where they could run stage coaches and wagons better.

DOC: That's the key thing for us, 'cause it's literally in the artwork- SOPHIA: Exactly.

DOC: Is the stagecoach, TAYLOR: Hold up.

Hold up right there.

(tapping) We're here.

Step back a few steps.

DOC: Oh, that is one serious chunk of rock.

We n- we need to compare it.

Compare it to the original.

And there we are.

SOPHIA: But wait, look, the road is too narrow.

TAYLOR: Well, 150 years ago, right?

Over the years, the flooding has deposited of all this sediment up here, which made it narrower.

DOC: Hey guys, guys, look here at the rock face.

SOPHIA: This is Lover's Leap?

TARLOY: This is Lover's Leap.

♪ SOPHIA: This is great.

We found the spot, but there's more.

Let's go.

DOC: Right.

NARRATOR: Lover's Leap is so dramatic.

Harry Fenn depicted not one, but two images of it.

SOPHIA: Given the foliage, I think, let's move back a little further.

DOC: Yeah, this feels good.

You're right.

I can still see those same cracks.

Look at that.

This is it.

TAYLOR: Wonderful.

I love this.

(Sophia laughs) DOC: Haha, I gotta paint this I gotta paint this.

TAYLOR: Haha.

Wait, you know, this is Lover's Leap right?

SOPHIA: Now we know.

TAYLOR: Have you heard the legend?

SOPHIA: No.

TAYLOR: Oh, it's a ghost story.

BOTH: Ooh.

TAYLOR: Yeah.

NARRATOR: The Legend of Lover's Leap is a tragic star-crossed romance.

TAYLOR: Many, many years ago there was a Cherokee maiden.

Her name was Mist On The Mountain... NARRATOR: The Romeo and Juliet of Western North Carolina.

TAYLOR: And she was betrothed to a man in her own tribe named Tall Pine.

But she was in love with another.

His name was Mahgwah.

NARRATOR: One night the young pair decides to meet on a full moon here at Lover's Leap.

TAYLOR: So they pull their canoe right up over there.

NARRATOR: Just as they hop ashore.

Tall Pine comes paddling across the river and takes Mahgwah's life.

TAYLOR: She starts running up from the riverbank.

She climbs up to the top.

Tall pine was right on her heels, and she leaps.

SOPHIA: So sad.

TAYLOR: It's a sad story.

And many people have seen her ghost here around the rock and even on the top of the rock.

You guys really need to get up to the top.

SOPHIA: Really helpful these ropes are here.

(Doc laughs) DOC: Yes.

I got you SOPHIA: Hope this tree holds me.

DOC: It's quite slippery.

SOPHIA: Like we're in a jungle.

This is much steeper than it looked.

Oh my goodness.

Stunning.

DOC: I can see why it encouraged so many people to change the way they thought about the natural world.

♪ SOPHIA: Mister Taylor.

DOC: Taylor.

TAYLOR: You made it.

DOC: That was spot on.

We loved it, but we did not leap.

(both laughing) TAYLOR: Well, I am deep into this book.

DOC: That's our next vantage point.

TAYLOR: Beautiful.

Up toward Mountain Island.

DOC: Mm-hmm.

TAYLOR: Well this white water is gonna be up the turnpike.

SOPHIA: Thank you so much for showing us both sides of Lover's Leap.

TAYLOR: You're welcome.

You'll have to come back on a full moon, remember?

♪ DOC: The river's getting louder.

We must be getting closer.

(water rushing) SOPHIA: Wait, Doc, this is definitely a dead end.

DOC: They got around this thing with hogs and turkeys.

There's gotta be a way around this.

SOPHIA: There's no way.

I think we gotta get back to town and get new clues.

♪ Hey Wayne, how's it going?

WAYNE: Good.

DOC: We're back.

WAYNE: Yeah, how's your search going?

DOC: Well, we found one pretty fast.

SOPHIA: Yeah, but we hit rock.

Literally straight into rock.

Could not go around it.

WAYNE: Well, when the Drover's Road was there, they used to use what they called side fords around the rock cliffs.

SOPHIA: Oh.

DOC: Okay.

WAYNE: And those were all gone.

You know, they would've been made out of wood or you know, rock piled in and floods would've taken them away.

So there literally is no way to get up there- DOC: We found that out.

SOPHIA: Yeah.

WAYNE: Without getting in a boat.

SOPHIA: So we have to hit it by water.

WAYNE: You have to hit it by water if you wanna get to that area.

DOC: No trails.

WAYNE: No trails.

And that's a Class four rapid, you might wanna find somebody that can help you through that.

♪ A friend of mine, Sarah Jones, she might be somebody that could take you down the river.

♪ SOPHIA: Hello, you must be Sarah.

SARAH: Hey you guys.

NARRATOR: Sarah Jones Decker has been running the French Broad River for more than 20 years.

SARAH: What are y'all getting into?

SOPHIA: Oh.

DOC: A lot of it starts with this.

This- SARAH: May- may I?

SOPHIA: Oh, yes.

(all laugh) DOC: This is Picturesque America.

And this is the French Broad section.

SARAH: Beautiful book.

DOC: This is to us one of the trickiest ones.

It's just says Mountain Island on the French Broad.

I mean- SOPHIA: We're hearing that there are several islands on the river.

SARAH: There are a lot of islands on the French Broad, but there is one that we still call Mountain Island today.

SOPHIA: Oh, that's the proper name of it.

SARAH: Yep.

SOPHIA: Okay.

DOC: Can we take a alternate trail to get there or?

SARAH: We're gonna have to go down the river, How do you feel about that?

DOC: That's not a bad thing to me.

SOPHIA: Definitely not something I do normally in Manhattan, but you know.

(Doc laughs) SARAH: You don't have class fours in Manhattan?

SOPHIA: When in Rome, right?

So- so I'm ready.

SARAH: Okay.

NARRATOR: The main clue in this image is also the biggest challenge.

Major whitewater rapids.

SARAH: We're gonna be going through a class four rapid today.

Does anybody know what the most dangerous thing in the boat is today besides Doc?

Okay, this is a T grip.

SOPHIA: The paddle.

SARAH: Do you guys know what summer teeth are?

Some are here.

Some are there.

Some are in the river.

(Doc laughs) If you feel like you're gonna fall out, don't, fall in.

Let's do this thing.

SOPHIA: Let's do it.

SARAH: Alright y'all welcome to the mighty French Broad.

This is all National Forest.

We're not gonna see any structures down here.

There's no mega mansions.

SOPHIA: No skyscrapers?

SARAH: No.

That's your world, city mouse.

(both laugh) What's really special about this section is it probably looks really close to the way Harry saw it.

Okay, y'all ready?

SOPHIA: Ready.

DOC: Yup.

SARAH: Let's go two forward.

DOC: Alright, here we go.

SOPHIA: Oh, yes.

DOC: Get ready for it.

SARAH: Hard, hard, hard.

Go, go, go.

(Doc whooping) DOC: Now we're talking.

(Doc laughs) SOPHIA: That was not number four?

DOC: No.

SARAH: Let's go two forward.

DOC: That was not a class four.

So there would have had to be a bridge or a ferry here.

This side of the river, not this side.

SARAH: Yeah, it's definitely on that side.

DOC: Okay.

That's the route Harry would have taken.

We got to follow Harry.

In his footsteps and his brushstrokes and apparently his paddle strokes today.

♪ SARAH: All right, guys, so we're coming up on Mountain Island here.

Hey, all forward.

All forward.

(Doc whooping) DOC: That was something there.

Here we go!

Hang on.

Fall in, not out.

SARAH: All the way in.

All the way in, y'all.

Take me to the shore.

DOC: We have to find the magic spot, so.

Help me line this up, Sophia.

We gotta be close.

SOPHIA: So- SARAH: You've got your V right here.

SOPHIA: And then you don't have the two ridges.

This is just one.

SARAH: We have to be close.

But you don't see this, right?

We don't have this big monster eddy here.

DOC: Well, I mean, there's a lot of years of erosion.

SARAH: True.

DOC: But- SARAH: I think we should move downstream and keep looking.

Okay, let's go all forward.

♪ We are at our class four for the day.

This is the mighty Frank Bells Rapid.

Frank Bells is the deep swim, okay?

It's deep and dark and cold down there.

Gonna be a lot of water and a lot of movement.

And you guys gotta listen to me.

SOPHIA: So if we do fall in... SARAH: Don't panic.

Stay calm.

And then you are gonna actively swim to river right.

This is the big stuff.

SOPHIA: Oh gosh.

SARAH: Go two forward.

DOC: Get ready.

SARAH: All back.

All right guys, ready?

All forward, all forward, all forward.

Lean in.

SOPHIA: Oh my God.

(Doc whooping) SARAH: All forward, all forward!

Let's go!

Yeah!

Keep it up, keep it up.

Let's go!

Y'all ready?

BOTH: Yes!

ANNOUNCER: The adventure continues when you support your local PBS station.

You'll be able to enjoy all of America: The Land We Live In with PBS Passport, an exclusive member benefit that gives you access to stream the entire program.

SOPHIA: I think this is it.

ANNOUNCER: Just visit the on-screen website or scan the QR code to give to your PBS station and get started with Passport today.

You'll be able to follow Doc and Sophia, as their journey continues in South Carolina, just a few hours away but worlds apart, where they'll search for treasures among Charleston's preserved architecture and polished gardens.

DOC: This particular garden, there's not a lot of clues.

ANNOUNCER: They experience Lowcountry traditions and hunt for one of the most impressive giant live oak trees east of the Mississippi.

Along the way, they visit a world-famous artist's studio, meet basket weavers who share their inherited craft, and explore the coastal waterways with a Gullah Geechee fisherwoman.

TIA: You gotta go, go, go!

That is a keeper right there.

ANNOUNCER: With a new twist around every corner, Doc and Sophia's treasure hunt across America uncovers the "then and now" of each 150-year-old location, while also discovering the culture, history, and beauty in each place.

When you make a qualifying donation to your local PBS station now, you'll not only be able to enjoy all of America: The Land We Live In, you'll be able to experience everything that PBS Passport has to offer.

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