We travel Pigeon Roost Road to drive into Banner Elk several times a week.

Along the way, we pass through a small enclave of dilapidated buildings, falling-down houses, and trailers. Most have their own assortment of eclectic junk in the yard. One has a wooden sign, declaring the occupant “Mayor of Pigeon Roost.”

We started calling this stretch of road Mayorville.

(Not actual photos of Mayorville. I didn’t want to stop in the road to get photos, but you get the idea.)

Most of the times we pass through, there is at least one cat in the road. There are cats running all over the place. None of them have tails. Junkyard cats with no tails.

We have to drive slow through Mayorville, so we don’t run over a tailless cat.