The Carl Sandburg Home in Flat Rock is a national historic site, but it does more than pay tribute to a national poet. It reflects who Carl Sandburg was as a poet of the people, but it is also a tribute to his wife, Lillian. The couple moved here from Michigan, drawn here by what Sandburg described as the 245-acre...
Waynesville is one of the larger towns in the North Carolina mountains and is a thriving, bustling and busy place. Lots to do, lots to see, lots to eat. But they do urge you to “slow down and savor the present.” Its Main Street invites you to walk and to wander. There are numerous crafts and arts stores and quick...
If you want a room or a meal with a view, the Pisgah Inn at Milepost 408.6 along the Blue Ridge Highway is a must stop. The inn is approaching its centennial year; it opened in 1919. One of the things that makes the Pisgah Inn memorable is the deck at the back of the restaurant where you can gaze...
If you are in the Western North Carolina foothills vicinity, take the drive to Whitewater Falls on the Whitewater River. At 411 feet, this is the highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains and merits a trip. Whitewater Falls is right off Scenic 64. If coming from Brevard, head west. At Sapphire, take a left on NC 281 and go south...
So why does Brevard have white squirrels? And why is it one of the few places where they hang out? And no, they are not albino squirrels, although so far we don’t know why or how they turned white. There are a variety of stories as to how the white squirrels got to Brevard, NC. One legend has it that...
If you are traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, it will be worth your while to pull in at Milepost 382 and visit the Folk Art Center. The Folk Art Center is home to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, which has another smaller Blue Ridge Parkway location at Milepost 294. The Folk Art Center is a joint undertaking...
Forget man-made waterparks with their crafted twists and turns.Try a natural water slide instead. Sliding Rock, in Transylvania County, should be your water slide of choice. Here are the specs. Eleven thousand gallons of water a minute. A ride down 67 feet of smooth stone. And a seven-foot deep pool where the “ride” comes to a natural end. Riders and...
The Pisgah National Forest is one of four national forests in North Carolina and occupies most of the eastern edge of the Western North Carolina area. (The other is the Nantahala National Forest that is in the western mountains.) More than half a million acres of land have been set aside; some of as wilderness. Pisgah is a favorite for...
Depending on where you come from, when you get to Western North Carolina, Cherokee could be your point of entry. If your approach is through northwestern Georgia or southeastern Tennessee, you will arrive in Cherokee. In fact it is almost obligatory to pass through the town (or very near it) to get to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cherokee...
Nantahala is an Indian name meaning “Land of the Noonday Sun.” This name is most appropriate here, as the sun only reaches the floor of the deep gorges and valleys when directly overhead at midday. Nantahala is a little bit larger than the Pisgah National Forest at 530,000 acres and extends to the western mountain area. The Cherohala Skyway runs through it as...
Take a stroll down the streets of downtown Hendersonville and prepare yourself for an afternoon or evening that you will thoroughly enjoy. After Asheville, Hendersonville is one of the larger communities in Western North Carolina, with a population of more than 40,000 people — significant when you think that most towns in the mountains have just a couple thousand inhabitants. But...
The Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock traces its origins to 1937 when a group of young actors organized themselves as the Vagabond Players in the post-depression years. The same group of moved around through the area during the war years, but gravitated back to Flat Rock in 1952. That’s when they bought an 8-acre lot in the town, and...
The Cherohala Skyway is tucked in the corner of Western North Carolina near the Tennessee border (and it actually does cross into Tennessee. It is a newbie here, given that the road was only opened in 1996. But already it has been designated a National Scenic Byway, and with good reason. It takes its name from the two national forests...
The Blowing Rock, 4,000 feet above sea level, overhangs John Rivers Gorge. It’s called Blowing Rock because currents from the gorge blow vertically sending light objects to float upwards. Legend has it that Indian lovers from two different tribes met on the cliff. The man was distraught about having to leave his lover and jumped into the gorge. The woman...
No one expects to find so many vintage motorcycles housed under one roof. Curator/owner/collector and museum founder Dale Walksler, who is the heart and soul of Wheels Through Time, has more than 350 classic motorcycles and rare machines. And Walksler is quick to point out that he has made sure that all of them are in running order. Walksler recently...
You can’t go to Asheville without a visit to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, the boyhood home of one of our best known 20th century writers. The memorial is the site of the boarding house that Wolfe’s mother once ran and which figures so prominently in his classic, Look Homeward Angel. If you read the book, you will want to visit...
Like many other mountain towns, downtown Sylva is revitalized, reenergized and refocused, even though it has done much to preserve the way things used to look and feel. The old Jackson County Courthouse building sits regally atop a hill at the beginning of Main Street. You can climb 107 steps to the top. It was built in 1913, is a...
Forget roller coasters. If you are looking for a thrill on wheels, this is the place for you. Tail of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of road along US 129 in Western North Carolina. What’s so special about it, besides the scenery, is that within that 11-mile stretch are 318 curves. Hence the name! It’s a dream road for...
The Swannanoa Museum & History Center is very clear about its mission as a local museum that serves the western North Carolina community as Buncombe County’s primary museum of general, local history. But there is also an appeal for the visitor as well. This is a real people’s museum about real people … the people of Black Mountain and the Swannanoa...
The Ruby City Gems and Minerals in Franklin looks nondescript on the outside and you might be tempted to pass it by, but you will be missing out on a rare opportunity to view a wide-ranging collection of gems and minerals as well as Native American and pre-Colombian finds. This is not just another gem and jewelry store, but a...