As Memorial Day signals the beginning of the annual vacation season, North Carolina’s tourism communities are happy to note that the soaring gasoline prices of the summer of ‘08 have settled back down to reasonable. More families should be “getting away from it all” this season, seeking the comfort of natural beauty and feeling close to the land to leave behind for a little while the stresses of normal life in uncertain times.

The mountainous western region of the state is among the most popular destinations for out-of-state visitors, and not all of them are among the millions who populate the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hike the highland portions of the Appalachian Trail, or cruise along the lush peaks along the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are many rural and somewhat city-fied attractions in western NC to tempt the family vacation planner.

WLOS Channel 13 in lovely Asheville offers a total of five (5) mapped day-trips in the western counties that look to be great fun to the inveterate sight-seer. There are viewable and printable maps, photos from each trip, lists of attractions, activities and goodies to keep an eye out for along the way. The drives are loops and do not take more than a couple of hours if driven straight through, though they can easily last all day at a leisurely pace with some stops planned-in. There are also hints for making the trip more pleasant, and even some detail about where to pay special attention to the speed limits.

Most of these day-trips meander through wilderness, occasional towns, and rural byways that, depending on when you visit, offer all sorts of agricultural goodies. There are farms where your family can pick your own fresh produce, fruit and berries straight from the fields, and others that maintain convenient off-road market stands for what’s fresh. Some offer delicious mountain delicacies such as sourwood honey, apple and cherry ciders, fruit and pumpkin butters, exotic jams and compotes, and often there will be a fine display of regional crafts as well. Bird and bat houses make of gourds, various styles of hand-painted decorative and/or musical gourds, yard and garden ornaments and scarecrows, even textile offerings destined to become heirlooms.

There are National Forest and state park campgrounds along most of the trip routes, natural waterfalls and swimming holes, fine whitewater rafting adventures, a few good eateries and some popular developed attractions listed. Here are some of the listed “Tips” for different day-trips, offered to ensure you get the most out of your adventure…

• Trip 2 – Southern Rim: If you are looking for a little day hike, right before coming to Caesars Head is the trail head for Raven Cliff Falls, a spectacular 420 foot waterfall. The hike is moderate and is 2 miles to the observation platform or 4 miles to the base of the falls via a suspension bridge.

• Trip 3 – Hickory Nut Gorge: If you are in no hurry to get out of the area, there is a wide assortment of activities to do. Chimney Rock Park offers hiking trails with spectacular views, waterfalls, and unique rock formations while Lake Lure has a beach front, boat tours, and a wide assortment of spas and vacation rentals. Chimney Rock Village is also the home to several souvenir shops and restaurants.

• Trip 4 – Forest Heritage Scenic Byway: Pisgah National Forest is full of attractions that the entire family can enjoy. Some of the more popular attractions and picnic areas are:
- Sycamore Flats Picnic Area
- Looking Glass Falls
- Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education
- Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery
- Coontree Picnic Area
- Davidson River Picnic Area
- Sliding Rock
- Cradle of Forestry
- Moores Cove

• Trip 5 – Cherahala Skyway: Also located off NC 294 is Hiawassee Dam, turn left onto Hiawassee Dam Access Road shortly after passing Field of the Wood. It’s about a 5 mile side trip to the dam. At the dam there is a parking area with restrooms and lots of photo opportunities. The dam itself is 307 feet in height and has been providing power for the TVA since 1940.

Do check out the offerings at WLOS: Cruising and start making your family vacation plans now!

If your family is wondering where to go and what to do to celebrate Independence Day this year, consider some of the great events North Carolina has on offer, from the mountains to the piedmont to the coast, and everywhere in between!

For instance, Fort Bragg near Fayetteville is hosting Operation Celebrate Freedom VI on the Main Post Parade Field on base. Wynonna Judd and Dakota Rain, the Golden Knights Parachute Team and other musical guests will entertain the crowd. There will be plenty of food and drinks, and camping is allowed. The fireworks are spectacular every year at this event, almost as great as I remember on the Potomac in DC in my youth! The event is free and open to the public, the contact number is 910-396-9126.

If you’re on the coast near Southport/Oak Island in the Cape Fear area you’ll want to make plans to spend the day and evening in Southport, where there will be a car show on Bay Street in front of the Garrison House and all-day arts and crafts shows at Franklin Square Park and in the Franklin Square Gallery. Concessions, water stations and comfort stations will be along Howe Street, and on the Waterfront Stage there will be all-day stage entertainment even as the Decorated Boat Flotilla sails past the Southport Waterfront. Stay on your blanket for the wonderful fireworks at 9 pm!

Out west in Asheville there will be events free to the public all day for the Ingles 4th of July Celebration, starting at 1 pm at Pack Square and along the length of College Street downtown. The Sons of the American Revolution will offer a patriotic tribute, there will be music from some of Asheville’s hottest bands, free craft projects and family games for everyone. There will be food vendors and rides for the kiddies, and the fireworks begin at 10 pm.

In the Charlotte area your family can celebrate twice! First, NASCAR’s home at Lowe’s Motor Speedway is hosting a fireworks extravaganza & CRASHcars Trailer Race Destruction derby on Tuesday, July 1st on the quarter-mile oval for just $7 adult, $3 for children 6-12, under six free. Now, THAT is some good ol’ North Carolina summertime fun at the racetrack!

On the 4th proper, North Carolina’s Carowinds Theme and Water Park offers its Night of Fire Spectacular. Boasting more than 1,000 fireworks shells to fire off, ticket-buyers can opt for the All-You-Can-Eat Picnic too.

In Raleigh there will be things going all day, including free events on the State Capital grounds and the NC State Fairgrounds. Music at the Koka Booth Amphitheater, and the many offerings of First Fridays downtown.

So for visitors and residents alike, there are some great 4th of July events on the calendar. Come on in, set a spell, take your shoes off! There is something wonderful going on near your favorite spot in North Carolina!

Many families who consider North Carolina to be the bet vacation spot in the nation will be thinking right about now, what plans can we make for the kids this summer? A fine answer to this question is to book those kids at one of NC’s great summer camps, to coincide with a full family vacation to any of NC’s wonderful summer festivals and events when the camp period is over!

There are literally hundreds of choices, and camps located in every region of the state offering a regular smorgasbord of activities and skills to learn and adventures to enjoy for kids of all abilities and ages. There are some good web sources listed below this post, where I’ll highlight a few of North Carolina’s best special-purpose camps.

Teen Overnight Surf Camp in Wrightsville Beach. Money Magazine named the southern NC coast as one of the top vacation spots in North America. The week-long overnight camps offer instruction in the art of surfing the Outer Banks’ gentle waves, improving your surfing skills, and exploring different coastal ecosystems while you’re at it! Enrollees stay in air conditioned suites on the campus of UNC-Wilmington and the staff of professional instructors are well qualified to deal with both beginner and intermediate surfers. The $1495/week fee includes lodging on campus, meals, 24-hour adult supervision, shuttle transportation from Wilmington’s airport, equipment, instruction with a 3-1 camper to instructor ratio, daily transportation to the beaches, admission and private tour of the Fort Fisher Aquarium, surfboard factory tour and extras.

If your teen is thinking about a future in computer technology, consider iD Tech Camp, which will introduce him or her to campus life while enjoying one on one instruction in campus computer labs from instructors with a six to one student-instructor ratio. Camps are held Wake Forest University in the Winston-Salem area, and UNC-Chapel Hill in the Raleigh-Durham area. Overnight campers live in university dorms, study in the university’s computer labs and eat in the university dining halls. Instruction in designing computer games, producing digital movies, designing web pages and even programming and robotics is available to broaden your young ITer’s skills.

Talisman Programs offers a “wilderness experiential” exceptional program for exceptional children in coed residential summer programs geared toward campers age 7 to 17 struggling with ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities and Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning autism). Enrollment is limited so that the staff to camper ratio can encourage meaningful bonds, and there is a high return rate as kids come back year after year to enjoy the adventures. There are programs specially designed for younger children and teens, and include wilderness and water skills, rock climbing and activities designed to encourage group interaction and leadership skills.

Check out the many offerings at these listing sites and see if you can coordinate your summer plans to offer your children a wonderful adventure before reuniting to take in one of the fine family festivals our state offers!

Links:

North Carolina Summer Camps for Boys and Girls
North Carolina Summer Camps: Black Mountain
Mountain Adventure Guides
Special Needs Summer Camps for Kids & Teens
Family Support Network Resource Guide Directory

North Carolina gets a lot of tourists, making tourism one of the largest industries in the state. Western NC gets 3 million visitors at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and even more along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Between NASCAR, the Outer Banks, and other attractions all over the state, tourism supplies ~$15.5 billion and nearly 200,000 jobs to the North Carolina economy, along with about $2.5 billion in tax revenues.

But not all of North Carolina’s tourism happens in the beautiful spring, summer or fall. Our mountainous western region hosts many excellent – even world class – ski resorts who do a brisk business at high elevations all winter long!

Ski North Carolina keeps a constantly updated skiing news and conditions report going, along with links to the area resorts and lots of information and advertisements for condos, chalets and other lodging options at or near all the best slopes.

Sunday’s New York Times carried a special travel section on skiing this past week, with some interesting information about what’s happening to the big ski resorts in Europe, where global warming has closed down much of the Alps, most of Germany’s lower elevation resorts, and is threatening the entire industry. In the article Resorts Prepare for a Future Without Skis talks about what the Swiss alpine resorts are doing to keep themselves awash in visitors despite the lack of snow. Installation of posh spas, glassed-in swimming pools and non-snow sports choices (golf, anyone?) is happening all over the Alps.

So far, North Carolina’s resorts have mostly escaped the most dreadful effects of global warming through the combination of artificial snow-making, good siting and elevation. While opening dates have occasionally been pushed back closer to Christmas and closing dates vary radically, It is generally cold enough above 4,000 feet in NC’s mountains to keep ski-able snow on the north slopes for at least three months of the year.

Appalachian Ski Mountain near Boone already has 3 of 10 slopes open with 8-16 inches of snow and a groomed surface. 2 of their 5 lifts are open. They’ve installed new permanent snow machines and doubled its pumping capacity – providing the capability of 1 millions pounds of snow per hour! Appalachian has some of the best snowboarding terrain in North Carolina and hosts a large ice skating rink.

Cataloochie Ski Area is open in beautiful Maggie Valley just 35 miles west of Asheville and bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hawksnest Ski Resort near Banner Elk will open this Friday, December 7. With 12 slopes and 4 lifts plus special snowboard runs, there’s plenty to do.

Sapphire Valley Ski Area and family tubing favorite Scaly Mountain will also be opening this week or next. Ski Beech Resort will also be opening soon. At an elevation of 5,506 feet, it’s the highest ski resort in North Carolina and usually brags a fine natural base from its ~80″ of snowfall every winter.

Sugar Mountain Ski Resort is open for both day and night skiing on 2 of 20 slopes (1 of 9 lifts) atom made granular snow. They’ve added a new 10,000 square foot ice rink and also offers a tubing park. Wolf Ridge Ski Resort near Wolf Laurel will be opening soon for the season, with a new terrain park for snowboarders and a new quad lift.

So get together with your family and friends and come on out to the high country for some bitchin’ boarding, skiing, ice skating, mallow-roasting and chalet fun! Check the links for contact and reservation information, deals on accommodations and equipment, and live weather updates on your favorite ski areas!

Links:

Ski North Carolina

Appalachian Ski Mountain

Cataloochie Ski Area

Hawksnest Ski Resort

Sapphire Valley Ski Area

Scaly Mountain

Ski Beech Resort

Sugar Mountain Ski Resort

Wolf Ridge Ski Resort

People who choose to live in the countryside are bound to encounter bears, and most are no worse for the experience. Yet as the countryside becomes ever more populated, the number of bear encounters in more urban settings rises as well. The last installment provided some good links to information about the habits and habitats of NC’s considerable bear population, good to keep in mind whether you’re living in North Carolina or just visiting.

Bears are smart critters. They can become expert at cracking “bearproof” latches on coolers, cars and trucks door handles, garbage bins and dumpster lids to avail themselves of food. They readily learn to beg, pretty much like dogs do. They can put up some impressively aggressive bluffing in order to gain access to golf carts, campsites and your dog’s food. They’ve been known to walk right into cabins, garages, pubs, restaurants and even resort hotels, making themselves right at home.

There are stories about bears that move in to hibernate in the earthen basements of mountain cabins as well as inside the barns, spring houses and root cellars of backcountry homesteads. Advice from old timers familiar with bears (and chock full of bear tales) can be useful. During unexpected encounters they advise body postures, direct eye contact and the kind of dominant behaviors that tend to work well on aggressive dogs to scare them out of an attack. Of course, bears are pretty good at the same sort of behaviors, and often scare people more than people scare bears!

Enough bears are killed on North Carolina roadways every year to have the state engineering wildlife underpasses into road expansion projects. Not just in the mountainous region either, as most of North Carolina’s bears live in the piedmont and lowlands. Wildlife researchers estimate about 2 bears per square mile in parts of the state from Charlotte to the coast.

“It was a weekend camping trip to the Smokies back in ‘72,” Clint Thomas reminisced. “The boat [a Polaris submarine] was in dry dock in Charleston for refit and refueling, my buddies and I often made the 6-hour drive to the mountains for some R&R in those days.” Thomas is still wiry and fit, but not as young now as he was then.

“There were three of us packing along a trail into the backcountry for some non-suburban camping in the rough. An early summer evening rain was falling steady,” he said. We were getting really soaked, which didn’t help our mood any. When we first sighted the bear he was almost as grumpy as we were, started snapping his jaws at us and making front-paw jumps toward us where we’d frozen in our tracks.”

They were in no mood for a bear-fight, so the three young sailors headed off the trail up the mountainside directly for about a hundred yards, catching a further switchback of that same trail higher up. “We thought we’d put some actual distance between us and the bear, and kept on hiking for at least a mile along the trail as it zig-zagged up the mountain. By then it was dusk, so we began to pitch our camp and gather firewood.”

Thomas went to the nearby creek for water, suddenly found himself face-to-face with that very same bear. “He was big, more than 300 pounds,” he says. “He was perched somewhat clumsily on a big boulder in the creek, acting like he wasn’t happy at all to have us in his yard.”

Seems the men had neglected to envision the actual distance from the bear they were when they decided to make camp. Despite the mile or more of trail, the switchbacks gave only an illusion of distance. In truth they’d chosen to make camp just a couple of hundred yards from where they’d first encountered the bear. Thomas and his friends stood still, warily eying the perched bear.

“All of a sudden that bear took a flying leap off that boulder straight at us, graceful as a gazelle despite his size. We knew right then that he could have us in a moment, whenever he chose. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this bear wasn’t going to share his territory with us happily.”

They left the tent half erected, grabbed their packs and headed straight down the mountain in the growing darkness at a full gallop. “We got back to where we were parked in maybe a fifth of the time it had taken us to hike to the campsite,” Thomas laughed. “Funny how mountains can disorient you that way. You think you’re miles away but you’re really not.”

They spent the night uncomfortably in the car, drove home the next morning in what turned out to be a solid 3-day rainy period. “It wasn’t good camping weather anyway,” Thomas reflected. He says the three old Navy buddies tell their bear story whenever they get together, and in their own circle of family and friends more than 30 years later.

“A good bear story lasts a lifetime, you see,” Thomas gleams with an ironic smile. “And we don’t even have the scars to prove it!”

Links:

Victor the wrestling bear took on all challengers – and won

Most Bear Visits Motivated by Food and Lack of Habitat

The Bears Among Us

In the mountain hollows and valleys, along piedmont country roads the traditional music lover can find a variety of music styles performed just about any weekend by old-timers and new-timers along the Music Trail. From ever-popular bluegrass banjo-pickin’ and grinnin’ to fierce fiddling the devil himself can’t catch, from gospel singing to the good ol’ belly-up blues, traditional music in North Carolina still being traditional just about everywhere you look.

There are many outdoor festivals all summer and through the fall, but the music doesn’t stop when the weather gets cold. The Blue Ridge Music Trails website offers a searchable database of events from the southern mountain counties of North Carolina all the way up the blue ridge through Virginia identified by folklife fieldworkers in the region.

The styles of music and dance came to the region along with the settlers moving west to the mountains and beyond via the great Valley Road. It began with the Germans, followed by English, Scotch-Irish, French, Irish, and Welsh settlers and African American slaves. The fiddles came from Europe in the late 18th century, the banjos came from west Africa. The eclectic mix of people spawned a multicultural breed of musicians not shy of borrowing tunes and styles, and by the Civil War the musicians were learning from the rest of the south and sometimes from northern musicians too.

In the late 1800s large scale mining and logging of the mountains brought more African Americans into the region along with newer versions of their musical styles and expanded instrument preferences. By the time the sound recording industry was born in the 1920s and ’30s, Blue Ridge music was introduced to a national audience. It proved very popular all over the country in rural enclaves with a fondness for the string band, “old-time” music sound.

Western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge counties are alive today with Bluegrass bands old and young, singers of the older Anglo-Irish ballads, and historic forms of gospel singing music still survive. There is a vigorous trade in handmade musical instruments as well, including fiddles, banjos, guitars, mandolins and dulcimers.

You can check out the map and contact list at the Blue Ridge Music organization website to plan your weekend outings, or just check in at the local Chambers of Commerce in towns and cities in the area you wish to visit. Most are familiar with their local mountain music venues, and might even know right off the top of their heads who’s playing where on Friday and Saturday night, or singing on Sunday!

At many local venues, such as the Mountain Music Nights in the town of Old Fort, you can sit or dance inside or linger unobtrusively in the downtown building’s forecourt to catch some of the on-the-spot jam sessions that go on as old friends and new friends play a sort of “Pick-Up Bluegrass” sport forming bands right there before taking over the stage. There’s coffee and sodas for a quarter, fresh homemade pies and cakes just fifty cents a slice, and admission is free for all!

If you love old-time music, can’t be sad at the sound of a banjo, long to hear some good ol’ Irish reels and kick up your heels, make some plans to check out the venues along the Blue Ridge Music Trail. You might get hooked on the music, start coming back on a regular basis for more!

Links:

Blue Ridge Music Trails

The Music Trail

UNC Press: Blue Ridge Music Trails

Mountain Music in Old Fort

This first week of October is shaping up to be absolutely glorious in my Blue Ridge neck of the woods. Mid to high 70s in crisp, absurdly clear air during the day, low 50s to high 40s at night. Only a few leaves are turning – the sourwoods and sumacs are red-red and the beeches are already turning yellow, the high ridge line is showing signs of color too.

In the Black Mountain/Montreat/ Ridgecrest area there are a number of well-maintained trails into the high country and Mount Mitchell, at 6,684 feet the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi. These include the Old Toll Road cinder trail to Camp Alice that rises at a mellow 7% grade along the old Mount Mitchell Railway bed from just above Black Mountain, the more challenging Ridgecrest Trail that begins near the Baptist Convention Center at Ridgecrest in the Swannanoa Gap, and the Old Graphite Trail that begins at Mill Creek in the tiny settlement of Graphite at the base of the continental divide 5 miles from Old Fort.

All of these trails are convenient to the Inn on Mill Creek “Nature Lover’s Bed and Breakfast” about halfway up the mountain between Graphite and Ridgecrest. There is no better word to describe this place than “incredible.” When you wake up on a morning like this – in a place like this – the first thing that enters your mind is “yet another beautiful day!” Sometimes you’ve just got to lace up the hiking boots and head for the forest.

The Inn on Mill Creek is approximately 2 miles from the Graphite trail head, you can just walk the distance down the gravel fire road or drive and park off the road between the Brookside Baptist Church and SUWS camp. The trail begins right there, rises to the high side of the Norfolk Southern railroad grade over the continental divide (Old Fort Loops), and enters the Pisgah National Forest through a kudzu-covered tunnel on the other side.

The Graphite Trail was originally built for horses and one-mule wagons, used to access the high country ice works in what is now the area of the Black Mountain campground at Mount Mitchell for transporting ice on the piedmont side of the plateau to Marion, Morganton, Hickory and points east (including Charlotte) in the days before refrigeration. This makes the trail wide enough to accommodate 4-wheelers and mountain bikes as well as mule-pack hiking groups planning to take 2 or three days to reach the summit and return. Total length of the trail from Graphite to Mount Mitchell State Park is 9.2 miles.

For mountain bikers, this trail is part of the annual Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell in July, so that’s not a great day to take the hike if you don’t fancy being run over by a lot of cranky guys on 2-wheelers wearing spandex. You’ll also want to avoid the trail during hunting season, or at least wear some day-glo gear and make more noise than usual. Deer are shy enough not to be a problem most of the year, but there are black bears and occasional timber rattlers- you’ll want to walk with a stout staff and stick close to the trail. Carry a little first aid kit with insect sting/bite ointment, bandaids, gauze, ace bandage and a little snakebite kit.

The water’s mostly spring-fed unless it’s been raining hard, and there’s nothing upstream but more wilderness – purification tablets should work fine, so you won’t have to pack gallons to take with you. There are expanses of thick club mosses that make excellent bedding under your tent for a night’s sleep, so you won’t need an air mattress or foam pad. There are native brown trout aplenty, but if you plan to fry any of ‘em for dinner you will need to carry a state fishing license. Even if you catch them by the snatch-and-toss method.

There are several raw camping spots along the trail, both by the creek and in valley expanses that can accommodate many large tents. Of course, always be careful of fires. The campsites do have rock fire pits, and there’s plenty of down wood. The trail follows the creek and fords it in several places, so dowse your fire good before setting off. Don’t pitch your tent too close to the water, as sudden rainstorms on the Blacks (Mitchell and its brothers) can be going on without you knowing, sitting pretty in the dappled shade with a ridge between you and them. When that water drains – and it will drain fast – it is turbulent enough to roll granite boulders of several tons around like pebbles.

In some places the trail has washed out a bit to become skinnier than it was originally, but it’s still plenty wide for hiking. It’s rocky so you will have to watch your step, and unless it’s very dry you’ll probably get your feet wet at one or more of the fords. The higher you get the more you’ll need extra clothing. At the summit it can easily be 30 degrees cooler than it is in Asheville at the same time, and even in the middle of July you’ll need a sweater during the day and a jacket at night. In October it can be below freezing 8 out of 10 nights on Mitchell, and the wind always blows. The park is open in the winter unless the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed due to ice and wind – Mount Mitchell averages 100 inches of snow a year.

But if you’re just out for a nice day-hike in the beautiful forest, the 3-mile hike from the Graphite trail head to the T at Heartbreak Ridge (left goes up to Mitchell, right over the ridge to Curtis Creek, the oldest section of National Forest in America) is a workout but not too much to handle. Pack a picnic lunch, relax at the T listening to the birds and the silence, marvel at the sheer size of some of those tulip poplars and hemlocks!

Then hike back to Graphite – the round trip takes no more than 3 hours with the picnic lunch included – and head on back to the Inn or drive on to Black Mountain for a nice dinner at one of the fine restaurants serving the area.

Once you’ve discovered this breathtaking WNC treasure you’ll be making plans to return again and again, whenever you can. Some guests hold their weddings at the Inn, or at Andrews Geyser on Mill Creek Road just down the road at Graphite. That little mountain lake at the Inn feeds this man-made geyser, which spouts water 100 feet into the air all times of year.

Links:

The Inn on Mill Creek

Mountain Goat Epics Mountain Biking

Southern Appalachians Initiative American Hiking Society

Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell