North Carolina Mountains - Beautiful Vistas & Great Retreats!

[giradman]

Hi Czevski - thanks for posting the pics of the Parkway - believe that the 'fall' colors are peaking about now - BTW, which part(s) did you visit? Dave

 

[Richard Brown]

Czevski and Giradman, those are great photos and a nice sharing of your experiences.

Thanks

Richard

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[giradman]

Ashe County, NC - Christmas Trees!

Well, I've not posted here about a NC mountain locale in nearly 3 months! Last year, we did a long weekend trip to Ashe County, NC which is the most northwestern county of the state bordering on Virginia to the north and Tennessee to the west; Jefferson & West Jefferson are the major towns in the county. North Carolina is second behind Oregon in the production of Christmas trees and Ashe County leads the state in number of trees produced (largely Frasier firs) - so driving through the county, acres of these trees are are seen resembling vineyards almost; occasionally trees are on both sides of the country roads giving a 'tunnel effect' - pic below (left) is one I took from a road w/ a small mountain in the background and trees bottom left; the second pic is from the web but nicely juxtaposing the mountains and the Christmas trees.

We stayed at the River House Inn & Restaurant which is owned by Gayle Winston, a remarkable woman (now 80+ y/o) who is an Ashe County native but has done so many other things in her life (the link will provide the history) - the Inn part consists of conversion of old farm buildings into rental units (we stayed @ the Chicken House) or new construction on the property - 3rd & 4th pics are the inside of the Chicken House & outside of the Inn where the restaurant is located - Winston is a gourmet cook who has been featured in national magazines and the two meals we ate there were marvelous. Also the property is on the north fork of the famous New River. Too be continued…..

 

[skimonkey]

Great pics giradman and czevski! Love the fall color and the mountains!

Giradman-that room looked quite nice to stay in!

Did both of you do any hiking while there?

 

[giradman]

Ashe County, NC - Christmas Trees! (continued)

Ashe County is also famous for the frescoes (info HERE) painted by Benjamin F. Long IV - first two pics below by me of two of these frescoes (located in churches) - fresco painting is rarely done these days (i.e. painting in wet plaster - think of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper).

West Jefferson is a quaint mountain town (pic bottom left) w/ parking on the street - there are a variety of art stores, gift shops, and places that sell mountain related arts & crafts - wonderful to stroll around, look at the mountains, and smell the fresh air! A great cheese factory is located in the town and the last pic below is Susan coming out of their store w/ a bag containing an assortment of delicious cheeses.

So for those passing through where Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina come together, spend a little time in Ashe County - Dave

 

[Czevski]

Hi Czevski - thanks for posting the pics of the Parkway - believe that the 'fall' colors are peaking about now - BTW, which part(s) did you visit? Dave

We went from Asheville to Boone, but didn't stop at all the locales. Some spots were peaking and others were finished. The overnight snow (or frost in some areas) was a surprise. I didn't get a picture of the snow on the rhododendron, but it was beautiful.

 

[Czevski]

We were surprised by the sharp slope we saw Christmas trees planted on. WI has quite a few Christmas tree farms but here they are on level ground.

 

[giradman]

Great pics giradman and czevski! Love the fall color and the mountains!

Giradman-that room looked quite nice to stay in!

Did both of you do any hiking while there?

Hi Carol - we were there just 2 nights, so our 'free' day was spent visiting the frescoes and wandering in West Jefferson - BUT, there are certainly plenty of hiking opportunities in the area; the Blue Ridge Parkway is also nearby. One of the big attractions is the New River - amazing beauty, especially in West Virginia - some information quoted below, for those interested; there is a New River NC State Park and also the New River Gorge National Park in WVa - plenty of sporting on the river, such as boating, kayaks, rafting, etc. both in North Carolina and the Virginias. Thinking that I've got plenty of pics of mountain visits to those two other states to post - Dave

The New River, part of the Ohio River watershed, is a tributary of the Kanawha River about 320 mi (515 km) long. The river flows through the U.S. states of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Much of the river's course through West Virginia is designated as the New River Gorge National River, and the New River is one of the nation's American Heritage Rivers.It was named the New River because it was not known to early Atlantic Coast explorers.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP] Despite its name, the New River is the third-oldest river in the world geologically,[SUP][7][/SUP] and the only nontidal river[SUP][8][/SUP] that crosses the Appalachian Mountains.
This ancient river begins in the mountains of North Carolina near the Tennessee state line, flows generally northwestward across the Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Appalachian Valley, Ridge and Valley Province, and the Allegheny Front in western Virginia and West Virginia, then cuts through the Appalachian Plateau (in the New River Gorge) to meet the Gauley River and become the Kanawha River in south-central West Virginia.[SUP][7][/SUP] The Kanawha then flows to the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio andMississippi rivers. Much of the river's course is lined with steep cliffs and rock outcrops, particularly in its gorge in West Virginia.[SUP][7][/SUP][SUP][9][/SUP]

 

[giradman]

We went from Asheville to Boone, but didn't stop at all the locales. Some spots were peaking and others were finished. The overnight snow (or frost in some areas) was a surprise. I didn't get a picture of the snow on the rhododendron, but it was beautiful.

We were surprised by the sharp slope we saw Christmas trees planted on. WI has quite a few Christmas tree farms but here they are on level ground.

Well, you picked a great stretch of the BR Parkway and passed a number of areas that I mentioned in my posts, such as Mt. Mitchell, Grandfather Mtn, and the Linville Gorge & Falls; and yep the Christmas trees in Ashe County are pretty much on slopes.

When we visit Blowing Rock (which is near Boone), the climb from Wilkesboro to the Blue Ridge Parkway (just short of entering Boone) up the continental shelf brings a 10 degree (F) drop in temperature - fun to return home when it's snowing on the parkway and is fine once we get to Wilkesboro - Dave

 

[giradman]

Back to Blowing Rock for 3 nights (left a couple of posts on a previous page in this thread) - again at the Chetola Resort in a nice condo (the one w/ the small lake in the other posts) - has been a little chilly and cloudy so not much sunlight for good pictures - but I as walking around the pond this afternoon and small some nice bird life - pics below of two Canadian geese, a swan w/ Mallard ducks (male & female) in the background & a 'duck' w/ nearly a dozen chicks swimming w/ the mama - not a great image because of the distance but I believe that it is a female white-winged scoter (which is about half the size of a Canadian goose, as seen in the background).

I have an app on my iPad called 'iBird' which helps to identify various species w/ a LOT of information, plus audio clips of their sounds - playing the one of the scoter duck was a good match, so I think that I'm correct in the identification - the last pic added (from the web) is a female white-winged scoter up close - Dave
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[giradman]

Just an addition to an older post(s) of mine on the Biltmore Estate - we just returned from a recent visit - stayed @ the Inn on Biltmore (pics already shown previously) - this time we ate @ a number of different restaurants (all excellent) and did both an audio house tour & a tour of the property.

If you've never visited this estate and are in the Asheville area of North Carolina (NC), then this is a MUST stop - the Biltmore House offers about a half dozen tours - if new, then do the audio house tour as starters, BUT there are many other tours of the house that visit other areas related to the servants, 'behind the scenes', the basement, and the plumbing/electricity of the times - ALL worth an exploration.

ALSO, the tour of the property (about 90 minutes) explains the background of George W. Vanderbilt's interest in western NC (his mother's health) - he purchased over 120,000 acres (much of which was donated to the government as the Pisgah National Forest) and started the first national forestry school there - his landscape architect was Frederick Law Olmsted (who also designed Central Park in NYC) - over 3 million trees were planted on the property which restored beauty of the devastated logging industry of the area - more on this story HERE.

Below are just a few pics of the Biltmore House & Environs - there is so much more to see & understand - just the way the water was sent into the house to reach 4 stories and supply the 43 bathrooms (w/ a hot/cold bathtub & a Crapper flushing toilet) in the house is a story alone!

Pics below: 1) House yet again; 2) Back of the house from the lagoon; 3) Garden in spring bloom; and 4) Bridge across the Bass Pond (famous in the movie Last of the Mohicans w/ Daniel Day-Lewis) Dave
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[scifan57]

I believe that the Biltmore estate is still the largest private home ever built in the United States.

 

[The OB]

Another very entertaining post; thanks Dave. I liked the one with the wonderful Autumn colours. (Ahem..fall colors)
Andrew



Sent from Oz using Tapatalk Pro

 

[skimonkey]

Just lovely pictures of Biltmore. Definitely one for my bucket list.

 

[giradman]

I believe that the Biltmore estate is still the largest private home ever built in the United States.

Thanks for the comments - indeed, the Biltmore House is the largest privately owned 'house' in the United States - construction started in 1889 and the house was opened by George W. Vanderbilt on Christmas Eve 1895 (still not completed) - he was still a bachelor @ the time (married Edith in 1898 and they had one daughter, Cornelia in 1900).

The house was quite modern for the times (designed by Richard Morris Hunt) w/ steel/brick construction and an Indiana limestone facade - there are a number of 'behind the scenes' tours including one on the construction & architecture which is well worth doing. The house is 178,000+ square feet w/ 250 rooms, including 43 bathrooms; the ones on display included a LARGE tub w/ hot & cold running water and a flush toilet (like the original ones designed by Thomas Crapper - hence the name!).

On the legacy of the land tour (there is also a gardens tour) the genius of Frederick Law Olmsted becomes evident - he manipulated thousands of acres of land and eventually had over 3 million trees planted. His plans for the ponds and the estate's water supply were ingenious and still befuddle visiting landscape architects; as just one example, the water for the house was kept in huge reservoirs hundreds of feet higher and was delivered by gravity in ever reducing pipes so the pressure generated at house level was over 90 psi which was enough to deliver water to the highest floors of the structure.

For those interested, I would strongly recommend the book 'Lady on the Hill' - this tells the story of Cornelia's marriage, her two sons (both alive & in their 80s), their children who now run the property; AND, how the estate was kept going though the '30s into the '50s/'60s w/ the help of many including a lawyer named Junius Adams (now that is yet another story which eventually led to my introduction to Biltmore house through his grandson).

Some more pics added from the web - the sun room and the banquet hall are your introduction to the place on the audio house tour, then you are led up to the second and third floors; the tapestry hall & library are also impressive. Dave
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