Art at the Inn: Ann Whisenant 24 May 2012, 5:58 pm
| "Magnolias" by Ann Whisenant on display/for sale at the Inn on Mill Creek |
Ann Whisenant is one of the local artists whose paintings we love seeing on our walls. Born and raised in England, and now a resident of Black Mountain, Ann is an award-winning artist. If you stayed in the Lake View Room or the Creekside Hideaway Room at the Inn on Mill Creek anytime over the past two years, you may be familiar with this painting of Ann's, which hung on the second floor near those guest rooms. {Another of Ann's paintings now resides in that location.} Ann's work can be seen at the Sourwood Gallery as well as the Red House. And currently gracing the walls of the Inn on Mill Creek are four of her paintings, including "Magnolias" pictured above {taken with our new camera! Sorry to digress...we are still excited about that purchase...}.
Most of the local art on our walls is available for purchase as a memento of your trip to the North Carolina mountains, so please feel free to inquire about any of our local artists while you're our guest. And if you're interested in seeing the amazing art galleries our area has to offer, be sure to check out the Sourwood Gallery, the Red House, and ANThM Galleries, all in Black Mountain.
Asheville Beer Week, May 24-June 3, 2012 20 May 2012, 3:48 pm
| One of our guests' favorite beer shops, Bruisin' Ales in Asheville, which sells thousands of different kinds of beers Photo Credit: Asheville Beer Week |
The year 2012 is turning out to be a great one for the love-love relationship between beer enthusiasts and Asheville, NC.
Not only did three breweries announce that they'll be expanding their operations by planting new roots in or around Asheville (Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Oskar Blues) and adding to Western North Carolina's already booming brewery and beer scene, but in May, Asheville was crowned Beer City USA for the third year in a row {co-crowned this year, actually, with Grand Rapids, Mich.). Of course, there are also festivals and events throughout the year featuring our fine local breweries.
And now, beer lovers have even more reason to come check out the Asheville area: the first ever Asheville Beer Week, an event taking place over an 11-day stretch, May 24-June 3, 2012. {Kudos to the organizers for stretching the week-long celebration into 11 days!}
During Asheville Beer Week, the popular Asheville Brews Cruise {now in its sixth year} will offer tours of the local breweries during all 11 days. In addition, different locations around the city will offer tastings, beer specials, dinners and special food/beer events, seminars, competitions, fundraisers and festivals, all integrated with Beer Week.
Asheville Beer Week will then culminate in a most appropriate fashion -- with more than 40 breweries participating in the third annual Beer City Festival on June 2.
Visit http://ashevillebeerweek.com for more details about Asheville Beer Week, and check out the full list of events here.
2012 Taste of Black Mountain is May 17 13 May 2012, 8:17 am
If you'll be in our neighborhood of western North Carolina on Thursday, May 17, be sure to check out Taste of Black Mountain! This food lovers' event held each year at the White Horse Black Mountain venue (and sponsored by businesses such as yours truly) is all about the fabulous cuisine coming out of our local restaurants in the Black Mountain area. What better way to discover the positive emphasis our area of the North Carolina mountains has on "buy local" and farm-fresh fare than tasting delicious food and beverage samples from our local eateries, farms, chocolatiers and pubs? Yum!See the list of participants at the Taste of Black Mountain page on Facebook.
Tickets for Taste of Black Mountain are available at the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce on State Street in Black Mountain (828.669.2300). VIP tickets are $40 and get you in at 5pm. Regular tickets are $25 and regular ticket holders can enter beginning at 5:30pm. Both VIP and regular tickets are limited. The event runs until 7pm.
Linville Falls Hike 12 May 2012, 4:50 pm
| Linville Falls from the Chimney View Overlook |
One of the most breathtaking waterfalls in our neck of the woods is Linville Falls, less than an hour from the Inn on Mill Creek. Linville Falls is actually a set of waterfalls: two small "upper falls" move the Linville River into a small canyon, where the water rapidly twists and turns downhill through the rocks, then dramatically plunges 45 feet {the lower falls}. The sheer volume of water really makes the lower falls a spectacular waterfall.
A well-maintained 1.6-mile roundtrip trail called the Erwin's View Trail heads out from the Linville Falls Visitor Center. The trail meanders through woods full of rhododendron, oaks, ancient hemlocks and pines and along the Linville River, and includes four overlooks, where you can see the falls from different vantage points.
The next overlook is about two-tenths of a mile further up the trail and is called the Chimney View {as seen in the photo at the top of this blog post}. The overlook gets this name because the columns of rock next to the falls look like -- you guessed it -- chimneys.
| That's a lot of water |
A well-maintained 1.6-mile roundtrip trail called the Erwin's View Trail heads out from the Linville Falls Visitor Center. The trail meanders through woods full of rhododendron, oaks, ancient hemlocks and pines and along the Linville River, and includes four overlooks, where you can see the falls from different vantage points.
The innpugs give the Erwin's View Trail two paws up |
The first overlook is about a half-mile down the trail. Looking in one direction, you see the picturesque and relatively calm upper falls:
The upper falls from the first overlook along Erwin's View Trail |
Turning around, you see the river twisting around the rocks through the canyon:
| Seriously swirling torrent of temerity |
The next overlook is about two-tenths of a mile further up the trail and is called the Chimney View {as seen in the photo at the top of this blog post}. The overlook gets this name because the columns of rock next to the falls look like -- you guessed it -- chimneys.
| The "chimneys"...see the tiny people at the upper falls overlook? |
This part of the trail is more moderate than the first half and does have some elevation gain, with rocks on the trail and stairs made of rock. Another two tenths of a mile brings you to the end of the trail at Erwin's View Overlook {actually two overlooks here}, with a more distant view of the falls and the surrounding Linville Gorge Wilderness Area.
Two, more strenuous, trails also lead from the Linville Falls Visitor Center and give you up-close views of the lower falls plunge basin. Since we had the "don't make us get our feet wet" innpugs with us this day, we stuck to the easier trail; however, you can find a great description with photos at www.ncwaterfalls.com/lin2.htm.
The easiest route to Linville Falls from our Bed & Breakfast is to take Hwy 70 east through Old Fort, then Hwy 221 north to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic drive with the lovely North Carolina mountains as a backdrop. You'll pass by the Linville Falls Mountain Club and Preserve, which features a 18-hole public golf course designed by Lee Trevino. Beyond that is Linville Caverns, and then you reach the Blue Ridge Parkway. Turn right {north} on the Parkway and head about a mile to Linville Falls Road, turn right, and watch for signs for the Visitor Center, which is run by the National Park Service. You'll find a parking area for hiking trails at the Visitor Center.
Things we learned about the Linville area: The headwaters of the Linville River are located at Grandfather Mountain {another awesome place to visit while you're staying at the Inn on Mill Creek}, and the river runs south through the Linville Gorge Wildnerness Area, down Linville Falls, and on to Lake James in Marion, NC. The Linville area is named for the frontier explorer Captain William Linville, and his son, John, who were killed at the falls in 1766 by a rogue band of Native Americans who were enemies of the Cherokee and white settlers.
Springtime Geocaching in Swannanoa 4 May 2012, 10:26 am
Ahhhhh, springtime in the mountains. The vibrant green leaves unfurling from tree branches, songbirds in the mornings and tree frogs in the evenings, beautiful blooms of rhododendron, azaleas and other bright, colorful native flowers. It's just utterly fantastic to be outdoors in the spring. And one way to explore the outdoors in Western North Carolina is through geocaching -- the search for containers hidden by others, using GPS navigation.| Innkeeper Brigette means business when geocaching! |
We recently did some springtime geocaching with guests and friends Travis and Nicole around Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, located just west of Black Mountain and about 20 minutes from our Bed & Breakfast. Set in a pastoral valley of farmland with woods and the Black Mountains as a backdrop, Warren Wilson is a small eco-friendly private college that receives numerous awards throughout the year for its green efforts. Land preservation and conservation is a high priority. In addition, the area around Warren Wilson College was some of the first land beyond the American Colonies settled during and after the Revolutionary War, and some of the trails around the college were once roads used by residents of the newly-independent USA. So it's important to respect the preservation efforts of the local community if you are using the trail system around Warren Wilson College.
One of our geocaching adventures near Warren Wilson took us to the River Trail, which starts with a walking path with the Swannanoa River on one side and peaceful farm pastures on the other. {Our guest pets should please take note: The innpugs have given this two paws up as an excellent dog-friendly trail! Please remind your humans that pets need to be leashed on public trails.}
Geocachers will find all sorts of great hides along the River Trail. Our recommendations: bring someone not afraid of sticking their hand in unknown dark spaces, it helps if you have someone tall, and don't forget your pen to sign the logs.
Geocaching is just one of many outdoor activities in our neck of the woods. Check our page dedicated to activities in the mountains of western North Carolina for more!
2012 Spring East of Asheville Studio Tour is May 5-6 28 Apr 2012, 6:51 pm
| Artwork by local artist Anne Bevan of Anne Bevan Studio |
The East of Asheville Studio Tour (EAST) returns the weekend of May 5-6, 2012. EAST is a free self-guided tour of artists' studios and takes place in spring and fall. The tour includes studios in the towns of Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Old Fort, Fairview, and east Asheville. We're proud to be a sponsor in support of our awesome talented artists!
The Spring 2012 EAST event features more than 30 artists of all different media, including painting, sculpture, wood, glass, fabric, clay, photography and more. You get the chance to meet the artists right in their own studios and browse their work. Pretty awesome, right? Check out www.eaststudiotour.com to download a map and see information on each artist.
2012 Biltmore Festival of Flowers Starts April 7 9 Mar 2012, 11:49 am
As we celebrate the tulips and daffodils coming up at here at the Inn on Mill Creek, and the arrival of our rose bushes for the Well Garden {ordered by Witherspoon, a North Carolina rose grower and professional rose care service}, we're also getting excited about the annual Festival of Flowers at Biltmore.
The Festival of Flowers (April 7-May 20) is a Biltmore-style celebration of springtime in the mountains of Western North Carolina. And when we say "Biltmore-style", we mean thousands of tulips gracing the Walled Garden during the first weeks of April, acres of azalea blooms near the end of April/beginning of May, and irises, peonies, roses and more carrying us through May into summer.
During the Festival of Flowers, Biltmore offers special Festival of Flowers wine at the Winery at Antler Hill Village on the estate (as well as complimentary wine tastings of their many wines), live music every day at Biltmore House and the Conservatory as well as music at 4:00pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Antler Hill Village, complimentary gardening seminars, and, did we mention? Flowers. Everywhere.
Enjoy a few photos we took during past springs at Biltmore (including the one at the top of this post from 2010). And don't forget, we have tickets available for our Inn on Mill Creek guests at just $49/person with no transaction fees {a great savings off the single day admission price of $59 Sunday-Friday, and $64 on Saturday}. Our tickets can be used any day of the week and are good for the following day for free.
Our First Kiva Loans of 2012 3 Mar 2012, 3:02 pm
We're proud to continue our microlending relationship with Kiva this year, helping to fight global poverty by assisting small business owners with their entrepreneurial initiatives. We have a goal of reaching 45 total loans by the end of the year.Since the end of the year, three of our borrowers -- Gia the beekeeper from Georgia, Mario the grocer in Nicaragua {who was our first Kiva loan of 2011!} and Marine, who sells super cute shoes in Armenia -- have paid off their loans. Kiva lenders receive their money back as borrowers pay off their loans, and once you have that money back in your account with Kiva, you can take it out or re-lend it. We always re-lend, so our first two loans of 2012 (#33 and #34) have been made:
With our first loan of the year, we decided to pool our money with 140 other lenders to help a group of 20 women who are small business owners in Paraguay. They call themselves the Torype Oñondivepa Group. With group loans on Kiva, the group leader's business is featured in the loan description, but all group members receive a portion of the loan to help their businesses. The leader of the Torype Oñondivepa Group is Maxima, who owns a grocery store, and it is the only source of income for her family. Having started out small, she has been able to grow her business gradually and she'll be using her part of the loan to stock items for her store and continue the growth of her business.
We stuck with South America for our second loan, teaming up with 21 other lenders from around the world to help Julio in Peru. Julio is 45 years old and married with three children. He's a taxi driver and his wife runs a bakery business out of their home. He's asked for a loan to help expand the family bakery. Maybe it's because we like making {and eating} baked goods, but anytime we see a bakery loan on Kiva, we are eager to lend!
Want to learn more about Kiva? Check them out at http://www.kiva.org and see our other Kiva blog posts.
North Terrace Room Remodel 29 Feb 2012, 4:50 am
During the past several weeks, one of our guest rooms, the North Terrace Room, has been getting a little work done, a nip here, a tuck there, a facelift if you will. Here are the first three installments of our video diary on the North Terrace Room remodel. Enjoy! Work will continue in March and the room is scheduled to be back open for reservations in time for Mother Nature's Spring debut in the mountains of North Carolina.
Free Guided Hikes at Chimney Rock in March 27 Feb 2012, 4:33 am
Spring is quickly approaching in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and what better time to take a hike through some gorgeous green scenery to a wonderful waterfall? Every Saturday in March, Chimney Rock Park is offering guided hikes to Hickory Nut Falls, a 404-foot waterfall inside the state park that cascades down a huge granite face. Here's the base of the falls:During the hike along the Hickory Nut Falls Trail {or the Four Seasons Trail if the Hickory Nut Falls Trail is closed for any reason}, you'll see the mountains waking up from their winter's rest -- Chimney Rock Park is one of the best places to see wildflowers in our area. And the park is located just 30 minutes south of the Inn on Mill Creek.
Even better, these guided hikes are at no cost beyond admission to the park, and admission is currently discounted while capital improvements are underway to improve the park (please note, the Chimney is scheduled to reopen in April).
