BAKING WITH BRIGETTE (OR NOT)

It is becoming a well known fact that Innkeeper Dave is a great cook (although he is quite modest and will never admit it, no matter what the guests say). It naturally follows that he makes breakfast at the Inn. However, Innkeeper Brigette does attempt cooking and baking from time to time, which is true if you count toast.

Here would be a sample of handy kitchen tips from Dave vs. Brigette:

Dave: When doing individual baked egg dishes, take the eggs out of the oven just before they are done and allow them to finish baking in their hot dish. This will prevent the eggs from being overcooked and too dry when serving the egg dish to guests.

Brigette: When baking cookies, take the wooden spoon OUT of the bowl before turning on the mixer. This will prevent the mixing attachment thingys from becoming too bent (and they do bend back into shape somewhat, but not all the way, so this is a really important tip if you want to be able to make something with the mixer in the future, because it appears that if the thingys are TOO bent, they will not mix well anymore).



* Disclaimer: Dave's commercial mixer was not harmed during the making of this post. The mixer attachments above are from Brigette's mixer (used a total of three times now by Brigette).

OFF ROAD ASSAULT ON MT. MITCHELL

The Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell is a 63-mile, mostly off road bicycle route which has 11,000 feet of accumulated climbing. From Old Fort, cyclists climb over the Blue Ridge Parkway two times and just below Mount Mitchell on Forest Service roads and singletrack (a trail just wide enought for one person or bike). Mt. Mitchell peaks at 6,684 feet and is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.

Our road (which we like to call our 2-mile tree-lined driveway, but, okay, it's really a Forest Service road) was part of the route for the 8th Annual Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell on July 22. The old portion of highway 70 that's barricaded near us is private property and the owner decided to revoke privileges for mountain bikers and hikers to use the road so that part of the route was switched over to our road. We hear that not being able to use Old 70 is a bummer for lovers of the original Kitsuma Loop trail, but, selfishly, it's nicer for us since we enjoy seeing cyclists heading past the Inn from Mill Creek Road on the alternate route. When the NCDOT paves our road (crossing our fingers for next Spring), this should be a great route for riding.

We had front row seats for the first part of the race since they started in Old Fort seven miles away. It was pretty exciting to see hundreds of die-hard mountain bikers heading up our road all day.

The following shots were taken by Innkeeper Dave at the Inn:

MORE RACE PHOTOS

More photos of the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell race:

DINNER RECOMMENDATION: JULY

We're starting a new innblog entry every month for restaurant recommendations for guests by guests. What better way to get a feel for our fantastic local cuisine than from the recommendations of your fellow travelers?

Recent guests of the Inn on Mill Creek, Aaron and Linda, turned us on to a great vegetarian restaurant in our area. The Laughing Seed Cafe was established in 1991. You can find them on Wall Street in downtown Asheville. They offer a wide variety of international meatless dishes made with local ingredients...appetizers, sandwiches, salads, entrees, they have it all. They also have a patio for catching some fresh mountain air while dining.

Reservations are not required. You can find their menu at http://www.laughingseed.com. Enjoy!

NEEDING RAIN

Has it been a dry summer where you are? We've had so little rain over the past six weeks that Innkeeper Dave has been turning off the Andrews Geyser overnight in order to replenish the lake fed by Mill Creek and the creek itself. He then turns it back on before breakfast so the geyser comes back for the daytime tourists.

The pipe to the geyser runs two miles down the mountain, carrying water from our lake to the geyser. When there's an ample supply of water, a pleasing-to-the-eye waterfall effect occurs off the dam. It sounds nice, too.



Best views of the waterfall? From the Lake View suite, and from the Solarium where we serve breakfast.

A PART OF OUR INN'S HISTORY

Here are a couple of shots of the Andrews Geyser taken this week. The height of the geyser was actually a little low this week, perhaps due to the lack of rain. The little figures on the far right in the first picture are picnickers enjoying a nice afternoon at the park that now surrounds the geyser.





The valve for the geyser is under the deck of our Lake House and we had several visitors the past few weeks who had ventured to Old Fort to see the geyser, and then headed two miles up the mountain to our property to check out where the water originates. It's really fun to tell the history of the property and the geyser because it's such a unique story. People can't believe that the man-made dam and little mountain lake on the Inn's property feed a geyser two miles away.

We wonder what the men of the Southern Railway who installed the geyser in the late 1800s would think today if they knew that it still brings visitors (albeit in cars rather than by rail) to this beautiful area. We bet they'd be proud that their geyser has remained a point of interest for over 110 years.

ORCHARD UPDATE

We have perhaps two dozen apples growing in our orchard, out of probably 120+ apple trees. That will be quite the manageable harvest for us orchard newbies!

The late frost we endured in April meant no real crop for any of the orchards in our county this year, but we don't mind that the trees will get a little rest and relaxation this season without having to put all their energy into producing fruit. It gives us time to learn how to treat our apples and other fruit with care. OK, it also gives us time to rest and relax, too!

We also have grapes growing on vines along the orchard fence. Brigette may try her hand at amateur winemaking this year...

OUR TREE-LINED DRIVE GETS A FACELIFT

We decided to splurge. Check out our new cars.





Just kidding. The Department of Transportation is doing some work on our road. They're not paving yet, but doing some real work with grading and putting down fresh gravel. We told them they could park their vehicles near the orchard until work resumes again tomorrow.

Here's a view of the road work along our south lawn. Look...no orange barrels!