THE LATEST AT BILTMORE

A favorite view from Biltmore House

During the month of August, Biltmore Estate will be testing "timed entry" into Biltmore House on a daily basis. You will need an entry time ticket to visit Biltmore House during this testing period.

The day of your visit, you can pick up your entry time ticket in person at the Biltmore Welcome Center, the Guest Service Station in the Stable hallway, at the tent set up near the House, or at the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. This is a separate ticket from the admission ticket you purchase here at the Inn or through Biltmore, and you must keep both tickets with you at all times on the estate.

One item to keep in mind: Admission tickets purchased here at the Inn are good for two consecutive days. Enjoy Biltmore House, Gardens, the Winery, the Riverbend Farm and the rest of the fabulous estate for two days for the price of one day's admission. Our current individual ticket price is $42.50, regardless of what day you choose to visit Biltmore.

August is also the time for the Biltmore Annual Summer Evening Concert Series, now in its 12th year. The concerts take place on the South Terrace. This year's schedule includes:

August 1: An Evening with Steven Curtis Chapman
August 2: KC and the Sunshine Band with Village People
August 6: Stepcrew
August 7: An Evening with Gladys Knight
August 8: An Evening with B.B. King
August 9: An Evening with REO Speedwagon
August 15: An Evening with the Beach Boys

Visit http://www.biltmore.com/visit/calendar/concerts.asp for more information.

If you like flowers, you'll want to go to Biltmore sometime between August 29 and September 15, when the South Terrace will be transformed into a "flower carpet" design, covering 14,400 square feet. Yes, that's right. We said 14,400 square feet. According to Biltmore, over 100,000 plants will be used in this one-of-a-kind artistic display. We can't wait to see it.

LOCAL ART AT THE INN

Two artists now have their work hanging here at the Inn on Mill Creek, and they've received lots of compliments. We're happy to have met these two ladies and enjoy sharing their artwork with our guests.

The first artist is Marguerite Welty, whose studio is in Ridgecrest. Marguerite has a calm and beautiful personality and it really shines in her work. She does several different types of art, including watercolor, silk, and a really cool thing called the Pouring Technique. We really like her abstract artwork and have several of her paintings now at the Inn. A sample of Marguerite's work is shown above.

The second artist is Lisa Walraven. Lisa's work is fun, bright and colorful and we love it. Here's a piece that's currently hanging in the hallway to the North Terrace Room at the Inn:

Lisa specializes in nature and birds, two things that abound here in the National Forest. Her work is perfect for the Inn. We're really enjoying getting to know Lisa and her husband, Wezil, who is a local birding guide. Their appreciation for birds is very infectious and now we want to go out birding every day (yes, even Brigette with her bird phobia). You can see more of Lisa's artwork at www.wrensandravens.com.

All of the art showcased at the Inn is available for purchase.

NC ARBORETUM ACTIVITIES

The North Carolina Arboretum is quickly becoming a favorite destination for guests who want to get outside to appreciate nature, but don't necessarily want to hike up a mountain. It's also on Brigette's list of favorite spots around Asheville.

For anyone wondering what an arboretum is, it's a place where plants and trees are grown for scientific research and educational purposes, and for the enjoyment of visitors to the arboretum. The NC Arboretum sits on 434 acres. It has several gardens and hiking/biking/walking trails (some that are pet friendly) and a fantastic bonsai exhibit. They also offer regular educational programs, tours, garden demonstrations and workshops.

There are many activities going on right now at the Arboretum, but there are two that we've been hearing good things about from guests so we wanted to pass them along:

The Asheville Amblers 10k Self-Guided Hike is a 6.2-mile tour of the Arboretum's gardens and woodland areas that you can take at your own pace. This is one of the best ways to see what the Arboretum has to offer. Stop by the Arboretum’s information desks at the Baker Exhibit Center and Education Center for a map and instructions. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.



Kaleidoscope: Contemporary Landscape Sculpture is the Arboretum's third major juried sculpture show and runs through October. The exhibit features thirteen sculpture by ten regional artists. Narrative from the Arboretum's website sums it up quite nicely:

"Just as the kaleidoscope - a favorite childhood toy - offers a changeable scene when looking through the mirrored tube, outdoor sculpture can change the view of a landscape by its presence and our position in relation to the piece."

2008 BIG PROJECT #3: ARBOR PATH

Our 2008 Big Project #3 is finished for the year!

But first, an update on Big Project #2, which is hanging fabric panels over the old opaque ceiling in the glassed-in dining solarium. Here's the latest view of the panels:



The panels are up as you can see, but we'll be tweaking the fastening of the panels where one panel meets another. We're hoping to be finished with the fabric fine tuning later this Summer. We love how it looks so far. We hope you do, too.

Now, back to Big Project #3. The part of the project being done this year entailed converting a gravel path to stone. Here's the old gravel path that leads to the arbor and deck overlooking the water:



The stone arrived in late April and we put it down in a surprisingly random yet asthetically pleasing pattern:



Then, as Spring turned into Summer, we (meaning Dave) spent countless hours and weeks -- in between threats of rain -- scraping gravel, dumping buckets full of gravel, digging in each stone (over 150 of them), leveling the stones and making them look good. Brigette went to work keeping out the weeds and embarking on a search for Elfin Thyme, which is teeny tiny 1-inch high thyme that you can walk on, to plant in between the stones (hopefully in the Spring).

Here's the stone path finished (sorry, it was a sunny day so the arbor didn't show up). This is about half the length of the whole path:



We also planted a hedgerow of Euonymus fortunei "Emerald and Gold Wintercreeper" shrubs, which are evergreen and get to be three to four feet tall and just as wide. The shrubs are at the end opposite of the arbor (in other words, we have yet to take a decent picture of them to show you).

Now on to measuring the Lake House windows for window flower boxes...2008 Big Project #4 might be just around the corner...

CHIMNEY ROCK IMPROVEMENTS (Updated 7/15/08)

[See updated information below]

Our friends at Chimney Rock Park confirmed what some of our guests told us last week (thanks to Michael, Michelle and Elizabeth for the heads up), namely that some trails and stairs are closed to the public while undergoing improvements.

As some of you know, the State of North Carolina purchased Chimney Rock Park from the Park's private owners recently and the State is really stepping it up when it comes to making Chimney Rock an awesome place to hike, go rock climbing, learn about nature and spend some time seeing some really beautiful views. We're really excited to see the positive changes at the Park because the fact that it's only a half hour away makes it a great place for guests to go for a day trip.

Here is what we learned:

• The Outcroppings stairs to the Chimney and the Skyline-Cliff Trail Loop are currently closed for improvements...7/15/08 Update: Great news! The stairs are now open! We will pass along word as soon as we hear that the Skyline-Cliff Trail Loop is back open. The Outcroppings stairs are directly below the Chimney, and the Skyline-Cliff Trail Loop makes a loop between the Chimney and the top of Hickory Nut Falls.
  
• Four Seasons trail, Great Woodland Adventure, Hickory Nut Falls trail (which takes you to the bottom of the Falls), Moonshiner's Cave, the tunnell and the elevator, Vista Rock, Chimney Rock, the Opera Box and the Devil's Head are all accessible to enjoy.
  
• The innpugs, Csaba and Bugsy, would like to mention that dogs are welcome on ALL trails and in ALL outdoor areas.

So when you head to Chimney Rock, you might find some improvements being made, but there is still plenty to do while you're there.

FOURTH OF JULY HAPPENINGS

If you're going to be in our neck of the woods and like a little bit of easy going, small town atmosphere on Independence Day, we'll have three events going on near us on Friday.

The town of Montreat just north of Black Mountain will hold its parade July 4 at 10:30am. Then, beginning at 7pm, Black Mountain will have a street dance and other festivities (arts, crafts, face painting, etc.) near the train depot on Sutton Avenue. Fireworks will begin after 9pm, from an area near Bi-Lo. Best spots for viewing without tree obstruction are downtown locations west of Route 9 (Broadway).

Old Fort's July 4th celebration will include a parade down Main Street. For information, call 828.668.4244. Additionally, the National Championship Rodeo, sponsored by Old Fort Ruritan, will take place July 4-5. The rodeo includes bull riding and dogging, bareback riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, goat tying, calf scramble and various forms of entertainment. Admission: $8-$10; 8pm. For more information, call 828.668.3110.

Marion's evning parade will head down Main Street at 6pm on July 4. The McDowell Community Band will perform patriotic and pop music at 6:30 p.m. on the courthouse lawn. The evening fireworks display will begin at 9:45pm. For more information, call 828.652.2215 or 828.652.3551.