Congratulations, Bill and Lydia!

Bill and Lydia (pictured above in front of the former entrance gate to the Inn on Mill Creek property) had their elopement ceremony last weekend at the Inn and stayed with us for a few days afterward. It was just the two of them, exchanging their vows under the wedding arbor by the water. The weather was perfect and their ceremony was just beautiful. We had the privilege and honor to serve as their witnesses at this special occasion. Can't wait to see their photos, taken by the talented Chris Chromey.

Congratulations, Bill and Lydia, and best wishes!

I-40 Detour in North Carolina for travel from Tennessee

A rock slide in late October on Interstate-40, three miles from the Tennessee border (and about an hour from the Inn on Mill Creek), will affect travel for our guests heading westward to us through Tennessee (or traveling eastbound home through Tennessee).

Vehicles on I-40 are expected to be detoured for months while the boulders are removed and the road is repaired. Please allow for extra driving time and expect to see some beautiful scenery as you travel through some gorgeous areas of the North Carolina mountains.

To reach your destination, a helpful detour map with the descriptions of two detour options has been created and posted on www.i40detour.com. We have also posted the link on our directions page. Here are the detour options:

The first detour will add roughly 50 minutes to your trip:
The NC Department of Transportation advises I-40 travelers from the west to take I-81 north to Johnson City, then I-26 east to Asheville. The I-26 route adds roughly 50 minutes to the travel time, and is one of the nation’s only interstate Scenic Byways. I-26 takes motorists through the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains offering scenic observation points, a welcome center and stunning views of the highest peaks in the East.

The second detour will add roughly 30 minutes to your trip:
Travelers coming from the west on I-40 may also take exit 432-B for US-25/US-70 toward Newport. After Newport, TN, 25/70 becomes the Dixie Highway. Follow signs to stay on 25/70. Shortly after entering North Carolina, you will pass through the town of Hot Springs. Continue until you reach I-26. Take I-26 east to get to Asheville. This route adds roughly 30 minutes to the travel time and is a beautiful scenic mountain highway. Passenger vehicles only are permitted on this road–it is not a commercial travel route (i.e., motorcoach, RVs or dual-axel vehicles). Please consider possible weather and traffic congestion issues on this winding two-lane road.

Thanks to the helpful folks at the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Blue Ridge Mountain Host for passing along the information!

Week 6: North Carolina Mountains Fall Color Report

Welcome to peak fall color time in our part of the North Carolina mountains! Our elevation (2,300 feet) and the surrounding areas are now ablaze in color after the short cold snap a couple of weeks ago sped up the change in colors. Here's a shot of the southern end of our property:



Even though our sourwood trees are dropping their deep red leaves at a faster pace this week, we're seeing more bright reds and oranges as the maples start showing off -- those electric red maples really know how to brighten your day.

Although the tulip poplars were lackluster at our elevation this year, in terms of yellows, the hickory trees are looking quite pretty against the evergreen rhododendron and mountain laurel leaves that envelop the lower portion of the ridges around our Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain, North Carolina.


Yellow...


And more yellow

Also giving us some golden tones are the beech trees, and we didn't realize just how many there were until we noticed so many of the leaves on the ground. What a pretty leaf...it might be one of our favorites this year.

The oak trees are continuing to change and we look forward to enjoying this year's fall colors for at least another week.

Not a day goes by that we don't feel grateful for being here and being able to share this beautiful spot inside Pisgah National Forest with our guests and friends. Here are some photos we took this week around the Inn:


Standing at the end of the driveway


Our little weeping cherry finally turned!


At top of our orchard looking toward Green Knob


Part of Bernard Ridge behind the Lake House

If you'll be in our neck of the woods over the next week or so, here are some places to enjoy remaining fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains:

Biltmore Estate - One of the legacies of George Washington Vanderbilt and his friends, Frederick Law Olmstead, Gifford Pinchot and Dr. Carl Schenck was the creation of the first school of forestry. It is no surprise that when you visit Biltmore Estate in Asheville, about 20 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek, you will be rewarded with expansive views of forests that Mr. Vanderbilt and his friends were instrumental in creating and conserving. Biltmore Estate also has walking trails and biking trails that take you around the beautifully landscaped grounds. And when you walk through the Biltmore House, it's easy to imagine being a guest at Biltmore and seeing gorgeous views through your bedroom window. This time of year is perfect for the Rooftop Specialty Tour and a drive along the Lagoon to the Winery for wine tastings. Don't forget, guests of the Inn on Mill Creek receive a $10 discount off the regular one-day gate admission ticket price, and our tickets are good for two consecutive days.

North Carolina Arboretum - The North Carolina Arboretum is a 434-acre public garden, which is actually several different gardens and hiking/walking/biking trails, plus a bonsai exhibit. They also have an exhibit center and education building. Some of the features we like about the Arboretum are the creative Quilt Garden, where they display plants in the pattern of traditional quilts, the Plants of Promise Garden, which is full of native plants, and the Natural Garden Trail. You can also take Segway tours around the Arboretum. The mountains rise up around the Arboretum, so it's great to visit this time of year and be surrounded by the fall colors.

Chimney Rock Park - Our friends at Chimney Rock Park, located 30 minutes south of the Inn on Mill Creek, are reporting nice fall foliage in the Hickory Nut Gorge area that surrounds the Park. Oaks, maples, sourwoods, ash trees and poplars are among the many varieties of trees that are providing fall colors, which are especially pretty when viewed from the 315-foot-high Chimney. Since Chimney Rock Park sees its best color during the latter part of the fall color season, we'll be featuring more about the Park next week.

Check back next week for our final fall foliage report!

October Geocaching in Black Mountain

This week, we took advantage of a sunny autumn afternoon and got outside to explore Black Mountain and to do some geocaching as well. For those of you unfamiliar with geocaching, it's the search for items/containers hidden by other geocachers, using latitude and longitude coordinates and a GPS device. When you find the cache, you sign the log inside the container, trade items if you like, and log your find online.

Over 925,000 geocaches, or "caches" as they're commonly called, are currently hidden all over the world, and thousands of geocaches are right here in our part of North Carolina, just waiting to be found. We marked three caches off our list this week.

Our adventure took us and the innpugs, Csaba and Bugsy, to Carver Community Center and the Oaks Trail portion of the Black Mountain Recreation Park, both of which are in the town of Black Mountain, a little more than 10 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek.


Csaba in geocaching mode

First off was Carver Community Center, west of town. We headed there because Innkeeper Dave bought a metal detector from a gentleman living near the Carver Center (we can just imagine future blog posts about Dave's finds...). The Carver Center houses the Recreation and Parks administrative offices, basketball courts and a beach volleyball court, and offers space for gymnastics, karate, G.E.D. classes, Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club, square dancing, nordic walking, pottery classes, Tai Chi and other activities, according to the town website. There is a charmingly picturesque, restored church called Thomas Chapel across the street and a nice little geocache nearby.



After signing the log at the cache at Carver Center, we drove to the Black Mountain Recreation Park, which is just south of town off Blue Ridge Road (a map is available at the town website). We were impressed! The Park has four lighted ball fields, a nice paved walking/jogging path, picnic areas, a 9-hold disc golf course, and our destination -- the Oaks Trail.


One of the ball fields near Oaks Trail

The Oaks Trail confused us a bit because it's lined with pine trees rather than oaks.



We'll have to find out the story behind the name... It is a rather pretty trail, and the smell of pine needles is always nice when you're out walking. We searched for, and located, two of four geocaches hidden along the trail: Oaks Trail and Ash Cache.


Two happy pugs and one happy geocacher

We'd never been to the Black Mountain Recreation Park before. We enjoyed our short journey to the Oaks Trail, and we'll definitely return to find the other two caches.

If you're interested in finding geocaches while you're in our neck of the woods, check out our Inn Turns 10 page celebrating the Inn on Mill Creek's 10th birthday -- we've listed 10 geocaches that are less than 10 miles from the Inn.

Biltmore Christmas Candelight Tickets (2009)

Almost two months and Christmas will be here...the year has gone by so fast! In 2009, guests at the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain will again have the opportunity to get a Biltmore ticket upgrade to attend Christmas Candlelight Evenings at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The entrance to Biltmore Estate is approximately 20 minutes west of the Inn.

Beginning November 6, Biltmore Estate begins its Christmas at Biltmore celebration and daytime admission tickets are $60. So, in keeping with our celebration of 10s for the Inn Turns 10 celebration of the Inn on Mill Creek's 10th birthday, Biltmore tickets purchased at the Inn are $10 off the regular gated daytime admission price. Biltmore daytime admission tickets are $50/ticket for our guests and are good for two consecutive days. You can experience so much at Biltmore and the two-day ticket allows you to take your time and fit everything in.

As the year heads into the holiday season, workers at Biltmore Estate spend three weeks decorating the Estate for Christmas. This year's theme is A Gilded Age Christmas and you'll see 100 decorated trees on the Estate, 50 inside Biltmore House itself. The floor-to-ceiling tree they place in the 7-story Banquet Hall is honestly breathtaking. Biltmore House is decorated in a way that gives you a feeling for the opulence of the period when the Vanderbilts entertained family and friends at Biltmore House during what was known as the Gilded Age.

On the front lawn, there will again be a lighted 55' Norway Spruce surrounded by what can only be described as "islands" of other lighted trees and shrubs. Additionally, 10,000 feet of white pine and Fraser fir garland, hundreds of poinsettias and wreaths, and thousands of lights, ornaments and other decorations will definitely put you in a Christmas mood.

And if you would like to experience Christmas Candlelight Evenings at Biltmore, we can upgrade your daytime admission ticket to a Candlelight Evening ticket for $10. So what is Christmas Candlelight Evenings? From November 6 through January 2, visitors to Biltmore can take evening self-guided tours of the 175,000-square-foot Biltmore House. We're told there will be over 100 candles and 30,000 lights in the House, plus they light the fireplaces, and the crackling fires in the Banquet Hall triple fireplace...it's just, wow. Plus, ballroom dancers, choirs, musicians and storytellers will be in Biltmore House to entertain visitors.

Guests of the Inn on Mill Creek can purchase daytime admission tickets to Biltmore Estate any time, including after you arrive at the Inn. Here are a few things to know about the Christmas Candlelight Evenings upgrade (and we'll go over this when you make your request by phone - 828.668.1115 - or by e-mail):

1) We request a 3-day advance notice in order to be able to process your Christmas Candlelight Evenings ticket upgrade with Biltmore Estate.

2) Ticket upgrades are day and time specific; evening tours can be scheduled as early as 5:30pm.

3) If you would like to have dinner on the Estate, we can help make a reservation.

4) As a Biltmore Estate lodging partner, our daytime admissions tickets are good for two consecutive days; your Candelight Christmas Evenings upgrade allows you to go the day of your evening tour, as well as the full day after.

5) We do charge $10 to your credit card per upgrade when the tickets are processed, and the upgrade is nonrefundable.

6) Christmas Candlelight Evening tours are not available on Nov. 24, Nov. 26, Dec. 24, and Dec. 25.

Week 5: North Carolina Mountains Fall Color Report

The photo above was taken October 20 (today) at Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain, about 15 minutes west of the Inn on Mill Creek. The Seven Sisters mountain range provides a very colorful backdrop this time of year as the fall colors start migrating down the mountains to our elevation (2,300 feet). The colors are brighter along the roads and on higher peaks around us, but green still shows in the landscape at elevations of 2,000 to 3,000. We're on target to see peak fall colors at our elevation toward the end of October.

The fifth week of Autumn started off with a bit of a chill in the air, with frosty mornings and Blue Ridge Parkway closures due to snow (!) and ice (!!). However, as the week progresses, we're seeing more normal temperatures and the Carolina blue sky that everyone loves so much. Nice weather + fall colors = a great time for getting out to see fall foliage.

If you'll be heading our way over the next two weeks, along with the places highlighted in last week's fall color report that are seeing swift changes in color, here are a few more spots where you're sure to be surrounded by the fall color palate: the reds and oranges of maples with some golds mixed in as hickory trees and birches continue changing:

Lookout Mountain in Montreat -- Lookout Mountain literally looks out over the towns of Montreat and Black Mountain. (To see where it is and what the view looks like, check our Lookout Mountain Hike blog post from September.). A hike up the mountain will reward you with some gorgeous views of fall foliage from an elevation of roughly 3,600 feet.

Lake Tomahawk Park in Black Mountain -- For a leisurely stroll, try the half mile loop around Lake Tomahawk north of downtown Black Mountain. As you can see from the photo above, the Seven Sisters peaks, in the 3,500- to 5,000-ft. elevation range are showing some beautiful colors right now.

Looking Glass Rock near Brevard -- At an elevation of almost 4,000 feet and spectacular views, Looking Glass Rock is one place to see fantastic fall foliage in Pisgah National Forest in mid-October. It's about 45 minutes from Asheville, and the drive is a scenic one on NC-280 toward Brevard, then taking a right on US-276 and then a left on Forest Road 475 (watch for the sign for the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and State Fish Hatchery). Part of this route is a detour for the current closure on the Blue Ridge Parkway. RomanticAsheville.com and HikeWNC both have great descriptions of the hike.

Next week, we'll highlight fall color viewing opportunities around Asheville, North Carolina, including Biltmore Estate and the North Carolina Arboretum...stay tuned!

Blue Ridge Parkway Closed South of Asheville (updated 10/20/09)

The Blue Ridge Parkway (National Park Service)

Updated (10/20/09): The Blue Ridge Parkway hotline indicates that Milepost 400 to MP 401 south of Asheville is closed due to hazardous road conditions. They suggest taking Highway 276 to access Mt. Pisgah. For daily updates, we recommend calling the Blue Ridge Parkway hotline at 828.298.0398, option 1 (road conditions), then option 3 (North Carolina section of the Parkway).

A lot of our guests are traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway this time of year to see fabulous fall foliage at higher elevations. We thought it best to share the news of the following closure from the National Park Service website:

Milepost 393.6 - 405.5 (Asheville Area)

Due to heavy rains, engineers determined that a high risk of slides existed in the area, necessitating this emergency closure. The closure will be in place until further notice. Pisgah Inn remains open and accessible from US Highway 276 at Wagon Road Gap.

For southbound traffic from the Asheville area, take NC Route 191, NC Route 280, and US Route 276 to the Parkway.

For southbound traffic near the Mt. Pisgah area, take US Route 276, NC Route 280, and NC Route 191 to the Parkway.

This closure affects anyone traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville and Mt. Pisgah. We're so happy to hear that the Pisgah Inn is still accessible. The restaurant at the Pisgah Inn, located off the Blue Ridge Parkway, has great food and awesome views, especially at this time of year.

Hopefully, this section of the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway will be open soon. We'll keep you posted!

Indoor Activities near Black Mountain and Asheville

Baker Exhibit Center at the NC Arboretum
Photo Courtesy of the North Carolina Arboretum

So the weather has been a little bit rainy and cool for this time of year, which means it's a great time to explore indoor activities in the mountains western North Carolina, our neck of the woods. Here are a few examples of ways to keep warm while enjoying the area:

• You have one day left to experience the 62nd Annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands at the Civic Center in Asheville. More than 200 craftspeople, many of whom are part of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild, display their hand crafted works on two floors of the Civic Center. There is live music as well. You can find everything from wood carvings to jewelry, from fiber to clay, from glass to metal to pottery and everything in between. These are amazing regional artisans presenting what are truly works of art.
  

• If you miss the craft show, you can visit the Folk Art Center just off I-40 Exit 55 (about 15 minutes west of our Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain). Exit 55 is where the Blue Ridge Parkway meets Asheville and the Folk Art Center is at Milepost 382 if you're coming from the Parkway. Galleries showcase permanent collections and exhibits, and there's a gift shop as well (perfect for Christmas presents!).
  
  
• For more locally hand crafted items, visit The Appalachian Artisan Society (TAAS) Gallery on Main Street in Old Fort, about 15 minutes east of the Inn on Mill Creek. The TAAS Gallery contains the work of over 70 local craftspeople and artists -- a true celebration of this area's rich cultural tradition of crafting items by hand. One cool new item at the Gallery is the quilted postcards, handmade by Linda Johnson of Morganton, NC. Additionally, the October featured artist at the Gallery is Rust Pottery, so if you're looking for pottery, you may want to make a stop at the TAAS Gallery.
  
  
• Right next door to the TAAS Gallery is the Catawba Vale Cafe, which not only provides nice food in a nice atmosphere, but also houses fine art by TAAS artisans. If it's a bit chilly outdoors, this is the perfect place to grab a cup of soup and browse the artwork in a beautiful building dating back to 1871.
  
  
• The North Carolina Arboretum just south of Asheville (about a 40 minute drive from the Inn on Mill Creek) has fantastic gardens and walking trails, but if you are not a cool weather person (like Brigette), they also have an exhibit hall named the Baker Exhibit Center. From now until November 15, you can see the beautiful photos taken by Asheville area members of the Carolina Nature Photography Association. Additionally, at the NC Arboretum's Education Center, you can see a neat exhibit on bird illustration. Birds: The Science of Illustration runs through October and is part of the NC Arboretum's celebration of the opening of the Mountains Region section of the North Carolina Birding Trail (and to our birder friends -- don't forget, the Inn on Mill Creek is also a site on the Trail).
  
  
• Listening to music is a great way to warm the soul on a chilly day, and our friends at White Horse Black Mountain make it a point to bring in awesome local performers to keep everyone entertained at their music and arts venue in downtown Black Mountain, about 10 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek. Not only are live acts on the schedule at White Horse Black Mountain, but they're showing sports on Sundays as well as baseball playoffs and the World Series.
  

Week 4: North Carolina Mountains Fall Color Report

This week, the colors have started becoming more pronounced, with a definite increase in scarlet, brick red, and orange, although there are still lots of green trees at our elevation (2,300 feet). The view from the Lake View room is quite colorful this time of year. Here's a photo taken yesterday (note in the foreground across the water -- our two curvy "Dr. Seuss" trees, as one of our guests calls them, are still green):



Today as we were driving to Old Fort 15 minutes east of the Inn on Mill Creek, we noticed that several peaks along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the distance are covered in golden and rust-colored tones, the beautiful fall colors that will make their way slowly down to lower elevations over the next two weeks. If the leaves continue to change at the current rate, the peak for our elevation should be between October 20 and October 30 this year.

Coming to our neck of the woods over the next couple of weeks? Here are two locations in our part of western North Carolina that offer the chance to get outdoors to do some hiking and view fantastic fall foliage, plus we've had some good rain lately and these hikes include spectacular waterfalls as well:

Graveyard Fields -- No worries, it's not a graveyard. You won't find any headstones or things that go bump in the night. What you will find at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 418.8 (southwest of Asheville) is a four mile hiking trail, three waterfalls and gorgeous fall color. The elevation ranges between 5,000 and 5,300 feet above sea level. The website Hike WNC has a great description of the trail.

DuPont State Forest -- A purchase of land from the DuPont Corporation by the State of North Carolina in 1996 created the DuPont State Forest southwest of Asheville. After two further expansions, the state forest now has over 10,000 acres in elevation ranges of 2,300 to 3,600 feet above sea level. The Little River supplies the forest with four major waterfalls and several smaller falls, a perfect backdrop for fall foliage. A series of hiking trails run through the forest and a the DuPont State Forest website contains a handy trail guide. We recommend the easy, half-mile hike from the Hooker Falls Access Area parking lot to Triple Falls (which was featured in the movie Last of the Mohicans). From Triple Falls, you can continue on to High Falls. The website NC Waterfalls has beautiful photos and detailed descriptions of the trails for Triple Falls and High Falls.

Check back next week, as its likely our fall color report will highlight the start of peak fall color at our elevation!

October Afternoon at Grandfather Mountain

As mentioned in our latest fall color report, we spent an afternoon this week at Grandfather Mountain, which is just over an hour's drive northeast of of the Inn on Mill Creek, our Bed and Breakfast near Black Mountain. Since the first two weeks of October bring out the best fall foliage in the upper elevations of the North Carolina mountains, we were excited about going, and Grandfather Mountain didn't disappoint (even with the clouds). Click on any photos to see them larger.



We headed up Highway 221 from Marion to Linville, past lots of Christmas tree farms and camping areas. (Another way to get to Grandfather Mountain is to take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Milepost 305.) On our arrival, a very nice gentleman at the entrance gate told us that the innpugs, Csaba and Bugsy, were welcome anywhere (on leash) except for inside the wildlife habitats and buildings...which was 99.9% OK with the innpugs.


Picture worth a thousand words?
Here are two: ice cream...two more: no dogs. Sorry, Csaba!

The entrance gate attendant gave us a little something for the innpugs, showing us that Grandfather Mountain does love its pet visitors!



From the entrance, it's a 2 1/2-mile drive to the Mile High Swinging Bridge:


Just a little cloudy...

But before getting to the bridge, we passed MacRae Meadows, site of the annual Highland Games, a huge picnic area with an easy wooded nature trail, scenic overlooks (including a curvy section of road used in the Forrest Gump running scene), the wildlife habitats and Nature Museum/Restaurant, and then more picnic areas with gorgeous views (we'll be bringing sandwiches and stopping there to eat next time we go, for sure). A couple of photos we took along the way:





We then passed the hiking trails parking lot and went on to the Mile High Swinging Bridge, where Csaba and Bugsy elicited lots of "Aw, how cute!" and "We love pugs...they're so cute!" and "They are so cute!" and "How cute are they?!?" and, well, you get the picture.


Mile High (Cute) Pugs

Crossing over the swinging bridge was no big deal for the innpugs, although the bridge was definitely swinging and Brigette gripped the railing more than once for reassurance. Once over the bridge, Dave forged on to the rocky outcropping beyond the bridge as the clouds headed in (and below) us:







Once we walked back over the bridge, we headed to the hiking trails parking area and proceeded on the Black Rock Trail.



Grandfather Mountain's trails are split into two categories: Nature Walk trails and Backcountry Trails. The Black Rock Trail is considered a Nature Walk trail. It's a moderate trail through a wooded area -- rocks and roots underfoot -- and there are views at the end, but we only made it about halfway before Csaba was ready to head back. He's had minor surgery recently on his upper arm, so we've been making sure he doesn't exert himself (and those of you who know Csaba know that his laziness trumps most activity and so he's been a model patient).



We highly recommend a trip to Grandfather Mountain this time of year -- it's perfect for a day trip and you can go on a beautiful section of the Blue Ridge Parkway there or back, making for a great fall foliage scenic drive.

Week 3: North Carolina Mountains Fall Color Report

Near the Nature Museum at Grandfather Mountain (Oct. 6)

The fall colors in the mountains of North Carolina are starting to show as we head into the third week of Autumn. This week, we have the appearance of some reds in the landscape at our elevation (2,300 feet), as sourwoods, sumacs and maples start to turn. The yellow of hickory trees, birches and tulip trees (also known as yellow poplars) are increasing in number, albeit the poplars seem to be less brilliant this year in our opinion. Scarlet burning bushes are living up to their names, as seen in this photo we took on October 6, at the McDowell County Chamber/Visitors Center in Marion:



To see how the North Carolina fall foliage is progressing at higher elevations, we headed to Grandfather Mountain today. It was partly cloudy, making for a surreal scene at times when we were inside and above the clouds. We hiked a bit on the Black Rock Trail, took Csaba and Bugsy the innpugs over the mile high swinging bridge (they loved it...OK, they loved all the attention from other visitors), and were treated to some fantastic views of fall foliage.



The next two weeks will be great times to visit Grandfather Mountain. We'll share more photos of our day at Grandfather on Thursday.

If you're looking to go hiking over the next few weeks in our neck of the woods, here are a few more spots that should provide a good show of color as Autumn progresses (in order from south to north):

Mt. Pisgah -- Once owned by George Vanderbilt and now part of Pisgah National Forest, Mt. Pisgah sits along the Blue Ridge Parkway just southwest of Asheville. At Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 408.6, there is a fantastic restaurant, which is part of the Pisgah Inn. (Pisgah Inn serves lunch and dinner with spectacular views seven days a week through October.) From the Pisgah Inn parking lot, you can hike north a little over a mile along the Buck Spring Trail, which then connects to the Mt. Pisgah parking lot (MP 407.6). At this parking lot (from which you can choose to start if you want to bypass the Pisgah Inn parking lot) is a 1.5-mile up-and-back trail leading to Mt. Pisgah, which is over 5,700 feet above sea level.

Craggy Pinnacle -- Heading north, 18 miles from Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, you arrive at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 364.1, which is the Craggy Dome overlook. (This is past the Craggy Gardens Visitors Center). Near the upper parking lot is the trailhead for the Craggy Pinnacle Trail. The hike is an easy one, less than a mile to the overlook with its dramatic 360-degree views. This is a great stopover if you're headed to Mt. Mitchell further up the Parkway.

Linville Falls -- From the Linville Falls Visitors Center, you can take one of two hiking trails to Linville Falls, which is off Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 316.4, northeast of Asheville, Black Mountain and the Inn on Mill Creek. The Erwins View trail is a 1.6-mile roundtrip, moderate hike with four overlooks along the way. Visit www.ncwaterfalls.com/lin1.htm for a fantastic description and photos of the hike to the falls.

The next three weeks will bring more splashes of fall color to our area and elevation, so stay tuned for next week's report!

New Trout Fishing Program in Old Fort

Some good news for all of you who enjoy fishing (and a lot of our guests do): a new trout fishing program opened October 1, in Old Fort, NC, at Mountain Gateway Museum (about 15 minutes east of the Inn on Mill Creek). The museum grounds are now a public access point for trout fishermen during the delayed harvest season. In addition to the new access site, the museum is participating in the North Carolina Wildlife Commission's new Tackle Loaner Program.

Program details are online at the NC Wildlife Commission website along with a PDF map of the site.

Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center at 102 Water Street in Old Fort is free to the general public and is already known as a museum that successfully promotes and preserves the history and heritage of this part of western North Carolina. Now, visitors may take a break, borrow some equipment and spend quiet time fishing on the scenic banks of Mill Creek, a popular activity for residents and visitors alike.

Other fishing opportunities in our area include (info from the NC Wildlife Commission):

• A 6.7-mile reach of Mill Creek, classified as hatchery-supported, is immediately upstream of the museum between the upper railroad bridge and U.S. 70
  
• A 2-mile section of the Catawba River, classified as hatchery-supported, runs from Catawba Falls Campground to the Old Fort Recreation Park
  
• A 1.7-mile portion of Curtis Creek, classified as delayed-harvest, is located on Commission game lands just off U.S. 70 east of Old Fort and is equipped with two universally accessible piers.

Helping Yao in Togo through Kiva

In 2009, as part of our Inn Turns 10! birthday celebration for our Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain, NC, we've pledged to assist 10 business owners in the developing world -- with microloans through Kiva -- to help their businesses succeed, thereby improving their local economies and communities and giving them the means to raise themselves out of poverty.

Our seventh Kiva loan for 2009 is currently helping Yao Ganyo (pictured above), a young married father of four who lives in the western African country of Togo. Yao opened up a cafeteria restaurant and he serves breakfast, so as Bed & Breakfast innkeepers, we feel a little bit of kinship with him.

Yao's cafeteria restaurant supports his young family and he requested a loan through Kiva to invest in restocking and buying condiments and the like. We, along with 20 others who registered as Kiva lenders, supplied Yao with a microloan to help his business succeed. (One thing we like to do is see where all the lenders on our loans are from -- Yao's lenders are from the U.S., UK, Korea and Germany.) We wish Yao much success with his cafeteria restaurant!

Stay tuned as we have three more entrepreneurs to help out this year. You can read about our other loans at our Inn Turns 10! page.