2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains: Weeks 1 and 2

Forsythia leaves

Fall has reached us, finally! Hope you had a good summer. It was a fairly hot summer this year in the North Carolina mountains, with several areas seeing record temperatures. (Grandfather Mountain tied a previous all-time high record of 83 degrees to give you perspective.) In our neck of the woods, we saw a few days in the 90s, and it was fairly humid, too, so we were ready for Autumn to arrive...and arrive it did.


Our hydrangeas showing off their fall appearance

Week one of Fall brought cool nights and tiny bits of fall color popping up here and there. The tulip poplars -- which did not have a great fall last year -- seem to be the first to start changing again, and they're a little more golden than brown this year. Those trees have provided some of our brightest colors in early fall since we've been at the Inn, so we're crossing our fingers and hoping they deliver some nice fall foliage this year.

Our butternut trees (also known as "white walnut") along the Inn's driveway are also some of our earliest changers and we notice them lightening up and turning more yellow as September comes to a close, about a week ahead of last year's schedule.

One of the butternut trees, seen through the Great Room window

Week two has begun with a few of our sourwood trees showing off their brilliant red fall foliage:



Also, the tulip poplars keep changing, and other trees, such as birch and maples, have just a hint of leaf color variation. For the most part, though, trees are still lush and green at our elevation, 2,300 feet above sea level. Here's part of Bernard Ridge at the Inn:

We have no idea what to expect in 2010 in terms of how quickly the leaves will change and how brilliant the fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains will be because the weather has been so unique this year, but with hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest surrounding us and the Black Mountain/Asheville area at varying elevations, we remain optimistic for a good color show.

If you'll be visiting our area in late September and early October, the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge Parkway (5,000-6,000+ feet) are your best bet to catch early color. The views along the Parkway are lovely this time of year, especially near high spots like Mt. Mitchell State Park and Grandfather Mountain.

September Geocaching in the Forest

It's been a while since we've posted about geocaching, but never fear, it's on our (read: Brigette's) minds a lot, especially since fellow geocachers have recently been busy hiding lots of caches in the woods just down the road from the Inn on Mill Creek. Over the past few months, we haven't had the opportunity to go geocaching, so those caches have been sitting there taunting us all summer long.

If you're a geocaching enthusiast, you will understand what we mean by geocaches taunting us when you see this Google map. This is within a little over a mile of the Inn (smiley faces are the ones we'd found before September; stars are caches that we've hidden). Yes, those are 18 geocaches recently planted that we've had to wait until now to get.

Then September arrived, and we were able to do some hiking and geocaching with our frequent guests-turned-friends (griends? frests?) and fellow geocachers, Travis and Nicole.

We set out on the Forest Service access roads that cross over our road and even though we didn't go for all the caches, we were able to find the ones that we did set out to get. Here's Travis navigating through the 6-foot tall brush to get to one of the caches (the wildflowers were beautiful, by the way):



On our way back, we swung by one of the caches (pictured at the top of this post) that we've hidden on our property in the woods to check on it. Maintenance is an important part of geocaching. Other than being a few feet away from where it's supposed to be and looking like a furry critter had been playing with it, it was in pretty good shape and there were lots of goodies inside that cachers had traded in and out.

After a brief hiatus, we're ready to get back into the geocaching swing of things!

Interested in learning more about geocaching? Here's an animated video from www.geocaching.com that explains just what geocaching entails.

Thinking about geocaching when you stay at the Inn? You're in luck. The Asheville/Black Mountain area is well represented in the world of geocaching. There are over 100 caches hidden within five miles of the Inn.

2010 Old Fort Oktoberfest

Old Fort Oktoberfest is an annual family-friendly festival that takes place the first weekend in October. This year, on October 1, 2, and 3, the charming small town of Old Fort, North Carolina, will celebrate fall in the mountains and our local artists and businesses by showcasing local handmade arts and crafts, offering children's activities, great food from local vendors and entertainment by local musicians. The festival has such a wonderful emphasis on community, history and mountain heritage -- it's what truly makes the small towns in Western North Carolina, like Old Fort, such special places.

Old Fort Oktoberfest is an alcohol-free event and takes place on the grounds of the Mountain Gateway Museum in downtown historic Old Fort. Hours are 9am-8pm on Friday and Saturday (October 1-2) and 12pm-8pm (Sunday).

This year, Oktoberfest is also featured as one of the local events connected to the Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary Celebration (www.blueridgeparkway75.org).

Fall 2010 East of Asheville Studio Tour

The gorgeous work of EAST artist Peggy Taylor, Willow Wisp Farm Studios

The East of Asheville Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.) is a very cool event that takes place twice a year in our neck of the woods. Artists from Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Fairview and East Asheville open their studios to the public for free self-guided tours and the chance to meet the artists and view their work. This year, E.A.S.T. is a participant in American Craft Week (October 1-10), a celebration of handmade American crafts.

On October 9 and October 10, from 10am until 6pm, the studios will be open, and some artists will be doing demonstrations. There are more than 30 stops on the tour this time around, and you can visit as many as you like for free. All types of art will be represented, such as sculpture, drawings, paintings, wood, glass, fiber, leather, paper, metal and clay, photography, pottery, custom furniture, and more. This tour is a great testament to the fabulously eclectic mix of talented local artists we have in the area. We're very proud to be one of E.A.S.T.'s sponsors year after year.

If you miss this tour, no worries, the next tour has already been scheduled for May 7-8, 2011.

For more information or to download a tour map, visit www.eaststudiotour.com. Maps are also available at the Inn on Mill Creek.