2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 6

At the beginning of this sixth week of Autumn in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we were enjoying the bright, sunny yellows of hickories, birch and some of the maples at our elevation (2,300 feet).

As the week has progressed, we've had quite the interesting weather pattern, including tornado watches! (Thankfully, the weekend forecast is calling for a lovely sunny weekend in the mid-60s.) The rain we did get was heavy enough to cause a lot of the yellow leaves to fall--early compared to the previous three years. Never fear, yellow leaf lovers, Mother Nature has left us with some standouts to enjoy this week, such as this golden beauty at the southern end of our property, which is still changing as of October 27.



With some of the yellows past peak now at our elevation, the oranges and reds are really shining through, as maples strut their stuff this week. Fiery red burning bushes are peaking (except for ours along the slope between the Main House and Lake House, which are still green!), and sumacs and oaks are giving us lots of red color as well, including the stunning scarlet oaks, but the maples are really stealing the show right now. These are trees near the southern end of our property:





Pretty magical looking, huh? Those were taken at dusk. And here's the road as you head toward the south end of the property, as of October 26:



This week, the road that brings you to our neck of the woods after you exit the highway provides a peak fall foliage view of a lovely area called Royal Gorge. This was taken on October 26, during the rainy weather:



As fall foliage season winds down, here are spots that have plenty of color to enjoy over the next several days:

• Biltmore Estate -- The views and the grounds at Biltmore Estate are still beautiful as the colors change around Asheville. Along with the rooftop tour we suggested last week, another activity you can do to get out there and enjoy the fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains is touring around the Estate's bike trails. You can rent bikes at the Estate or bring your own.
  
  
• McDowell County -- our county is an outdoor lover's paradise. Hiking trails (highly recommended: Catawba Falls), fishing opportunities and scenic drives are abundant. If you're interested in taking a scenic drive and learning about a neat connection being made between the history of handcrafts in the area and the present day, we suggest making some stops on the McDowell Quilt Trail. The Quilt Trail, a driving trail to see painted quilt blocks erected on homes, businesses (including ours!) and unique places, was established in September of 2009. There are more than 55 quilt blocks out there for you to discover.
  
  
• Point Lookout Trail -- this trail is a paved 3.5-mile greenway bike/walking trail that was once the old highway running through the area (Old Highway 70). The trail is named for Point Lookout, an overlook on the trail with views of Royal Gorge (part of Royal Gorge pictured above). The Point Lookout Trail is an east-west scenic leg of a "triangle loop", connecting the southwest end of our road (the unpaved portion of Mill Creek Road) and the southeast end of the paved portion of Mill Creek Road. Adventurous/athletic guests like to do the "triangle loop", which is 8.5 miles of varying elevation changes. However, the Point Lookout Trail is lovely all by itself. The woodsy eastern end, especially, can take on a surreal movie-set-like quality, especially this time of year with leaves drifting down all around you.
  
  
• Chimney Rock Park -- Our friends at Chimney Rock Park (a state park located about 30 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek), tell us that the fall colors at the Park are close to peak. Chimney Rock Park is part of the Hickory Nut Gorge/Lake Lure area, and usually has nice fall foliage well into the first part of November, so we're pretty sure we'll be recommending them next week as well.
  

Next week will likely be our last week of reporting fall color in the area for this year. See you then!

Biltmore Christmas Candlelight Tickets (2010)

Even though we're two months away from Christmas, the year is flying by and people are already asking about Biltmore Christmas Candlelight Evenings, which include evening tours of beautiful Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, decorated in all its Christmas splendor. The 175,000-square-foot home is dressed to the nines all throughout the year, but she really looks magnificent at Christmastime. It was Christmas Eve of 1895 when George Vanderbilt opened his home to friends and family for the first time, so it's a special holiday celebration that Biltmore continues to this day.

The 2010 Christmas at Biltmore celebration starts on Friday, November 5, and from then until January 2, you can expect to see the grand sights of the season, Biltmore-style: hundreds of poinsettias and wreaths, thousands of twinkling lights, miles of garland, and decorated trees around every corner, including an evergreen "forest" of trees and shrubs in front of the house and a 35-foot fraser in the seven-story Banquet Hall (a Biltmore tradition). Here's a cool time-lapse video from Biltmore Insider of the raising of the 2007 tree:



Dancers will be performing in the Winter Garden as well during Christmas at Biltmore. Additionally, you'll hear the sounds of holiday cheer, with storytellers telling Christmas tales, as well as carolers, choirs and musicians performing traditional songs.

The gated daytime admission price is $62/person during Christmas at Biltmore. Biltmore tickets purchased at the Inn are $50/person for our guests and are good for a free second day. Guests can purchase daytime tickets to Biltmore at any time, including during your stay. Biltmore Estate is located approximately 20 minutes west of the Inn on Mill Creek.

This year, we are proud to continue offering the chance for guests of the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast to add a Christmas Candlelight Evening tour, a $10 upgrade. Here are more details about Candlelight Evening upgrades through the Inn on Mill Creek (and we'll go over this with you when you make your request by e-mail or by phone - 828.668.1115):

1) We request a three-day advance notice in order that we can process your ticket upgrade directly with Biltmore.

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 with making reservations. Cedric's at Antler Hill Village is the only one of Biltmore's restaurants not taking reservations this season.

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 visit Biltmore during the day of your evening tour, as well as a full day after.

5) The $10 per person upgrade will be charged to your credit card when the tickets are processed, and the upgrade is nonrefundable.

6) Christmas Candlelight Evening tours available any date between Nov. 12 and Jan. 1, with the exception of Nov. 23, Nov. 25, Dec. 24, and Dec. 25.

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 5

Generally the fifth week of Autumn marks the very start of peak fall foliage time at our elevation (2,300 feet above sea level). From October 20 through October 31, the ridges sparkle as the color makes its way like a slow-motion waterfall down from the higher elevations to our neck of the woods. We're lucky in that the mountains have several weeks of color in various places, easy to get to and worth driving to with the fall foliage providing perfect scenery for your drive.



This fall, some spots at our elevation are peaking early or very quickly, while other places are still green or just beginning to show serious color. For example, the two ridges on either side of the Inn on Mill Creek, Bernard Ridge and Horse Ridge, have had completely different fall foliage patterns, with Bernard Ridge changing and dropping leaves much faster than Horse Ridge. The mountains of Western North Carolina have certainly had a unique year in terms of weather, and that shows in the fall foliage that we're seeing now.


Quite a mixed color palette this year!

Now on to what you'll see when you visit over the next several days:

Several of our guests have remarked (and we agree!) that the yellows in the fall color palette are particularly brilliant this year, represented mostly in our neck of the woods by hickory and birch. In our opinion, the oranges of sassafras, maples and early changing oaks are tending to be a bit darker than year's past, and coupled with the yellows really bring a warm glow to the mountains.


Sassafras along the Forest Service road near the Inn

The maples in Pisgah National Forest around the Inn on Mill Creek are just starting to really show their stuff, with several maples having changed only at the furthest tips of the branches. They should look beautiful during the final week of October. Rusty oranges and new reds join the already brick-colored sumac and sourwoods as maples and oaks start to turn.




A still-fully green oak...they are among the last to change

Our tulip poplars are hanging on, although this isn't the best year for them. They're doing much better than last year, providing some pretty yellows throughout the woods.

To maximize your color viewing over the last part of October, we recommend the following places to visit:

• Biltmore Estate -- Along with their stunning fall colors in the gardens at Biltmore, you'll see beautiful mountain vistas as you tour Biltmore House and the grounds. You can also take a guided rooftop tour, which is quite rewarding this time of year. For Biltmore's fall color report, visit www.biltmore.com/visit/house_gardens/gardens/fallcolor.asp
  
  
• North Carolina Arboretum -- The North Carolina Arboretum has over 430 acres chock full of gardens and nature trails. It has a 360-degree view of the mountains surrounding the Arboretum, making it one of those perfect places for a walk among the fall foliage on a bright, sunny day (of which we have no shortage in the North Carolina mountains).
  
  
• Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain, and Lake Susan in Montreat -- Just a few minutes from the Inn are two very pretty lakes, with walking loops around them and picturesque views of the mountains. Lake Tomahawk in particular has stunning views of the Seven Sisters, a line of seven peaks that overlook the town of Black Mountain.
  
  
• Mt. Pisgah -- Heading south on the Blue Ridge Parkway out of Asheville, you'll enjoy the fall foliage of Pisgah National Forest while making your way to Milepost 407.6. At the back of the parking lot is a 1.5-mile (one-way) hike to the summit of Mt. Pisgah. At more than 5,700 feet in elevation, you'll catch some gorgeous views of the mountains. And just beyond the Mt. Pisgah trailhead is the Pisgah Inn, a fantastic place for lunch or dinner. Keep in mind, the Pisgah Inn closes at the end of October for the season.

We'll see you in a few days for Week 6!

Blue Ridge Fiber Show

Here's a cool event that our guests told us about -- From now through November 28, 2010, the Western North Carolina Fibers/Handweavers Guild is sponsoring an exhibit featuring fiber crafts at one of our favorite places, the North Carolina Arboretum. On weekends, they'll also be doing periodic demonstrations of fiber artistry such as spinning and weaving.

See a list of exhibitors, categories, the demonstration schedule and more about the Blue Ridge Fiber Show: Inspirations from Nature at www.wncfhg.org/brfs10/brfs.html.

Also, check out Leigh's Fiber Journal for photos of the exhibit, such as this fantastic one:


Credit: Leigh's Fiber Journal

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 4

Closeup of crimson leaves near the Inn's orchard

What a difference a week makes. Glittering gold, amazing orange and stunning scarlet are washing down the mountains right now, coloring the ridges at 3,000 feet and higher. Portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway are peaking near Grandfather Mountain (see www.grandfather.com for gorgeous photos) and Craggy Gardens.

Here at our elevation (2,300 feet), we've enjoyed the past few days as the fall foliage speeds ahead, changing last week's green to a more varied color palette near Black Mountain and Asheville. Here's a photo taken yesterday at the Inn on Mill Creek:



At the Inn, Dogwoods and sourwoods are keeping their red leaves, with sumac and maples joining them. We're also starting to see a lot of birch and beech trees turning brilliant shades of yellow. Even some of the tulip poplars are more yellow than last year, when they were mostly brown (although their leaves are falling faster than the other trees).

Here's what you'll see this week when you approach the south end of the Inn's property:



This past weekend, we took the innpugs for a nice stroll on the pretty half-mile walking trail around Lake Tomahawk north of downtown Black Mountain. The sky was a perfect Carolina blue and the mountains provided a beautiful backdrop. We recommend visitors enjoy Lake Tomahawk for yourselves when you come to our neck of the woods over the next several days.





Another great place to see is Montreat, the charming town north of Black Mountain. Montreat is home to a lovely college and conference center, home to Rev. Billy Graham, and home to lots and lots of excellent hiking trails, including Lookout Mountain and Greybeard Mountain, both of which afford excellent views of the mountains in full fall splendor. Go to www.montreat.org/programs/wilderness to download a Montreat trail map (also available at the Inn).

Our Newest Kiva Loan

One of our Kiva loans, to Leonora in the Philippines, has been paid off (congratulations, Leonora!), allowing us to relend our money, and our latest loan is going to Marine in Armenia (pictured above). Marine is a young woman who lives with her three brothers and parents. She rents retail space for selling shoes -- cute ones -- which made choosing this loan so easy for Brigette!

Marine needed a loan to purchase new inventory, which will satisfy her longstanding customers, and will probably bring in new customers, too, helping her to grow her small business. We, along with 90 other lenders all over the world contributed to a microloan for Marine. It's always interesting to see where other lenders come from. Marine's lenders include people from our own stomping grounds of Cincinnati and Lorain, Ohio.

This is our 23rd loan since we bought the Inn on Mill Creek, and our second loan to a small business owner in Armenia. You can read more about our Kiva experiences on this blog.

Learn more about fighting global poverty by microlending to small business owners in developing countries at www.kiva.org.

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 3

A bit of color splashing through our "Dr. Suess" trees at the Inn

Welcome, October! Week three of Fall has begun and it's been fairly chilly in the mornings and evenings, so bring layers to wear when you come to visit us in the North Carolina mountains because while there might be a chill in the air during breakfast, the sunshine can warm up the afternoons into the mid-70s, making for perfect leaf hunting opportunities.

The cooler temperatures will hopefully bring about more rapid leaf color over the next couple of weeks. Green is still the dominant color at our elevation (2,300 feet) around Asheville and Black Mountain, but bits of color are being reported at elevations above 4,000 feet along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The trees currently providing an intro to this year's fall color show include the reds of dogwoods and sourwoods and the yellows of a handful of birch trees and tulip poplars. Many trees are getting lighter and will be letting loose with their colors over the next few weeks. We're also enjoying color from wildflowers and shrubs such as coreopsis, goldenrod and burning bushes, the latter turning a very vibrant red...just a taste of color to come.

With its beautiful panoramic views and varied elevations, the Blue Ridge Parkway is always a good option for early October leaf peeping. One of our favorite drives is scenic Highway 80 through McDowell County up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Head south on the Parkway and enjoy several overlooks as you gain in elevation on the way to Mt. Mitchell State Park, where you can then head a short distance on Highway 128 to the highest mountain in the eastern United States and catch some great views of the peaks below, or head further south on the Parkway to the Greybeard Mountain overlook at Milepost 363 and the Craggy Dome overlook at Milepost 364, both of which are at around 5,600 feet and allow for views of the mountains at the 4,000+ ft. range.

An Interesting Bird Day at the Inn

Our Eastern Phoebe, striking a pose

As many of you know, the Inn on Mill Creek is a site in the Mountains Region of the North Carolina Birding Trail, a state-wide driving trail of sites where people who love birds can do some quality bird watching. Thanks to our guest, Richard, we are also birding Hotspot on www.ebird.org (a joint project of Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology).

We see our fair share of birds here at the Inn; there are over 120 species of birds who make their home here at different times of the year.

This time of year in particular, we see lots of birds heading to their vacation homes in the south. One such bird is the Black-throated Blue Warbler. These little guys can be found hanging around our neck of the woods from Spring until Fall, before migrating south to the Caribbean for the winter (lucky birds!). To be honest, we hear them a lot, but they aren't the easiest to spot because they are small and like to stay in the woods.

So imagine our surprise when one flew into a window at the Inn. At first, we thought the worst, but it turned out he was just stunned. Brigette helped him gently back over toward the woods and waited while he regained his little legs under him, chirped a few times and headed back into the trees.





Not more than an hour later, Brigette was outside again and spotted our resident Eastern Phoebe, or rather, the Phoebe spotted Brigette. [That's our Phoebe at the beginning of this blog post...it's very photogenic.] This little bird has lived above the Front Porch door at the Inn for more than three years now, and it has become pretty social. You may remember the baby Phoebe incident of 2009. Well, ever since then, our Phoebe likes to follow us around sometimes.



This day, the Phoebe was puttering around the driveway (there it is, pictured above, keeping an eye on things) and then it decided to check out the swing that Dave recently installed. It's good to know the Phoebe approves of our newest project at the Inn!

Can you spot the Phoebe, perched on the back of the swing in the photo below? It hung out there for quite some time, wagging its tail like it always does.



If you enjoy birding, let us know when you visit the Inn and we'll give you a list of birds that you might see and hear while you're on the property. And be sure to check out www.ncbirdingtrail.org for more birding sites near the Inn on the North Carolina Birding Trail. Most are public sites, while others, like ours, is private and available to the public by appointment.