Asheville Makes List of Affordable Summer Road Trips

Asheville and western North Carolina are often on top ten lists (top ten cities for art, top ten places to retire, top ten cities for beer lovers, and the list of lists goes on, and on, and on...). Now, Asheville has been recognized as one of ten affordable summer driving destinations by weather.com. Specifically, they give a shout out to the Atlanta-to-Asheville road trip, which is just under four hours.

Of course, we wholeheartedly agree that the mountains of western North Carolina near Asheville and the Inn on Mill Creek make for a great driving destination, no matter where you're coming from...we've got bright blue Carolina skies, cool summer evenings and a lush green mountain landscape around every turn, plus Mother Nature doesn't charge for views like this one:

Green Knob overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Highway 80

Here are just a few free activities you can explore while visiting our area:

Mt. Mitchell State Park: Located on Highway 128 off the Blue Ridge Parkway an hour from the Inn on Mill Creek is Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern United States. Average temperature in the summertime is only 66 degrees, so it's perfect for a July or August afternoon.

Linville Falls: See our recent blog post about this magnificent waterfall off of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Highway 221 in Linville Gorge, about 45 minutes north of the Inn.

Catawba Falls: Cool off on the Catawba Falls trail that runs along the Catawba River to the bottom of a rather beautiful set of falls. The trailhead is 20 minutes from the Inn. Note the trail to the upper falls is currently closed.

Point Lookout Trail: Bring your bicycle or walk this paved greenway trail that stretches 3.5 miles along an old highway, just 5 minutes from the Inn. Point Lookout itself is an overlook along the trail with views of Royal Gorge:

Point Lookout on Point Lookout Trail near the Inn on Mill Creek

The Montreat Hiking Trail System: With 20 hiking trails, the town of Montreat provides a little something for everyone -- from trails to panoramic views of the Black Mountains to easy nature hikes through rhododendron thickets. Montreat is 15-20 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek, north of downtown Black Mountain. We have trail maps for guests.

Park Rythyms Concerts in Black Mountain: Every Thursday evening at Lake Tomahawk Park in Black Mountain, enjoy free concerts made possible by sponsors. See the schedule at www.bmrecreation.com/.

Free summertime wine tastings in Black Mountain: Every Wednesday evening, Merry Wine Market on State Street hosts free wine tastings, and every Thursday evening, you can enjoy free tastings at the Artisan Gourmet Market in the Village of Cheshire, just south of downtown Black Mountain.

Colonial demonstrations at Davidson's Fort: On the third Saturday of the month, Davidson's Fort in Old Fort provides the public with an opportunity to view activities that would have taken place in this part of the country during colonial times. See www.davidsonsfort.com/ for details about events at this living history site.

And don't forget, we also have discounted tickets to Biltmore Estate and discount coupons to Chimney Rock State Park. We hope to see you this summer!

The Beauty of the North Carolina Mountains

Happy weekend! Thinking about a trip to our neck of the woods but you're still undecided? Maybe this video of our gorgeous North Carolina mountains will help. We hope you can come see all this beauty in person. Check our availability and make reservations at www.innonmillcreek.com.



Kudos to the videographer, Jared Kay!

Our Latest Three Kiva Loans

With loan numbers 35, 36 and 37, we're on our way to meeting our goal of helping to fund 45 loans by the end of the year to small business entrepreneurs in developing areas through Kiva, a microlending non-profit organization.

Since March, our current borrowers have been steadily paying off their loans. In fact, 27 of our 37 borrowers have paid off their loans entirely, including our first loan of 2012 to the Torype Oñondivepa Group. So, with the funds back in our account, we're assisting with loans to three more Kiva borrowers:

Karina Sofia is from Colombia and with her savings, she bought an underperforming hardware store and turned it around by making improvements. Her loan will allow her to buy and resell construction materials, which is in high demand. So she'll be able to make her business even more successful.

Davit is a taxi driver in Armenia and many of his regular customers are vendors who travel long distances to buy their merchandise for resale. Davit also financially supports his parents, with whom he lives. What we liked about his loan request is that it's being used to convert his vehicle engine to work on compressed natural gas, which is eco-friendly and less expensive than gasoline, so he'll be helping the environment and reducing his business expenses. Win-win!

Our third Kiva borrower is a group called Duo Latino from Guatemala. In a group loan, the description talks about one borrower (the group leader), but the loan is split among the group members for each of their businesses and they are all responsible for paying back the loan. The leader of our group, Marta, makes and sells tortillas, and she has grown her businesses to where she has hired two employees in order to keep up with demand. She will use her portion of the loan to buy corn for making tortillas so that she can further expand her business and eventually open up another store.

We're hopeful we can meet our goal of 45 Kiva loans at the end of 2012. For more info on Kiva, check out www.kiva.org

Roaring Fork Falls near the Blue Ridge Parkway

Part of Roaring Fork Falls

Now here's a beautiful waterfall for you to see when you stay in our neck of the woods! On Memorial Day weekend, we took Csaba and Bugsy the innpugs on an afternoon of hiking to a very nice waterfall located just north of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Yancy County, off of scenic Highway 80.

About 40 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek is Roaring Fork Falls, which zig-zags over boulders on its way to a nice pool at the base of the falls. The hike to the falls begins to the right of the gated parking lot entrance of the Busick Work Center near the Mt. Mitchell golf course.

About a half mile along the trail (a grassy Forest Service access road)...

Forest Service Road/Roaring Fork Falls Trail

... you will begin to hear Roaring Fork (really a babbling brook), which is a tributary to the South Toe River. You'll also see the remnants of what look like picnic tables and shelters. This is a nice, shady hike, perfect for the summertime.

Lots of ferns and other shade-loving plants abound

When you see the little foot bridge, you know you're almost there.

Good stuff ahead!

Just across the foot bridge is a short trail marked by tree roots, which leads to Roaring Fork Falls. The falls are very long, but not towering, perhaps 35-45 feet high from the top to bottom as they cascade down the rocks. The zig-zag of the falls is what's really cool.

Zigging, then zagging

Close-up of the falls

Be sure to bring your camera -- Mother Nature has etched out quite a few great spots for photos (be careful if you walk on the mossy rocks).

Innkeeper Brigette and the Innpugs

To get to Roaring Fork Falls from the Inn on Mill Creek, take Highway 70 east from historic Old Fort and turn left on Highway 80. Highway 80 will take you 12 miles along a scenic route past Lake Tahoma and to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Cross over the Parkway on Hwy 80 and turn left after 2.2 miles, onto South Toe River Road. Almost immediately after crossing the bridge, turn left and go about a quarter-mile to the end of the road -- the road dead ends at the Busick Work Center and you'll see the trailhead on the right. Parking is available to the left of the gated entrance to the work center.