An employee of Malaprop’s (in my opinion one of the finest bookstores in the Blue Ridge) told me about the Asheville Urban Trail – a jaunt of a different kind. Its 1.7-mile length meanders along downtown streets, taking in 30 sites where various pieces of public art interpret the city’s history.
The outing begins at the Asheville Art Museum, where bronze turkeys and pigs evoke the city’s earliest days and I learned that Asheville was originally called Morristown.
“How about 30 by 3:00?” I ask my wife Elaine as we launch from the Hartzog Ford Road low-water bridge.
“Aren’t you just a tad optimistic?” she poses back.
On many rivers, Elaine would b...
"Into whose hands will the future carry this estate?"
--William Field, gentleman farmer, philanthropist and friend of George Vanderbilt, in a letter to his mother, 1896
I have a confession to make.
Until last Christmas, I had never been to the Biltmore...
Below is a list of pet-friendly locations in North Carolina, as referenced in the 2007 Blue Ridge County Almanac:
T ravel the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway from Highlands to Almond in Western North Carolina and make your choice. Enjoy a peacefully scenic drive through the Nantahala Forest and pass the byway’s namesake waters. Or, stop along the way for whitewater rafting...
The Fool in the Woods, aka Blue Ridge Country editor in chief Kurt Rheinheimer, is back with more great woodland information and secrets, this time reporting on how Virginia's Devil's Marbleyard was formed.
See Kurt's Hikes Blog.
