This is a blog of my five-week exploration of culinary experiences in North Carolina. Baaswell Sheep is accompanying me and offering his own commentary on the trip, although he refuses to go into any place that serves lamb chops.
Select/click any image to see it at double (or more) the current size. Select/click on the large image or any part of the darkened area to return to the blog page. Note: Table of contents is now located at the bottom of the page.
After a grab-and-go lunch in the lodge room, we headed off to the Cradle of Forestry, but first a few pictures of the Pisgah Inn, where we spent last night and will spend tonight. It's a nice place, though a little pricey for what you get. I'm guessing the price comes more from the demand than from the quality of the room. That is, it's definitely a step up from the Peaks of Otter Lodge, but not so sure it's worth the extra $85 a night they charge over the Peaks of Otter rate. Interestingly, they don't have air conditioners in the rooms – just baseboard heaters. At this time of the year, it got a little bit stuffy in our upstairs room, but we left the sliding door open with the screen closed, and that seemed to work well enough for us. Of course, the lack of air conditioners made for peacefully quiet nights. The last picture below is the view from our room – gorgeous, isn't it?
It's probably not well known that the art and science of forestry in the United States got its start a few miles west of Asheville, all thanks to George Vanderbilt. When he built his colossal estate south of Asheville, he bought thousands of acres of woodlands to the west and employed experts of the time to preserve and manage them in ways that were both beneficial to people and ecologically sound. Those experts created a school of forestry, which is now the site of the Cradle of Forestry, a museum with outdoor walking trails that celebrates the school and forestry in general. One of the three trails takes you through the school "grounds", letting you see some of the buildings they used and the way of life of the instructors and students. A second trail celebrates more modern aspects of forestry, and the third serves as a serene contemplative walk through the woods. The museum combines more history with hands-on activities for the little ones to enjoy. It's a great way to spend an afternoon enjoying nature and learning about how to help preserve and manage it. Fun note: the sapling in the main post picture to the right is a "moon tree": the seed was one of many that went into orbit around the moon a couple years ago, and those seeds have now been distributed to be planted and grown into trees. The Cradle of Forestry already had one moon tree grown from a seed that went on one of the Apollo missions – now it has a second one.
Blue Ridge Parkway, US 276 to Graveyard Fields
When we got back up to the Parkway, my companion decided to see how far west he could go before reaching the closure. He'd thought it was right after US 276, but it was actually seven miles further, just west of the Graveyard Fields. We stopped there and he decided to go for a stroll on the Graveyard Fields Loop Trail, not appreciating just how long or how challenging it would be. I was wondering if I'd ever see him again, but he finally turned up, and in time to get us back to the inn for dinner. He saw the lower falls, but didn't get to the upper falls, citing a huge pond-like puddle in the middle of that trail followed immediately by a broken down bridge that he in no way trusted. The main post image to the right is of Looking Glass Rock, a large pluton of granite located a few miles from the Graveyard fields. When it gets wet or icy it becomes brilliantly shiny.
We returned to the upscale dining room at the inn and I let my companion have a chicken pot pie while I grazed on some stringed squash (yes, strange, and not my favorite way of cooking squash, but it was edible). We had the same very nice waitress we'd had the previous night, and my companion said the pot pie was very good. We were too stuffed for dessert, though, so we had to miss out on trying the French silk chocolate pie. Maybe next time …
Please note that all restaurant and product names are used simply for referential purposes and links provided as a courtesy. Reviews are the sole opinions of the reviewer: no restaurant has paid to be listed here, and no restaurant is being explicitly endorsed. In other words, go out there, try them all, and form your own opinions!
After a grab-and-go lunch in the lodge room, we headed off to the Cradle of Forestry, but first a few pictures of the Pisgah Inn, where we spent last night and will spend tonight. It's a nice place, though a little pricey for what you get. I'm guessing the price comes more from the demand than from the quality of the room. That is, it's definitely a step up from the Peaks of Otter Lodge, but not so sure it's worth the extra $85 a night they charge over the Peaks of Otter rate. Interestingly, they don't have air conditioners in the rooms – just baseboard heaters. At this time of the year, it got a little bit stuffy in our upstairs room, but we left the sliding door open with the screen closed, and that seemed to work well enough for us. Of course, the lack of air conditioners made for peacefully quiet nights. The last picture below is the view from our room – gorgeous, isn't it?
