We did it again! With black fly season upon us, we packed up the Casita and hightailed it to North Carolina. You may have read about our trip last year in “To the Beach” and “To the Woods,” but this year we delved into Asheville more deeply and fell in love!
Once again we camped on Assateague Island in Maryland with the wild horses, on Ocracoke Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and we stopped off for the Memorial Day weekend at the home of our dear friends Vicky and John Boreyko in Chapel Hill (Go Heels!). It may seem like the same-old-same-old, but we learn new things every time. Did you know that the pirate Blackbeard liked to weave braids in his beard and tie them off with red ribbons? Such a dandy!
Lake Powhatan Campground
Our trip started with gray, drizzly weather (we even used the Casita heater on Assateague), but summer came in North Carolina, and we struck it rich in Asheville ~ sunny and warm.
We stayed at our absolute favorite campground, Lake Powhatan Recreation Area in the Pisgah National Forest. The sites are wooded and nicely spaced out, there are walking trails that lead to a lake with a swimming beach, we can plug in the Casita and hook up to water (luxury), and dogs are welcome. Sweet! It’s also super easy to hop onto the Blue Ridge Parkway with access to hiking trails and exhilarating views. The mountains unfold into one ridge line after another, progressing from soothing green to ethereal blue. Oh, my.
Looking Glass Rock from the Blue Ridge Parkway
Key to our success this year was finding a terrific hiking guide in the ginormous Asheville Visitor Center. This town really knows how to roll out the welcome mat.
Not only did this guide book provide us with all the practical information we needed, it also inspired us with lovely figurative language. Take, for example, this suggestion on the description of the Falls of the Yellowstone Prong trail: “Climb a bit to find Upper Falls, an impressive frothy ribbon dancing down a stone slope.” Did we go there? Of course!!! Here’s Todd photographing the falls:
We also hiked the Flat Laurel Creek Loop, including 6,000′ Sam Knob. (Sounds like much more of an impressive feat than it was. When beginning hikes off the Blue Ridge Parkway, you get a huge altitude head start!) Here’s what the guidebook said: “The gorgeous valley, covered in a mingling of grasses, meadows, wetlands, and forests, presents a continuous canvas of Southern Appalachian highland beauty.” Hell, yah, we wanted to go there, and we weren’t disappointed!
Parts of the hike seemed much like New Hampshire (yep, we’ve got bears in our neighborhood, too!), but then we’d run into a thicket of vibrant Rhododendron growing in the wild, or Mountain Laurel bursting with blossoms. We were definitely in the South.
Lexington Glass Works
We had hiked outside of Asheville in previous years, exploring the fabulous waterfalls of the DuPont Forest and making the obligatory trek up Looking Glass Rock, but we had only grazed the surface of Asheville itself. This trip we arranged our days so that we hiked in the mornings and explored Asheville’s art scene in the afternoons. The Visitor Center provided us with maps of both the River Art District and the Downtown Art District. There are more than 50 art galleries in Asheville, featuring local artists and craftspeople as well as art from afar. We thoroughly enjoyed the twenty or so galleries that we visited.
We also used a brochure from the Visitor Center to guide us on the “Urban Trail and Public Art Walking Tour” downtown. One of the sculptures was of cats on top of an historic brick retaining wall. I especially liked the wardrobe addition on this pussy cat.
Throw in a yummy dinner at Buxton Hall Barbecue and we were happy campers. (The fried chicken sandwich with pickles and white barbecue sauce is renowned for good reason!) We headed home from Asheville looking forward to summer in our White Mountains and lakes of New Hampshire (our favorite place in all the world), happy knowing that Asheville will be waiting for us next year with many more beautiful hikes, unique art galleries, and authentic Southern barbecue eateries to discover. Here’s the sticker we added to the Casita:
You sure make that an inviting place to add to my list. So happy it was fun and happier that you’re home and we can go jump in the lake. etc. etc. xo
This is ridiculous that you have been to Asheville more than have!!! Got to get there one of these days. It was SOOOOO much fun to have you visit and we are counting a return next May! But first – looking forward to a reunion with you and the lake other Squamazons!