Category Archives: Nature
The Carolina Bed & Breakfast goes Mushroom Hunting!
April 8, 2013
What do violets, chickweed, dandelions, onion grass and May apples all have in common? They are all edible plants. And that fact is just the barest scratching on the surface of the things we learned when we went mushroom hunting … Continue reading
The North Carolina Arboretum
February 19, 2013
The creative team at Sparking Design are providing this week’s blog again. Since Susan and James , our wonderful Asheville Bed and Breakfast innkeepers, are off on a hiking adventure of a lifetime in Patagonia, we thought we’d tell you about … Continue reading
Tha Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs, North Carolina
January 24, 2013
You will notice that there are no pictures with this blog entry. Therein lies a tale, or rather the end of a tale. James and I are training for our hike around the circuit in Torres Del Paine, Chile in … Continue reading
Picnic at Max Patch
October 7, 2012
As I write this my computer monitor is framed by a dreary, cold, rainy view out the window behind it in our office at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast, our Asheville, NC Bed & Breakfast. So it is a pleasant … Continue reading
Dupont Forest and the Waterfalls Near Asheville, North Carolina
August 7, 2012
Here’s the thing about waterfalls: people love them. So if a waterfall is at all worth seeing there will probably be a parking lot close-by and a great many people enjoying the view. And if you can actually swim at … Continue reading
What to do with a Two-Day Pass to the Biltmore
July 22, 2012
When you travel to Western North Carolina you like many, if not most, of the guests who stay at our Bed and Breakfast in Asheville will probably spend at least one day at the Biltmore Estate viewing the majestic house … Continue reading
Tubing on the Davidson River in the Pisgah National Forest
July 16, 2012
It’s hard to believe that just a week ago we were all sweltering in 90 degree heat. It barely made it to 70 degrees here at our Asheville Bed and Breakfast yesterday and the rain made it feel like fall. … Continue reading
Birdwatching at Our Asheville Bed and Breakfast
May 25, 2012
Never in a million years would I have thought I would write a blog about bird watching at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast. But, like the garden centers in England which I was surprised to find myself happily visiting, sometimes … Continue reading
Fall Foliage in the Blue Ridge Mountains: Mt. Mitchell
October 7, 2011
> About a month ago I became a leaf spotter for the Fall Foliage Network. ( I have to be honest and tell you that it was because they would list the Carolina Bed & Breakfast on their site for … Continue reading
Graveyard Fields: One of the Best Hikes off the Blue Ridge Parkway
September 17, 2011
> The last hike James and I went on, to John Rock, was rated “more difficult” on our website of hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And while it was a wonderful hike with many changes in topography and altitude, … Continue reading
Climbing John Rock in Pisgah National Forest: Success at Last!
September 1, 2011
Monument at Trail Base Those of you who have been following our adventures in Asheville and Western North Carolina will know that James and I enjoy hiking but have had limited success so far in finding a really great … Continue reading
Hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains–A Cautionary Tale
June 30, 2011
> James and I often have guests at the Carolina who ask about hikes in the mountains near our Asheville, NC Bed and Breakfast, and we will sometimes send them to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Craggy Gardens. It’s a pleasant … Continue reading
Naturewalks in Western North Carolina
May 5, 2011
>Sometimes when the weather is especially nice here at the Carolina, James and I play hookey. Like Tom Sawyer we leave the paint brush in the paint can next to the metaphorical picket fence of housework at our Asheville North … Continue reading
A Day Off: Touring Western North Carolina
October 24, 2010
>Recently, one of our guests at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast told us about a great book called Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads, that contains a number of less traveled routes which one can take to explore the countryside … Continue reading
October in Asheville, North Carolina: Pumpkins, People and Chimney Swifts
October 5, 2010
>We turned the fireplaces on last night at the Carolina Bed & Breakfast in Western North Carolina. Isn’t that an interesting phrase: “turned the fireplaces on”? Considering the age of this house and that the original fireplaces were coal-burning, how … Continue reading
Zip-lining Adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains
September 25, 2010
>Drum roll please…this week Susan is actually letting me (James) write the blog for the Carolina Bed & Breakfast. My humble submission is in some ways related to last week’s adventure and hike through the Blue Ridge Mountains, only from … Continue reading
Recipe for a Perfect Day: Hiking off the Blue Ridge Parkway
September 18, 2010
>Take one perfect September day in Asheville, NC. Finish up your work early and drive over to Greenlife Grocery Store and buy the most awesome sandwich ever. Drive up Town Mountain Road past all those houses perched on the mountainside … Continue reading
>Climbing Chimney Rock
May 19, 2010
>It was another lovely day Sunday, and two of our daughters were visiting us, so after the guests left and our chores were finished we took off for a hike up to Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock State Park is about … Continue reading
>Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Asheville NC (Part two)
April 29, 2010
>This is the view from Dumont’s front door looking out over the farm, to the mountains in the distance. The stagecoach would come through the gap in the mountains and down to the inn where guests would spend the night … Continue reading
>Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Asheville NC (Part one)
April 29, 2010
>Recently we were fortunate enough to be invited out to Hickory Nut Gap Farm just outside of Asheville. The farm is a fifth generation farm, owned and operated by the family of our friend Dumont. The original house was built … Continue reading
>Where the Wild Things Are!
October 19, 2009
>Western North Carolina, and Asheville in particular, remains an area full of wildlife. Most recently the bears have been coming down out of the mountains and as far into town as the Visitors Center. The bears are not really interested … Continue reading
