Asheville, North Carolina

We spent late June, July, and August on a beautiful mountaintop called Goldview Knob overlooking Asheville, North Carolina. We could see the French Broad river in the distance. The Campfire Lodgings campground was a wonderful place to spend a summer. We heard that spring and fall are even better times to experience the beauty of North Carolina. There's lots of space between sites and great views. Each space has a fire pit and a picnic table. Hiking trails lead off into the woods.

 
We met many interesting people including a new friend who you might see on the Weather Channel now and then. Annette's parents came to visit in July and Ben came to visit before leaving for a year in Costa Rica. Ben with his guitar and a neighbor with a banjo had a jam session that fit perfect with the Smoky Mountain backdrop. Besides our people friends, we also had lots of animal visitors including a set of cute raccoon babies.
 

North Carolina Exploration
Annette's parents visited in early July and we spent a day traveling up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We enjoyed stops at the Folk Art Center, the tourist town of Blowing Rock, and Boone. We also took a sidetrip east to do some genealogy and spent a day at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Carol Sandburg Home National Historic Site

We spent one day traveling to the Holmes Educational State Forest near Hendersonville and the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina. The Holmes Educational State Forest contains some great hiking trails. Later, Larry took Ben back to explore the Carl Sandburg Home. Ben was particularly interested since he attended Carl Sandburg Elementary School in Illinois.
 
Carl Sandburg was a well-known author, poet, folksinger, and lecturer. His wife was known for the goats she raised on the farm. Goats are still raised on the farm. The historic site contains a house, barns, pastures, orchards, ponds, and walking trails.
 

Chimney Rock
During Ben's visit to North Carolina, we took a day trip to Chimney Rock. This private park provides trails, waterfalls, a famous rock, as well as great scenery. Rather than taking the easy way with the elevator, we decided to take the hike to the top. The hike involved climbing steep stairs through the "Needle's Eye" and walking along a cliff. You might recognize the cliff on the left below from the movie Last of the Mohicans. We stopped for lunch at the top of the Hickory Nut Falls. From the trail we could see Chimney Rock from various angles. After a hard afternoon of hiking, we stopped at the concession stand for ice cream.
 
Biltmore Estates
We enjoyed our visits to the Biltmore Estates. When we visited, they were filming the movie Hannibal. Larry and Ben went earlier in the month, while Annette was in Pennsylvania. Then, Annette and Larry went before leaving Asheville. They visited the house and grounds. In addition, they checked out the winery and had Sunday brunch.
Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 7/01.
Updated 5/02.
 
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