Monthly Archives: January 2010

Celestial Events for 2010

Posted on by
Reply

For our amateur astronomer guests (and space-loving Innkeeper Brigette), the Inn on Mill Creek is a great location to do some stargazing. Our bed & breakfast is located two miles within Pisgah National Forest, with virtually no light pollution. Much to our delight, the evening lights coming from our neighboring small towns of Black Mountain and Old Fort, North Carolina, are conveniently blocked by two ridges to the east and west of us, making for great opportunities to see planets, stars, meteor showers, the beautiful bands of the Milky Way galaxy (and even the International Space Station sometimes).

Continue Reading…

Chimney Rock Park Elevator Is Open

Posted on by
Reply
Great news from our friends at Chimney Rock Park: the scheduled improvements on the elevator to the Chimney are complete and the elevator has reopened to the public. The Chimney is a 315-foot monolith and the focal point of the park. From the parking lot, you can take the elevator up 26 stories, and then it’s a short walk and 44 stairs to the top of the rock, where you can see up to 75 miles. Lake Lure and Hickory Nut Gorge are really beautiful from the Chimney. Here’s a great photo from Chimney Rock Park’s website of the views:

Continue Reading…

Andrews Geyser in Winter

Posted on by
Reply

With the wintry temperatures we’re having (what we like to call hot chocolate weather), we were anxious to see how Andrews Geyser looks this first week of 2010. The Andrews Geyser was constructed near Mill Creek in Old Fort, North Carolina in the late 1800s as a memorial to the men who died building the railroad through this part of the North Carolina mountains, and as a fountain feature for a railroad resort called the Round Knob Hotel (which burned down in 1903). The sole reason for the existence of our private property inside Pisgah National Forest was to create a water source for the geyser, located two miles down the mountain. We have the dam and the valve that controls the water flow (neat, huh?).

Continue Reading…