Sunny November Day at Biltmore Estate

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

Standing on the South Terrace looking toward the Library Terrace

Early November in the mountains of Western North Carolina can be, in a word, temperamental. Different elevations can see different weather. For example, the higher elevations such as Mt. Mitchell (highest peak in the eastern United States) saw several inches of snow earlier this week! We had cool temps with some rain and even some snow flurries at our elevation the first part of the week, which was the earliest we remember it snowing since we arrived in 2007.

2012 Foothills Arts & Crafts Holiday Show

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

It’s always a treat to see the work of our talented local artists up close, so we were really excited to hear that two of our local artists’ groups — the Arrowhead Artists and Artisans League (A3L) and the McDowell Arts Council Association (MACA) — will be hosting the first Foothills Arts & Crafts Holiday Show on Saturday and Sunday, November 17-18, 2012, at the Corpening Memorial YMCA in Marion (25 minutes east of the Inn on Mill Creek).

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 5

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

View from Point Lookout Trail near the Inn, October 27, 2012

It looks like this will be our last fall color report for 2012…Frankenstorm arrived in the mountains of Western North Carolina earlier this week and blew many of the leaves to the ground at our elevation (2,300 feet). We had some really strong wind gusts as a result of Hurricane Sandy and the winter storm system that decided to overlap and bring crazy weather to the Eastern U.S., but we were fortunate and only lost two apple trees and our power and phone service for the day. Our guests and innkeeper friends who live in areas affected by this week’s weather are foremost in our thoughts — hope everyone came through the storm OK!

2012 Biltmore Christmas Candelight Tickets

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

[Photo Credit: Biltmore]

When we mention to guests that Biltmore Estate in Asheville decks its halls with bows of holly for the Christmas season, we’re talking 175,000 square feet of halls, living rooms and dining rooms and gathering rooms, bedrooms and more, completely decked out in Christmas grandeur. When the annual tree raising ceremony at Biltmore Estate happens (at 10am on November 1 this year), it’s a 35-foot Christmas tree for the seven-story banquet hall inside Biltmore House, which also happens to have a massive fireplace that’s actually three fireplaces in one. Santa definitely has his choice of chimneys to come down at Biltmore — there are 65 fireplaces in total.

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 4

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

The road to the Inn on Mill Creek, October 20, 2012

Welcome to peak leaf peeping week at our elevation (2,300 feet). This is one of the best autumn color shows that we’ve seen in a few years here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The fall foliage started out mostly yellow, with hickories, birches and beeches, and now the maples and sassafras are giving us rather striking orange and red hues, and the oaks are now starting to turn as well. Peak colors typically happen at our elevation sometime between October 21-31, and for the past several years, it has been on the later end of that timeframe. This year, Mother Nature decided to switch things up and make it a little earlier.

North Carolina Mountain Birds: Pileated Woodpecker

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

Our 12 Months of Birding series continues this month with the Pileated Woodpecker. The Pileated Woodpecker is a large bird who lives year-round in Pisgah National Forest that surrounds the Inn on Mill Creek. In particular, they love the woods just behind our fruit orchard and if you sit on the swing at the Inn for a little while, you can often hear their bold, striking calls, which match their striking looks. (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology defines the Pileated Woodpecker’s call as “whinnying”.)

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 3

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

As we say in the mountains of Western North Carolina this time of year, what a difference a few days makes! Color is rapidly spreading throughout elevations from 5,000 feet down to 2,500 feet, and 2012 is shaping up to be quite a spectacular year for fall foliage!

Geocaching: International EarthCache Day is Oct. 14

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

For those of you who, like Innkeeper Brigette, are addicted to geocaching, you may have seen that Sunday, October 14, is the 6th annual International EarthCache Day. There are more than 23,000 EarthCaches and some of them are located close to the Inn on Mill Creek!

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 2

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

The second week of October in our neck of the woods near Asheville and Black Mountain, North Carolina, is usually one of those weeks where the color will either slow down or speed up, a week when a few wind gusts may knock down the “early changers”, leaving those trees with bare branches while others are still mostly green, and a week when the air feels noticeably crisper but sunshine can make the days bright and warm in the afternoons.

American Craft Week, October 5-14

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Inn on Mill Creek

Art in the Park [Photo Credit: Asheville Art in the Park]

American Craft Week, a celebration of handmade craft work, takes place October 5-14 this year. Here are some ways you check out items handcrafted by our local artisans and craftspeople:

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Sunny November Day at Biltmore Estate

2012 Foothills Arts & Crafts Holiday Show

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 5

2012 Biltmore Christmas Candelight Tickets

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 4

North Carolina Mountain Birds: Pileated Woodpecker

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 3

Geocaching: International EarthCache Day is Oct. 14

Fall Color in the North Carolina Mountains: Week 2

American Craft Week, October 5-14