Our RV Adventures

Today was our last full day in Asheville and we had one more ‘touristy’ place we wanted to visit.

But before we headed down the road we stopped for lunch at our new favorite restaurant, the Moose Cafe. 

There is kind of an interesting story about the large moose that greets you as you walk in the door.

Moose Cafe Moose

They don’t really know who gave it to them.  One day a stranger just showed up and asked them if they wanted it.  Of course, they said ‘Yes’!

When we first walked in the door and saw the giant moose, I just looked over at Jan and said “No, you can’t have it”!   I’d probably have to cut it in half to get it in the coach, and Jan already has her large moose footstool.

And another great meal was had.  Jan had the Chicken Pot Pie with green beans and baby carrots, and I had the Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and sliced cantaloupe.

After lunch we traveled about 75 miles northeast to Grandfather Mountain.  This is another one of those high, scary places that Jan really doesn’t like,  but I drag her to anyway, usually by telling her there’s a gift shop involved.

But the scenery on the way there was great too.  There are a lot of Christmas tree farms in the this area.  In fact, pretty much around every curve is another hillside covered with trees.

Christmas Tree Farm 1

Christmas Tree Farm 2

But before I could Jan to the top of the mountain, I had to deliver on the gift shop.  And I did it one better by also delivering…wild animals.

It was a twofer!

Along with the nature museum/gift shop about half way up the mountain, they also have a small animal habitat area, with bears, bald eagles, otters, cougars, and deer.

The bears were neat because you could buy bear food (Purina makes Bear Chow?) and feed the bears in their enclosures.  And they seem to love it.

Bear 1

If you look closely in this next shot, you can see he’s almost got the pellet in his mouth.

Bear 2

Feed Me!!!!!

Bear 3

 Here are some other pics.

Bald Eagle

River Otter

Cougar

Deer

After dragging Jan away from the animals and the gift shop, we headed another 1000 feet up the mountain to the top.

Grandfather Mountain is 5282 feet high with a 228 foot long swinging bridge crossing an 80 foot chasm between the two peaks.

It looks like this.

Mile High Swinging Bridge

 This next picture shows the overall view of the bridge on the far left that leads to the peak toward the right.

Mountain Overview

This picture shows what it looks like back toward the bridge from the cliff edge.

Cliff Edge

There is not really a path from the bridge.  You just walk/climb over the rocks.

And now for the amazing part.  I got Jan across the bridge!!

I was really proud of her.  I didn’t expect her to go the edge, so what she did do was great.

That’s Jan in green just to the right of the left hand vertical support.

Jan on the Bridge

And here’s a closeup.

Jan on the Bridge Closeup

And here we both are, thanks to a kind passerby.

Mile High Bridge

Before we headed back to Asheville we stopped at local produce stand and bought some fresh peaches and tomatoes.  As we left the stand Jan said she wanted to buy some day lilies as a gift and wanted to stop at a place nearby that we’d seen a sign for.

It turned out to be a private home surrounded by day lily beds. They even had their own bee hives for pollination.

They had 40 – 50 different varieties, including some rare ones that went for $30 – $40 a plant.  They had so many it was hard to pick.

And here are some pictures.

Day Lily 1

Day Lily 2

Day Lily 3

Day Lily 4

Day Lily 5

Day Lily 6

 By the time we drove the 75 miles back to our coach, it was almost 6:30 pm.  And since we had to drive right by the Moose Cafe,  it wasn’t a hard decision to also have supper there.

So we did.

Today was Biltmore Estate  day, the main reason we did a 500 mile jog in our trip up the East Coast to Nova Scotia.

It’s hard to realize how big this place really is.  The house is 175,000 square feet inside.  That’s FOUR acres!

It has a total of 250 rooms, with 35 bedrooms for family and guests, and 43 bathrooms.  It is/was the largest private home in the US.

It took about 6 years to build and was completed in time for its first party on Christmas Eve, 1895.

It was built by George Vanderbilt,  grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping  magnate.  No one knows exactly how much it cost to build, but it’s estimated to be about 10 million dollars, and that’s in 1895 dollars.

The Biltmore

The Biltmore Stables

The stables shown above are to the right of the main house.  I couldn’t get back far enough to get everything in one shot.

Originally, the Biltmore Estate consisted of 125,000 acres.  Now it sits on 8,000 acres.  The rest is now part of the Pisgah National Forest.

I was also amazed at the landscaping involved.  They used over 2 million plants to landscape the grounds. 

What I found even harder to believe was this view from the loggia (porch) at the back of the house.

View from the Porch

When the house was built in 1895 this view was of scrub brush and bare hills, with eroded gullys and fire-blackened tree stumps.

So Vanderbilt decided to have this area completely re-forested. 

They resculpted the hills for the rolling look you see today, and then planted 10 of thousands of large trees and 100’s of thousands of bushes and scrubs.

It’s  amazing what you can do if you have more money than you know what to do with!

After our tour of the house which took about 3 hours, we ate lunch at the Stable Cafe, which as the name indicates, is in the old stables. 

The stalls have been converted into dining areas with tables also out in the center.

The Stable Cafe

Our Stall at the Stable Cafe

The food was very good, with Jan having a Chicken Salad Sandwich with Sun-dried Tomatoes on a croissant, and I had the Harvest Turkey Sandwich with melted brie, arugula, and blackberry mustard spread on a panini.

In addition to the Cafe, the stables also houses several gift shops and guest services.

After we left The Biltmore, we headed out about 25 miles northeast to Chimney Rock State Park. 

Chimney Rock has been a tourist attraction since 1885.  Over the years paths,  staircases, and trails have been added to make access easier.

Finally in 1946,  a 198 foot tunnel was tunneled into the side of the mountain,

Tunnel to the Elevator

and then a 268 foot vertical shaft was blasted down from the top to provide an elevator to the top.

After taking the elevator to the top, the path leads thru the obligatory gift shop and then out on a walkway to the stairs that takes you up on Chimney Rock at a height of 2280 feet. 

Jan only made it 2270 feet, but I was really proud of her. She has a real fear of heights and I think she only does things like this to humor me.  She made it to the top of Chimney Rock, but couldn’t do the last 10 feet to the edge.  Honestly, I was really surprised she made that far.  After 42 years, she still manages to surprise me.

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock Closeup

From there you can see for 75 miles on a clear day.  Our day was a little hazy, but still a great view.

Chimney Rock View 1

Chimney Rock View 2

 After having ice cream at the cafe on top of the mountain, we headed home about 4 pm. 

A long day, indeed.