Tweetsie RailRoad - Worth a Trip Off Beech Mountain

Well, we visited Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, NC, again this year. It's only a 45-minute drive from our place up on Beech Mountain, and there's something about these wonderfully cool high country summers that makes taking the kids to an amusement park so much easier! I don't know about other parents, but spending the day in a loud, hot, gritty roped-off place in some parking lot, waiting in lines for tacky rides and jostling amongst sweaty crowds is not one of the experiences I was most looking forward to as a Mom. But as you know, unless you can afford a nanny or are prepared to finagle a solid schedule of Day Camp for the kids, mornings spent at charming boutiques and upscale cafes, followed by afternoons quietly relaxing before an inspiring view, no longer typify the bulk of your time while on vacation.

Thank God for places like Tweetsie Railroad! Yes, it has the photographer at the entrance, the carnival food, the cheesy tourist trinkets in the gift shop - and even some rides blaring rock music that appeal to the teenagers and others who have not yet learned to truly respect the laws of gravity and high-speed motion. But what they say about "Location, Location, Location!" is true. Nestled in the beautiful blue ridge mountains, where the temperatures stay reasonable in the Summer, and where beautiful views are all around, this is one amusement park I really don't mind visiting repeatedly. And the main attraction of the park is an honest-to-God steam engine, with real smoke, real soot and real cinders. Now that's interesting to see, feel and smell - no matter what your age.

Up at the top of the park (It's on a mountainside, so it's great for your calves, if you don't decide to avail yourselves of the chairlift ride) there are kiddie rides, a petting zoo, magic shows, etc. With Emily currently being 5 and a still too afraid of all the friendly cowboys and Indians wandering around down near the train platform, we do find ourselves spending more time at the top of the park. This visit, we brought a picnic (It was pretty easy for me to pop out to the parking lot and get our cooler from the car at lunchtime, since we arrived by 10 a.m. and consequently got a great spot up near the entrance.). We ate at one of the many tables scattered in pleasant shady spots throughout the park.

But when you've tried it all and have finally run out of steam, we love the peaceful trail through the woods along the backside of the park (downhill - that's important) along which we can meander back towards the exit, occasionally spotting a chipmunk or woodpecker, pointing out an interesting mushroom or wildflower, and discussing that amusing encounter with a goat or why the cheese in Mortimer Mouse's cheese mine glows in the dark (Oh, I'm not going to try to describe that one here. You've just got to go and experience that ride for yourselves).

Anyway, a great family day out. (But if you have a big family, it's worth scouting out some sort of coupons, as admission is a bit on the pricey side. After all, it costs to keep an old steam locomotive in fine working order.)

To find out more, visit www.tweetsie.com/

Smoketree Trail on Beech Mountain (just a few minutes' walk from the condo)

When we're up on the mountain, we take as many opportunities as we can to hike the trails. Sometimes, we have the presence of mind to take along a camera so we can share (well, tiny little photos oftentimes don't do it justice) the beauties of what we discover along the way.

So here are the notes we took and a few photographs from our hike last Summer. Unfortunately, we haven't been up yet this Fall, so I don't have any photos of the leafy splendor that normally adorns the trails after the first freezes.

Anyway, on that particular July morning, we left the condo around 11am, walked down Beech Mountain Parkway (gravel) to the head of Smoketree Trail. We followed that trail until it joined Smoketree Road, which ends at an intersection with Mill Pond, Wintergreen and Lower Snowbird. We followed Lower Snowbird to Pinnacle Ridge Rd. and back up to the condo arriving around 12:25pm. This stretch definitely got our heart rates going. The prettiest stretch of the whole hike was the part of the trail along Smoketree.

A picnic table along the trailSome Ghostly White Mushrooms - look almost magical

Smoketree Trail

The Trailheads on Beech are provided w/ very useful info boards by the Town

Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary: Now at Beech Mountain AND Banner Elk, NC

Tucked away along the banks of Buckeye Lake, right next door to the town's Recreation Center, is a place called the Genesis Wildlife Sanctuary. Founded in 1993, it is a non-profit, tax-exempt, all volunteer facility dedicated to the rescue, treatment, rehabilitation and eventual release (where possible) of injured, abused, or orphaned wildlife. All permanent wild animals at the Sanctuary have disabilities that prevent their release back into the wild. We make a habit of dropping by whenever we're up on Beech.

Recently, it came to our attention that Genesis is moving to a new location at at the base of Beech Mountain at Eagle's Nest in Banner Elk (still not very far away). Some very generous benefactors donated some land and a lot of money for new animal habitats. I learned from their director that the location on Beech Mountain will remain, but will mainly be used for training volunteers and housing their exotic animals.

We stopped in today and said "hello" to some of the Santuary's regular residents, as well as a few newcomers since we were last there. Sasha, the Great Horned Owl, is a favorite with us. His broken wing keeps him permanently at the Sanctuary. Owls are fascinating birds, and I always relish the chance to get a close look at one. Sasha seemed pretty used to visitors, and posed nicely for Alex's cell phone camera.

We spent a lot of time watching a trio of rather frisky raccoons, who seemed very anxious to get closer to us (Remember, though, no matter how cute the animals are, it's important to keep your fingers to yourselves when you visit. These are still very much wild animals.). And I was surprised to hear them making adorable little whimpering sounds, in addition to that characteristic raccoon purring/trilling sound that we're all familiar with.

Some of the other animals you can see at the Sanctuary include bobcats, squirrels, ground hogs, and all kinds of songbirds, to name just a few. Those they are able to nurse back to health are set free as soon as possible, and I understand that they enjoy a very high success rate in returning animals to the wild. It's amazing what they are able to do on donations and volunteer work, so be sure to contribute a little when you visit.

You can learn more on their website at www.genesis-wildlife.org

Up A Dirt Road: Simple Pleasures on Beech Mountain, NC

One of my favorite things to do up on Beech Mountain is to go off on my own for a nice walk. Not only is it great exercise (You're on the side of a rather large mountain, after all.), there is so much beauty laid out all around you that a simple walk up a gravel road is a mini-vacation in itself. During our July 4th week up here, we regularly enjoy sunny days with highs in the upper 60's (Yes, that's Fahrenheit, folks. In North Carolina! In July!) With weather like this, staying inside is just silly.

For this post, I thought I would take y'all with me on my walk along Raven Road, the entrance to which is right across the street from our condo's front door. It's gravel all the way, and a short portion of this walk takes you puffing up a seriously steep switch-back (which will make you feel much more OK about that generous slice of cheesecake you enjoyed last night). So, don't bring your walker. 'Nuff said.

However, pleasure like this is worth a little work. On either side all along the road you will be treated to lovely mountain views, sun-dappled forest clearings, sparking streams, and the occasional close-encounter with wildlife. One morning, I surprised a doe and her fawn (Well, perhaps they normally look surprised. They had to have heard me coming. I doubt that, crunching along as I was, I actually managed to sneak up on them.)
But even if you scare off everything that moves, it will be worth it; because . . . let's not forget the gorgeous mountain homes tucked here and there along the way.

One of the reasons I frequently choose the Raven Road route is because of a house - namely the Mill House. It is a very old house, complete with millpond and waterwheel - and I was lucky enough on this particular day to meet the owners (a very nice couple), who told me it was originally a magistrates house in Tennessee, rumored to have been visited frequently by Daniel Boone. Around 30 years ago, the structure was moved to the top of Beech Mountain, where it sits today, looking as if it has always been here.

The walk on Raven Road, connects up with a private road (but the gates are left open and rambling vacationers are welcome to pass through) and then Spruce Hollow Road, which takes you back to N. Pinnacle Ridge. And it's largely downhill all the way home from there, whether you follow Pinnacle Ridge back to your starting point or turn around and re-trace your steps. I usually turn back, and re-enjoy my personal little discoveries, like the two little gravestones marking the final resting place for someone's beloved dogs.

And then it's home again, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to rejoin the group. I always feel intensely lucky after the simple pleasure of a walk on Beech Mountain.

July 4th on the Mountain (Beech Mountain, NC)

Happy 4th Everyone! We spent ours up on Beech Mountain and dropped in to visit the 47th Annual Roasting of the Hog and Fireworks Display. This year, it was held at Ski Beech, and the turnout was pretty darn good. Alex snapped a photo of the crowds.


Due to the requirements of our little one, we didn't stay very long for the fireworks. (Little 5 year old girls, apparently, do not enjoy exploding things going off high in the sky above them - no matter how many pretty pretty colors are involved. Ah, well, live and learn.) So we resigned ourselves to missing the show and spending our evening just listening to it from a distance.

Much to our surprise, however, as we sat on our deck back at our condo, we got to watch about 4 different fireworks shows! All at the same time! And it was absolutely lovely, watching them all going off against the darkening forms of the mountainsides! And at least one or two of them were happening miles away beyond the Tennessee border! Pretty neat!

I wish I had had the presence of mind to try to photograph our view and catch some of those colors; but I didn't want to miss anything while running to get the camera. So words will just have to suffice.

Happy 4th to you all!