Archive for the 'Things to Do' Category
National Doughnut Day in Haywood County, NC!
June 6th, 2008 Categories: Community, Eat Your Way Through Town
Wondering where you can go to celebrate National Doughnut Day today in Haywood County, NC?
Whitman’s Bakery on Main Street in Downtown Waynesville is a good place to start. Read my article about Whitman’s Bakery and their fresh-baked goodies right here.
Ingles Market also has a very tempting case full of doughnuts (among many other things) and, now, a Starbucks to get your Mocha Java with an extra shot to wash down that glazed sugar doughnut… or two. Ummm, I can smell those fresh, warm, naughty doughnuts right now. Ingles contact information: here.
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Picturing the Elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
May 30th, 2008 Categories: Things to Do, Videos and Slideshows
A 20 to 30 minute drive from Maggie Valley, NC down 276 (”J Creek”), depending on your speed, will bring you into the midst of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Even on a rainy day, the Park offers spectacular sights to behold. Lucky for me, Bob Grytten took his photography rookies to the Park this past Wednesday!
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
See more slide shows.
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Trout and About in Western North Carolina.
May 18th, 2008 Categories: Things to Do
Summer is the time for festivals and craft fairs in Haywood County, NC and many surrounding areas. Here are a few that caught my attention.
Next weekend (May 24 - 25) you can join the fun and festivities at the White Squirrel Festival in Brevard, NC. Hours are from 10 - 6. There’s even a White Squirrel Blog!
Also next weekend, in Avery County, is the Ramp Festival. By the way, ramps are a wild, mountain onion, garlic flavored, found only in the higher elevations of the mountains.
Dillsboro’s Arts & Music Festival is scheduled for June 14, 10 - 5 in beautiful ‘downtown’ Dillsboro.
Maggie Valley’s Great Smoky Mountain Trout Festival is scheduled for June 21, and features delights such as trout dinners, barbecue, hand-churned ice cream, and kettle corn. Games for young and old alike, arts and crafts, and wildlife demonstrations are scheduled.
Folkmoot USA is an international music and dance festival based in Waynesville, NC and this summer is the 25th-year anniversary celebration. Some 400 performers from 12 countries will take to various stages during the 12-day event from July 14 through 27 in Waynesville.
Cherokee, NC celebrates the indigenous history and rich heritage of culture and art during the Festival of Native Peoples July 17 - 19. While you are in Cherokee, be sure and see how many bears you can find! See the ones I found here.
The Annual Coon Dog Day Festival (July 5 in Saluda) sounds like fun for a holiday weekend outing.
And don’t forget to visit Ghost Town in the Sky while you are in beautiful Maggie Valley.
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Finding Your Aperture Priority and Lady’s Slippers in Lake Junaluska, NC.
May 15th, 2008 Categories: Community, Things to Do
Treasures and adventure abound in Haywood County, NC. Two of Haywood County’s, and my, favorite treasures are a gifted artist and nature photographer, Bob Grytten, and the Corneille Bryan Native Garden in Lake Junaluska, where Mr. Grytten, lucky for me, took his photography class yesterday.
Bob Grytten, Nature Photographer, Artist, Teacher
Bob Grytten is a Waynesville, NC artist and published nature photographer (Bob Grytten, Photographer, Googled) who also finds the time to teach photography. Not only does he teach you, among many other things, to see the ‘light’ in capturing images, he takes you to places you might not find on your own (I speak for myself), like the Corneille Bryan Native Garden, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where the elk do roam.
Mr. Grytten’s photographic images (photo credit Bob Grytten) are represented by Burr Gallery on Main Street, Waynesville. You can reach Bob at Bob Grytten Images, PO Box 1153, Waynesville, NC 28786, via email at BobGRY@aol.com, or by phone (828-627-0245).
I hear some of the furniture he makes can be seen, and purchased, from Twigs & Leaves Gallery located in historic downtown Waynesville.
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
The Corneille Bryan Native Garden, located [hidden] in the Lake Junaluska community in Haywood County, NC, is a quiet sanctuary containing native wildflowers and foliage. Aren’t the Yellow Lady’s-slipper blooms (Cypripedium parviflorum (Cypripedium calceolus), in full regalia yesterday, beautiful (even with the date stamp)!
See a few slide shows.
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Bear Alert in Cherokee, NC!
April 27th, 2008 Categories: Things to Do, Videos and Slideshows
Last week I drove ‘over the mountain’ from Maggie Valley, NC to Cherokee, NC, which takes between 15 to 20 minutes, and is quite a spectacular drive, climbing up, around and through the winding roads carved precipitously out of the mountains, right down into Cherokee.
Driving past Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, on the way to ‘mine’ for gold and rubies (always on the lookout for a Dairy Queen), there were bears everywhere! I did not find all of them due to time constraints, but click here for the story of the Bear Project in Cherokee, NC to go along with my slideshow (below) of some of the beautiful bears that were in my direct path.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
While in Cherokee, be sure to visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
On your way back to Maggie Valley, visit Ghost Town in the Sky which reopens for the Season on May 2nd!
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Spring in Maggie Valley, NC… or is it?
April 12th, 2008 Categories: Things to Do
Spring in Maggie Valley, NC is always beautiful, and the weather is refreshing, warming up a bit, and sometimes unpredictable. Today (April 12th) our temperatures have been in the high 60’s all day, but our weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow predicts lows in the 20’s and the possibility of snow on Monday! What?
I have a blanket of pink ‘pebbles’ which are petals from the 2 ornamental crabapple trees I have in my tiny front yard. The trees are in pink
splendor today, hiding those pesky squirrels who empty out my bird feeders every day.
Soon I’ll have my spring visitors again, and I am hoping to see the mallards again. I have a possum living under my deck who survives on cat food and scraps I leave out at night, and occasionally 
a skunk visits. The chipmunks haven’t appeared yet, but soon they will be scurrying about my yard, digging holes.
Luckily the bat that I found in a wreath on my front door didn’t stay long. Unaware that he had roosted in my wreath, I slammed the door by accident and only noticed him because when the door slammed he was disturbed and had to climb back to his spot and the movement of his long ‘arms’ caught my eye. He left that night and hasn’t been back. That’s a good thing. 
My fledgling magnolia tree has blooms and buds already. It is in need of a gardener.
It is a beautiful time of year to visit Maggie Valley. Soon the log homes perched on the mountains will be hidden by the beautiful green foliage.
See a Maggie Valley, NC slideshow.
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Enjoy the ‘Wild Life’ Around Maggie Valley, NC.
April 9th, 2008 Categories: Things to Do
One of my favorite adventures living here in Maggie Valley, NC is riding out to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to see the elk herd which has been reintroduced to the area over the past seven years, and is growing. The best times of day to go to see the elk are early in the morning or late in the afternoon. One of my favorite trips to see the elk was with my photography teacher/class early one morning last August. The beautiful elk photo to the right was taken that day (with a telephoto lens) by Bart Boeckler, a professional photographer who was attending our class. He should be teaching. Since meeting him, he is my photographer of choice for listing photos, etc.
Favorite Elk Facts.
- What makes the elk antlers fall (”cast”) off? Since testosterone levels regulate the ‘cement’ that holds the antlers tight, when the testosterone levels drop in the spring, after mating season, the bull elk shed their antlers.
- New growth starts, and a covering called ‘velvet‘ protects the antlers and carries blood to the growing bone during the summer, and is shed and rubbed off in August when the bone stops growing.
- Most calves are born in early June, and their spots are gone by the end of the summer.
Read the January 2008 GSMNP Newsletter.
Trips to watch the elk should include a cooler filled with drinks and snacks as it takes 30 - 45 minutes from I-40 to get into the heart of Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, where you stand the biggest chance of seeing the elk. When visiting the park and the elk, please note the special instructions below:
“Do not enter fields to view elk—remain by the roadside and use binoculars, telephoto lens, or a spotting scope to view the animals.”
Directions to see the elk.
If you are traveling on I-40, exit #20, go 0.2 mile toward Maggie Valley, then turn right onto Cove Creek Road and follow signs 11 miles into Cataloochee Valley. Allow 30 t0 45 minutes to reach the Valley once you exit I-40.
Visit the Smoky Mountain National Park website ‘elk’ page, and read more about the elk and their reintroduction into the Park.
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Should you develop more of an interest in the elk, and want to be more involved and informed about them, please join the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. I did!
“In 1984, four hunters from Troy, Montana, founded the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to guarantee a wild future for North America’s grandest game animal.”
An upcoming event to support the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is the Great Smoky Mountains Big Game Banquet in Cherokee on July 26, 2008, just 20 minutes over the mountains from Maggie Valley, NC.
See a Maggie Valley, NC slideshow.
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Where in Waynesville NC Can You Shop for Coffee, Antiques, and Get Tattooed ‘Where the Sun Don’t Shine?’
April 8th, 2008 Categories: Things to Do, Videos and Slideshows
A few blocks from downtown Main Street along Richland Creek in Waynesville, NC you will find a quaint area called Frog Level which is in the midst of a welcome spurt of revitalization, development and entrepreneurial activity. Originally developed as a train depot back in the 1800’s, Frog Level is now ‘hopping’ with new entrepreneurs, and you can now enjoy freshly-brewed coffee, shopping, a massage, visiting the Waynesville Welcome Center, as well as getting a tattoo if you are so inclined!
Here are some ‘charming’ Frog Level sights. A water garden store would be a great addition, don’t you think?
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
See a Maggie Valley, NC slideshow.
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Get ‘the Scoop’ at Jude’s Coffee & Creamery in Maggie Valley, NC!
March 24th, 2008 Categories: Eat Your Way Through Town
Wondering where to find and devour a delicious, extra-ordinary ice cream cone in beautiful Maggie Valley, complete with wi-fi hot spot, fresh coffee and easy parking? Whether you want to lick it, drink it, or drizzle it, you will find a delicious, wide and wild assortment at Jude’s Coffee & Creamery. No small cups with wooden tongue depressors here!
Far Out Flavors Galore!
Stop by with your laptop, pick out a few flavors of Hershey’s Ice Cream, like: Fried Ice Cream - a fiesta of honey caramel sauce and crunchy cinnamon sugar tostada pieces in a cinnamon caramel flavored ice cream, or Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel Ice Cream, or Honey Bun Ice Cream - vanilla ice cream swirled with cinnamon struesel, loaded with delicious sticky bun dough (to name a few), and sit back and enjoy your treat while surfing the free internet access (”Yes, I am at the office….”) and of course the wide-screen TV at your disposal.
Jude’s Coffee & Creamery is located at 1130 Soco Road, Maggie Valley, and the phone number is 828-400-8500 in case you want to know what flavors Jude is ’scooping up’ today. You can also email Jude at jude@zentmeyer.net at your convenience.
I’ll meet you there!
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Easter Weekend at Lake Junaluska, NC.
March 21st, 2008 Categories: Things to Do
If you are in town for Easter, don’t miss the festivities at Lake Junaluska, featuring the Easter Bunny, Rhett Langston (on the left), Director of the Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department, and Jimmy Carr, Executive Director of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church at Lake Junaluska.
“The events will include an Easter egg hunt for children ages 1-3, 4-7 and 8-12. There will be over 4,000 eggs hidden at the event and a special visit from the Easter Bunny will delight children of all ages.
The Haywood County Arts Council Volunteer Guild who will sponsor the Lake Junaluska Easter Egg Decorating Contest as well as other crafts. Prizes will include tickets to local attractions and donations from local businesses, as well as other prizes.
This is the first year the Waynesville Recreation Center will partner with Lake Junaluska for this Easter event.”
Read more about the festivities here.
Read about other local Easter events.
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