Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014 - 35

Cut Your Own Tree

It's fun to curl up by

Trekking to the North Carolina High Country to
discover the perfect Fraser Fir to take home and decorate has been a family tradition since my two teenagers were babies. Combining this habit with a winter
getaway makes sense because tree hunting puts us in
the neighborhood of some of our all-time favorite
places: Chetola Resort, Moses Cone Memorial Park
and Grandfather Mountain State Park.
Chetola is the Cherokee word for "haven of rest"
and Chetola Resort (chetola.com) carefully maintains the peaceful atmosphere the Indians once appreciated. The Blowing Rock resort has a mix of elegant,
upscale accommodations from the 42-room Chetola
Lodge to the eight rooms in the Bob Timberlake Inn
to a myriad of condominiums featuring one, two,
three and four bedrooms.
Rest and relaxation comes easy when we stay in
one of the well-appointed three-bedroom condos at
Chetola. It's fun to curl up by the fire, spend time in
the heated pool and hot tub, and admire the spectacular lights display around Chetola Lake in the front of
the 87-acre resort.
The Festival of Lights at Chetola kicks off at dusk
on Friday, November 28 this year and features a variety of illuminated displays including glittering ice
skaters, a nativity scene and Rudolph catching a "big
fish." The lights stay through January 25, 2015,
which is the date of the annual polar plunge when
participants don costumes, carry plungers, and jump
into the freezing lake.
We also make time to visit the quaint shops in
downtown Blowing Rock for some unique gift ideas
as well as hitting the trails for some winter hiking
around Moses Cone and Grandfather Mountain
before heading back to Asheville with a tree strapped
to the roof of the car.
And it just wouldn't be the same if we didn't stop
at Famous Louise's Rockhouse Restaurant on the
way back to sip hot chocolate and eat a slice of their
extraordinary pie. This restaurant straddles the lines
of three N.C. counties; Burke, Avery and McDowell
and is located just south of the Blue Ridge Parkway
at the junction of U.S. 221 and N.C. 183.
While North Carolina ranks second in the nation
for the number of harvested trees, there are chooseand-cut-farms throughout the region. To find one
near you (or one to travel to), visit the following links:
North Carolina: ncchristmastrees.com
Virginia: virginiachristmastrees.org
West Virginia: wvchristmastreegrowers.com
Tennessee: tennesseechristmastree.org
Kentucky: kychristmastreefarms.com
Georgia: gacta.com
Maryland: marylandchristmastrees.org
South Carolina: scchristmastrees.org

the fire, spend time in
the hea
ted pool and
hot tub, and admire
the spect
acular
lights displa
y...
To witness a really big tree making its grand
entrance for the holiday season, head over to
Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. on November
5. That's when a massive Fraser Fir (around 40 feet
tall) is brought to the front door by wagon and then
hoisted by a team of men to standing position in the
banquet hall. biltmore.com
Hiking in Crisp Mountain Air
As I write this article, I'm sitting on the patio of a
condo in a building named "Cumberland" at Chetola
Resort. I have an unobstructed view of Flat Top
Manor, the mansion Moses and Bertha Cone built.
Cone amassed his wealth in textiles and was known
as the "The Denim King." With 20 rooms and more
than 13,000 square feet of living space, the Cone's
home continues to turn heads. Today, it contains the
Parkway Craft Center, which is one of five shops of
the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Flat Top Manor
and the Craft Center close at the end of November
each year and reopen in March.
A leisurely hike from the condo to Flat Top Manor
takes about three hours round-trip. We follow Bass
Lake Road to the edge of Chetola's property and cross
over to a path that circuits Bass Lake. Instead of following the edge of the lake, we turn right on a path
that takes us to the Cone mansion. The wide, gravel
swath through the woods sees frequent horse riders
as well as walkers exploring the area.
Hiking in the winter months can afford even more
beautiful vistas because of bare branches. At
Grandfather Mountain State Park, in Linville, N.C.
they have a "Secret Season Pass," to give frequent
visitors a discount from November 1 to April 30. It's
open year-round weather permitting, with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
There are 11 trails at Grandfather ranging from
an easy path to rigorous backcountry treks that take
hikers over trails that use ladders and cables. If you
have a group of at least four hikers, you can arrange
for an interpretive ranger to lead you on a guided
hike. There is an additional charge for these hikes
to MacRae Peak, Attic Window and Calloway Peak.

Facing page:
A snowboarder churns
up the snow at
Cataloochee Ski Area
in Maggie Valley, North
Carolina.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 | 35

http://www.chetola.com http://www.biltmore.com http://www.ncchristmastrees.com http://www.virginiachristmastrees.org http://www.wvchristmastreegrowers.com http://www.tennesseechristmastree.org http://www.kychristmastreefarms.com http://www.gacta.com http://www.marylandchristmastrees.org http://www.scchristmastrees.org

Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2014

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