Travel
A Living Tradition: Original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis
A shop that has its own zip code is sure to stock something for everyone.
Life
Mr. Smith’s Tree Goes to Washington
This year, one lucky Fraser fir from Avery County is headed to the White House. There are hundreds of contenders on Larry Smith’s tree farm, and he grooms each one to be a star.
Home & Garden
The Everything Root
A cure-all to many, wild ginseng is still hunted and sold in Blue Ridge counties. Protecting it takes vigilance, know-how, and, sometimes, even a stakeout.
Western
A Perpetual Harvest
Filed away in card catalog drawers in a Watauga County library, packets of heirloom seeds await planting. And with every seed comes a story.
Sports
Life Lessons Learned Through the Elements of Archery
Archery is a skill that can take a lifetime to master. But its biggest lesson is also the simplest: By pulling back the bowstring, you learn how to let go.
January 2015
Blowing Rock Snowman Creates Winter Magic
Even when there are no clouds, Steve Stanley, mountain manager of Appalachian Ski Mountain, makes so much snow that sometimes surrounding roads are coated with the stuff.
Western
In Search of the Brown Mountain Lights
Are the mysterious lights people have seen around Brown Mountain a natural phenomenon? Extraterrestrial orbs? Shared hallucinations? An elaborate hoax? Regardless of their origin, the legend continues to grow with each successive generation – year after year, night after night.
Drink
Banner Elk Winery
Vintners transform High Country grapes into award-winning vintages in the mountains of Avery County.
August 2012
Sunflowers to Share
At Biltmore Estate in Asheville, most features are purely for presentation. But a few plots of plants have a second purpose.