Zip across the mountains

The Raleigh News & Observer has an article today about the ziplining offerings in the High Country. While the article focuses on Scream Time Zipline near Boone, it should be noted that Hawksnest in Seven Devils claims to be the longest zipline course on the East Coast.

"Slicing through trees and across a mountain valley hanging from a steel cable, it's hard not to feel like a 21st century Tarzan, with more clothes and less arm strength," writes Katelyn Ferral.

"Ziplining offers all the perks of being a tree-swinging jungle man, and one of the longest and most unusual ziplines in the country is in the Appalachian Mountains, three hours from the Triangle."

"... There are at least 15 zipline attractions throughout the state, mostly in the Piedmont and the mountains. They fall into two categories: standard zip line tours, where participants fly on cable connected to poles on the ground, and canopy tours, where the wire is suspended from aerial platforms in trees. ..."

Tons of performances coming up in the High Country

We always love to promote the great things going on in the High Country. This latest update is no different.

Here are a few of the great performers coming:

• K.D. Lang
• Dierks Bentley
• The Manhattan Transfer
• Chita Rivera & Ben Vereen

And those are just a few of the great things going on this summer "up there."

Seven Devils SafetyFest is July 2

We won't be able to make it, which is a shame: sounds like a nice time.

On Saturday, July 2, the town of Seven Devils will host its eighth annual SafetyFest Bar-B-Que Dinner, Raffle, Craft Show & Silent Auction, according to the Mountain Times.

All are invited to eat-in at town hall or stop by for a carry-out. Dinners include pork barbecue, roll, baked beans, cole slaw, drink and dessert. Adult dinners cost $7; children's (under 12) are $5. Meals will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The craft show will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and there is still room for more crafters. Silent auction items will be on display at Seven Devils Town Hall, starting Monday, June 27. Bids close at 2:30 p.m. on July 2. Raffle winners will be announced every hour, with winnings including a 32-inch HD television, Kindle Reader and more. Raffle tickets are available at town hall.

Linville Falls, Pappy's, Art in the Park and more

The family spent a wonderfully-relaxing weekend at Our Mountain Place -- even though we had a few touch-ups and chores to do for the place. Still, we found ample time for fun stuff after marking the must-do things off our list on Friday night. That left plenty of time for the "want-tos."

On Friday, we went on a little hike around Seven Devils -- something we hadn't done before. We checked out some new roads, some new homes and even saw the resort and lake. We even saw some chipmunks!

We then went into Blowing Rock where we saw some great Art in the Park -- right before the rain got us. We managed to buy a terrific aluminum photo print from Jerald Winter. (Ironically, the print we got was for Our Beach Place. Go here and see if you can see it. It's photo 12 of 20.)

We left Art in the Park and did some shopping before heading over to Pappy's in Banner Elk for dinner. It was awesome. Charity and I both got pulled pork platters, with Texas toast. I got the beans (some of the best beans I've ever had) and fries. She got sweet potato fries and corn. The girls even loved it -- there's a bit waterwheel in the back to watch!

Sunday we got up and headed to Linville Falls (hopefully photos to come) to do some hiking. We were actually there for several hours which, with a 2- and 4-year-old, we were quite impressed. Linville Falls is as pretty as ever, and the weather was great. Once again, we got out just before some rain.

Anyway, we once again made a video to show some of the additions to the house, which we have dubbed "Honey Bear House." You can view it in the video below. Warning: the video quality is not great. And neither is the narrator. So sue me.

You could never get bored

Here's a nice look at some upcoming events to the High Country. Don't miss out on these awesome happenings! Horse shows, concerts, art ... the area has it all!

We plan to personally make it to Blowing Rock's Art in the Park at some point, and Grandfather Mountain is always a winner!

It is finished!

Well, the place in Seven Devils is completed! We have dubbed it "Honey Bear House." Check out the photos, and let us know if you want to rent it out!



The living room.


The Master bedroom.




Exterior



The basement or "Bear's Den."



Bedroom No. 2

The brand-new kitchen!

Return to Mitford coming up in BR

Jan Karon wrote her very successful Mitford Series books while a resident of Blowing Rock, so it makes sense for the town to celebrate her and the books.

Mitford Days will be held June 2-5.

If you love Jan's books as much as we do, you won't want to miss being a part of Mitford Days in Blowing Rock, a four day celebration of the Mitford books. Events include afternoon tea with Jan Karon and characters from the books, luncheons with Jan Karon, guided Mitford trolley tours, a lecture by Jan Karon, readings by Father Tim and much more! And - because many of the events are fundraisers for our Hayes Performing Arts Center per Jan Karon's request, a portion of the proceeds from the some of the events are tax deductable. Come! Support the Arts and Mitford!