Welcome to Big Sandy Mush

Our home away from home for the month of July is the Big Sandy Mush, a secluded valley located about 15 miles northwest of Asheville. European settlement of the valley dates back to around 1800, but the mountains ringing the valley kept it fairly isolated. Generations of residents raised all their own food, kept cows for milk and meat, kept sheep for wool, and were extremely self-sufficient. One historical account I read suggested that the only items people regularly imported to the valley in the 19th century were coffee and salt (both great choices, obviously). The first road toward Asheville was constructed around 1890, and the first paved road didn’t exist until 1951. So despite being just 15 miles from Asheville, Big Sandy Mush retained its agrarian character well into the 20th century. Today, around a third of the land in the valley has been placed under conservation easements that limit the use of the land to agriculture, forest, and open space.

 

 

Our drive in and out of the valley passes through a bucolic landscape dotted with 19th century barns and filled with working farms with small livestock herds for dairy and beef, along with vegetable, herb, honey, and wine operations. The rural atmosphere is highlighted by the fact that we get waves from the drivers of virtually every car we see on the roads. We’re enjoying catching glimpses of bunnies and wild turkeys in the fields along with the well-fed bovines. It’s obvious to me that we gravitate toward places with unique character, and this valley has loads of it. Read more about it, and enjoy lovely pics of cows and goats, at the Farm Heritage Trail website.

 

 

We’re staying in a converted goat barn on a small organic farm, which definitely fits the vibe of the community, but our host is also a master woodworker and the home is graced with countless artistic details. So far our favorite things are the onsite chickens, the charming little pack of rescue mutts, and the amazing display of fireflies that we appreciate every evening. Ken and Ruth Ann became fast friends, and we made outstanding deviled eggs for 4th of July with farm fresh eggs. We are simply delighted by the feathery legs on our farm’s chickens and their pert expressions when we wander over to that side of the property. We normally buy organic eggs (the kind where the chickens have “sunlit porches” and the farm includes a newsletter about recent events featuring a hen of the week) but I have never felt so convinced of the high animal welfare quality of my eggs. We’re also enjoying the bounty from our hosts’ impressive organic vegetable garden. Having trails onsite to explore when we don’t want to drive to a trailhead is also a huge plus. Our rental is exactly as described on the AirBnB listing, so we are pretty pleased with the selection.

Hikes of the Week

Our main focus in Western North Carolina is to experience mountain hiking again, and our visit started off with several great destinations.

Art Loeb Trail

Since we haven’t done any mountain hiking or experienced any meaningful elevation in several years, we decided to start off slowly with a relatively short but extremely scenic hike from one of the trailheads off the Blue Ridge Parkway (a National Park Service unit). From the Black Balsam trailhead located southwest of Asheville, we hiked up to Black Balsam Knob and continued on to Tennent Mountain (similar to this hike except we continued out to the peak of Tennent). With a trailhead located at high elevation, and clocking in at around 4 miles, this hike was not too rigorous in terms of elevation gain or distance. But because the trail generally hugged the ridgeline, it was full of spectacular 360 degree views. As an added bonus, the trail was rimmed by blooming mountain laurel. Experiencing overcast conditions and 62 degree temperatures was an extremely welcome change from the intense heat we saw just last week at home in Florida. A heat index of over 110 degrees is no joke, and makes venturing outside fairly miserable. So far North Carolina is delivering much more pleasant temperatures, even though it’s a humid (and very green) environment.

Craggy Gardens

On a different day we explored the Craggy Gardens section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, located to the northeast of the city. This area is famous for its Catawba rhododendrons, but we were just a little too late in the season to experience the explosion of magenta and purple flowers. Still, the views from Craggy Pinnacle were breathtaking, while hiking through the fern-filled forest was magical. On our return trip we also stopped at the Folk Art Center along the Parkway to admire the huge array of crafts from local artisans, all members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.

 

North Carolina Arboretum

If there’s a botanical garden in town, you can be sure we will find our way there. The North Carolina Arboretum is part of the University of North Carolina system and located within the Pisgah National Forest adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway, so it’s a lovely example of successful partnership between state and federal agencies. There are about 65 acres of cultivated gardens along with over 10 miles of hiking trails. For me, the most memorable parts of the garden are the areas that are closely tied to local ecology and culture. The “quilt garden” is a seasonal display of colorful plants arranged within defined square beds in designs drawn from classic mountain quilt patterns. I thought the most interesting parts of the bonsai collection and the surrounding Japanese garden were bonsai creations using atypical NC native species like bald cypress and Virginia creeper. The gardens also featured a number of captivating metal sculptures ranging from abstract pieces to an homage to Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape design.

 

 

In addition to the formal gardens, the arboretum has an extensive network of trails of varying distances, including several that continue into the adjacent Pisgah National Forest. So after ogling all the pretty flowers and shrubs, we headed off to the woods for a hike that’s advertised in the garden map as a 4 mile loop. We basically covered this set of trails without the side spur to Lake Powhatan.

Friends in Flat Rock

We capped off a fantastic first week by spending a day in Flat Rock with friends Eric and Laurel (Raven and Chickadee). We met at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, where we strolled through the wooded trails and visited the working farm. Carl’s wife Lillian was a breeder of champion goats, and their North Carolina property was home to a thriving goat operation. We enjoyed seeing some of the descendants of the famous Sandburg herd, and Eric was happy to demonstrate that these goats are exceptionally amiable. After a delectable lunch at the charming Blue Ruby Bistro, we headed over to their new community to check out the construction on their new house. We loved hearing about their planned customizations and seeing the mostly-complete house, the very thoughtful community amenities, and their obvious excitement about the area. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that construction stays on schedule! I don’t want to share any spoilers, but we think the place is going to be absolutely great.

 

 

Here’s hoping that week two lives up to the high standards set by week one.