WNC Nature Center (Asheville NC)

As many times as I have visited Asheville, I have never gone to the WNC Nature Center; I did today. It is an amazing place. There's a shady boardwalk with a lot of animals to see, and a reptile house with some cool snakes, turtles, and other reptiles.  They have gray wolves AND red wolves (which were hiding, but I did hear and see the gray ones howl at an ambulance going by!)  There are black bears, several birds of prey, including a great horned owl and a barn owl, a pair of cougars (which were not the least bit camera shy), otters, coyotes, and a lot more.  I really enjoyed walking around and seeing these animals.  A very enjoyable part is the little farm at the end, with donkeys and goats - kids seem to enjoy that part too!  I normally prefer to see animals in the wild such as they are in national and state parks, but I appreciate the conservation efforts of this nature center regarding the wolves and other animals.  I am so glad I went, I really enjoyed a beautiful day here.

The cougars were gorgeous and not camera shy

Coyote

White tailed deer

Gray Fox

Red Fox

Otter

Great Horned Owl

Beautiful, shady boardwalk

Turtle (duh)

The grounds are very nice; very lush and green

I LOVED THE FARM ANIMALS!

Animal Habitat at Grandfather Mountain State Park

Grandfather Mountain is a beautiful State Park.  There are tons of outdoor things to do; lots of hiking trails, picnic areas, gorgeous views of the mountains, the mile-high swinging bridge, a fudge shop (my personal favorite!), and this amazing animal habitat.  They have large black bears, a cougar, some otters, and a pair of bald eagles.  The habitat is very big and the animals seem comfortable in their large enclosures.  It's a great place.

The big cat was magnificent

Cute otters

Rosetta's Kitchen (Vegetarian Restaurant, Asheville NC)

There is NO better place to eat when in Asheville, North Carolina, than Rosetta's Kitchen on Lexington.  I rarely get anything different because the peanut butter tofu is my favorite thing to eat.  Delicious!

Mile High Swinging Bridge (Grandfather Mountain, NC)

It was the most picture-perfect day today at Grandfather Mountain.  It was a cold day, no wind, and not a single cloud in the sky.  Any other time I have been here, there is a lot of wind.  It could not have been better today.

This swinging bridge is a big draw here.  It rattles, creaks, squeaks, and swings in the wind. But, the views of the mountains from here are quite spectacular.

I attempted to get up there where those

people are, but nixxed the idea after 2 seconds!

This holds this bridge up

Some nice fall color on the mountain

Blue Ridge Mountains - spectacular views

Good Eats!

Southern comfort food!  Collard greens, black eyed peas, yams, cornbread, and cucumbers and onions at a fantastic restaurant in downtown Asheville called Early Girl Eatery (http://earlygirleatery.com/).  It's very vegetarian friendly, but serves a lot of meat selections tool.

A Reuben sandwich, with tempeh substituted for real meal.  DELICIOUS!

Blue Ridge Mountains

It was a gorgeous day to take a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway - lots of places for great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

At the higher elevations, the fall colors are starting to come in.

Such an impressive, beautiful dog!  He was huge!

Black Mountain Tailgate Market

Whenever I am visiting the Asheville area, I always make time to go over to Black Mountain to the Tailgate Market.  It's every Saturday (through the end of October, I think) from 9am to noon.  It's a great way to see local artist's creations, hear some good music, and buy locally-grown produce - there's a little of something for everyone.  Plenty of free parking.  After the market, it's always fun to walk around the small downtown area of Black Mountain.  I love this town.

Website for the Black Mountain Tailgate Market:  http://blackmountainmarket.org/

These guys were good!

This artist was amazing.  These were made out of copper.  The photo doesn't show it really well, but using heat the artists changes the color of the copper.  Each one was more beautiful than the next.

 The town of Black Mountain

Lots of shops selling cute stuff!

Town Hardware and General Store is a MUST-VISIT!  They have all kinds of stuff - things you could only find years ago.  I loved all the cute toys that were popular in the 70s.  It's a great store.  https://townhardware.com/

SO cute!