Blowing Rock Real Estate-Boone Real Estate-Meris Gantt-Buyer's Agent

It's been a pretty eventful winter so far here in the Boone and Blowing Rock areas. We've had 3 snows so far that actually accumulated from 1-3 inches and even a little bit more in the higher elevations.

I have an extremely steep driveway so I'm effectively snowed in unless I want to park my car at the bottom of the hill and hike down in yak trax with a 3 month old baby. My husband teaches down the mountain and definitely has to park at the bottom in order to get out. I don't envy him at all. That's a long cold hike at 5:30 in the morning. Anyway, I'm not really complaining. Looking out of the window of our cozy one bedroom house at the snow covered mountains is enough to make up for a lot of the hassle.

Here are a few pictures. I find that taking snow pictures is a little like taking pictures of fireworks, it's hard to really capture, but that won't stop me from trying.

The ski mountains are most definitely glad that the winter is off to a good start. I haven't been able to get out and test the waters with my snowboard yet but I'm itching to go. Appalachian Ski Mountain opened a few weeks ago and has just opened up for night skiing in addition to day. Sugar is up and moving as well. Sugarfest is coming up December 13th and 14th. Activities include fireworks, music, ice sculpting, a snowball eating contest, ski clinic's with Olympic medallists and the Burton Rail Jam Expression session.

Another interesting highlight is that Hawksnest Ski Resort in Seven Devils has recently changed to a snow tubing only facility. Honestly I think it's a great idea for them to cover that niche. With 4 ski resorts in a small radius I think it's smart to do something different with one of them. I'll give a full report after I go there and check it out for myself...I can't wait!

There's plenty going on this time of year and it's a great time to visit. Choose and Cut is really big in the High Country. It's a great way to spend a day or weekend with the family. Come up, get a tree, have lunch at one of our eclectic restaurants and check out downtown Blowing Rock or the Shoppes on the Parkway outlets for some unique Christmas gifts. It's such a beautiful time of year here. Come and take advantage of it.

If you're in the Blowing Rock area and want a great half day moderate hike with a big pay off at the end, the Glen Burney trail is a great choice. Having lived in Blowing Rock for a few years, I knew about the trail but had never made the hike until recently. Depending on what kind of shape you're in, the trail is moderate to a little more than moderate. For me, hiking 3 weeks after having a baby, the trail was a bit much on the way back up, but I made it! The trail starts out fairly level, but the last third of it you're definitely hiking straight down towards the falls. The trail is 1.2 miles down to the Glen Burney Falls and then another .4 miles to the Glen Marie Falls. You end up descending about 800 feet below the town of Blowing Rock. There are several great places to have a picnic lunch and sit for a while to break up the trip.

The view really is breathtaking at the bottom but the thing that I like about this trail is that it's interesting the whole way not just at the end. There's a lot of history in this ancient trail that was used by the Indians as a hunting trail and then later for turn of the century loggers. The town of Blowing Rock restored the trail in 1989 making it the only remaining portion preserved in usable condition. The hike takes around 2 hours round trip and is definitely a worthwhile trek.

If you're hungry after the trip, you're in luck because you're only a stones throw away from some great Blowing Rock restaurants. Check out Sonny's Grill if you're in the mood for a great hot dog or hamburger. You won't feel under dressed in your scrubby hiking clothes.

In peak season there is never any parking at the trail head but it is just as easy to park close by downtown. For directions click here.

As far as what's happening in the Boone and Blowing Rock real estate markets, we've had a great summer and early fall. Much of the market has held up surprisingly well, but slower of course than in years past. The under 300K range for homes is still quite strong, and there's a ton of inventory, making it a great time to buy. In the past month or so, prices have started to soften. I'm hopeful now that the election is behind us, the current issues with the credit market will become the focus again, and the economy will make a turn-around. Let's all think positive!

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So when you live in a vacation destination such as Blowing Rock where people come to "get away from it all" where do you go to "get away from it all"? Well, the answer to that question this year was about 30 minutes outside of Burnsville, NC for my family. When I asked my Mom, "why Burnsville", she candidly replied..."well, none of us have ever been there before". Well, I guess that was good enough for me and the other 14 or so members of my extended family, all of who trekked from the far reaches of North Carolina and Virginia to the off the beaten path "cabin" that was big enough to house our rambunctious clan for a whole week.

My husband and I woke up with a burst of motivation one morning and decided to load up and drive the hour to Mt. Mitchell State Park. Mt. Mitchell is the highest mountain east of the Rockies. Living in North Carolina and coming to various nooks and crannies of the mountains all my life, I just assumed that I must have been there at some point. Turns out I hadn't, nor had my husband who grew up in nearby Morganton. We ended up having a wonderful day trip pretending to be tourists an hour and a half from home. We stopped at all of the overlooks on the parkway and took pictures of trees and butterflies. We set the camera to a timer so that we could have a pictures with both of us. We even bought the touristy blackberry jam at the little concession stand at the top of the mountain. It was a wonderful sunny day with the temperature at least 7 degrees cooler than when we set out at the base of the mountain.

The views were exceptional from all angles. The only downfall was that the observation deck at the top is currently closed for construction as it has been since March of 07'. Right now it's about 60% complete so it shouldn't be too much longer but I doubt they'll have it open before next spring. The good news is that you don't have to fight the crowds. The bad news is that, while you can drive up and have nice views from the main parking area and wilderness trails, you're not going to experience that huge unobstructed panoramic vista from the tip top.

All in all, definitely a worthwhile day trip even without the pinnacle. It's a pretty wild feeling to be up there, knowing that you're higher up than anyone on the eastern half of the United States. Getting there is a bit out of the way but the drive up is half the fun. Just don't pick a day where it's going to be cloudy or stormy . If you do you'll end up like the rest of my family when they decided to make the trip a day after we did!

Road construction always seems to take forever, especially when it effects your commute directly. In the case of bringing up the 4 lane from the bottom of the mountain in Lenoir all the way through Blowing Rock to Boone, they are taking on a truly monumental task that will make for a seamless commute if you're coming to our area from Charlotte or Hickory. If you see the construction on a regular basis, it's astounding to see the incredible work that's being done.

If I have my facts straight, the project was approved in 2004 and plans to be completed by 2014. Portions are nearing completion as far as Blackberry Road but the final phase into Blowing Rock has not yet been started.

The road will continue to be closed Tuesday and Thursdays from 12PM-2PM so that the workers can do a controlled blast and then clean up the rubble. There are also intermittent delays throughout the day, so you need to account for extra time when traveling.

There really isn't a good detour if you're trying to get around the construction other than to come to Boone from the 421 (Wilkesboro) side. Sampson road and Globe road are options but they are hard to navigate and travel unless you have a county map and 4WD.

The best advice I have if you're traveling to the Blowing Rock - Boone area from the South is to avoid the road all together during peak hours, be patient and realize that it takes a lot of time to move mountains.

Summer is in full swing here in the Boone/Blowing Rock area. Spring seems to be but a fleeting thought that appeared disappeared when you weren't looking. Temperatures have been in the 90's all week and everything is in full bloom especially our native gem the Rhododendron.

Area schools finally let out this past week. Doesn't it seem later and later each year? I know the kids feel that way. All of these signs point to the fact that the summer tourist season is in full swing.

If you're in the area, the Blowing Rock Stage Company is presenting The Immigrant "It is a beautiful play that truly captures the American experience of assimilation, tolerance and understanding. I think our audiences will see much of their own history in this play.” Says director Kenneth Kay of the play which is second in the company's summer season. Performances start June 13 and run through the 22nd. Call the box office at the Miriam and Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center for specific times and rates (828) 295-9627.

"Art in the Park" kicks off June 14th in Blowing Rock. The festival features local artists and vendors and it's right near the playground and shops. It's a wonderful way to spend a Saturday with the kids mulling around downtown. Everything starts around 10. I'd come early to avoid the mid-day heat and traffic.

This is the peak time of year if you're an outdoor enthusiast or just enjoy being outside. Try your hand at trout fishing in one of our many stocked streams. There are plenty of opportunities to go canoeing, kayaking or tubing. For guided tours check out Wahoo's for a range of activities and rates. Of course there are plenty of hiking trails all over the area for every skill level but that deserves a blog all to itself. More to come on that at a later date. There's also horseback riding, canopy tours or if you want to sit back soak it all in, grab an ice cream cone at Kilwin's downtown Blowing Rock and just watch the world go by.