Getaway: Star Watch Tours brings night vision stargazing to Asheville

Star Watch Night Vision Tours creator Dawn Bankson sums up the idea behind her business pretty succinctly: “The ancients used to look up at the sky, but we don’t,” she explains.  At it’s core, that’s what Star Watch is, a chance to look up at the sky. Of course, Star Watch adds a small twist to that rather ordinary experience: $3,500 night vision goggles.

Get tubed

Tubing is an exuberant way to enjoy the beauty of the Appalachians on a hot summer day. Deep Creek makes for a combination of “lazy river” and rapids. Once on your tube, sit back, relax and put your feet in the water. The cold might be a bit of a shock at first, but you’ll […]

This weekend on a shoestring

It seems that Thursday is the new Saturday, and this week it brings film, gardening, music and the great outdoors. But don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of entertaining events to fill the rest of the weekend as well. Know of more budget-friendly happenings? Share them in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

This weekend on a shoestring

This weekend brings the spoken and written word, vaudeville and hip-hop for kids, free rock ‘n’ roll and plenty to do outdoors. So enjoy the comfort of cooling temperatures while your wallet rests safely at home. Know of other budget-friendly events this weekend? Share them in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

River getaway

Pack: a large cooler of all your favorite foods to grill and eat outside. (Cost: depends on your taste buds and stomach size) Drift: down one, two or more miles of the French Broad River, through the Biltmore Estate (with a view of the house), or past downtown. Be sure to put on sunscreen, paddle […]

Outdoors

Go: On Zip & Zoom, which combines a LaZoom bus tours and a Navitat zip-lining adventure. Zip: For three hours through the trees, just 20 minutes north of Asheville. As you speed through the air, the mountains in the Moody Cove area provide a beautiful panorama of Western North Carolina. Treehug: A tree. At Navitat, […]

Outdoors

The combination of a comedy-tour-on-wheels and an exhilarating joyride over the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains is surely an eclectic medley. Yet LaZoom and Navitat, both local businesses, mix together well. “We believe in strengthening the fabric of our community,” says Jim Lauzon, co-owner of LaZoom. He points out that Navitat shares similar visions of […]

Go forth for the Fourth

This year, the Fourth of July falls on a Monday, which means there’s a whole long weekend leading up to it. More days to practice your sparkler dance, select your red, white and blue outfit and perfect your grilling technique. Once you’ve reached your personal peak of patriotic perfection, you’ll need someplace to strut your […]

Mountain values

“Shindig.” It's a fun, if peculiar word, whose etymology, even after a couple of hundred years, remains suspect and mired in speculation. It's most likely of Scottish origin, the experts say, an alteration of “shindy” or shinty,” a hockey-like game once played by the Scots. Over time, the word has alternately come to be defined […]

JourneyAsh­eville: Appalachia­n Trail S.W.E.A.T. Crew


The “Smokies Wildnerness Elite Appalachian Trail” Crew is the “Delta Force” of trail maintenance on the AT. Operating strictly in the backcountry, they perform trail maintenance in areas that are beyond the range and ability of trail clubs. Here are few of the photos Jerry Nelson took, documenting the team’s latest work.
Photos by Jerry Nelson, JourneyAmerica.org

Getaway: Video of the Asheville Tourists at McCormick Field

Sometimes you just need a little Getaway — not a big-to-do, not a major trip, just a little escape. Here’s the next video in our Xpress Getaway series: the Asheville Tourists at McCormick Field. Since 1924, there’s been baseball at McCormick, and everyone from Lou Gehrig to Jackie Robinson, and from Willie Stargell to Cal Ripkin Jr. has played in this historic park.

Getaway: Play ball!

With two outs, runners at first and second are wary, anticipating a pickoff attempt. The Asheville Tourists are down by one run in the bottom of the ninth. Tourists right fielder Kyle Parker, once the starting quarterback for the Clemson Tigers, digs in and glares at the pitcher. The first pitch is a fastball, low […]

Getaway

You may not find vampires in Brevard, the county seat of Transylvania (“trans” for across and “sylvan” for wood). But there are attractions like Dupont State Park, Looking Glass Falls, John Rock, Davidson River, the Pink Beds and the Pisgah Fish Hatchery nearby. Such opportunities for adventure make this small town a near-perfect gateway to […]

VIDEO: Peek into Sandburg’s home and goat farm

Sometimes you just need a little Getaway — not a big-to-do, not a major trip, just a little escape. Here’s the first in our Xpress Getaway series: a tour of The Carl Sandburg Home, located just just 30 minutes away in Flat Rock, N.C. A celebrated poet and author with three Pulitzer prizes, Sandford lived at the home (dubbed Connemara by previous owners) for 22 years. Today, the home and the grounds are preserved as a National Historic Site by the National Park Service, and are open to the public. It offers a little hiking, a bit of a farm tour (goats!) and a peek at Sandburg’s office.