Category:North Carolina

From SmokyMountainWiki

North Carolina Mountains is the mountain region in western North Carolina.

Contents 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 5 Talk 6 Travel 7 Get around 8 See 9 Do 10 Eat 11 Drink 12 Stay safe 13 Other

[edit] Regions

The far western portion of Western North Carolina includes the counties of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain, Haywood, Jackson, and Macon. Much of this land is covered by National Forest.

Counties just to the east of this group (sometimes called Land-of-Sky) include Buncombe (home to Western North Carolina's largest city, Asheville), Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania.

The northern counties of Western North Carolina are commonly known as the state's High Country. Centered around Boone, the High Country boasts the area's most popular ski resorts and is known for it's production of Fraser Fir Christmas Trees. High Country counties include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey (home to Mount Mitchell, highest mountain on the East Coast).

On the eastern end of Western North Carolina lie the counties of Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Polk, and Rutherford.

[edit] Cities

Over 10,000 population:

• Asheville - Scenic mountain city, known for its cultural establishments and liberal culture.
• Hickory
• Morganton
• Lenoir
• Hendersonville
• Boone - Home of Appalachian State University.
• Waynesville

Notable towns with fewer than 10,000 population:

• Murphy - The westernmost town of significance.
• Wilkesboro - Hosts the annual MerleFest music festival, the largest bluegrass and folk music festival in the United States.
• Blowing Rock - Beautiful village at the edge of the John's River Gorge.
• Weaverville - Large art community. Home of the annual Weaverville Art Safari and Art in Autumn art festivals.

[edit] Other destinations

• Appalachian Trail
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park

[edit] Understand

The mountains of western North Carolina are among the oldest on Earth, and contain the highest mountain (Mount Mitchell), deepest gorge (Linville Gorge), and highest waterfall (Whitewater Falls) in the eastern United States, and is also home to the oldest river in North America (the New River) and the two most visited National Parks in the country (the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

The region also has a stunning diversity of plant and animal life, more, in fact, than the whole of Europe.

[edit] Talk

You may hear natives speaking Appalachian English, a dialect distinct from Southern American English. This dialect is said to be one of the most maintained and well-concentrated dialects within the whole United States. People living in the Appalachian dialect area pronounce the word "Appalachia" as App-a-latch-ah, while those who live outside of the Appalachian dialect area or at its outer edges tend to pronounce it App-a-lay-csh-ah. If you visit the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee Indian Reservation), you may hear the native language Cherokee spoken.

Pronunciation examples:

• Creek is pronounced "crik"
• Greasy is pronounced "greezy"
• In is pronounced "eeyuhn"
• Pen is pronounced "pin"
• Wash is pronounced "worsh"

Vocabulary examples:

• Blinds- window shades
• Buggy- shopping cart
• Chaw- chewing tobacco
• Clean- entirely
• Directly ("dereckly")- soon, immediately
• Fixin- getting ready to do something
• Polecat- a skunk
• Reckon- think, guess, suppose
• Swan- swear, declare to be true
• Touched- crazy
• Yonder- further away than "here" or "there"

[edit] Travel

By plane, the closest airport to most of the region is the Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) located fifteen miles southeast of Asheville. The nearest regional airport to Boone is the Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) located between Johnson City and Bristol, Tennessee. The next nearest international airports are the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) in Greenville, South Carolina, Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in Charlotte, North Carolina, and McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville, Tennessee.

By train, the closest Amtrak [1] station to the region is in Greenville, South Carolina.

By car, two major Interstate highways cross the region: Interstate 40, which traverses east-west, and Interstate 26, which traverses north-south. The scenic Blue Ridge Parkway also runs through the region.

By bus, Greyhoundhas stops in Asheville and Waynesville.

[edit] Get around

[edit] See

• The Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, +1 828 274-6333,. George Vanderbilt's European-inspired chateau. The 8,000-acre estate features winery, restaurants, Inn at Biltmore Estate, horseback riding and more.

• The Carl Sandburg Home, in Flat Rock, +1 828 693-4178, . Daily 9AM-5PM. The famed poet and biographer spent his later years on this 263-acre estate with his wife, who raised prize-winning goats.

• Oconluftee Indian Village and Museum of the Cherokee Indian, in Cherokee, 1-800-438-1601. Sample the ancient Cherokee Native American heritage.
• North Carolina Arboretum, in Bent Creek, +1 828 665-2492,. Open daily. Features a visitor education center, greenhouse complex, gardens and loop trail on 424 acres. $6 per car.

• Wheels Through Time Museum, On U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley, +1 828 926-6266, Open daily April through November. For motorcycle enthusiasts, this 40,000-square-foot museum features 250 rare and vintage motorcycles and automobiles.

[edit] Do

Lodging Fishing

• Camping in Western North Carolina
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Chimney Rock Park
• The Biltmore Estate

[edit] Eat

Restraunts

[edit] Drink

Keep in mind that Clay, Graham, Madison, Mitchell, and Yancey counties are "dry", meaning no alcohol is sold within their borders. In most other counties in the region, if you want to buy liquor by the bottle you must do it at state-run ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) stores rather than at a traditional liquor store. The exceptions to this are Yadkin and Madison counties, which, though not "dry" do not have ABC stores. ABC store hours vary by county. The alcohol laws of North Carolina prohibit the sale of alcohol after 2AM Monday through Saturday, and from 2AM until noon on Sundays.

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Other