We arrived Tuesday at Lake Powhatan in the Pisgah National Forest just outside Asheville, NC. There is some debate as to the pronunciation Powhatan; some say it is Po-wat-hon and others said it was Pow-hat-an. Supposedly the locals use the former, including the host's wife while her husband insisted it was the latter. Pisgah is pronounced Piz-ga. Even as we left on Saturday the host couple in the kiosk at the gate were still arguing as to which was correct. We're not certain but feel we should follow the old maxim: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Powhatan Campground is a USFS campground with a number of sites containing full hookups, This is the first USFS campground we have ever encountered with full hookups. It was great to have that luxury here and the campground was very pleasant.
It is actually Lake Powhatan Recreation Area covering many acres and lots of trails for hiking and biking, Being this close to the city makes it very popular to hikers and cyclists.
Widely spaced and private sites.
The lake is small and a walk from the campsites but not far.
This is the fishing pier on the lake.
Wednesday we got back on the Blue Ridge Parkway to go to the Folk Art Center a few miles back. Lake Powhatan is just off the Parkway.
As photography isn't allowed in the center the following five photos are from the internet.
This quilt is displayed inside, at the entrance to the center. The picture doesn't begin to do justice to the actual quilt. Each block was completed by a different person and each block displays a particular landmark or treasured aspect of North Carolina. The quilt itself celebrates 75 years of the Blue Ridge Parkway and is beautifully done.
The center had some beautiful items for sale, all produced by local artists.
Quilts lined the walls and were also for sale at prices I sure couldn't afford!!! It was fun to get ideas though.
On Thursday we planned to go to the Biltmore Estate but by the time we found our way there it was later in the day so we purchased tickets for a guided tour on Friday. In trying to locate the estate we had selected Biltmore Estate on our GPS and it directed us to the courthouse in downtown Asheville. Next we looked up the address which was listed as "One Lodge Street" and the GPS only recognized "1 Lodge Street". When we arrived at Lodge Street it didn't look right so Linda tried mapping it on her phone. This time we were led to a gate of a private residence. Back to Lodge Street and after more searching we found the entrance. Later we saw signs pointing us in the right directions but they were very high above the street and not very noticeable. Maybe it was just us!
Friday we arrived for our guided tour about an hour ahead of time so we could visit the grounds until tour time.
The Biltmore home is the largest home in the United States. Again no photography was allowed inside the home so you will have to visit it to see the inside. Like the Vanderbilt cottage, "The Breakers", in Newport, RI, which had platinum on various wall coverings, no expense was spared here either. Compared to the Biltmore , The Breakers truly was a "Cottage".
The Italian Garden.
The original estate encompassed 125,000 acres and extended 40 miles beyond the ridge you see in the next two photos.
The center of this terrace was once a swimming pool but as it didn't get much use it was filled in and used for outdoor events.
Ready to enter and take the tour.
Guess who went here. No not the Stable Cafe. I went to the Ice Cream shop when that person came out to go with me.
We wound up spending a lot of time running around for needed groceries, supplies and locating a forwarded mail package. All in all still a good stop on our trip.
Saturday morning we moved on the Charleston, SC
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