Explore Murphy North Carolina

If you are looking for a great family and friend event this Labor Day weekend, join the Highlander this Saturday, September 5th, at the 9th Annual Heritage Walk and Festival.

We feel truly blessed to be able to travel throughout the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and have the privilege to share what we find with you.

This week's feature is on Cherokee County North Carolina, with two significant towns, Murphy and Andrews, beautiful mountains, recreation for all ages and plenty of great mountain relaxation. Cherokee County has a tremendous amount to offer those looking to getaway to the mountains and for those looking to move or invest into the mountains.

The Highlander would like to announce the first in a series of new Explore the Mountains web sites, ExploreMurphy.com is a work in progress and we will be constantly updating and adding new features. These sites will be an excellent way to keep in touch with your favorite mountain towns, events and special offers. Visit one of the fine establishments on ExploreMurphy.com and pick up one of our new maps of the area, they are fun and they are free. Check it out and send us feedback.

Murphy is a great destination with a revitalized downtown and an eclectic selection of specialty shopping. One of the many features of Murphy is their nice selection of restaurants with creative and gourmet menus that you won’t find in most small towns. You will also find a creative coffee house that roasts their own organic free trade coffee.

Cherokee County is rich in history and culture and is surrounded by beautiful mountain vistas. If you are looking for recreation, you will find 2 lakes, 3 rivers, hiking, biking, camping, fishing and boating. Cherokee County is located between the Ocoee River Gorge and Nantahala River Gorge offering plenty of white water adventure for all ages and skill levels. Not to mention 2 popular scenic drives, Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway, both close by.

Cherokee County is a very creative community and has a nice selection of artists and craftspeople.   John C. Campbell Folk School is a tremendous asset to Cherokee County and offers festivals, events and classes throughout the year.

Read more about Murphy and Cherokee County and you will want to visit this special mountain town.

Spring is just around the corner....

Although it is quite chilly this morning, there are signs of Spring everywhere.  Not only are we seeing the early Spring flowers peaking out of the ground everywhere we look, our neighbor which gets more sunlight than we do, has flowers on his daffodils.  

This morning, I heard the most beautiful song bird right outside my kitchen.  I looked outside trying to see what type of bird it was, but couldn't find it.  We have a large variety of birds on our property, often we have a wonderful nature produced concert going on.  

This past winter was colder than any we have experienced in the last few years, but it is almost over and we are looking forward to Spring.  We live in Cherokee County and this winter has brought us a lot of rain which we are very thankful for.  It  should do wonders for the watershed of North Carolina bringing great photo opportunities throughout this coming year.  We would love to hear from others throughout the mountains about what is happening in your part of the mountains.

We are in the process of updating the 2009 Events and Festivals on the Highlander, take a look at the ones we have on line and plan a trip to the mountains.  If you know of any other events or festivals that should be listed on the Highlander for all our readers to learn about, please take the time to let us know at publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com.  Thousands of readers come to the Highlander every day looking for things to do in the mountains and we would like to help them find what they are looking for.

We will be posting our latest community profile this week on Rutherford County North Carolina, home of Chimney Rock  at Chimney Rock State Park.  We found a lot of great places to explore in Rutherford County and wonderfully friendly people which made our trips there very special.  So keep in touch to read about all the great things we found in our visit.  

We have our 2009 Easter trip planned.   We are excited to be going to the Sunrise Easter Service on the top of Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park.    We are excited and really looking forward to experiencing this one of a kind event.  We are told that seeing the sun rise at the conclusion of the ceremony is awe-inspiring. We can't wait, come join the Highlander for this very special event.

Write to us publishers@theblueridgehighlander.com and let us know what you would like for us to cover this year in the Highlander, we want to be your source of the "Best the Mountains Have to Offer.

Hope, Faith and the Light

The Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains are a very special place.  A place where you can visit or live away from the hustle, bustle and stresses of today's confused world.  I am not saying that the mountains aren't feeling some of the same issues as the rest of the world.  But I don't think we are feeling the issues as severely as the rest of the world.

We feel truly Blessed to have the privilege to publish the Blue Ridge Highlander.  It has always been our goal to inform, entertain and inspire our readers and hope you take the time to explore the Blue Ridge Highlander and find the peace the mountains have to offer.

In our quest for this year's Christmas Tale, we were quite perplexed because of the current times. 

Mrs. Highlander recommended an abstract thought for me to ponder on..."There is light at the end of the tunnel" a cliche, but one with meaning, and something we do believe....please read on....and gain your own sense of Hope, Faith and the Light at the end of the Tunnel.

For those of you that haven't read last years Christmas Tale, I know that you will enjoy it after reading this year's tale. This Christmas tale is several stories in one, our purpose is to take you back to the true essence of Christmas.

Please take the time to forward links to our story to all those you know that would benefit from the inspiration of the writings.  I also invite you to post comments about the story.  We have gotten a lot of great emails regarding the story and love to hear from all of you about how the stories made you feel.

Checks out our list of Christmas Events in the Mountains.

Below are a couple of our featured events, the first one coming up Saturday, December 13th.

December 13th, 2008
Santa is rappelling down Chimney Rock to get ready for his Christmas Eve trip.

December 20th, 2008
Christmas for the Kids at John C. Campbell Folks School

We will be reporting on this event in our next newsletter, coming out next week.

Enjoy the Holidays and Count your Many Blessings

God Bless Us All....Mr. & Mrs. Highlander

Fall Festivals and Butterflies

We just got back from a great mountain road trip to Chimney Rock and we had a wonderful time. We always meet so many interesting people. We have a lot of great new features coming up in the Highlander, so be sure to sign up to be notified of new additions, new communities, adventures, festivals and events.

In the meanwhile now is the time for Festivals and Butterflies, join us in the mountains to enjoy the Best the Mountains Have to Offer. If you haven't already, take time to read our feature story on the Migration of the Monarch, it will lift your spirits and start you planning a mountain journey of your own. Nature's Pilgrimage...the Migration of the Monarch... The autumn season begins their celebration of life as they pursue a natural innate spiritual sense that drives them along a pilgrimage that will eventually carry them across a continent. 

Coming up this weekend, on Saturday September 27, 2008 you won't want to miss the Foxfire Heritage Festival at Dillard City Hall.  Come join Foxfire for old fashioned fun, food, crafts and music.  You will see basket making, woodworking, broom making, coppersmithing, blacksmithing, Native American jewelry, stained glass, canoe carving and so much more.

Admission is only $4.00 and the proceeds go to benefit the Foxfire's Local Education Programs.  For more information call 706-746-5828 or email giftshop@foxfire.org

October 4th & 5th John C. Campbell Folk School is holding their 35th Annual Fall Festival.  This wonderful and true mountain festival features over 200 crafters, continuous music and dance performances on two stages including, blue grass, folk and gospel music.  More than 40 craft-making demonstrations including a Mountain life area, great food, kid's activities and much more.

For more information call 1-800-Folk-Sch (800-365-5724) or info@folkschool.org

For those of you that want to plan a little further in the autumn, mark your calendars for October 10th through October 19th for the 

Fall Festival at Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds.  

This 10 day event features exciting musical performances, education demonstrations, arts and craft sales, a flower show and the popular Georgia's Official State Fiddlers' Convention.

For more information call 706-896-4191 or gamtfair@alltel.net

If you are looking for events in other parts of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains, check our event calendar that covers most of the counties throughout the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains.

It is a great time of the year for an scenic road trip, it will lift your spirits.  While we were at Chimney Rock, we met a young man with a great attitude, he had just lost his job.  He had saved for his vacation all year and decided to go anyway to lift his spirits and go back home with a renewed frame of mind, trusting God to get him through and find him a new job.  We commend him for knowing where his true source of support comes from.

Our philosophy for the future is to have faith, not in what we hear on the news, but in God, in ourselves, we can get back on track, but it will take all of us.  If we let the news get us in such a depressive state of thinking, God can't get through to us to inspire us to think creatively and find ways to get back to a productive future.  It is attitudes like the young man we ran into that will keep the ball rolling.  Fear stops progress, I don't mean you should be irresponsible, I don't say that this country is not having serious problems, but there is a solution and it will take creative thinking on the part of all of us to make a difference.

Keep the Faith....Think Creatively....Always Believe God has the Answer

God Bless.....the Highlander