Field Trip Ideas: Western North Carolina

Western North Carolina is made up a lot of small historic towns, all surrounding the bigger city of Asheville. The area is full of life, nature and beauty. From popular tourist destinations to little known treasures there's something for every one. Most of the links below will take you to my posts about our trips to these locations, though some will take you to the location's website.

For the Animal Lover:

 

 

• Western North Carolina Nature Center: The nature center is full of animals that are native to the area, from river otters to bears to coyotes. It is a very natural setting, with paved trails and lots of points of interest.
• Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary: This is a small, lesser known attraction that hosts a large boardwalk through wetlands and around Beaver Lake. With many places to sit and observe nature and life around you. We've seen, not only birds, but muskrat, fish, turtles and interesting caterpillars and wildflowers.
• Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education: The center is also located in Brevard, NC. It hosts a large fish hatchery, a small indoor exhibit building and numerous trails around the property. One of the best things about the center is their education program. They offer free classes throughout the year for kids on things like fly fishing, outdoor photography, archery and BB gun safety. 

For the Nature Lover:

 

 

•  The Cradle of Forestry: The Cradle of Forestry is the birthplace of Forestry and is located in Brevard. They have a indoor large education center with a scavenger hunt for the kids, information on wildlife and even an simulated helicopter ride. Outdoors there are 2 trails full of history about Forestry. 
• The NC Arboretum: The North Carolina Arboretum is a 400+ acre garden located in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest just outside of Asheville. They have areas of manicured gardens and natural forest trails. They also have 2 buildings that host special exhibits and educational events and classes. The grounds are beautiful and my botany-loving kids love spending time here.  Note: all 3 of the links go will lead you to 3 different posts about 3 different trips to the arboretum. 
• Botanical Gardens of Asheville: The botanical gardens are located on the ground of the University of NC, Asheville. It is a naturally set garden with a paths and trails full of native plants in their natural state. A creek runs along side most of the trail, with plenty of areas to play in the water, jump on rocks or look for nature. 
• The Blue Ridge Parkway: The parkway runs through most of Western North Carolina with amazing overlooks and view, lots of hiking and waterfalls. You will feel like you are on top of the world! The views are amazing all year long, but the fall is one of the most beautiful! 

For the History Lover: 

 

 

•  Small Town, NC: Surrounding Asheville are tons of small towns rich in history. Brevard, Black Mountain, Waynesville, Hendersonville. Each has it's own charm. For example, Hendersonville has tons of small museums, apple orchards and a charming down town. You can see all about out tour of Hendersonville: Part 1 and Part 2.
•  Biltmore: This is probably the most well known of all attractions in the Asheville area, and no field trip list would be complete without it.  It is America's largest home, with a lot to offer. They also host a homeschool festival each fall, which would be a perfect time to plan a visit. 
•  Carl Sandburg Home: Carl Sandburg was an author and poet, who lived in the Flat Rock area of NC. His wife raised award winning dairy goats, and their direct descendents still live on the farm to this day. The home is run by the National Park Service, who run tours of the Sandburg Home and raise and breed the dairy goats on site.

Of course these aren't the only attractions the area has to offer. There's also the Museums at Pack Place. Or a tour of the French Broad Chocolate Factory. You can climb Chimney Rock, slide down Sliding Rock, or visit the sites where movies such as The Last of the Mohicans, Dirty Dancing and The Hunger Games were filmed.

*This post is part of the Hip Homeschool Moms' Field Trips Around the World Series. Check out the entire series to find out more about what other cities around the world have to offer!

September Wrap-Up

September seemed to fly by this year. Summer was left behind and the leaves are starting to change little by little. Here's a recap of September around our house.

This month started all about the fair. I shared the kids' entries, but I never shared the results. We took a trip the the fair one afternoon to check out animals and exhibits....and yes, to check out how their entries did.

We picked up their exhibits and their ribbons a few weeks ago. They did well! And are excited about next year- and about the checks they will receive in the mail next month. Just to give you an idea- the blue ribbons pay $10, red ribbons pay $6 and white pay $4. So yes, they will get a pretty good paycheck!

We ate watermelon. Lots of watermelon. These are Rylan's Orangeglo. They are very pretty and sweet too.

Rylan saved up his money again. This time he was saving for a self propelled lawn mower. He talked Cohen into helping to pay for the last little bit, so they share the mower. It's win-win since they seem to love to mow and Paul doesn't have a lot of spare time to do it!
 

And we ate more watermelon.  I think we've eaten one a day for most of the month. Half for lunch and half for snack.

We took a trip to the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. We only saw a couple birds- my crew isn't exactly patient or quiet enough for bird watching- but we saw a few blue herons. And a muskrat, turtles, fish and this caterpillar.

We have been harvesting just a few of our sweet potatoes. So far it looks like it will be a good harvest. The garden is winding down- still peppers, okra, eggplant and beans and a few late planted summer squash plants.

We went apple picking for the local food bank. The orchard donates over 100,000 lbs of apples every year- they just need help with picking!

 

This Saturday was National Hunting and Fishing Day, so we drove down to the Center for Wildlife Education in Brevard. 

They had archery, bb gun target practice, fly fishing instruction and casting practice.

We have family visiting this week. Tonight we cooked out- burgers, hot dogs and s'mores around fire. The perfect end to the month!
 

And if you haven't been over on The Free Range Life, head over there to read the following articles:

• How to Make a Quick Shelter Out of Pallets
• 6 Quick and Easy Pallet Projects for the Homestead
• Soil Nutrient Deficiencies and How to Fix Them
• How to Preserve Eggplant
• The Many Uses and Benefits of Oregano

And that is it for our September! Did you do anything fun this month?

Mountain Science Expo

Yesterday we went to the NC Arboretum for the Mountain Science Expo (part of the NC Science Festival). There was a ton of booths set up with things for the kids to see, touch and learn about.  Everything from the fish hatchery and trout identification to energy use and alternative energy sources.

And tree identification, soil types and all sorts of bugs and other specimen to look at.

Making gummy creations. Learning how to use a compass. Eating EarthFare snacks.

 Outside was set up for the messy, hands on sort of science. I think Cohen got about 20 pencils in before he sprung a huge leak.

Annika enjoyed the bubbles the most. And the puppies.

 Of course no science festival could be complete without Legos.

Downstairs they had opened up their classroom. And we got to explore animal skeletons as well as meet some of the resident animals- such as Snickerdoodle the rat and Salazar the king snake.

 On to Earth Science- with all sorts of rocks, minerals and fossils. As well as a laser thermometer to play around with.

Looking at the sun and the sun spots with the telescope.

Then we took a break to play like maniacs, and try to save each other from falling through the drainage grate.

And finally stopping to smell all of the flowers before leaving. 

The View From the Blue Ridge Parkway

Saturday we took a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway. I wanted to see the fall colors and the boys have never been up that way before.

The leaves are nearing peak and are absolutely gorgeous. And the mountains are amazing- as always. 

 We stopped every now and then to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful weather.

 And stopped at the Mt. Pisgah picnic area for lunch. I haven't been up in that area since I was a kid. You can see Mt. Pisgah from our road, and one day we hope to take the kids to hike up to it.

 We continued south on the parkway until gas started to get low and Annika started to get grumpy.

 

 

 We made one last stop- as requested by the boys. We hung out here for awhile- letting the boys laugh and joke about the name on the sign. And letting Annika get some energy out.

Then we headed home. This picture is overlooking Hominy Valley. Somewhere in the middle of those peaks is our home. I could look at the leaves and the mountains forever- it's good for the soul.

Luckily I can sit and look the mountains and colors anytime I want because this is the view from the south side of our house- Little Pisgah Mountain and the view from the front and north side are just a beautiful.