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Latest Features and Reviews

Snapshot: Franklin, NC

Deep in the mountains of North Carolina is the town of Franklin. When walking down Franklin’s main street, there’s a memorial or sign for every period of history: a sign talking about the town’s role in the French and Indian War,…Read more ›

Simplicity and Tourism in Highlands, NC

The internet paints Highlands as a town known more for its iconic waterfalls than its community. Driving on the winding roads of Highway 64 to Highlands, I was expecting a shambly town with a couple shops on main street. The…Read more

The Leaf Festival

Contrary to its misleading name, the Leaf Festival in Cashiers, North Carolina is in no way related to leaves. Regardless, this festival was an amazing experience that I enjoyed so much more that I thought I would. This event turned…Read more ›

Motor Co. Grill

We arrived at Franklin right around dinnertime, settled into our hostel for the next two nights and immediately asked, where are we going to eat? I had done some research on places to eat in the area, but we decided…Read more ›

Calders Coffee Cafe: Artisanal Coffee with Highlands Flare

When you first walk into Calders, you’re greeted by a long line of people waiting in a narrow front room. The front room of the shop is full of taxidermy on the walls, sleek wooden floors and furniture, and the…Read more

Highway 64: Past, Present, Future

By Jake Hackman, Johvonn Smith, Jamie Angle, Kate Sieber, 2017 History: As Bruce Springsteen sang in his classic song ‘Thunder Road’, “these two lanes will take us anywhere,”- these two lanes referring to North Carolina’s famous Highway 64.…Read more

Highlands: A Family History

By Jamie Angle, 2017 The Baty family has been in Highlands, North Carolina for seemingly forever. They are among the two or three historical Scottish families who remained in the area after their migration from Scotland. Erin Baty, a young…Read more ›

Harrah’s Casino Resort Bringing Large Business to Reservation

By Jamie Angle, 2017 Our drive out to Murphy, North Carolina began with great music, conversation, and excitement about the adventure ahead. Five hours into the drive, this excitement had long petered off. We were exhausted, hungry, and ready to…Read more

The Daily Grind & Wine

By Johvonn Smith, 2017 On our first full day on the trip, we started in Murphy, NC. We decided to get up relatively early since we knew that we had a full day of traveling ahead of us. After checking…Read more

Highlands Holding True to Tradition

By Jake Hackman, 2017 Ripping through the sharp turns of the Nantahala National Forest, one can tend to forget that civilization, in fact, is near. Highway 64 tests driver’s endurance, as you tease the edge of cliffs, expecting the vehicle…Read more

White Squirrels Taking over N.C.

By Kate Seiber, 2017 Traveling down Highway 64, Brevard is a town you might accidentally pass without a second thought. Seemingly ordinary, Brevard is your standard All-American, North Carolina town- The people are friendly, the food is decent, and you’ve…Read more

The Magic of Murphy

By Jake Hackman 2017 Standing at a stark 5’8”, Rob Winthrow looks almost childish in comparison to his 8-foot pot, shaped like a gnome. “He hasn’t been named yet,” said Winthrow. “Usually it takes me a couple of weeks to…Read more ›

The John C. Campbell Folk School

By Samantha Lubliner, 2016 Past a gas station screenshot from the ‘60s was the town of Brasstown. Composed of a mail center, library, and gas station, the surrounding hill was a collection of homes bordered with signs encouraging the election of…Read more

Shadow of the Bear

By Samantha Lubliner, 2016 A few weeks every year there is a mountain off of Highway 64 in Cashiers, NC that casts the shadow of a bear onto the surrounding hills. Obviously, it is called Shadow of the Bear and…Read more ›

Befriending a Stranger in Buck’s Coffee

By Samantha Lubliner, 2016 Located in Highlands, NC, Buck’s coffee sat isolated from other buildings. Across the street from the welcome sign, the coffee shop was a staple of the town and a buzzing place filled with people of all ages.…Read more

The Pumpkin Roll: The Best Underrated Sport in Franklin

By Samantha Lubliner, 2016 The town of Franklin was bustling but the life of the party was on the outskirts. Hoards of people, young and old alike, crowded around downtown Franklin. A steep paved hill ran through the center…Read more

Review of Willy’s Diner: Franklin’s Most Popular BBQ Joint

By Christian Kowalski, 2016 Willy’s Diner is a small, family-style BBQ restaurant in Franklin, North Carolina. Located a few minutes outside Franklin’s downtown area, Willy’s is home to a variety of Southern style cuisine. Our concierge at the hotel recommended…Read more

Review of Bistro on Main Street

By Christian Kowalski, 2016 Highlands’ downtown area was by far the most charming collection of shops and stores we had visited thus far on our trip. The streets were lined with boutiques, seasonal shops, gourmet food places and so on.…Read more

Looking Glass Falls

By Christian Kowalski, 2016 Looking Glass Falls is one of the bigger waterfalls we drove by and visited during our trip. Located in Brevard, locally known as the “Land of Waterfalls,”, Looking Glass Falls definitely was situated in an area…Read more ›

Silver Run Falls

By Christian Kowalski, 2016 Silver Run Falls is a small waterfall found in Cashiers, NC. The path to Silver Run Falls was difficult to find and took our group a few tries to finally pinpoint the sign that led to…Read more ›

Absolutely Gorge-ous: The Cullasaja Gorge

By Christian Kowalski, 2016 When driving to Highlands, our group was caught up in the beauty of the landscape around us. We were all trying to quickly take pictures of the mountains with the changing tree colors when we spotted…Read more

Review of The Phoenix: “Live Music, Local Food, Lovin’ Life, Livin’ Good”

By Molly Spero, 2016 Established in 2012, The Phoenix is Brevard’s premier farm to table restaurant, promoting food from local sustainable farms. Its motto is “Live Music ~ Local Food ~ Lovin’ Life ~ Livin’ Good.” The purple front door immediately sets…Read more

Finding Warmth in the Crabtree General Store

By Molly Spero, 2016 Before we explored the Franklin Pumpkin Festival, we wanted to warm up with coffee. Crabtree General Store and Coffee Vault was just the place for that. It was an old-fashioned, yet modernized general store, reflecting the…Read more

The Daily Grind & Wine in Murphy

By Molly Spero, 2016 The excitement was palpable as we pulled into a parking space in front of a coffee shop called The Daily Grind & Wine in downtown Murphy, NC. A four-plus hour car ride from Elon to Murphy had stiffened…Read more

Janette Franich: Jewelry Artist

By Molly Spero, 2016 Armed with hot chocolate clutched between my cold hands, I was ready to explore Franklin’s Pumpkin Fest. The streets were crowded with rows upon rows of booths that offered handmade crafts from soaps to aprons. A…Read more ›

Pisgah Thunder: All Male Dance Troupe

By Molly Spero, 2016 The meal at The Phoenix was normal up until a swarm of twenty men between their mid-twenties and mid-life crisis wearing matching outfits—head to toe—enthusiastically banged on the front window outside and swaggered into the restaurant drunkenly. They…Read more

Review of Mayberry’s Soup and Sandwich

By Dani Halliday, 2016 Mayberry’s was an adorable bistro in downtown Brevard. A bar separated us from the kitchen as we ordered. I chose the ginger turkey sandwich and tomato soup combo, with a cream cheese swirl brownie…Read more

Happy Time for Us

By Dani Halliday, 2016 Who doesn’t love puppies? In Franklin, we attended the annual Pumpkin Festival on Main Street. Our favorite sections of the festival were hosted by the Humane Society of Franklin and they had puppies. These puppies were…Read more ›

Trekking along the Murphy River Walk

By Dani Halliday, 2016 I pulled my car into an empty dirt parking lot. A nearby sign advertised seasonal farmer’s markets held in the lot, but today, on a brisk Friday afternoon, it was empty. A small wooden post showed…Read more

Nancy from Murphy

By Dani Halliday, 2016 Nancy, an elderly twenty-seven-year resident of Murphy, NC, works in the visitor’s center in downtown Murphy. As we had just arrived, maybe an hour prior to entering the center, she was the perfect person to talk…Read more ›