Blue Ridge Traveler

It's Western North Carolina, but people who live here simply call it WNC. They think -- they live in one of the best places in the United States if not on earth. WNC is the westernmost region of the state, bordering Tennessee and is the state's mountain region. With good reason. The Appalachian Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Smoky Mountains are all here.

What's here is everything an outdoors enthusiast could want -- either to marvel at the views or to immerse yourself in the flora and fauna. It's an outdoor mecca for hikers, mountain bikers, motorcyclists, climbers, rafters, kayakers,campers and even for those who just want to look.

The highest waterfall east of the Mississippi, Whitewater Falls is here. So is Mt. Mitchell, at 6,684 feet, is the highest mountain in the eastern United States. You've got the LInville Gorge, the Grand Canyon of the East and the Fontana Dam, another east of the Rockies record-breaker.

For waterfalls, visit Transylvania County, the land of the waterfalls, with 250 of them, including Whitewater. Visit one of two national parks, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Smoky Mountains National Park Or view the lushness of the Pisgah National Forest or the majesty of the Natanhala National Forest.

There's heritage and history here -- the Carl Sandberg home and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial and let's not forget the Biltmore Estate. Lots of historic downtowns and we are telling you about many hotels, museums and other sites that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Historic preservation is a very important part of the lifestyle here.

Explore the work of the artists and craftspeople who populate the region. Come for a weekend, come for a week, but whatever time you have here, you won't regret it.

★ About the Author ★

Ronnie Lovler is is a journalist and former international correspondent for CNN who lived and worked in the Caribbean and Latin America for almost 20 years. She has also lived in Georgia, Florida and California. Ronnie fell in love with Western North Carolina (or WNC) the first time she ventured up that way in 1998 when she was living in Georgia. Since then, she made frequent trips there, especially during the past four years when her son, Tiffen, co-author of this app was a student at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. She is now a Knight International Journalism Fellow in Colombia.

Tiffen Tapia received his degree in exercise science from Brevard College, where he was a distance runner from 2007 to 2011. He is intimate with the trails and is passionate about life in WNC. He is a research assistant and graduate student at Georgia Southern University.

★ About Sutro Media ★

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