update: if you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

Green-o-Lina's  Picks & Picnic Trips. Whether you are visiting Asheville-possibly   hunting for land on which to build or a "high-performance" new home-
or if you are new to the area, or already are fortunate enough to live here, local real estate professional, Green-o-Lina  has a Picnic Trip  for you. It is sure to make you smile and offer you a sense of place in the mountains.

Just fix a picnic  full of  locally-grown goodies, or drop in to one of Green-o-Lina's favorite places, Picnics where you can collect  the incredible results of  "four generations of baking from scratch" and you're off on a mini-adventure.

 

 

The Mars Hill Loop #1

The Mars Hill Loop #1 takes you about 20 minutes to the north
of downtown Asheville to the charming village of  Mars Hill, N.C.
in Madison County.  Mars Hill is a largely rural community in the heart of Madison County. It is also a small college town.

 

The college opened in 1864 with 35 students and today is the oldest educational institution in Western North Carolina.

 

You'll start by strolling up the path of flags to the main campus.

 

                              At the head of the walkway, you will see the Owen Theater.  You might be surprised that this small liberal arts college (only 1500 students) is home to the truly amazing Southern ppalachian Repertory Theater (SART),  where all summer long the players present top-level local theater from the venerable stage there.  At the inviitng Owen with its two doors,  SART produces standard comedy, music and drama as well as original works.   Now in its 32nd season,SART's heritage and traditions are alive and well. No wonder, this quality professional theatre by a non-profit company gives us plays that portray the rich cultural heritage of the people of Southern Appalachia.

This summer, The Fantasticks, To Kill a Mockingbird and Little Women are in production. In case you want to order tickets, here's a link. Just across the street for the Owen , the lawns and park benches on the campus bring back the sense of  "human-scale" living. And, although the college is the centerpiece of the small mountain village, views of near and distant mountains still dominate the scene. In the distance too you will see some of the ichest and most diverse temperate forests in the world.

                                                         Many people have picnicked here before you.
Cherokee villagers, antebellum settlers, loggers, industrialists, and scientific foresters, among others, have told their stories,So, be  sure to notice the plaque honoring Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Minstrel of Appalachia".

 

 

 

On your stroll through the campus you will see the old log field schoolhouse dating from the 1850s. This structure is typical of the log cabins built by  frontier settlers. As they cleared the land in our mountains and Appalachian valleys through the back country and over to the rivers, they brought with them their logcrafting  expertise.

Here in Mars Hill, Madison County, North Carolina this remarkable school, an excellent example of what dedicated stewardship can accomplish stands at the center of the campus.  On your next picnic with Green-o-Lina, you might even find  churches, gristmills, barns and small outbuildings crafted in  this fashion. B ut that's something to save for another day.

 

 

 For those who find themselves as fascinated as I am with this structure and want to know more here a link to

Historical Survey of Log Structures in Southern Appalachia

But that's not all!

Consider, if you will,  the various campus buildings. You will see that  some are modern. Constructed in the recent past, they offer students the convenience of comfort and the latest technologies.

Still some , constructed of stone, surely will captivate you. They seem to enjoy a certain the allure that only
  hundred year-old buildings evoke.

 

 

 

 But now it's time for your picnic, so head on over to the gazebo at the corner of Main Street and 213.

If you like this post, please subscribe to my blog! Thankyou!

####