Asheville Vacation Rental-Wentworth Cottage

06/09/2024

Good morning except to people who litter.

06/05/2024

✨Blue ghost fireflies are back in the Smokies. They're the opening act for the more famous synchronous fireflies. Instead of flashing, male blue ghosts glow continuously as they bob around the understory looking for females. To the human eye, they look like faint, blueish-white orbs. However, long exposure photography reveals both their flight paths and their true color - greenish-yellow. The discrepancy is caused by Purkinje shift, the tendency for the peak luminance sensitivity of the eye to shift toward the blue end of the color spectrum at low illumination levels as part of dark adaptation.

06/05/2024

Summertime is back in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina! The mountains appear blue because specific oak and poplar trees here emit a chemical called isoprene to protect them against excessive heat.

Photo Credit: Asheville Pictures

05/23/2024

Morning light in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Yet another sublime shot by our friend Leslie Restivo, the official photographer for Grandfather Mountain.

05/14/2024

Northern Lights over here Blue Ridge Mountains.

04/05/2024

A glorious sunset in the Great Smoky Mountains on the TN/NC border.

Photo by Mason Molina.

02/24/2024

Howdy, Charlotte! 👋

Did you know Thunder Hill Overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Blowing Rock provides a clear view of the Charlotte skyline over 90 miles away? 🏙

Winter weather can affect Blue Ridge Parkway access, so if you’re thinking about making a trip up the mountain this season, be sure to check out the latest info on road closures before setting out!

LINK — www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm
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01/30/2024

A Winter Wonderland of a day in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville NC.

Another gorgeous shot by Asheville Pictures.

01/15/2024

The French Broad River runs right through our little town of Marshall and our town’s history is forever linked to the river.
The French Broad River is said to be the third oldest river in the world, older than the mountains it passes through.
The river flows 218 miles through the counties of Transylvania, Buncombe, Henderson, and Madison in North Carolina, and Cocke, Jefferson, Sevier, and Knox in Tennessee. Unlike most rivers, the French Broad runs North.

French and Cherokee History:
The river was named the French Broad to distinguish it from North Carolina’s other Broad River and because the territory into which it drained was held by the French. The Cherokees had several names for the river, including Tah-kee-os-tee or “racing waters,” as well as Poe-li-co, Agiqua, and Zillicoah.

Following the river in the mid 1800’s was a drover’s road called the Buncombe Turnpike. The foot path allowed people to move animals and goods from the flatter lands in Tennessee through the Western NC Mountains, and out to the ports in South Carolina.

Small communities along the river grew up to serve the drovers and eventually turned into larger towns. In the 1880’s, the completion of the railroad meant the end of many of the small communities.
Marshall, which was originally called Lapland, is a classic example of a town on the Drover’s road.

Today the French Broad river is a huge destination for kayaking and rafting and other recreational activities.

Come visit us and experience it for yourself.

12/24/2023

A beautiful sunset over the Asheville skyline tonight

12/17/2023

Beautiful in all seasons!

I hear we’re unlikely to get any more snow between now and 12/25 so here’s my last winter-y shot for a while. Hopefully 2024 has a bunch of good snow storms for us (that also melt quickly afterwards 🤞).

12/17/2023

Some of our recent reviews!
Asheville short term and long term rental. Fully furnished!

12/16/2023

Two meteors from last night over the Swannanoa Valley and East Asheville

This is a composite image, because the meteors struck a few minutes apart. You’re looking at the original image that caught the meteor on the left, plus the meteor on the right merged into it where it struck.

12/10/2023

The massive Christmas Tree in the Grand Dining Hall of the Biltmore House during the Biltmore Estate Christmas celebration.

Photo by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett

10/05/2023

October bookings still open!

Fall Foliage Report 2023 And Weekly Updates:
9/28/2023:Along the BRP in North Carolina the mountains have begun to show lots of fall foliage. Especially at elevations above 5000 feet. This weekend great places on the parkway to already go and see would be Waterrock K**b (MP 451.2 on BRP), Graveyard Fields (MP 418.8 on BRP) and Craggy Gardens (MP364.4 – 367.6 on the BRP). Below 5000 feet it is still pretty much green. The last few days have been cool and mostly cloudy which helped start the show of color. Next week the weather is much nicer with warmer temperatures and sunny days.

Mount Mitchell near Burnsville, NC is another place to visit this weekend. With an elevation of over 6,000 feet, it's one of the first locations to show fall foliage and to peak. On the BRP exit off at Milepost 344 or 376.6 in Yancy County, NC.

The areas of Blowing Rock, Boone, Banner Elk and Grandfather Mountain are also starting to show some nice color changes. To go to Grandfather Mountain, tickets must be purchased online first! Please visit their website (Grandfather Mountain) first before arriving.

Traffic on roads in the NC mountains and on the Blue Ridge Parkway during the fall foliage season can be very busy. Stay safe and be patient. Remember the speed limit for the entire BRP (NC and VA)is 45 miles per hour. Take your time and enjoy the views! Peak colors are expected next week at the highest of elevations, with the second and third weeks of October for the mid-elevations. The BRP is 470 miles long and elevations range from as high as 6,053 feet at Richland Balsam (Milepost 431) in North Carolina to the lowest elevation of 649 feet on the James River in Virginia. During fall foliage season there is always somewhere at or near peak color from late September to early November!

09/10/2023

Some fall dates are still available!

09/04/2023

It was a beautiful sunrise this morning on Kuwahi a/k/a Clingman’s Dome in the GSMNP