Once the rain ended on Wednesday, we were treated to the most amazing sunset! What was particularly interesting is that the pictures we took were actually towards the East, where the sunset was reflecting onto the clouds and creating the most incredible colors in the sky. Wow! Totally worth the rain to get to this!
Thursday morning, the campground ducks provided us with entertainment. They are clearly not afraid of people at all, and just kept waddling around our campsite and in and out of the lake. RoVer has three new friends!
RoVer and her three little friends 
The white & black one is a “magpie duck”
Our plans for the day…the Biltmore Estate. This has been on my bucket list for a long time, and we purposely planned our return route through Asheville so that we could spend a day here enjoying the mansion and the gardens. We disconnected everything and headed West to the main entrance. We parked in the RV lot and took the shuttle to the mansion. Our timed tickets weren’t until 1:30, so we figured we’d spend the morning in the gardens/on the grounds. The sheer size of the mansion is just incredible and definitely the first thing you notice. After all, it is the America’s largest home with a mere 175,000 square feet and 250 rooms.
We started at the South Terraces and enjoyed the fabulous views out to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the mass of trees and green. Apparently, the landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, constructed a platform in the woods so that he and George Vanderbilt could survey the land and determine exactly where the house should be built and what level the first floor windows should be at for the best views.
We headed to the Walled Garden which was filled with the brightest assortment of annuals…so many colors and varieties of flowers to enjoy!
At the far end of the Walled Garden, we headed to the Conservatory (the Rose Garden wasn’t really in bloom, so we didn’t stop there) and enjoyed the huge variety of flowers and plants there, as well as the “Gardens Railway” model trains running throughout the conservatory. Very appropriate given that Cornelius Vanderbilt (George’s grandfather) made his fortune with railroads and shipping.
We took the shuttle back to RoVer to grab lunch and then returned to the mansion for our 1:30 self-guided tour. Mark and I were both really impressed with how well-done the tour was – we had our little audio machines with just enough narration about each room on the tour, and with different curators and guides talking so there was some nice variety. The house wasn’t very crowded, either. We could stop and listen to the audio and enjoy each room without feeling rushed. Flash photography is not allowed, but overall, my camera did a pretty good job capturing the rooms.
It took us about 90 minutes total and we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it! Each room on the tour helped tell the story of George, his wife Edith, and their daughter Cornelia, and the hundreds of people who worked at the estate.
Post-tour ice cream was a necessity, and then some browsing in the shops. Back to RoVer, and we drove around the 8,000 acre estate. We stopped at Antler Hill Village & Winery and walked around. Chatted with the blacksmith about all of the original tools & equipment still in use today. Saw a temporary outdoor sculpture, Stickwork, which was unique and beautiful.
We finished our drive around the estate and headed back to the campground for dinner. The weather and the sky were absolutely gorgeous, and stayed that way…no rain! It was a perfect night for sitting by the lake and enjoying a Solo Stove fire – a bit chilly so the fire warmed us up nicely…as did the s’mores.
Friday morning, the ducks continued to entertain us. They appeared to be holding an aerobics class in the lake that required them to put their butts in the air…
We had a relatively short drive on Friday, just a few hours to Wytheville in Western (not West) Virginia. We took our time packing up, made a grocery store stop, and headed out around noon. We were on one very narrow road in Asheville and Mark hit a curb which had us a little nervous about tire damage, but all was okay! The drive was easy and uneventful, and we were glad to be done with I-95!
When we arrived in Wytheville, we stopped for gas and then headed into their downtown area to check out this Wytheville “LOVE” sign (they’re everywhere in Virginia; after all, “Virginia is for Lovers”) – it features a railroad, hot air balloon, the meeting of two interstates (I-81 and I-77), and baseball – four things that Wytheville is known for.
Another KOA campground for us…and as is typical, not very many trees. But the sites in our section have a decent amount of space between them. Definitely fine for the one night we’ll be here! We took a walk and ate dinner…can definitely feel the exhaustion setting in as we finish day 11 of this trip. We are so enjoying the cooler temperatures and lower humidity as we head North! It’ll be a quiet night as we rest up for another long day of driving tomorrow…
September 10, 2021, 7:47 pm
Absolutely stunning!! I can’t imagine how grand everything is in person! Thank you for sharing such a beautiful experience. I would love to see it myself someday!
September 10, 2021, 9:58 pm
OMG(ardens)!!!
And, those buildings and gorgeous rooms!
September 13, 2021, 6:26 pm
I love Biltmore Estate! I could visit there over and over and never tire of the house, grounds, or the view. I finally was there for Christmas 2020 with my sister and Abbi(she had driven down from NY for the holiday).