The Reserve at Sugar Mountain

A Hint of Autumn

2010-09-14T10:42:00.000-04:00

Some of the leaves have already started to change. The early mornings and late evening air is cool and crisp. It's certainly that time of year for layering your clothes. I like to keep a jacket in my car because you just never know when you'll need one. I've even had to break out the fuzzy socks to pad around in at home in the evenings. I love this time of year!

Thanks to everyone who made it to our annual Reserve II HOA meeting on Saturday. I am currently compiling a list of owners to send out along with a package of the current financial status of the HOA as well as the minutes from the meeting.

We all hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life as the summer winds down. As always, don't hesitate to give us a call if you need anything or have any questions. And don't forget to winterize your unit before locking up for the winter!

The Reserve Photos by Todd Bush

2010-08-04T13:06:00.000-04:00

Summertime

2010-06-25T11:45:00.000-04:00

When you live in this area year round, you can't help but breathe a sigh of relief when summer finally arrives. Especially after the winter we had. It seems we've gone from a bitterly cold winter to a scathingly hot summer. While temperatures here are generally 10-15 degrees cooler than the big cities and small towns off the mountain, you must keep in mind that most folks up here don't have air conditioning. Sure, offices and businesses have A/C, but most homes do not. The Reserve condos most certainly have A/C! But again, my home does not. So when it's 85 degrees and the humidity is hanging in the air, I'm sweating. This has it's good and bad points. The good is that it forces us out of our homes to explore our beautiful area first hand. After all, it's cooler outside (even if it IS 85 degrees) than it is in our homes.

What is there to do in ski country during the summer months? Hiking, biking, rock climbing, canoeing, white water rafting, fishing, picnicking, and swimming (we have gorgeous waterfalls and swim holes tucked into places all over the High Country). There's also festivals that happen throughout the area all summer long and into the fall season. Tweetsie RR is great for the kids as well as feeding the bears at Grandfather Mountain. We also have local theatre productions at Lees-McRae College and the Appalachian Summer Festival at ASU. My favorite part is all of the free music. Banner Elk know has music and socializing two nights a week. On Wednesday, head on down to the only stop light in town. Tucked into the courtyard on the right you'll find a gathering of folks enjoying themselves (young and old alike). This is a brand new event which is hosted by Sorento's, The Bayou, and Vivo restaurants. On Thursday evening is a free concert in the Banner Elk park which starts at 6:30pm (food vendors are on sight if you get hungry...cash only sales). On Friday, head on over to the Valle Crucis park (right behind the Mast General Store Annex) for another free concert which starts at 7pm. All three of these weekly events are free and family friendly!

What's the bad part of the hot summer? Forgetting your sunscreen and getting caught in an afternoon rain shower. So what are you waiting for? Get on up here and enjoy yourselves.

Ski Slopes are Closed!

2010-03-29T16:17:00.000-04:00

It's official. Ski season is over! The slopes at Ski Sugar made their last runs yesterday. It's really too bad since there is still plenty of snow on all the slopes. But it costs more money to run the lifts than anything else, and most people are done skiing for the year anyway. Unless you want to go out west....
It has been reported that Sugar Mountain had 131" of natural snowfall this year. I can't remember the last time we had such a rough winter. The forecast for this week is going to change all of that. It will be in the 70's by Thursday!!!! I can't wait to get outside and soak up some much needed Vitamin D. With Easter, then Mother's Day fast approaching, I encourage everyone to get outside and plant something. Anything at all. It can be flowers or vegetables or simply start an herb garden. That is my challenge to you as well as to myself. Enjoy the weather. I know I will.

Feels Like Spring!

2010-03-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged lately because there's been nothing new going on. Just one snow storm after another. It makes a person feel lethargic after a couple of months. The weekend has brought us warmer weather and beautiful blue skies with plenty of sunshine. The forecast says it's supposed to be in the 50's all week long. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Now I know how the bears feel after a long winter's nap. Although spring seems to take it's sweet time before gracing us with new leaves and tiny buds forcing their way up, I'm grateful for the warmer weather. We did wake up to look outside this morning and see great big snowflakes floating lazily down from a grey sky. But that was just a joke, right? I know we're in for at least one more snow, it's not spring without ONE last freeze and ONE last snowfall. But hopefully we can get a breather for a couple of weeks! So if you live off the mountain, I hope you will soon see the buds. For us on the mountain, first we have to wait for the remaining snow to melt.

Winter Weather

2010-01-27T11:41:00.000-05:00

I haven't had much to say over the last few weeks. The weather up here seems to be on everyone's minds and I'm tired of talking about it. It's either really cold with snow, wind, and ice. Or warm (the 40's are warm compared to below freezing). If it's warm, it's generally raining and wet. Or if it's not raining it's just wet. Currently the sun is shining and the dusting of snow we had last night is glistening. We are supposed to have a good old fashioned snow storm this weekend, so if you enjoy skiing, then come on up and have a great time.

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

Our New Year has arrived with single or negative temperatures, depending on whether or not you factor in the wind chill. It continues to snow on and off and who knows when the kids will go back to school. The old-timers have been saying we are in for a hard winter, and they are correct so far! You'd think the sub-zero wind chills over the New Year's weekend would keep people from the skiing, but the slopes have been packed since Christmas. I can only hope that everyone is being smart. This means covering every inch of skin and taking several breaks to come inside and warm up.

On another note, has everyone made their New Year's resolutions? I recently read one man's resolution. He suggests instead of saying, "I'm going to lose 20 pounds." he is resolving to hike up a mountain. Make your resolution a story and then you are more likely to stick to it. Saying you are going to lose 20 pounds is almost a guarantee that you won't lose it. But saying you are going to hike up a mountain, with friends, means you actually have to get out, work out, and begin losing the weight. Otherwise, you are letting down friends. So that's my challenge. To turn your resolutions into a story where there is a goal, preferably with friends, so you have more motivation to stick to it. Happy 2010!

Christmas Ice and Power Outages

2009-12-27T19:53:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone was able to have a very Merry Christmas. My home area awoke to ice covering everything and massive amounts of power outages. Many trees are gone, many were in the roads and across the power lines. Many people are still without power. Thankfully I live in an area that had power up and running by 10:30 am. Our Christmas morning may have been missing lights on the trees and Christmas music in the background, but we lit candles and the kids were able to make out their gifts. They are calling for more snow tonight, luckily just a dusting to up to 2", but it may be a while before we are able to thaw out completely. I know the rivers and streams are full so I can only hope the ground can absorb some of this mess because I'm not sure we can handle flooding on top of the snow and ice. Whatever is on the way, we can overcome it.

Pre-Christmas Frenzy

2009-12-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

I think all the snow went to everyone's head this past weekend. Many of us were stuck in our homes, unable to do much except play in the snow that was within walking distance. So now that the sun is out and people can once again travel, everyone is trying to get caught up on their final shopping and to-do lists. We all still need to remember safety rules of travel. I have been nearly hit several times simply because the driver was too busy to look in both directions before pulling out onto the main roads. I know we are all excited that Christmas is a few days away, there is snow on the ground, tourists are arriving and anxiously trying to get to the ski slopes or the grocery stores.....so let's all just take a deep breath and relax for a moment. Accidents only ruin the fun. And I promise the stores and ski slopes will still be open if you arrive 5 minutes later than planned.

Snow Days

2009-12-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we saw a LOT of snow get dumped in our area. Everywhere you look there are piles of snow. So enjoy playing in it. Whether you decide to build snowmen and igloos or go skiing and snowboarding, make sure to bundle up. When you come inside, cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate. More snow is on the way, so if you are adventurous and need to venture out for a drive to the store (or final Christmas shopping), take your time getting to your destination. Happy Holidays!

Oh the Weather Outside is....

2009-12-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

frightful. Not exactly frightful, just a little confused. We had snow on Thanksgiving Day! And then we had snow a couple of weeks later. But in between the snow there have been days of 50 degree weather. This past weekend we saw a bitterly cold Saturday where they were calling for a wintry mix overnight. We woke up Sunday morning to pouring down rain and temperatures in the 50's. Then Monday morning, schools in Avery and Watuaga County were delayed due to ice, only to see the temperature get up to 60 degrees in Valle Crucis by the afternoon! While those of us who live here are used to the ups and downs of the weather, it does make it difficult for the ski slopes to operate. We tell people, "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change." This also makes it difficult for us in the tourist industry to answer those yearly phone calls where people ask, "Will it be snowing on Christmas? We are coming to ski and wanted to know if it would be snowing." Uh...your guess is as good as mine!

Giving Thanks

2009-11-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the day we all sit down around a table full of food and stuff ourselves silly. Then a majority of us will plop down in front of the TV to watch football. Some of us may even venture outside to play ourselves or find some other activity to work off all those calories that have just been consumed. Sadly, some people will not get to make it home to spend Thanksgiving Day with family, but we hope that where ever you may find yourself on Thanksgiving Day, it will be surrounded by people you love and good food.

This year I am thankful for the health of my family. I am thankful to have a home. I am thankful to have a job. And I'm thankful to have met and gotten to know so many wonderful new friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Ways to follow The Reserve

2009-11-20T13:45:00.001-05:00

I am excited to announce that we will be delving deeper into the communication world. Not only have I started this blog, but we now have a Facebook page and today I started Tweeting. There are endless possibilities on this giant network that so many people have at their fingertips. Hopefully you will join us on our adventure. If anyone has any suggestions as to what we can do or hear of new and upcoming sites, please let us know. For now, we are just getting started. Things may be a little rough the first few weeks, but we hope this will make it easier for our owners and anyone interested in our development to stay connected in new ways.

If you are not here today, you are missing a beautiful view of the mountains. I'm sure this is a perfect day to see Charlotte from the top (at building 37). Have a great weekend everyone!