(upbeat music) - Next on North Carolina Weekend, we're experiencing the state one town, taste and trail at a time.

We'll explore the mountain community of Saluda, taste our way through North Wilkesboro with Blue Ridge Food Tours, and sleep under the stars on Roan Mountain.

Coming up next.

- Funding for North Carolina Weekend is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of Barrier Island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

(upbeat music) ♪ - Welcome to North Carolina Weekend everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we're discovering places, flavors, and experiences that help us get to know our state a little better.

I'm at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, where there's always something new to discover.

For 80 years, this museum has been a Durham institution, giving generations of visitors a hands-on way to learn about science, nature, and the world around them.

Its campus is home to endangered wildlife, interactive exhibits, outdoor adventures, and so much more.

And there's plenty that's new to explore here, including an exhibit focused on climate and sustainability and their newly re-imagined lab.

We'll learn more about the museum in an upcoming episode, but right now, let's head west to Saluda, where Kirby Gibson has spent the day soaking up history, food, and hospitality that make this mountain town well worth the visit.

♪ - My name is Kirby Gibson.

Today, we take a trip to a tiny town with a big old heart.

This is Saluda, North Carolina, a town so rich with history, delicious food, art, and the most beautiful views.

After staying a night at the wonderful Orchard Inn, there is no better way to get your day started than with a lovely cup of the Orchard Inn's own blend of delicious coffee and a scrumptious breakfast, all with this tremendous mountain scenery decorating the backdrop of this cozy town.

(upbeat music) This building here is actually 100 years old this year.

It was built in 1926 by the Brotherhood of the Clerks of the Southern Railroad, and it was built for them to have the opportunity to have a very affordable vacation.

It was built for summer residents only.

We have different kind of rooms in the inn.

We have cottages that were also built 100 years ago.

Breakfast is included.

I love doing breakfast, so we do a really nice breakfast.

We have the restaurant, which is a fine dining restaurant.

It's a pre-fixed menu, five courses, and we are very much a place for anniversaries and birthdays and celebrations and weddings.

We have a very zen kind of little spa that looks out in the mountains, and we have a little sauna that all of our guests can use as well, and we're pet-friendly.

Anybody can come by any time.

We're always here.

Somebody's always here to show you around.

So I always consider this house as being happy.

It was built to make people happy, and it still does.

♪ - Downtown Saluda, North Carolina, located just 20 minutes north of the South Carolina border, is a small mountain town steeped in rich history.

To learn more, we're stopping by the Historic Depot Museum to learn about the railroad that helped build this town.

♪ - Back in 1830, they built a railroad initially from the port of Charleston out to Aiken, South Carolina, about 35 miles.

That was, at that time, the longest railroad in the world.

So time moves on.

They kept building the railroad.

Took them roughly one year to come from Tryon up to Saluda, which is about 6 1/2 miles.

The first train came through here in 1878.

After the railroad, ah, suddenly we had tourists, and we had people that came here.

We had a minimum of eight trains a day, which was a lot, both up and down.

So that helped establish Saluda.

So in 1881, the town of Saluda was established.

Our museum receives around 10,000 visitors per year.

Our main purpose is we are educational.

We are a tourist destination.

We like to keep the history of Saluda alive.

We are a nonprofit.

We're a 501(c)(3).

Everything we offer to the public is free.

For example, admission, there is no admission.

We have educational programs.

We put on programs for the kids.

We try to be a history resource.

- I love learning about history, but I know there's a lot this town has to offer, and we are only scratching the surface.

Did you know that Saluda's Main Street has been added to the National Register of Historic Places?

But not every place in Saluda is a relic.

Some places are newer than others, like our next stop.

Something smells good.

Green River Barbecue sits just off of Main Street, making this a must-visit stopover.

Founded in 1984, this mouth-watering smokehouse has been slinging out everything from fried okra to smoked brisket for over 38 years.

- We're a barbecue joint.

That's what we serve.

We sell smoked meats.

A lot of good sides we make here from scratch.

We smoke everything we can.

So we smoke our pork, brisket, turkey, chicken, wings, everything, whatever you associate with home.

That's the sense you get when you walk in the door.

I've been coming to this restaurant since I was a kid.

Everyone in this town either worked here as their first job or dated someone who worked here, or they came here after games on Fridays, or this is where they came after church.

Everybody has a connection and a story with this restaurant.

The whole mentality of the staff is that you're a welcome member and guest.

So we try to be a branch of the rest of Saluda.

- Right now I am on their smoked turkey salad kit.

It is very, very light dressing on it.

Second favorite is the smoked chicken, which you can make anything out of that smoked chicken with the leftovers, and you will have leftovers.

Third would be the ribs, which I had Saturday for lunch.

So it feels like home when you come in.

And so for me, that's what's so special about it.

Food's amazing, but it's really nice to just walk in and this is your place.

It's kind of like cheers.

Everybody knows your name.

We walk in the door.

There are times when there's a drink waiting for us on the bar.

Tom and Bri have become very good friends with us.

My favorite thing is probably either the ribs or the brisket, and I usually get a side of macaroni and cheese and beans.

You know, it's just Saluda has been completely welcoming to me.

I'm originally from Baltimore, and I love the small-town atmosphere.

Having grown up in the city, this is refreshing.

You know, people look you in the eye.

They go out of their way to say hi.

I think pretty much anybody would do anything for you if you needed it.

- I could eat my weight in pork, but now that things are winding down, I wonder where the locals gather?

Hey, where's that sound coming from?

This is Salud Sip and Strum, the social hub for the town of Saluda.

Every Wednesday, whether it be locals or visitors passing through, grab an instrument, play a tune, and sing in harmony.

♪ Time to go, river of time ♪ - It's a typical Wednesday night.

It's a pizza night at the Wildflower Bakery next door, and we get a natural crowd that comes in, and they'll come in and get a coffee or tea or a beer or wine.

So we do this every Wednesday and Friday.

We're mostly an acoustic cafe.

Somebody will bring an electric guitar by every once in a while, but we try to do a lot of original music.

A lot of locals will come and know about it, and then we'll have tourists.

They'll come by and find out, and they'll grab a guitar off the wall and come play, and there's a piano.

So you never know what's gonna be being played or who's gonna play, so it's a lot of fun.

♪ From my hands I talk ♪ - This place is amazing because two nights a week, they get together with the other businesses around here, and all the businesses are open.

They welcome us in on Wednesdays and Fridays.

They do jams.

You get your pizza next door.

You come here, listen to live music, and you see all kinds of different people, tourists and locals, young and old.

- I come to Saluda twice a week, Wednesdays and Fridays, because the music is amazing.

Each day, you don't know who's gonna show up, so it's always different, and you could come by yourself.

You can come with a group.

It doesn't matter, and just sit and listen to some great music.

- Saluda has a little bit of everything.

It's got great outdoors, hiking, kayaking, zip lines, a lot of nice stuff like that, some shopping, great restaurants, just a real sense of community, and luckily, all the locals will welcome you.

(laughs) So come on, they'll open their doors for you.

♪ When you reach the end of the line ♪ - A day in Saluda well spent.

We enjoyed the history, the food, and the music this town has to offer, and we even made a couple friends along the way.

Let's just say, Saluda, you've got something special here.

♪ Goodbye ♪ (audience cheers) - Saluda is located in Polk County, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.

For more information about things to see and do there, visit discoversaluda.com.

Ever visit a town that had more great restaurants than you had time to try?

Mya Baynes knew the feeling and decided to do something about it.

By age 16, she was guiding visitors through North Wilkesboro on the Blue Ridge Food Tours.

Along the way, there's local history and plenty of flavors to sample.

(upbeat music) - So the first food tour I have ever been on was in Pike Place Market, Seattle, and it was a really fun experience.

And kind of after that, I was fortunate enough, my family has gotten the opportunity to travel quite a bit.

And then that kind of broke the idea of, we have so many good restaurants and cool history at home, why not do it there?

(laughs) - That was in 2019.

By 2025, they had their own food tour company, Blue Ridge Food Tours.

- My mom is from Boone and my dad is from Wilkes County.

And I grew up between both of the places.

- Which is how Mya knows the streets and all they offer.

- Welcome you guys to Blue Ridge Food Tours.

- Each tour begins with a meetup and then they're off.

Today's tour is in North Wilkesboro, starting at Dom Bakeries and Pizzeria for a quick slice of pizza and more.

- 'Cause everybody likes pizza.

And the garlic flavor in the cheese pizza is very good.

- The apple cider that you're sipping on is from a local orchard, Perry Lowe Orchards.

- Yeah, and that's very refreshing.

- And also apple fritter.

- A food tour on its own is a combination of history and food as the name suggests.

But it's a walking tour where we start off at a certain stop and we go into different restaurants.

I give you a little bit of history about the town or about what you're eating.

- I've lived here 25 years and half the facts, we didn't know or we had them wrong.

- And everything is like pre-prepared all ahead of time.

So it's very in and out, very seamless.

- They visit multiple locations, but the servings are small and manageable.

Even so, expect to leave satisfied.

- I'm an eater.

So when I'm done at the end of it, yeah, you're full.

- It's only select portions that each vendor decides.

That way we can balance the whole tour and no one's rolling away by the end.

- Plus Mya sprinkles in a few stories along the way.

- Now in 1921, LS or Lucius Lowe actually founded Lowe's Hardware and it's white building, purple awning, that was the original Lowe's Hardware.

- The walking aspect of the tour serves many purposes.

- First off, it's getting people out walking, right?

So they're realizing that there's more to the city.

- Like a multi-vendor marketplace called Tripp's Mercantile.

- A little buffer in between, but also just get to see some stuff from local people.

- And some local fine dining just up the road.

(upbeat music) - Welcome you guys to 6th and Main.

I'm sure you guys are enjoying what you have in front of you.

- Which is a sample of their spicy pecan glazed chicken and a side.

- You guys go for it.

- Other than enjoying different foods, food tours are a great way to meet new people.

- We kind of get like integrated by, you know, about a couple stops into the way with the other people, get their stories.

- That's because some tours are private while others share the experience.

- Normally like two to four, which is like a single like group of people on their own is what we do.

And then it goes up to 12 people.

- Two food stops down and time for more shopping.

- Key City Antiques first opened in 1927 as Key City Furniture.

- Here you can shop for antiques and vintage finds, quench your thirst with a soda before it's off for alcoholic refreshment at the wine bar, C'est La Vienne.

- Get y'all some earrings.

- Yes.

- Oh, nice.

- So today I provided a really nice charcuterie board with a variety of fruits and nuts and cheeses and meats.

And then they had Cava, which is my best seller.

The nice thing about Cava is it goes with everything.

So it's sparkling from Spain.

- Tours last two and a half to three hours, with most of your time spent eating, drinking, enjoying each other's company and just a little walking.

- Among that time, it's only about 20 minutes or like one mile of walking actually.

Not that much walking over the course of time, but it allows you time to explore and get to know each place that we're stopping in.

- It's exercise that comes in handy in order to sample homemade oatmeal pies at Sweet Treats by Sid, and a visit to the historic Liberty Theater for buttery popcorn and more local lore.

- And when Liberty was constructed, it was something that was very special.

It was considered the latest, the greatest, the most modern theater in Western North Carolina.

- Before the last visit to an Australian-themed restaurant called The Lost Wombat, for a taste of their lawless lemonade.

- Which is moonshine and lemonade.

- And a brekkie burger.

- Which is the take on Australian breakfast, but as a burger.

- It's an action-packed tour with all kinds of hometown flavor, courtesy of local restaurants, businesses, and Mya.

- Mya, especially, she brings the energy.

- I'm amazed of the clientele that she brings in and the enthusiasm.

- She really does, she brings a lot to the tour.

She brings the research history.

- She describes it, she's very eloquent.

- The experiences, the memories that you have with the people, that's what lasts.

So that's kind of what inspired this idea, 'cause it gives them a new outlook on the area.

- The Blue Ridge Food Tours have offerings in both Boone and North Wilkesboro.

To learn more about their offerings and book your own culinary adventure, visit blueridgefoodtours.com.

I'm with Mike Fink, one of our new producers and a highly experienced backpacker and guide.

Mike is also the host of Epic Trails.

Welcome to North Carolina Weekend.

- Thank you so much for having me, Debra.

- It is so exciting to meet you in person.

And I'm wondering, when did your backpacking hobby turn more into a career?

- Ooh, well, I remember I was in college many, many moons ago, and I got a little side job taking people out on the Appalachian Trail.

And that was what I did for money, in between classes.

And it was very fun, very cool.

And then I kind of went off into the world of production and doing all this.

And I was able to, after volunteering with some wildlife organizations, I was able to kind of marry the two together and find a way to film out in the woods.

- Mike, you have backpacked all over the world.

What continues to draw you back to the Appalachian?

- Well, the Appalachians have it all.

We have so much biodiversity out here.

I think because the Appalachians are kind of America's woods, that we're all very spoiled, we're used to it.

But I mean, it's a dense jungle out here.

It's a wild zone, so much biodiversity, so many incredible seasons out here, each one so much different than the last.

The weather fluctuates, the temperature fluctuates.

It's just a fantastic place to just go and explore.

And with all the hiking towns and hiking trails nearby, it really gives you everything you could want.

- And what would you say to someone who's a little reluctant to try backpacking?

- Hmm, well, backpacking is not as scary as a lot of people make it seem.

It is essentially just walking with something on your back.

And how much you put on your back is determined by you and the kind of trip that you're going on.

You don't have to go off into the woods for days.

You don't have to hike the Appalachian Trail.

You don't even have to camp.

You can just go off on a day hike.

And once you get more and more familiar with that, then you can take a small amount of backpacking gear, enough to stay safe, enough to have something to eat, and then just go out and do it.

And it's not as extreme as people make it seem.

You don't have to have the fanciest gear in the world, but you do have to have everything you need to be safe, and you have to have more water than you think you have.

That's the thing that I always tell everybody.

- Well, Mike, tee us up.

Where are you taking us?

- Yes, so for this first segment, I'm taking you all to a place that's very, very special to me, and that is Roan High Knob.

If you're from Western North Carolina, chances are you know all about Roan Mountains.

It's this incredibly beautiful place, and it's where I used to take hikers back when I led groups in college.

So it means a lot to me.

I figured it would be a great first segment.

- Great, well, let's join Mike on the trail.

(peaceful choral vocals) - Roan Mountain is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places in all of North Carolina.

I mean, just look at this.

It's got such an interesting ecosystem.

This is a grassy bald ecosystem.

It's one of the few in the United States, and it's the longest contiguous grassy bald on the entire Appalachian Trail.

This is what most people think about whenever they think about Roan Mountain.

It's no secret why people love coming up here.

You can see way into North Carolina over here.

You can see way into Tennessee just over there, and we're surrounded on all sides by the world's largest naturally occurring rhododendron garden.

Amazing, but what if I was to tell you that there's a spot up over the mountain that I like just a little bit more?

So I am gonna take you there.

I've got my camping gear.

I've got my camera gear.

We're gonna hike over the ridges, down through Carver's Gap, up to the top of Roan High Knob, the highest shelter on the entire Appalachian Trail, and then we're gonna camp out at the site of the old Cloudland Hotel.

It's an old hotel that's no longer here anymore, full of incredible history, and just shows how long people have been coming up here and enjoying this incredible view for.

So come with me, and let's go check out the Cloudland Hotel.

(gentle acoustic guitar music) If you're wanting to come to Roan Mountain, your best bet is to park at Carver's Gap about an hour west of Boone and a few minutes walk from these amazing views, and we'll be headed two miles in the opposite direction following the Appalachian Trail.

This is nice, but this, this is where we're heading.

To get to the Cloudland Hotel site, we'll be hiking two miles through a southern Appalachian spruce fir forest, considered to be one of the most endangered forests in the United States.

These are sometimes referred to as Sky Island ecosystems, a higher altitude ecosystem that stands in stark contrast to the surrounding lowlands.

I can't tell you how many times I've been up here.

This is just one of my favorite places.

It's hard to believe that just a few feet away, you've got these incredible wide open expanses, and now you step into some of the densest forest you've ever seen.

A forest like this has an almost mythical quality to it, doesn't it?

You're surrounded on all sides by nothing but green, with only occasional shafts of light making it through the tree cover.

As the tree cover above starts to thin, I know that I'm nearing my destination at the top.

(sighs) (soft music) So I'm standing right where the Cloudland Hotel once stood.

It was billed as a luxury getaway for the wealthy and the elite, and also as kind of a holistic cure for people suffering from hay fever.

I'm not sure if that actually worked, but they tried.

It was a massive three-story luxury hotel built right on top of the Tennessee-North Carolina border, which runs right through here.

So you had this dining hall that had a white line going through it, marking which side was the Tennessee side and which side was the North Carolina side.

So at the time, it was illegal to have alcoholic beverages in North Carolina, and legend has it, there was a police officer that would often stand right there on that white line and make sure that nobody from the Tennessee side crossed into the North Carolina side with a drink in their hand.

It's gone now, but for a while, I'm sure, it was one of the most beautiful places you could possibly stay.

And it just goes to show you that people have been enjoying this land for a long time.

They enjoyed it then, I'm enjoying it now, and I hope people in the far, far distant future get to enjoy it too.

(gentle music) (wind blowing) (gentle music) (wind blowing) (serene music) ♪ As I made my way down the mountain to finish the trip, I ran into a group of artists, a testament to the fact that these mountains continue to inspire the best out of us, just as they've done for centuries.

(gentle music) - The Carver's Gap Trailhead sits right on the North Carolina, Tennessee border with parking on the Tennessee side.

To learn more and plan your own trip to Roan Mountain and the surrounding area, visit roanhighlands.org.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

Whether you're sharing a meal or exploring a new town or just hitting the trail, we hope you've seen how travel can really help you connect more deeply with a location or with each other.

And if you've missed anything in tonight's show, remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org, and you can find all of our stories on our YouTube channel.

Have a great North Carolina weekend, everyone.

(gentle music) ♪ - Funding for North Carolina Weekend is provided in part by VisitNC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of Barrier Island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

(upbeat music)