The contour map

 The amorphous white area (flat) toward the right side of this contour map represents Black Mountain. The red line is US I-40, and the Yellow line is US 70 (which used to be the main highway through these mountains before the interstates. And if you think they are complete, just go to Asheville where you can drive on "Future I-26" which hasn't been finished because the interchange connecting it to I-40 is still not built.

 Closeup of Black Mountain map with blue representing the Swannanoa River (the root of the valley of that name.) You can see Lake Tomahawk, which I frequently blog about. I have no idea what Curteya Chapel is (maybe a development that I've never visited.)

 Allen Mountain is next to the Black Mountain Golf course, and to it's left runs the North Fork River (into the Swannanoa of course.) It drains from Burnett Reservoir (back behind Wallace Mountain, which I've never seen.) No traffic is allowed to the Reservoir, but there is some housing up in that area. There used to be a community up Wallace Mountain, and the road that meanders up that way is called Walker Cove Rd. The community of Walker Cove is now under water.

 The Seven Sisters mountains are seen easily from Black Mountain and Lake Tomahawk. The tiny town of Montreat is nestled in their lower sides (the pin on the right side of the mountains.) Burnett Reservoir is on the left side of those mountains.  Sveral businesses in Black Mountain use the name Seven Sisters.

Using the reservoir as a connecting link, we can look further to the left (north west actually) and see the Craggy Mountains.The blue line along the ridges represents the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I love showing this map to visitors, who want to know where we are, as well as where they've been in the area. This is right inside the door of the Swannanoa Valley Museum in Black Mountain.

I wonder when they decorate the town

 It's exactly one week from Wed (when I wrote this)
The Fourth of July.

 Looking down State Street to the east, there are no flags attached to light poles yet.

But Harwood Funeral Home has it's sign out for the free hot dogs which it provides every fourth.  And that's why I walked outside from the Museum (where I sit all afternoon looking at this view)to check for more decorations...they are the first at this point.

I will have to follow up with when they do decorate, now won't I?

St. John's Wort next day!

  And the next day the blossom had completely deflated, and only it's little ovary remained. (We may have had a night rain.)

I'm waiting to see the rest of these buds open!

And my favorite colorful flower of the summer...Marigolds

 There are also some brilliant geraniums, but alas, the flutter little red petals all over the porch. I wait till it rains or blows them away.  My attempts to sweep damp red petals leaves streaks of red everywhere!

Today's Quote:
The truly noteworthy events in our lives are often the least momentous, yet the most wonderful.

St. John's Wort Bloom

 My St. John's Wort is blooming.  Isn't it a lovely blossom?

Today's quote:

For though my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine, if we each are free to light our own flame, together we can banish some of the darkness of the world.

RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS

Beauty is around us!

 I'm happy to have this vase which sets off this bouquet elegantly I think.

Today's quote:

THE GRATITUDE THAT WE ENCOUNTER HELPS US BELIEVE IN THE GOODNESS OF THE WORLD, AND STRENGTHENS US THEREBY TO DO WHAT'S GOOD.

DR. ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Where I spent the afternoon...

 Entrance to the Monte Vista Hotel

 an it's garden room of the restaurant, now called Milton's.

 while right next to it is the Red House. Also known as

 The Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League

 This ol' house may have many ceilings and floors that aren't quite level,

 You even have to get use to going up (or down) this flight of stairs to the front porch.

 View from the porch looking at the site of the swimming pool, which has been filled in for years!

So come on in, there's always someone to welcome guests...and this week we had some from Scotland, I see on the guest register!

Happy Full Moon nights

 My friend Rosie could never sleep the nights before or on a full moon. This is her birth anniversary. So I'm sharing some of these moon shining shots and will try to sleep through the night.

 Not sure what the tiny little blue orb might have been in the last 2 shots...perhaps Rosie's spirit spying on me!

More old cyanotypes of early Black Mountain

 The Vance Place - a famous North Carolina governor during the Civil War was Zebulon Vance. I don't know whichVance this cyanotype is of.

 A photo of a painting of the falls where Elisha Mitchell died. He had been surveying to prove that Mt. Mitchell was the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

 I'll share some more about the many railroad tunnels

Not sure where this is...

Scrapbooking

I don't know when they started, but scrapbooks are a very old and honored way of saving things like memoriabelia and photos, ticket stubs, programs, and even pressed flowers from bouquets.

The Swannanoa Valley History Museum has one on display.

 The hotel changed hands a few times, as well as names. Gustavino was as an architect whoalso worked in Asheville on the Biltmore mansion, as well as being well known in New York...and he made his home in Black Mountain. (More on him later.)

 Gertrude Sprague took and kept these cyanotype* photos and added quotes from various sources.

 Black Mountain Ave. runs south from it's dead-end at Sutton Ave, right at the Depot where the railroad tracks cross it.

Probably Black Mountain Hotel, built on site of current Cove Auto repair shop. It was very close to the tracks, which is possibly why it burned down.

the scrapbook on display is made of copies from the original...in protected plastic coated paper.

Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The process uses two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. Source: Wikepedia