Musings from the Mountains

It seems the very warm November we were having was briefly interrupted by some cooler weather this week.  Also, although we are still pretty dry, recent rains have alleviated our drought conditions somewhat.  Wednesday morning we recorded lows around 17 degrees which is the coolest morning in many months.  The cooler weather was a boon to Cataloochee Ski Area as they opened officially for the ski season.  Cataloochee has a great snow-making crew and state-of-the-art snow-blowing equipment.  They actually opened from the bottom all the way to the top of the mountain, which requires making a huge amount of snow.  This coming week the weatherman is predicting some cool mornings in the 20’s.  So, snow conditions should remain good next week for skiing.  Come on up and take a few runs!

The DOT is still working on two of the bridges over I-40 between mile markers 15 and 20.  Traffic has been backing up several days a week due to the bridge work.  If you are traveling from Waynesville west toward Knoxville, you may want to allow more time for travel.

As you know, we have had a shortage of homes for sale in Western North Carolina, but several new subdivisions have been started with hopes of easing the housing shortage.  Also, there are at least two new apartment complexes that hopefully will ease the rental housing shortage in Haywood County.  One of the large apartment complexes is on Russ Avenue in Waynesville, where the old Bi-Lo Shopping Center was located.  This complex is finally completed and currently taking applications for rentals.

That’s the news from the mountains, please let us know if you have any questions or comments.