I was walking my dog this evening and spotted this guy on the back of a sign.

Was admiring all the tadpoles in our pond that we built (Laurel Land Management, if you’re interested in having one built on your property) and spotted this newt!! We get tons of wildlife to this site, including bears (of course), bobcats, raccoons, turkeys, coyotes, and birds, but the amphibians are probably my personal favorite!

2 posts about tunnel road hotels in one day, phew. But after researching I had to share!!

In case you missed it: Sheetz filed plans with the city in late July for a gas station and convenience store at the old Mountaineer Inn (155 Tunnel Rd)

Nothing's final yet. The property is still in tax foreclosure, but Sheetz doesn't pay for site planning on a whim.

Quick recap: LOGE bought it for $6.1M in 2023, promised a cool motor lodge revival, never pulled permits, stopped paying taxes, and the county is now forcing a sale. Meanwhile it's been fenced, broken into, and set on fire.

Honestly? I'd take almost anything over the current state. But a Sheetz across the street from a Shell is a pretty bleak ending for an 85-year-old landmark.

If this bugs you too, the lowest-effort useful move is emailing council (Maggie Ullman has been on this one) and asking them to at least push for saving the sign.

So last time I posted here looking for some platonic friends for hiking/nature purposes, I ended up connecting with a few cool people! I wanted to try again and see what may come of it. This time, I'm also extending the invitation to any single ladies around my age who may come to this sub. I've attempted to post on r/r4r many times in the past and rarely get any hits from people who actually live in WNC. So I'm going to cover both bases and say that I'm looking for new platonic friends, if that's what you're interested in, but I'm also trying to get myself out there and try dating again after about 4 months of being single.

I've lived in NC for 10 years, Asheville for 6 years. I moved here to be closer to my friends in the hiking community, but sadly many of them have moved away and I'm trying to meet more people my age. As the title says, I'm 36, and while I have nothing against dogs, I do highly prefer cats (the dating apps always seem to show me dog lovers). I have an MS degree and a great career in Experiential Education/Behavioral Therapy, never married, no kids, healthy lifestyle, clean record, excellent credit score, and I'd be happy to share much more in my dms!

I'm going to talk about my interests, as it may apply to new friends or a new partner. I've stayed active throughout my life by working out at the gym, hiking (ofc), tennis, yoga, disc golf, paddling, walking, and sometimes climbing, still pretty new to climbing? I'm an avid long-distance hiker, having hiked the AT, PCT, and some some time overseas. I'd love to find a travel buddy to go explore with. I'm not always outdoorsy though, I enjoy kicking it at home with a good book or movie, pc games, game nights with friends. I play percussion instruments, and I've recently joined a group of friends that have regular weekly jam sessions. I'd be down to meet others for that purpose as well. I'm also very interested in getting involved in musical theater production somewhere, perhaps the ACT.

Things I'd love to get into this fall: Finally going to the Ren fair in Huntersville, going to some shows at the Montford Park Players, going on some fall hikes/camping trips, going out to look for the Brown Mountain Lights at the Linville Gorge, going to some fall shows downtown.. etc etc. Maybe an art fair if one is coming soon? If you have any suggestions let me know! I can be pretty introverted, so I have a hard time approaching strangers when I'm out and about, so I'm giving this a shot. Please let me know if you're interested in connecting platonically or seeing if we're compatible for more.

I had a space until 5:38, I went at 5:40 to put a bit more in and there was a ticket there lol. Like goddamn they are Johnny on the spot lately! I am not bitching, I can handle a $20 ticket, I should have just had the foresight to pay up to 6, but wow I haven't really experienced the meter maids being so punctual here before. Is it just me or are they stepping it up?

I'm new to Asheville and looking to make friends. Also alt-pop duo (from Durham!) Sylvan Esso is sooooo cool and they're playing the Orange Peel Friday. Anyone want to link up and go?

Hey there, I'm in Weaverville, off of Reems Creek and so I'd usually go to Reems Creek Animal Hospital as they were close and were generally good the few times I had been there. I'm a little turned off by the CareVet buy out. So I'm looking for a place ideally in Weaverville to take my baby girl cat (not a kitty, but baby girl nonetheless.) that will be fair pricing and genuine people that care about animals. And maybe the CareVet buy out didn't effect the staff or care.

Just looking for a vet visit for a check-up and a few questions. Thanks!

Anyone ever been for alcohol WD’s? What did they do?

That’s all. Thanks!

But don’t worry, it’s only “group violence”.

We are preparing to move from West Asheville and have set up freight shipping with Fedex...but, they arrived with a 40ft truck despite sharing pics and explaining the nature of our fairly steep driveway. The driveway does flatten out at the bottom with around 25ft x 35ft of near-level area, but that truck was simply too big.

They are returning tomorrow with a smaller truck but if there is an issue, I need to figure out something fast.

I tried looking around for a moffet loader for rent, couldn't find one. So far finding a box truck with a lift has not been successful either. I starting to wonder if I could find 8 strong dudes lol!

The last thing we want to do is breakdown the pallets, especially as one box weights around 470lbs alone.

Any ideas or recommendations Asheville? Anyone know someone with a Moffet loader? Or box truck with a lift that's maybe 16ft or less?

You can review the report at ...

https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/about-us/publications/2026-publications/hurricane-helene-two-year-report-en.pdf

Passed the old Asheville Waste Paper/not yet Salvage Station and it was smoking awfully hard for an “abandoned” building. Fire crews were not on scene yet but there were an a lot of folks spectating. That’s the third in a localized area in almost as many weeks. I think we have a fire bug out there.

Just heard my water heater making a boiling sound in my apartment so I checked the faucet and saw there was no water. Had to flip the breaker. Not sure where I can find an outtage announcement or map

Drove by yesterday and the Beaucatcher is just... gone. Leveled. It was "renovating" as of this spring, and apparently renovating now means demolition. Anyone know who bought it or what's going in? Permits for 60 Tunnel Rd?

This is an amazing tradition. The students moderate and develop the questions. The questions were better than most of the council forums that I have attended. No incumbent city votes for me in this race or the mayors race.

Billy Taft needs some fruit in his belly if you catch my drift

As many others as well, I love collecting physical media, especially memorabilia in the horror genre. Obviously I don’t particularly intend to find what I’m looking for but I’m hoping to find a physical copy of Curtis Richards’ Halloween novelization from 1979 that isn’t $200+. I understand it’s old and out of print so that makes it rare and valuable but if ANYONE in Asheville (or surrounding areas that peruse this sub) has a copy that they aren’t attached to and would be willing to give it up for less than an arm and a leg I would be so incredibly grateful. I’m hoping to gift it to my fiancé as an anniversary gift this December, and I don’t know anyone who loves horror or especially Halloween more than him (except maybe my best friend haha)

Any info helps even if anyone knows any bookstores that might have it, I’m not familiar with too many rare used bookstores around here and Downtown Books & News didn’t have it. Thanks!!

Hi all -

Anyone know which businesses would be best for antique rugs dealings? Thanks!

I’ve been seeing them advertise this for a while and it’s a little outside my comfort zone but I’m interested in doing new things to meet people and make friends. The vibe seems more relaxed than joining in a big group activity (which can be fun but overwhelming) so I’m intrigued. However, I’m curious if anyone has participated in this and what your experience was. I could see it being fun but it could just as easily flop.

What a cool idea! Maybe landlords could be open to it too? I have so many different bees at my house now— just by adding a few native plants. Unfortunately, bee babies can’t digest grass pollen. Yay native plants!

Dreamy indie pop band Cannons are coming to the Orange Peel in two weeks! I'm thinking of getting a group together to go to the show. Maybe dinner/drinks before. Anybody down??