Exploring the Valley

From High School Sweethearts To High Country Guides

• PC PRODUCTIONS • Season 2 • Episode 3

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What makes someone trade the easy path for a winding mountain road and a van full of strangers who become friends by sunset? Phil Holderman joins us to share how a high school romance, a deep love for Western North Carolina, and an obsession with good views turned into TP Day Trip Adventures, a small-group tour company built for people who want the magic without the guesswork. We dig into the real stories behind crowd-favorite stops like Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi, and Klingmans Dome, where a century-old rivalry still colors the way we point at the horizon.

Phil walks through how he plans a perfect day: timing the drive for clear skies, choosing short trails that feel enchanted, and adding local flavor with a lunch stop that could be pizza, barbecue, or a serendipitous dessert downtown. He shares the human side of guiding too, from welcoming bachelorette groups during an ice storm to giving visiting families enough mountain facts to fill a scrapbook. Along the way, we talk about why people stay in Black Mountain and Swannanoa—how neighbors show up after storms, how independent restaurants keep the streets lively, and how a holiday tradition of dressing as the Grinch became a community highlight that delights kids and keeps the mystery alive.

If you’re plotting a quick getaway or scouting a base for a longer Blue Ridge escape, this conversation is a ready-made itinerary. You’ll hear practical tips for choosing trails in Montreat, why Mount Craig deserves a mention next to Mount Mitchell, and how to find TP Day Trip Adventures through local chambers or a simple Google search. More than anything, you’ll feel the pull of a place where mountain air and small-town warmth meet in the middle. Enjoy the ride, and when you’re done, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who needs a day trip on the calendar.

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SPEAKER_00:

Bill Holderman, I am really glad you're here today. And I um do you remember the first time we met? You you were helping me with the building. You came in to I don't know what you were doing there, something. And uh you came in and you were like, hey, we need to fix this, this, and this. And that was the first time I met you and you kind of scared me. And then I found out that you were not anybody to be afraid of, and I found out that everybody in town knows Phil Holderman.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'm not a scary guy at all.

SPEAKER_00:

But I thought you were. You're totally not. But so for anybody who doesn't know Phil Holderman, tell me who you are. What's your story? Where are you from?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm from here. I'm local born here. I was raised in Swaninois. I've been here for 53 years coming this April. And I've been married for 34 years. I met her in high school, and we've stayed in the valley and raised our kids and grandkids.

SPEAKER_00:

What's her name?

SPEAKER_01:

Tanya.

SPEAKER_00:

With an eye.

SPEAKER_01:

With an eye.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. Good. I really like both of you and I enjoy both of you coming in. It's funny. She works for a company, Always Best Care, and they take care of seniors. And then you're the guy who does the fun, cool job, which we'll talk about in a minute. But it of the both of you come in for different reasons, and it's fun to always get to talk to y'all. Tell me a little bit about, let's say you went to Owen High School.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Class of 1992.

SPEAKER_00:

Holy cow, back in the 1900s.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow. Okay. And you raised your children here. How many children do you have?

SPEAKER_01:

I've got two girls.

SPEAKER_00:

Two girls. And they have how many children?

SPEAKER_01:

Each girl has two kids.

SPEAKER_00:

And they visit, it feels like there's like nine. It does. Yeah. Okay. How did you meet Tanya? Did y'all meet in high school? You said that.

SPEAKER_01:

I met Tanya, and she'd be so proud of me to remember these dates, probably times too, but I met Tanya October the 31st, 1988, at a Halloween party.

SPEAKER_00:

What was your costume?

SPEAKER_01:

Me.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that is frightening. What about Tanya? What was she doing?

SPEAKER_01:

Somebody said that a good-looking girl from Reynolds is going to be there. So I went there, me and a friend of mine, Chris. And uh that's when I met Tanya.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, good. What was she dressed as?

SPEAKER_01:

As Tanya. So it was not a costume party. It was not a costume party.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, well, you gotta say that.

SPEAKER_01:

Just a Halloween party. Just a Halloween party. Hanging out, eating candy, and meeting the one you're gonna be with for the rest of your life.

SPEAKER_00:

That's very awesome. That's cool. Well, that was a good choice to go to that party. Yeah. So y'all have lived here all this time. Your kids are grown and flown, and you have these other children. You all w own TP Day Trip Adventures. And when you've when I first met you, that was one of the coolest things about you. I think it's the you have an amazing van that people go ride in and whatever. But tell me about where you take them. What you what do you do? Tell me about it.

SPEAKER_01:

We take people to state and national parks, like for instance, Mount Mitchell. It's the highest peak east of the Mississippi, and it's just right up the road from us. And I love taking people up there. Since the hurricane, it's been on and off, you know, so it's coming back. Uh we we also take people to Kowohe, known as Chim uh Klingman's Dome. We go to Chimley Rock, Grandfather Mountain, and just, you know, state national parks. We also do trips for people that come in. Like I just did a bachelorette party over the weekend.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh Lord, in that ice storm.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, what uh they got out, they're from Georgia. They flew up here and they flew up here, we did it, and then they flew back the next day. So they needed to get out of here before the storm hit.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, good.

SPEAKER_01:

Whether it was snow or ice.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, whatever it was. Where did y'all go?

SPEAKER_01:

We I took them to uh Bold Rock.

SPEAKER_00:

So you're talking about things I don't know yet. Maybe I need to just ride around in your van for a week. Let's go. Let's go. Let's get them. Yeah. Do you take one person on the van? Do you take 15 people? What what's your how does it work?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, when we started the business, uh, we got a capacity that we could fit in the van. We can fit 14 people. Counting me, we got 15. Normally, what have what we've been taking is five to six people. Um, I have taken one person on trips. I've taken two. Preferably, we would rather take groups of people. That's that's what we started to do. We want to take groups of people. That's the over the last weekend we took a bachelorette party around and stuff. But we've we've taken people that's that's flew in from all over, from New Jersey, New York, Michigan.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_01:

That's come down to the Asheville area and we've we've taken them out.

SPEAKER_00:

Very cool. So how do people find you?

SPEAKER_01:

I think they're finding us through the chambers. Really? Black Mountain of Sworn Oil Chamber, the Asheville Chamber, and they can type in on Google TP's day trips, and it pops up. I mean, if you type in day trip, TPs will will pop up.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So you're so your website's helping a lot.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, very cool. In my opinion, you would be a blast. You're you're you're I think you're nervous this morning because you're not being Phil Holderman, that's super fun prankster guy. But to me, it would be, I think you would be really fun to go on a trip with Tanya too. Don't, I'm not like trying to get a trip with you here, but but it'd be really fun to go with. I think that you know the area. Y'all how did y'all I that's one of the cool things is how y'all started the business, how you decided to make it into a business. Tell me about that.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I always tell people that it was Tanya's senior project in high school. But it it was uh, it was that, but it's something that we've talked about and wanted to do for years. And me and Tanya always get out. We always go to these places. And then we just sat down one day and we said, you know what, we need to start a business. We want to take people to these places that stand out. I mean, Mount Mitchell's the highest peak east of the Mississippi. How many people have been there? Right. Even locals, right? And we we want to take people there and show them what is in our area.

SPEAKER_00:

My dad grew up uh up in Montreat, and as a kid, eight, nine years old, he and his buddies would go hike to Mount Mitchell and spend the night in the woods. And I'm like, Well, did you have like parents with you? And he's like, No, you just went camping. There were a couple kids that were a couple years older. I'm like, what? So so really from here, it's only like 11 miles walking, but it's what, an hour and a half in the car to get there?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, an hour or something like that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. But I just think that's amazing that these kids used to just go hike and they'd spend the night in the woods and come back the next day and their parents would find. That's awesome. I I just think that's amazing to think that it's that close, I guess, is it it surprises me because you can see it. We we see it, we know where it is. But I actually just went as a grown-up, maybe a month or two ago. I just went for the first time. Yeah, I mean, I used to go as a kid. We used to drive over there, but anyway, I am going to hop in the van and ride with y'all sometime soon. Let's go. Let's do it. We've got to do this because I need to know these things. People come in the visitor center, and I don't know the answers. They're like, well, where's Klingman's Dome? I'm like, well, I've got a map right here. Let me show you. Talk to me about Christmas time. You do something that's a little different from most people. It's not easy being green.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, that time of the year, it Is it a secret? No. Okay. The kids love to see the Grinch. You're the Grinch. Yes. That's I was gonna tell you, Tanya's the Grinch, but no, she's not tall enough to be the Grinch.

SPEAKER_00:

She's only five foot six, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Five foot.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Mutt and Jeff over there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So tell me how'd you decide to become the Grinch? And tell me what what do you do? What are you doing?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know. It's it's been so long ago since I started doing it. I I think I just saw it online, and me and Tonya were sitting there, and it's like, you need to be the Grinch because I was watching the movie so many times, and I'm talking like the Grinch and acting it out, and it's like we got to put a float in the Black Mountain Parade and do this. That's awesome. Since then to now, the uniform has gotten better, and we we put a float in it every year. And I just I love seeing the kids' faces.

SPEAKER_00:

Very cool. Well, I'm gonna grab you one day. We're gonna go do we're gonna go do something next Christmas time. Ooh, we could do it in the middle of the summer and freak people out. Anyway, sorry. Yes, we're gonna have a good time.

SPEAKER_01:

We could.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I love that you're the Grinch, and that's fun. It's funny how many times I'm somewhere and somebody will say, Did you know that the Grinch was here? And they don't have a clue who it is. That's why I asked if it was a secret, because they don't know. People don't know who it is, and I think that's funny. Yeah. Anyway. Y'all were with which which float were you with this year? Were you your own?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we was our own float.

SPEAKER_00:

What'd you register as?

SPEAKER_01:

You don't know, Tanya did it. Tanya's not here. I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00:

Tanya did it.

SPEAKER_01:

I only put this in there. I'll just walk behind it and go hug kids. That's right. I have a picture. And pick on adults.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. I said I was gonna say I have a picture of you and me at that float at that parade. All right, so tell me about high school. You were you were a sports guy. What did you do? What did you what sports did you play?

SPEAKER_01:

Growing up, I played baseball, basketball, and football. And baseball faded away as I got to high school. I played two years in high school basketball, and then that faded away for me. And I I played football all four years at high school. I started as a freshman on the varsity football team.

SPEAKER_00:

And what position did you play?

SPEAKER_01:

I was a tight end and outside linebacker and punter.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, okay. That's a funny combination, isn't it? It is. Okay. It is. I don't know a whole lot about football, but those did not go together in my head.

SPEAKER_01:

So I had scholarships to go to Western Western Carolina University and Liberty as a punter and receiver, but I didn't go because I had to take care of a a baby and I just got married.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go. Well, that's good. That was a good choice. Yes. Yes. Anyway, so Liberty, that's pretty far away.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Would you have gone where the situation was different, do you think?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Did you want to go away when you were a kid? Were you like, I can't wait to move, or were you one of the ones who wanted to stay here?

SPEAKER_01:

I wanted to stay here.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's funny to me. I think on the last four podcasts, we've had one person who grew up here and said, I really wanted to leave, and then I came back. Yeah. But it's funny that I guess two or three of y'all have been like, no, I never wanted to leave. And I think that's unusual. Do you think that's a good one?

SPEAKER_01:

I wanted to just stay here because my mom and dad lives here. Uh my older sister, my twin sister, my brother lives in Fayetteville. But my I wanted to take care of my mom and dad. You know, when my dad couldn't mow the yard, I went down and mowed it and I took care of them. I just I couldn't leave my family and my friends that are still living here.

SPEAKER_00:

That's exactly what Laurie Morris said. And I think that's really that I don't know. I'm starting to see a trend here. Is that a black mountain swine a thing? I don't know. I don't know. That's interesting. All right, so you stayed, and your parents still here?

SPEAKER_01:

No, they've they've passed away.

SPEAKER_00:

They have a long time ago.

SPEAKER_01:

My dad did in 2004, and my mama passed in 2019.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. All right. Well, that must be hard to not have them here.

SPEAKER_01:

It is, but I've got their memories.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right.

SPEAKER_01:

They raised me right.

SPEAKER_00:

They raised you right. They sure did. You are Mr. Chivalry, and I appreciate that. He still holds the door for people when they come in the door and takes care of people. All right. So you have siblings. They live in Fayetteville. Did they come back?

SPEAKER_01:

I've got an older sister that lives in the house that I grew up in. That's cool. And she's older than me. I'm not going to tell you how old. I've got an older brother that lives in Fayetteville. And I've got a twin sister that lives here in Black Mountain with me. There's two of you? There's two of us.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my goodness. That's frightening.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm the better looking of the two. But, you know, I mean, that's what I tell everybody.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not true.

SPEAKER_00:

Not true. I don't know. I don't know. I've never met her. I didn't even know she existed.

SPEAKER_01:

We was right in the middle of Black Mountain.

SPEAKER_00:

Very cool. Do I know her?

SPEAKER_01:

You know Jack Taylor?

SPEAKER_00:

Not yet.

SPEAKER_01:

Jack's from Black Mountain. He's lived here forever, and he used to drive a UPS truck and deliver here in Black Mountain. Then he retired from that.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. And that's his That's his why?

SPEAKER_01:

My twin sister's husband.

SPEAKER_00:

Got it. Okay. So I gotta meet these people.

SPEAKER_01:

That'll be cool.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. All right. Tell me about our community. What's your what's your what if somebody if somebody's in your van and they've they've they've they don't live here, they don't have a clue. What it what makes Black Mountain Swannola so awesome? Why why do you still live here?

SPEAKER_01:

The community. I'll just tell you, you know, s since the storm, we've we've had a bad hit. And my 53, I'll turn 53 in April, by the way, but I'll go ahead and say my 53 years here growing up in the valley. And when you say valley, you're talking about Black Mountain, you're talking about Ridgecrest, Black Mountain, Swannanoa. And it's it's home. It's it's family, it's friends. And being in Black Mountain for so long, it's when you know, when the storm hit, me and Tonya went out and started helping wherever we could. And, you know, it didn't matter who you were, it didn't matter who you voted for, it didn't matter who you liked. Everybody came together as one.

SPEAKER_00:

Was it like that before the storm?

SPEAKER_01:

To me it was.

SPEAKER_00:

That's what I keep hearing, and I don't I just don't hear that. To me. I've lived a lot of places, and I don't hear that anywhere else.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Why do you think that is?

SPEAKER_01:

It's it's just a hometown atmosphere. It's Black Mountain is it's you know, it's family. You know, people we may be a little different in this and that, but everybody still comes together as a family and we we help each other out. That's like walking downtown Black Mountain and just I love going down there. You can eat, you can shop. You can taste children, they can play in the water park in the middle of the road, it's so much fun.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, there's really only four of them? Grandchildren?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

That's amazing. I always thought there were maybe they have friends with them sometimes.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's see, four, five, six, and eight.

SPEAKER_00:

Holy cow. Well, you do a good job of corralling them and you and you I always I don't I rarely see you by yourself without nine or ten children.

SPEAKER_01:

See, grandchildren are great because you can play with them and send them back home.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go. There you go. What are your what kind of traditions do you and your family have that maybe once you had did with your girls and now you're doing them with your grandchildren?

SPEAKER_01:

Swimming. Where do you swim? In my backyard. You have a pool? Yeah, I got a pool. Oh, good. It's it's a lot of upkeep.

SPEAKER_00:

I know.

SPEAKER_01:

But it's so much fun grabbing a grandkid and just throwing them in.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Life life jacket, okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, whatever. Yeah. So do they go on these adventures? The T T P day trip adventures. You taking them?

SPEAKER_01:

Not my grandkids, but my my two girls, they're 34 and 31. Emily just turned 31 the other day. Happy birthday, Emily. And those girls have been with me and Tanya growing up. We've we've gone everywhere and they've been with us. So they've had they have experienced what we are doing now for TPs.

SPEAKER_00:

Cool. I love that part of the the business, is that it really did start with just y'all doing your thing and doing what you love doing. And then anytime somebody can do what they love to do for their business, I think it's I think that's magic. I love it when that happens. All right, you eat at the bistro a lot. A lot. A lot. And that's how I get to see you a lot because you all come visit me after you eat at the bistro.

SPEAKER_01:

Or before.

SPEAKER_00:

Where else do you like to go?

SPEAKER_01:

My father's pizza.

SPEAKER_00:

Really? What do you get there?

SPEAKER_01:

Steak and cheese sub every time I go there.

SPEAKER_00:

Every time.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So my father's pizza. Bistro. Give me one more. That's y'all's go-to place.

SPEAKER_01:

Phil's Barbecue.

SPEAKER_00:

Is that yours? I mean, your name's Phil. Do they name it after you?

SPEAKER_01:

No. Even though we are neighbors.

SPEAKER_00:

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01:

But no, that's Phil's I love Phil's barbecue. We love going there and supporting him and my father's pizza, the bistro, there's uh all the restaurants in Black Mountain, and it's hard to say this one's better than that one, but there's I love our food here in Black Mountain.

SPEAKER_00:

Isn't it funny? Because it is hard to pick a page.

SPEAKER_01:

It is, it is.

SPEAKER_00:

How many restaurants do we have that are independently owned in this town?

SPEAKER_01:

Whoa.

SPEAKER_00:

What you'd guess.

SPEAKER_01:

Ten.

SPEAKER_00:

Thirty-eight. Wow. Isn't that amazing?

unknown:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, we've got all those international foods. We've got I mean, it's just and I've I have I have been to 37 of the 38 that I love.

SPEAKER_01:

Which one?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'm not gonna tell you the one because that sounds like they're bad. And it's not it's not that they're bad, it's that I haven't found what I love there. And that's on me. I gotta go back again and see if we try something else. People tell me all the time what to try there, so I need to go there. I think I'll do that today. That way I can't say that again after this week. There we go. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

You're making me hungry. I know.

SPEAKER_00:

If we could go eat right now, where would you go?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know, but I want barbecue and macaroni, like a mac and cheese barbecue plate. Where can we get that at?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know, but in in in the town I used to live in, they had redneck lasagna. Have you ever heard of that?

SPEAKER_01:

No, but it sounds like I like it.

SPEAKER_00:

It's amazing. It's macro, and you can make this at any barbecue place that you like. You the mac and cheese goes on the bottom and then the barbecue just goes on top. So it's like a layer, like lasagna. That's the only reason they call it lasagna because it's layered. But I'm telling you, the combination is mac daddy awesome. You got to put your fork all the way in and get let's go.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, I'm hungry.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's go eat. What time does Phil's open?

SPEAKER_01:

Nail. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, let's go. No, we can't go yet. So you've got people in your van, you're driving around, and they're like, wow, I really like it here. There's so many cool things to see, and Western North Carolina is gorgeous. Thank you for taking all these places. But what's it like to actually live here? What's it like? What would you tell me if I was visiting and I decided I wanted to tell all my cousins to come here one time? What would you tell them? Why would why would people come here?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, we could talk about Black Mountain, the the downtown Black Mountain area. There's plenty of places to shop, to get food, to get desserts. There's a museum, there's hiking trails, we have a park. We also have golfing in Black Mountain. And there's plenty to do here and see.

SPEAKER_00:

Very cool. But the community, you said that's why you would live here, continue to live here as a community. There is a lot to do here. I'm working on a tourism package right now, and you and I need to sit down and talk about that. But but trying to work on the tourism side of it because people don't know what all is here. And they come in the visitor center and they say, What do we do? And we have to narrow it down to, well, did you want to hike? Do you want to eat? Do you want to go to a brewery? Do you want to go here? Do you want to go biking? What do you want to do? Did you know we have a sailboat regatta thing here? What? Thank you. That makes me feel better. There's a remote control sailboat. Your grandkids would love this. Sailboat regatta, and I think it's on, I think it's on Wednesdays at like one o'clock at Lake Tomahawk. You need to go see it. But there's things like that that people don't know exist. And where did I learn about that? On this podcast. Somebody sitting across the table from me told me about it.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I just learned that myself.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, good. See? But there are. There are so many things to do here. And people can come and stay for a week. They can stay for just 24, 48 hours, and they they have plenty to do. But there are people who come and stay for three months. And there's also plenty of that too. Lots of Airbnbs, lots of smaller, like they're not called micro hotels, but they're called, I don't know, like little villages that exist or whatever. Anyway, lots of places to stay. And then there's lots of day trips you could take that aren't. I'm not like I'm not saying TP day trip adventures again. I'm just saying you can go to Waynesville for the day and go explore over there and come back. And there's still, you know, you can stay a long time. That's what we're doing, is we're trying to go on day trips just to different towns and different little burgs around here and see them. So that's that's good. But all right, so you have to go on one day trip. Only one. Somebody's here for one day and they call you up. Where are you taking them and why?

SPEAKER_01:

I will go back to Mount Mitchell. Yep. I have been at the visitor center when people are walking in and they ask me questions. I guess because they think I work there. So maybe you might want to hire me. But anyway, sure. They want to go to waterfalls.

SPEAKER_00:

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01:

They want to go hiking and see the mountain views and stuff. I mean, what better than Montreat to go up hiking up lookout? But my number one place for TPs to take somebody would be Mount Mitchell because it's it's close. And if it feels a little bit longer than what the trip normally is, it's because you climb in that high elevation to get up there.

SPEAKER_00:

It's true. I didn't know about the little trail that right when you come down from walk I'm not a hiker. Right. If you can't tell.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm a I'm a riding the car kind of girl.

SPEAKER_01:

Let's go.

SPEAKER_00:

So, yeah. But then when you walk up to the top of the thing and you look at the overlook, which is amazing. And I mean, it anyway, and then you come back down, those little trails that are back there in the woods, yeah, you feel like you're in oh, what's that movie? The little gnome people. I ha everybody loves it. What is the name of it, Peter? Murdy people like it. The little Gandalf and Oh.

unknown:

Lord of the Rings.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. It's the little trail back there, and you feel like you're in like Lord of the Rings or something like that.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, do you know what I'm talking about? I do. Me and Tonya hiked it the last time we went up there two years ago in April.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And it snow it was a snow on the ground coming up that trail. So it was beautiful.

SPEAKER_00:

I I don't know why we went. I just saw it and I thought, well, that looks like a little trail that would be fun to go on. That was the coolest thing. I if somebody said to me, What's your favorite? It's not really a hike because it's not that long. I guess it's still a hike. It counts. Count it. Anyway, but that would be my favorite thing that I've done since I got here that wasn't in our specific little area.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you know every time I go up to Mount Mitchell and I'm I'm on the top? Tanya's like, oh gosh, you're going to talk to somebody. And I'm like, Yeah, I talk to everybody. That's what I do. And that you can see people that's there and they're just looking at all these mountain peaks. And of course, I just slide over there and I say, Did you know that you're on the tallest peak east of the Mississippi at 6,684 feet? And they're like, Yeah. And I said, Did you know that one right behind us is the second highest peak? It's called Mount Craig. And then if you look that way, you can barely see that peak. And that's the third highest peak.

SPEAKER_00:

I didn't know any of that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. You can see that the third. It's Klingman's, but Kowo. It's known as Kowohe.

SPEAKER_00:

Didn't know that. See, I need to go on a trip. See, I I just always invite myself to things. I don't have any trouble doing that. I'm very shy.

SPEAKER_01:

I could let you know who just who did the height of the peaks.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And who they are and why they did it and why they got the names. I mean back you got Mount Mitchell and behind it, number two is Mount Craig, and then behind Mount Craig you got Big Tom's Peak. Okay. Otherwise known as Big Tom. I could I could I love telling people all about Big Tom.

SPEAKER_00:

See, you need to take people. You should do this for a living. I'm gonna try to. I think that's a good idea. Yeah. Okay, second favorite place, Klingman's Dome.

SPEAKER_01:

Nope. I have been to Klingman's Dome so many times. I love it. It's beautiful. Probably Klingman's Dome. Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Klingman's Dome.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. What do you tell people when you just happen to meet them at the top of that?

SPEAKER_01:

I find Mount Mitchell and I say, look that way. That's the tallest picture. That's the tallest picture. The funniest thing about Mount Mitchell and Klingman's Dome is they was in a feud back in the 1800s.

SPEAKER_00:

What does that mean? What were they fighting over?

SPEAKER_01:

Klingman was a student under Mitchell at Chapel Hill.

SPEAKER_00:

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep. This is back before the Civil War time, so that takes you that far back. And several years, you know, some sometime later, they got into a, I'm gonna say a feud maybe about whose was taller. And Klingman was looking at that mountain peak, and Elijah Mitchell was looking at his, and it was it was a feud, and it came to figure out that Mount Mitchell's was higher. But the the funny thing about it is is me and Tonya talk about this all the time. The tower that goes up Klingman's right now is four feet higher than Mount Mitchell.

SPEAKER_00:

Then how did he win?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. It's just the top of the tree.

SPEAKER_00:

Just the thing.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's the legistry.

SPEAKER_00:

Or is that real?

SPEAKER_01:

That's real.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. I just interrupted you. What were you gonna say? You don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

I was gonna say, you know, Klingman's. He was saying his was the highest, but Mount Mitchell's the highest, but Klingman's wasn't even the second highest because Craig's the highest. So but anyway, I I don't care who's the highest. I love going there. It's beautiful views. Love seeing people and talking to people when we go there.

SPEAKER_00:

Cool. Do you take more locals or more visitors on these trips?

SPEAKER_01:

Visitors.

SPEAKER_00:

How do we get locals to go on them? Because I live here. I haven't been to Klingman's Dome.

SPEAKER_01:

You just find that sunny weekend, sad Friday, Saturday, Sunday, whatever day, and you just go.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's plan a trip.

SPEAKER_01:

Wouldn't it we?

SPEAKER_00:

Let's do a chamber trip where the whole we can sell it to people and get them to come and let's do that. We need to. I think that's important. Anyway, thank you for coming today. I appreciate you being here. And I appreciate hearing a little bit more about TP day trip adventures, because we keep saying I'm gonna get in the van and go with y'all sometime, and I just haven't done it. So let's get out the calendar next time you're at the visitor center and we'll make it happen. We will do it. All right. Thank you, sir. Yep. Thanks for joining us on Exploring the Valley. Until next time, keep celebrating the pride of our community and discovering the magic of the mountains. In the meantime, you're free to move about the valley.