360º Virtual Tour: Fire Mountain Inn
We Get Around Chief Photographer Dan Smigrod – and his wife – staying at Fire Mountain Inn, Cabins & Treehouses in the North Carolina smokey mountains over the Memorial Day weekend. Dan writes ...
Dan and his wife
This was our eighth vacation at Fire Mountain Inn – an upscale-rustic mountain-top hideaway bed and breakfast. We love the quietude of the spectacular, beautiful setting for our weekend getaway. It's the perfect place to unplug to recharge.
This visit, we stayed in the Hemlock cabin: beautiful, spacious living room with fireplace, two-bedrooms (master, second), huge deck with a hot-tub for star-gazing and kitchen. Hemlock is one of five cabins on a quadrangle. The neighboring properties include a home with horses; and a farm a stone's throw from the Fire Mountain Inn pond.
While we have staying in nearly half of the 15 accommodations (including: Red Thunder and Nantahala in the Inn; and Red Cedar and Blue Moss cabins), Hemlock is our favorite.
To add to the magic of Fire Mountain, at sunset Saturday night, a couple got engaged while her parents looked on.
Highlights of our three-night getaway included:
- hiking 1.8 miles to the top of Scaly mountain and then another hundred yards to another great vista from the top of the mountain.
- dining at the always special Cyprus restaurant in its new downtown highlands location. Before dinner, we stopped on the way at a scenic overlook to see the sunset.
- visiting a beautiful waterfalls in nearby Sky Valley and discovering a natural stone bridge: amazing from the top and bottom.
- shopping for dinner at Mountain Fresh Grocery (fresh trout and dark chocolate balsamic vinegar which we drizzled over just picked strawberries from a local produce stand just outside of Dillard, GA.)
- taking in the starry nights at Fire Mountain
- a scenic drive into downtown Highlands past the Highlands Country Club
- a gourmet breakfast – overlooking the often smokey mountains – every morning in the Inn
- visiting the art gallery at Fire Mountain Inn
We look forward to our next visit to Fire Mountain Inn.
About the 360º Photo Spheres
- I used the We Get Around DIY 1-click camera bundle for the 360ºs at the top of Scaly mountain, the couple getting engaged and some of the other 360ºs.
- I used our pro gear – with HDR – to shoot the Hemlock cabin and most of the other 360ºs.
