Yesterday I promised to show you where you can truly find some southern hospitality in the mountains of Ashe County, NC.
And here it is: Phipps Country Store.
It is a beautiful setting, the epitome of friendliness, & a place that makes you want to come back. (The owner, James Wood, lives in the house in the background)
It is delightful inside...
and has a little of all kinds of things (the baskets on the upper left are hand made, as well as many other items). I loved dipping into the candy jars (on the bottom left) to get some hot cinnamon balls & some butterscotch balls. It reminded me of when I was a little girl & my grandparents ran a country store in Indiana.
These are local hams!
We spent about an hour & a half at this store...
and this man is the reason we did (BTW, he says that most folks call him "Dawg")! He greeted us before we got in the door, was so friendly, had lots of great stories, & made us feel so welcome. He spoke to everyone who came in, calling many by name (it is obviously a place where many come in often).
They have music there on Friday nights, & though he was humble, I have a feeling that he is quite a musician himself. We hope to go back one Friday evening & enjoy the mountain music by whoever is playing (the previous evening the place had been packed! He showed us a video of some musicians who had played.)
This is out the back door...
and so is this...
Her name is Shiloh & she is the NC state dog: a Plott Hound (I thought about making you guess what the state dog is, but decided to give you a "freebie"...)
She is very loved by her owner & he told us all about Plotts; the history, the lineage, the difference between them & blue ticks (or any other types), how strong they are, how much energy they have & how long they will run, & most importantly, that they are the best dogs to hunt down a bear. Now I don't like to think about bears in our mountains, but I know they are around from time to time... though Dawg said he & his wife are the only ones who have never seen one on his farm.
This is the view across the street from the store...
Now you know which country store to seek out when you are in Ashe County...
And now you know the rest of the story.
9 comments:
Those are exactly the kind of folks I LOVE to run into when we travel!
It looks SO adorable! You have to take me there next time we're up!
I want to come when you take G!!! That place looks simply amazing!! I love the quaintness and old-fashioned-ness of it all!
LOVE.LOVE.LOVE.
(By the way...thank you so much for your precious words on my post yesterday. It comforts my soul to know that others understand and "get" it.)
howdy sandy,your too kind. not very good at this blog thing, but really enjoyed yours.one little correction on the bear sighting. i meant my wife and i were the only ones not to see one on the farm. we guess we're 'bear cursed'. the best part of doing the store is meeting good folk as yourselves. youin's have a great and blessed day. see youin's soon. dawg-phipps store
I'd love to stop in next time we're in the mountains. Those are my favorite kinds of places, where the people are real and there's no pretense.
LOVE the dog - I've only seen one Plott Hound before and he was gorgeous. Definitely on the list to consider if we ever get a dog.
After hearing all the history of the Plott & how much energy they have, I don't think anyone would want them on their list to consider unless you have a big farm & love to hunt...
What an adorable little store. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so thrilled to see Ashe County represented so kindly here on your blog! That store is just across a few hills from where I grew up in Lansing. I found you through the Phipps Store Facebook page where they posted this there. Very happy to see it! And even though I'm in Charlotte now, Ashe County will always be home. :)
How neat! I would love to see that, too. Of course, I would just love to go explore the mountains. Period. lol :) Beautiful pics and beautiful stories told. Glad you are able to sit back and take in the beauty all around you. What a blessing!
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