Retirees Bill and Judy Carson run The Orchard at Altapass, located outside of Spruce Pine, NC. The orchard is designed to be a gathering and meeting center for locals and tourists alike.

“Call it saving the good stuff… there should be a few places where the beauty of the place and the values of the old communities that have been here before can be identified and preserved to the extent possible.”

A man in a cowboy hat laughs
Two men look over a sound panel
A dog stands in front of a truck on a mountainside
An older man explains something to two young guests
Three women look at a variety of jams and sauces on a shelf
A collection of people sit in an audience while a band plays

More Stories

  • A motorcycle with its light on
  • A set of gold gears
  • A pair of hands grasped together
  • A cow's skull sits on a wooden outdoor walls
  • A woman in glasses smiles at two parishioners
  • A pair of windows on an old, wooden grain mill
  • A man works on a ceramic on a pottery wheel
  • A pair of hands work on iron decor
  • A young girl with a pink hat bites her lip
  • A woman works on a glass flower sculpture
  • A boy sticks out his tongue while his mom brushes his teeth
  • A group of women sit on a tractor going through the mountains
  • A man pushes a piece of wood through a saw
  • A puppy tugs on a woman's green skirt
  • A woman in overalls walks through rows of tall grasses
  • A chainsaw cuts through a log
  • A set of brown horses look directly to camera
  • A woman uses a scraper on a grill