BOONE, N.C. — Freddie Pell helps lift a vintage wooden chair off the sidewalk and back inside his art gallery. It's starting to rain in downtown Boone, and he doesn't want it to get soaked — again.

Perched high in the Blue Ridge Mountains is the quirky college town of Boone, which at only a 3-hour’s drive from us in Raleigh, is the perfect destination for a getaway. Boone isn’t just a mountain ...

As Western North Carolina recovers from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, many restaurants and small businesses who rely on tourism dollars during the fall foliage travel season are struggling.