Arboretum Trolls

On Saturday, we took Harper and Amaroq to Asheville for a delightful troll-hunting adventure at the North Carolina Arboretum's Trolls: A Field Study exhibit by Thomas Dambo.

We arrived in the morning and kicked off our quest with Lilnut, the net-wielding troll right near the parking area. 

She nearly snagged Amaroq as he curiously sniffed around her.

Just a bit further along the lot stood Boge, looking like he was ready to grab hold of something (or someone!).

We wandered down the garden paths next, where Kirse greeted us mid-handstand.

There was a fun natural playground nearby, but the chilly weather kept Harper from playing too long. Continuing on the Natural Garden Trail, we soon spotted Poppy (or Poppi), who was armed with a fishing net and a handful of old cell phones, clearly fascinated by human gadgets.

Up in the meadow, Hasse had us laughing with her upside-down pose, peering between her legs.

We looped back onto the trail and passed Birch with his hiking stick.

At the end, we descend to the serene Willow Pond

Across, Anja was busy counting her collection of rocks.

From there, we climbed up toward the visitor center. Just outside stood Wilde, sketching a human figure on his phone with great concentration.

We pressed on through the gardens to find the final few: Bignut, who triumphantly caught Amaroq in his net.

Valle, peacefully napping in the garden.

Taks, ever the explorer, was searching intently with his net in hand.

Last but not least was Larke, sporting a dumpster on her head— a quirky reminder of human habits! With all twelve trolls checked off our list, we enjoyed a short hike along the Carolina Mountain Trail.

It wound down, following Wolf Branch to Bent Creek Road, then connected to the Bent Creek Forest area.

Instead of sticking to the road, we took the Creekside Trail.

Running parallel to the road, there were prettier views of the creek.

From there, we detoured onto the Ethnobotany Trail and through the Native Azalea Garden - I can only imagine how stunning it must be in spring when the azaleas are in full bloom. 

We looped back up via Running Cedar Road.

The Bonsai Exhibition Garden isn't dog-friendly, so we took turns exploring it.

After that, we headed out and stopped for a tasty dinner at Ecusta Brewing in Brevard before checking into the cozy Sunset Motel for the night. What a wonderful, whimsical day - highly recommend it for families, dogs included!