December 20, 2023 • 48 mins
In this episode I sit down with Valerie Frapp, General Manager of the Historic Tapoco Lodge. We delve into the rich history, timeless design, and unparalleled craftsmanship that define this haven, virtually unchanged since its establishment in 1930. The Lodge's spacious and inviting layout, featuring the Tapoco dining room, Laurel Lounge Whiskey Bar, grand fireplace, library, and riverside seating with firepits, continues to captivate visitors.
Discover the fascinating evolution of the Historic Tapoco Lodge through Valerie's insights into its 27 unique rooms, ranging from rustic cabins to luxurious suites, and the 11 enchanting hiking trails that weave through the property. But the magic doesn't end there – the staff's dedication to creating an unforgettable experience shines through, from incorporating local products into meals to fostering a warm holiday atmosphere, now extending throughout the year.
No exploration of Historic Tapoco Lodge would be complete without delving into nearby wonders like the renowned Tale of the Dragon, the iconic Great Smoky Mountains National Park, serene Lake Santeetlah, the enchanting Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, and charming towns like Robbinsville and Bryson City.
Join us on this unforgettable journey into the heart and soul of a historic yet modern gem – Historic Tapoco Lodge, where adventure and sanctuary seamlessly converge.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Potawatomi Nation
https://www.potawatomiheritage.com/encyclopedia/trail-of-death/
Discover the fascinating evolution of the Historic Tapoco Lodge through Valerie's insights into its 27 unique rooms, ranging from rustic cabins to luxurious suites, and the 11 enchanting hiking trails that weave through the property. But the magic doesn't end there – the staff's dedication to creating an unforgettable experience shines through, from incorporating local products into meals to fostering a warm holiday atmosphere, now extending throughout the year.
No exploration of Historic Tapoco Lodge would be complete without delving into nearby wonders like the renowned Tale of the Dragon, the iconic Great Smoky Mountains National Park, serene Lake Santeetlah, the enchanting Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, and charming towns like Robbinsville and Bryson City.
Join us on this unforgettable journey into the heart and soul of a historic yet modern gem – Historic Tapoco Lodge, where adventure and sanctuary seamlessly converge.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Potawatomi Nation
https://www.potawatomiheritage.com/encyclopedia/trail-of-death/
Mike Andress
Host, Exploration Local
828-551-9065
mike@explorationlocal.com
Podcast Website
Facebook
Instagram: explorationlocal
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In 1930, as part of hydroelectric efforts in Graham
(00:03):
and Swain counties of NorthCarolina, the aluminum company
of America built the historicTopoka Lodge, which sits on the
banks of the Chihuahua River.
During the early years itserved as the executive retreat
for Alcoa executives, involvedin the building of the Chihuahua
Dam.
For several decades, the lodgewas used as a resort by Alcoa as
it shifted its focus from aprivate retreat center to a
(00:24):
place for friends and family togather.
As the late 1990s approached,the property fell into disrepair
and was sold to private buyers,and in June of 1995, the
historic Topoka Lodge wasreopened to the public as a
traditional mountain retreat forguests of all ages to enjoy.
The property has changedownership just a few times since
1995, and today it is part ofthe enthusiast hotel collection
(00:48):
where each property ispersonally handpicked to
represent a distinct and veryunique experience.
In this episode I sit down withValerie Frapp, general manager
of the historic Topoka Lodge.
We talk about the lodge's richhistory, design and
craftsmanship, which hasremained nearly unchanged since
its building in 1930.
Its spacious, cozy design was,and still is, inviting and warm.
(01:12):
The evolution of the TopokaLodge is quite intriguing.
You'll be enthralled by theexquisite offering, including
the Topoka Dining Room, theLaurel Lounge, whiskey Bar, the
Grand Fireplace, the Library andRiverside Seating, complete
with fire pits.
Valerie shares an inside viewof the 27 unique rooms,
including rustic cabins andluxurious suites, and the 11
(01:36):
alluring hiking trails thatadorn the property.
But the enchantment doesn'tstop there.
The staff has invested a greatdeal of time and energy and to
making the experience trulyunforgettable.
You'll be impressed by thelodge's commitment to using
local products and their mealsin the warm atmosphere during
the holidays, and visitors willnow get to experience the magic
(01:56):
of Topoka Lodge all year long.
No discussion about thehistoric Topoka Lodge would be
complete without talking aboutsome of the amazing places you
can explore and visit nearby,like the famed Tale of the
Dragon, one of North Carolina'smost iconic roads, the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park,lake Santilla, joyce Kilmer
(02:17):
Memorial Forest, robbinsvilleand Bryson City, just to name a
few.
This episode promises anunforgettable journey into the
heart and soul of this historicyet modern gem, and I'm excited
to share this episode with you.
The historic Topoka Lodge, whereadventure and sanctuary meet.
You're listening to ExplorationLocal, a podcast designed to
(02:45):
explore and celebrate the peopleand places that make the Blue
Ridge and Southern AppalachianMountains special and unique.
My name is Mike Andrus, thehost of Exploration Local.
Join us on our journey toexplore these mountains and
discover how they fuel a spiritof adventure.
We encourage you to wander far,but explore local.
Let's go Well.
(03:08):
I'm excited to have ValerieFrapp here with me today.
We are actually on site at thehistoric Topoka Lodge.
We're going to unpack in thisepisode all the amazing things
about the lodge things to do andwe're going to spend a little
bit of time today talking aboutthe history and how this
property has evolved over theyears.
But before we do that, valerie,I'd like to welcome you to the
(03:30):
show.
Thank you so much for hostingboth myself and my wife Teresa
last night.
I'm excited to dive in andlearn more about the historic
Topoka Lodge.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, we are so glad you are here.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
All right, let's talk a little bit about you.
I like to find out a little bitabout your background and kind
of what brought you here, andyou also have a very interesting
background and ancestry and Ilove to kind of chat about that
a little bit as we get started.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Okay, sounds good.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
All right, so you are Native American.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I am a member of the citizen of Pottawanami Nation.
Our tribe originated in theChicago area, and then we were
moved on the Trail of Death toOklahoma, which was Indian
Territory at the time.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So here we have the Trail of Tears and in Oklahoma
you're explaining you have theTrail of Death, right?
What is it like being a NativeAmerican?
I know it's a different tribein a different location, but we
are so close to the CherokeeNation, we're so close to
Cherokee, North Carolina, theGreat Smoky Mountains what does
that feel like for you as aNative American?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
That's a sense of pride.
We are on the Chioah River.
Robbinsville used to be namedChioah.
It was all Cherokee members.
Before it was Eastern Band.
Western Band is what's inOklahoma now.
It was their biggest community.
So we are very proud to beNative American and being here
(05:01):
in Robbinsville, north Carolina,is like a dream come true.
You can tell Native Americanswere here and you can tell
they're still here.
We have been welcomed by theCherokee community.
Members of the tribe that stilllive here in Snowbird treat my
daughters as though they grew uphere their whole life and it is
(05:21):
really awesome.
My older sisters growing upnever wanted anyone to know that
they were Native Americanbecause they were scared how
people would treat them.
The world has changed and theacceptance is incredible and we
honor our heritage.
My father's last name was Frappand we are very proud to have
that name.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Oh, that's wonderful.
So let's turn our focus to thelodge, where we are today.
You're under new ownership.
Now, in 2022, is when youbecame under new ownership.
In 2017, there was newownership as well.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I worked with two owners since I've been here on
the property.
The Bailey family had owned theproperty when they hired me and
I started in 2019.
Loved it.
I was doing marketing andevents and I get to see everyone
on their happiest day.
They're on vacation, they'reloving life and I feed off of it
.
I walk around here with a smileon my face and it's contagious.
(06:16):
You can tell I love what I do.
Our staff are very happy andlove what they do and it's just
a great feeling.
O'neill Koska bought theproperty in October of 2022.
And I had been promoted to GMin April of 2022.
We've added the spa and someauto detailing here on site.
(06:39):
We want to keep the historicvalue as much as possible.
He's not wanting to changestuff, just add to what we
already have.
We upgraded some of the bathproduct lines.
That's in the all the room, soyou'll find the mallee products
there that have a rain forestsmell and it's actually from
Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
And some of my favorite products.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
We also have them for sale in the gift shop.
The enthusiast hotel collectionbecame partnership with the
Cornell lab and we will beadding bird watching as well as
some of the other activities forenthusiasts to come here and to
do at the property.
It's very exciting because wehave had the kayakers coming
here for years.
When you see them get togetherthey're so excited talking about
(07:21):
their day.
We have the teller, the dragon,so you have so many sports
bikes, motorbikes, cars You'llhave Porsche, Porsche clubs or
Lamborghinis and Corvette clubs,and when they park outside you
never know what's in the parkinglot.
But you come in and it's.
It's such a social event.
Everyone is just sharing whatthey did.
(07:42):
Today.
They are so enthusiastic abouttheir activities that they're
choosing to do and we're gettingto be a part of it.
We get a feed off it.
We get that energy.
It's just them sharing.
That's what we want to do.
We want to share the experiencethat that enthusiast has had.
We all feed off of it, we alllearn from it.
It makes everyone's experiencebetter.
(08:04):
I don't know how to explain it.
Just come to the book lodge andfind out, because it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
That's great.
We touched on a couple ofactivities and we're gonna come
back to those activities here ina minute because you really are
in the middle of so much to seeand do.
And it's interesting because wetalked about the Chihuahua
River here.
Paddlers are gonna know, ourlisteners are gonna know, that
that's Class 45 Whitewater,certain release dates out of the
year Literally comes right bythe banks, like within feet of
(08:29):
the outdoor sitting, the outdoorpatio, and we're gonna talk
about that a little bit as well.
But before we do, let's kind oftake a step back in time.
And the reason for this lodgebecause today people are all
these enthusiasts, areexperiencing this lodge in their
own way, like they come here,but they've been doing things
either the tail of the dragon orwhitewater, or birding, or
(08:50):
going into town, whatever it maybe, looking at the dam.
But this place has a rich, richhistory and, as I understand it
, it was created in 1930.
And the original reason forthis lodge was because it was
housing, I believe, for theworkers who were working on the
(09:12):
Chihuahua Dam.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
That is correct, Our location here.
We had a lot of dams that wereabout to be built.
We were working on theChihuahua Dam, the Santila Dam,
Calderwood Dam and Chahaui Dam.
They all needed staff, sort oflike we do now today.
In modern days, everyone shortstaff.
Well, they were short staffback then and there was over
(09:35):
2,000 people that lived here atTopoca.
It was a town in, you know, notin Robbinsville, it was, Topoca
was the name of the town here.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
We did an episode our listeners are gonna remember,
when we did the Mass GeneralStore.
We did an episode on that inthe one of Valet Cruces and at
the time I think that had its.
It was its own town too becauseof the post office.
So back then, I think if youhad a postal zip code or if you
had a post office, that was likethe seat, that was the place
that became the town.
And so what you're saying isthat Topoca back then was its
(10:11):
own little town and I guess itwas really not much around here,
right?
So, other than the dams thatwere being built back then, this
would have been the place.
This is where they, this iswhere they lived, this is where
they worked out of, this iswhere they recreated and ate and
everything.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Correct.
When Topoca workers startedcoming here to work on the dams,
there was no road.
They had to buy a ticket on arailroad, come to stay on the
property.
They would come to the cabin.
They had to have somewhere toeat.
That's when the Chihuahuadining room was created, because
that was their mess hall.
The tin can was more forrecreation.
(10:45):
They had many dances andparties.
They would have send offcelebrations and goodbyes to
people going to war.
When people was coming home.
That's where they did it.
That was the tin can.
They played movies in there tohelp pastime and just for basic
entertainment.
When the road 129 was actuallypaved and created, it opened up
(11:07):
e-commerce for Western NorthCarolina straight into Tennessee
.
That was the first direct lineto Tennessee for Graham County
and a lot of Western NorthCarolina.
There was the road to nowherethat was started to be built in
Bryson City but that was nevercompleted.
If it wasn't for 129, you wouldhave to go all the way through
(11:28):
the Gorge and Murphy or all theway up through Cherokee to get
to Tennessee.
So it really made a hugedifference.
Not only did it open upe-commerce, it created a tourism
here that we still feed offtoday.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
And then I guess, after those dams were finished
or completed, then this lodge inthis area became somewhat of a
recreation area or destinationfor people.
Do I have that right?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Topoca Lodge was basically owned by Alcoa.
After that, only its executivestaff or its employees could
come to Topoca.
If you talk to locals, it wasmore of a country club.
You couldn't come to Topoca ifyou didn't know somebody.
After Alcoa started opening upto let more people in, it still
(12:16):
wasn't open up to tourists, itwas a members only.
You couldn't just come and hangout.
I talked to some ladies thatgrew up across the street and
told me about riding theirbicycle here and brought me an
old cookbook from their mom whenthey were little girls and on
the second to the last pagethere was a sheet of aluminum
(12:36):
foil in there.
That's how they promoted,that's how they were trying to
advertise aluminum foil, to getit known that it was there.
They were putting it incookbooks.
I think that is really cool.
They talk about the smells ofthe food from Topoca and they
couldn't wait to come here.
And she was so excited that wewere opening up.
She was asking about some ofthe old recipes and if we were
(13:00):
still using them and it was justa really cool experience.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
So when was that?
When did it transition fromAlcoa's executive resort to
opening it up to the communityfor other people to experience
it?
1995.
, 1995, so, gosh, so not reallyso long ago.
I mean in its past.
I mean that's only a third ofits lifetime here, now that it's
really kind of been opened upfor people to enjoy it as we're
(13:26):
enjoying it today.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And that was by the Cody family, and I had the
pleasure of working with some oftheir family members when I
first started, because they werestill employed here Cool, and
that was really nice.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
All right, so 1995, then we go through a series of
years and then your firstexperience.
We kind of pick up there, likein 2017, that's when you started
to work here but really now2019.
2019, so 2019 is when youstarted to work.
So just a few years later, in2022, you have this new
ownership group and they arereally making you all have been
(14:03):
really making some amazingchanges here, but the patio,
though, came with the owners in2017, correct?
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yes, they had bought the property in 2014 with
another family it was theturners and the Baileys and they
made significant improvementsout here and put the patio.
Mr Adrian Bailey went in detailon each black rel.
If you haven't noticed, look atthe black relic.
It looks like a piece of wood.
(14:30):
He wanted it to look like itwas naturally here, even though
it was made out of steel.
They also added the fireplacein the lobby.
Okay, Thanks for looking huge.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
It's a focal point, it's like a center point.
As soon as you walk in, yeah,yeah, it catches you and yeah,
it's the very first thing.
Coming through the doors, youcan see the when the fireplaces
on, you can see that shimmering.
And then all of a sudden youwalk in, it's like boom, yeah,
much stayed there for like fiveminutes to take pictures before
I walked anywhere else.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So when I, when I first got here, I thought that
that had always been here.
They kept it looking sohistoric and made it fit so well
that you could not tell it wasadded.
And that's the goal witheverything at Topoka it is as
historic as possible.
If you make any changes, youneed to add to the value, make
it look historical as well.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
It's evident that that is at the heart of what you
all are doing and I thinkthat's the impression that Trish
and I had too is that it seemedlike all of this was.
I thought this was just sort ofthe way that it.
You know that it was like thatpatio, for example, and I know
you know the elements of it, theconcrete and all the other
elements, the metals.
You know those things are moremodern.
But yeah, I had no idea until Iwent back and looked at some of
(15:41):
the older pictures of the lodgethat it has.
Really, even those, thoseimprovements are wonderful.
It doesn't detract or take awayfrom the historicity of this
place like it still seems, likeit's kind of meant to be, even
though we're in 2023.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
I agree and I hope we continue to keep it that way.
We don't want it to ever feeldifferent when anyone comes to
Topoka.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, okay, so let's let's talk specifically about
the property here.
We are right now in one of thesuites.
We're sitting in one of thesuites on the third floor, but
we have this lodge and thenthere are other amenities around
the property as well, and I'mwondering if you can kind of
help paint a picture of whatthis property looks like as
you're pulling across the bridge.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So, yes, you come in the lodge.
The first thing you see whenyou pull in is the beautiful
river, the brick building to theleft, and you look straight
ahead and you'll see, you'llalways see an American flag
flying there, and that is on topof our motorcycle shed and we
call it motorcycle shed.
You can put about 50 bikes inthere.
We have it all decorated rightnow for Christmas and you'll
(16:44):
also see Santa on the Harley litup, looking beautiful.
And then, if you pull to theleft, you'll see the gas station
, where it still shows gas was19 cents a gallon.
Wouldn't that be amazing if itstill?
Speaker 1 (16:58):
was.
Is that a real gas station?
Speaker 2 (17:00):
back then it was a real gas station and you can see
there it was a greyhound busstop at one time too, because
that original sign is stillthere.
We keep a lot of historic stuffin there and maps and stuff from
all over the property Oldbrochures, where you can see the
old swimming pool.
You can see cars from the 40sthat was here.
It was, I mean, it's just apretty cool area.
(17:21):
And then you look to the leftand you see this beautiful lit
up building and that is Topoka,the dining.
You walk in you feel likeyou're in a gift shop.
It's so pretty, it just welcomehome.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
If you go to the left , you walk into the Chihuahua
dining room and then there isthe new door that was put in by
the new owner and walk outsideon the terrace and now you can
enjoy a breakfast on the riveras well.
So that is new this year.
And if you go to the right fromthe lobby, you'll see the
bourbon bar.
It's the Laurel Lounge.
We're so proud of that.
(17:56):
It is beautiful.
And then to the next roomyou'll have the library where we
have a computer and games forkids, if anyone needs anything.
You'll see Kim's office.
Kim was our old GM that passedaway.
It'll always be Kim's office.
I know it.
You can tell it was the oldpost office.
(18:16):
If you look on the side of thewall, you'll see the post office
box, one of which RonnieMillsap told me during his visit
last March.
He had a PO box here.
I was like what he was trying toshow me.
He was 22, 24.
He was trying to feel at thattime I didn't know that he had
partial vision when he wasyounger.
That was interesting to know.
(18:37):
He was amazing, and one of hisfavorite things to say is 29.
29.
And when he says it he justlights up and he smiles so big
and it was so cool.
I was like what's 29?
And he just said say it, say 29.
So I did.
He said you feel good?
I was like yeah, and later Ikept thinking about it.
We're on highway 129.
(18:58):
Is that why he never explainedanymore?
but he was very sweet to us.
And then that you have theexecutive suites on the right
hand side, which now we havethree lodge suites.
We're in the road in room rightnow.
We have a living area and aclosed off bedroom to the left
and a huge bathroom with thezetted tub and shower with the
(19:23):
old vintage tile, the black andwhite that we keep in every room
on property.
Also, on this floor we alsohave the Laurel suite, which is
also one of my favorites becauseof the pale blue walls and the
rusty gold pipes that you cansee.
It has a huge restroom as well,with the tub and the separate
shower.
(19:43):
And on our second floor we havesix lodge rooms three with river
view, three with the parkinglot area of you.
You can see the cars and themountain, the mountain side, and
then, all right, we have ahandicap room, which is the
evergreen and it is on the firstfloor and actually has two
separate bedrooms and you canlook out over the lawn or the
river.
(20:03):
If you keep going downstairsfarther, you'll get to the
Topoka Tavern.
That's our indoor restaurant.
We do have the brick oven pizzaand that we are known for.
The outside bar is also therewith amazing views.
That was new and that was builtas well in 2017.
If you want to come back up andgo out the lobby door, you'll
(20:25):
walk out to the parking lot.
You never know what's out there.
We've had multiple Pagani's thecheapest one that, when we were
doing research, sold in theUnited States for $2.1 million.
We had a parking lot full ofthem.
I was a little scared somethingwas going to happen, but you
never know what's outside.
We had some Jaguar F-type.
Never heard of that.
(20:46):
We have a lot of vintage carsand Nissan's and Honda's and
Porsche's.
I mean we have everything here.
You never know what you'regoing to see.
You'll see the cabins on theleft hand side of the road.
As you pull up About a quarterof a mile, you'll see the Big
Ten Can building.
If you keep going past there,you'll see two tennis courts.
That's basically the opening toall the trails on property.
(21:08):
We'll have 11 hiking trails onproperty.
Once you're on that road, youneed to realize that you are on
the BMK hiking trail.
He's the one that did theAppalachian Trail.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
He's the founder, so he's the same one that started
developing the Appalachian Trail.
You also have cabins.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
We have seven cabins on property.
We have 27 total rooms, that is, with nine in the lodge and 18
cabin rooms.
Now.
Some of our cabin rooms arelarger Alcoa and Chahawi.
Both sides sleep six people.
So Alcoa one, alcoa two youcould have a joining door in the
middle and have up to 12 peoplethere.
(21:48):
White Oak Cabin One is ournewest, most remodeled cabin
that we have and it has a fourperson jacuzzi on the porch as a
private fire area.
It has a little private area inthe back it's like your own
backyard has huge glass windows,has a big moose head in the
living room, has a full kitchen,a full you know dining room.
(22:09):
It is a beautiful more forentertaining.
If you have people coming withyou and you're wanting to have
some private spot, you couldcome hang out in your living
room in White Oak.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Cool, very cool.
So one thing I think would bereally cool to touch on at this
point, and then we can kind ofunpack it here in a minute but
you all are a part of a veryspecial hotel collection and you
have new ownership right nowtoo.
I'd love to talk about thosetwo things.
And then I want to kind ofblend in you into this mix,
(22:43):
because one of the things thatI've heard you say is that you
lead from the heart at TopokaLodge and maybe we can talk a
little bit about this newcollection of hotel that you all
are under and with.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Yeah, that's the enthusiast hotel collection.
There are properties inMendocino, california, and I
went and visited the generalmanager there, sarah.
She is so nice.
I can't explain how beautifulit was when I opened up the
window in my room and there isthe Pacific Coast, like I could
see the waves coming in.
(23:14):
It was a total differentexperience for California for me
because I had always been toSouthern California but it was
beautiful.
They have a chef on site.
His name was Steve.
Amazing food.
It's the experiences.
That is what the enthusiasthotel collection is all about.
That experience.
You see, when you see theredwood trees, you can go to
(23:38):
Camden, maine, heartstone.
You know these old mansionswith an amazing restaurant right
there on property.
You can go down to the Keys.
There's so many experiences andthat's what the enthusiast
hotel collection is about.
It is about enthusiasts comingtogether for all the different
properties, all the differentareas and finding something to
(23:58):
enjoy and to share together.
If you could see me right now,you'd see I got a big smile on
my face.
And that's just how I talk.
I get so excited because I getenthusiastic about this
collection coming together andwhat it's going to do for people
in the community, people around, anybody that stops.
Now they are actually becomingpart of this family.
(24:20):
They're going to get toexperience these other places
with someone that shares whatthey're enjoying, to do what
I've been saying for a long timewith my daughters.
I have noticed I am from ageneration that likes things.
Me and my family are learningthat it's about that experience.
(24:40):
Let's share that experiencetogether.
It doesn't matter what shoes youhave on, unless you're hiking.
Let's take that back.
But it doesn't matter what typeof bag you're carrying or what
car you're driving when you'retogether and your experience in
that.
My daughters are younger andthey love that experience.
They would rather go take atrip that is photo worthy rather
(25:04):
than going somewhere.
They could take back something.
So I really would like to makesure that everyone knows how
amazing Tupac is and it's thatexperience that you have when
you come here.
We try to keep every inch ofTupac photo worthy at all times.
We work really hard on that.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, well, that is so evident and I have to tell
you this is one of those places,some places you can see
pictures and you're just drawnto it and you know that you
wanna visit it or that place,and that is very much what this
place has been like for me forprobably for about a year, since
I've been following it onsocial media and I have some
friends who have also come hereand they're like Mike, you've
(25:43):
got to get on this Tupac Allodgeon the podcast.
People will love hearing thestory about it.
But I will tell you, the firstthing I told Teresa yesterday is
this has actually exceeded myexpectations.
Actually being here Like thisis one of those places you have
to come walk experience andyou're so right within the first
(26:03):
30 minutes of being here.
Every angle that you looked atit was another beautiful photo,
right, but it also started fromthe very front desk when we
walked in and it was theexperience and it was just when
we first walked in.
We didn't walk right to thedesk, we just walked in and we
sat by the fireplace and we tooksome pictures and we just
(26:23):
literally just took it inValerie, so we listened to
people communicating, talking.
I knew a group was coming offfrom a trail.
They were getting ready to eatpizza down by the river, you
know there were all of thesethings, so we were just kind of
taking it in.
And it was also.
The person at the front desksaid that this was.
They talked about the Christmastree lighting that was getting
ready to happen, which wasamazing last night, and then the
(26:46):
way that she described it.
It was gonna be like a HallmarkChristmas movie and that is the
feeling that we have had,teresa and I have had ever since
we've been on property.
It just feels like we are goingto a place that is just not of
this world, like it doesn't seemreal, and yet it is very, very
real.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
That's exactly what we're going for.
Our mission statement here atSpook-a-Lodge is we create our
engaging experiences ofadventure and sanctuary to wow
each and every guest.
You feel like you're comingback in time.
Everyone is to feel welcome.
That's the goal is making youfeel like you're at home and
just looking around like, oh Iwonder what's over there.
(27:25):
This is so cool, like those arethose experiences, that feeling
.
You can't explain it withpictures.
Once you get here, the way itfeels is just an amazing.
It's like at peace, I swear.
When you get through the gateyou can feel like you can just
breathe, like just breathe andtake it in, and it's much needed
relaxation for guests.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Yeah, wow.
I can't tell you how much thathits home, because us getting
here yesterday it felt like wewent through a lot of obstacles
to get here yesterday and thenwe were leaving far later than
we wanted to get here.
And I know that, even justinternally, you know I'm driving
over to this experience and Iknow it's gonna be amazing and
I'm just I can feel frustration.
And then, yeah, even when westarted to get through
(28:10):
Robbinsville, you know, I feltlike my sense of peace started
happening kind of through there.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Your blood pressure drops a little bit, right 100%.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
My heart rate was going up, but my blood pressure
was definitely dropping, but itwas, I mean, coming through the
lakes and seeing them.
It was the time of the day, itwas the golden hour, you know,
and you're just no cell phoneservice.
Yes, yes, yes.
So yeah, if you are coming here, make sure that you don't turn
off your GPS because you mightnot get it back.
So yeah, but, and then you pullinto the property and, like I
(28:40):
said, I mean the moment that Ipulled around that last curve, I
mean, and it came into view.
I mean I'm not like my familymakes fun of me because we're up
on the parkway or we're seeingnew places for the first time.
It's always like wow, wow, wow.
You know, and I can't stopsaying it, and that's what I
felt like internally when wepulled up into this place.
So it definitely makes you justchill, get into the moment, get
(29:02):
into the experience, and thenit just carried through and has
carried through literally everyminute that we've been here,
from the food, from theinteraction with people.
Valerie, we must have seen lastnight I don't know how many
different groups here.
There's a wedding that's goingon.
The wedding party that was here.
There were people that werecoming in from the community.
You had the Christmas treelighting.
That happened last night, whichwas so very special.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
That was the first time ever and I really did not
know what to expect.
I did not expect so many peopleto show up.
We had I mean, we're trying toget the cookies refilled the hot
chocolate, the Christmas music,when it was playing and kids
are dancing in front of the tree.
It was magical.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Magical.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Like I didn't think I was already ready for Christmas
and all of a sudden, now I'mfeeling the magic.
I'm feeling the spirit.
Bring it on.
Christmas has started and it isgoing to be a magical year.
You can feel the warmth andeverybody's hearts that were
here last night at that lightingand it was special.
It's something I'll neverforget.
(30:04):
I never thought about doing acountdown.
Someone in the crowd mentionedit, so we just started doing a
countdown.
People were videoing.
It was really touching, like itwas so cool.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Touching is a really good way to put it, and I don't
know how to describe it anybetter than just that, in terms
of describing it like in a word,it was very touching, but it
gave me hope.
To be honest with you, likethere's so much divisiveness in
the world, there's people thatargue over the craziest things
and boy I tell you to know thefact that y'all celebrate
(30:39):
Christmas the way that you did.
You want people to have theexperience that's coming here to
the lodge.
It was like a throwback to myearly days, when you got excited
about it and Trish and I saidthe same thing.
I'm like we're in full mode.
We talked about it this morning.
I mean, we're in full Christmasmode at this moment.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
How you just said, made you feel like throwback.
And I was waiting for you tosay a year.
Go back to when, because I keeptrying to figure out when, like
was that what it was like inthe 50s, 60s?
I couldn't figure it out, butone of our servers last night
sent me a picture and I was infront of the Christmas tree with
the two little girls and shevideoed us dancing.
(31:18):
That's what it was.
It was a throwback to mychildhood, out there with those
little girls dancing in front ofthat lit Christmas tree.
That was the feeling and that'show it hit me.
When you, I was really waitingfor you to say a throwback to
win.
I wanted to hear the year, butthat was it.
It was my childhood and when Isaw I mean we had all ages we
(31:40):
had, you know, from six monthsyou're a six month old newborns
out here and car seats to peoplein their 80s dancing around the
.
You know, everyone was there.
The dad was so proud holdinghis baby up and for the picture
in front of the tree, and thengrandma and grandpa over here
taking pictures like it was areally heartfelt moment.
(32:05):
And I'm glad you got toexperience it here with your
wife, with us at Topoca.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
Yeah, I am too, because it was this morning as
we were talking, before westarted recording with it.
You said that you want to leadTopoca from the heart, and it
comes through in everything thatwe've experienced so far and
last night yes, themulti-generational.
It was amazing.
I mean, the moment that thelights went on and, like I said
(32:30):
earlier, I found myself justsmiling.
I'm taking video, too, and I'mjust smiling the whole time
until I caught myself smiling,you know, and you have the older
couple.
We saw him at breakfast thismorning and he almost looked
like a short bearded Santahimself.
You know, I agreed, yeah andyeah.
So, yeah, kudos to you all.
You pulled it off and I knowyou said it was your first one
like that, but I think that thatwill probably be one of the
(32:52):
things that y'all will continueto do, because you had people,
not only that we're staying here, people from the wedding party,
but people that were coming offthe tail of the dragon, people
that you invited from thecommunity.
You invited people say, hey,come and be a part of what we're
doing over here at Topoca Lodge.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
And they showed up.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
They showed up.
It was so cool, yeah, and theyshowed up, but it was cool
because people were waiting.
So we got dinner early, amazingdinner, by the way.
I mean.
You started talking about themeals.
Oh my gosh, we had.
I had the Evan Smashburger, mywife had the tacos, and then we
started out with the specialtychips that you make here.
Oh my gosh, with the ranch andthe bacon and the cheese.
I mean just unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Sweet potato fries.
We have it all.
The trout nuggets are one of myfavorite.
I've never I grew up inOklahoma Never been a big fan of
fish.
That's just me.
We had a lot of catfish, sotrout was different for me.
Trout nuggets are amazing.
Now I love trout.
We're going to add some newtrout cakes to the menu for this
winter and just keep going withit.
(33:51):
Everyone talks about our pizza.
It's something special aboutthat crust.
It's honey, local honey fromwhere Loom?
We try to use Stony Hollow Farmproducts as much as we can
there, a local farm that hasfresh produce and fruits and
veggies, and we try to use themin all the salads as much as we
can get from them.
(34:12):
And the local honey.
There's actually a locallavender form too, and so we
purchased lavender from there,even just for hints of smell
when you're walking throughdifferent rooms on the property.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Very cool, had no idea.
Just a small little touchesthat you don't pick up on, but
definitely make an impact andour breakfast is new.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
We've had a breakfast buffet before and Breakfast
menu and you can get a flight ofmimosas at breakfast.
It's pretty cool.
When I say it's new, I'mtalking about the new dining
experience.
When you come in, because ofthat that big door, you can
actually see the river and ifit's warm enough outside, you
(34:50):
can set outside and enjoybreakfast on the river.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
That's so cool, so cool.
All right, one of the thingscarrying on this theme of not
only Christmas but just the, youkind of made mention to some
things you want to kind of doall year.
This will be the first year in2023, moving into 2024, that you
will extend your season here,as I understand it right.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Correct.
So last year, with with our newownership, o'neill Koska was
like you want to have a NewYear's Eve party.
And we was like sure, we threwa New Year's Eve party and it
was.
It was more than could beexpected.
We had a balloon drop, we hadNative American dancers come and
do storytelling at the firepits.
(35:35):
We tried to make something newand special for the guest to
experience every day.
We hope to continue it thisyear.
We'll be staying up.
We'll be open Christmas Eve,christmas Day we won't be
closing for the season.
This year we are extending ourseason.
We have Santa visits comingThree Saturdays in December.
He is also going to be here toeat breakfast with us on
(35:57):
Christmas Eve Before he startshis flight to go deliver
presents all over the world toall the children.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
That is so cool.
That is so cool.
Well, one of the things thatyou said last night when we were
just talking was that You'reyou're staying open all season.
You know that, you know thatyou have an amazing staff and it
was really kind of part of yourheart and the new mission to
(36:24):
keep this place open not onlyfor the guests, but it was also
a great place for your employees, who you wanted to retain and
not just have the normal Cyclingand cycle out of a seasonal
worker.
So I think that that reallykind of spoke to the heart and
y'all's mission as well.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
It is.
Think about it.
If you don't hey, you got thisjob in December.
You need to find another one.
We hope you come back in Marchright.
That's pretty tough, so I hopethis helps with retaining staff.
And I Know you heard me say it,everyone hears me say it Topoka
is beautiful.
(37:01):
It's something extraordinary.
You want to.
You feel like you're reading abook about and now you woke up
and you're here.
There's no way for me todescribe it in words.
It Especially when you can takea picture and the picture
doesn't do it justice.
I am not that good atdescribing stuff, but no matter
how pretty it is, no matter howcool it is, no matter how many
(37:23):
people are coming here, topokastaff is what makes Topoka feel
like home.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Yeah, that's a great way to say it.
Well, so we have talked a lotabout Topoka Lodge and one of
the things that's been reallykind of top of mind for me and
again, trees and I talked aboutthis is that I could really stay
here for, you know, severaldays and never leave the
property.
To be perfectly honest with you, with all the 120 acres that
there are to explore, withsitting by the river, you know a
(37:50):
beautiful stream even thoughthe release isn't right now,
they're still you can hear thewhite water and you can.
You can hear the rush over therocks and so forth.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
We have rainbow trout in there too.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
I've had people bring me their fist to show me.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
Let's talk real briefly beforewe sign off on all the other
things there are to do aroundhere, because I just have a
short list and I'm just gonnakind of rip through this short
list, but I know there's thingsthat we can add.
We're so close to the GreatSmoky Mountains.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Yes, our property actually touches the Nana Hela
National Forest as well.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
We are in the Great Smoky Mountains.
One of my favorite activitiesto do was I walked up hiked up
to the top of overlook dam Atmidnight for a full moon with my
teenage daughters.
It was beautiful.
It the dam you could see themoon reflecting over Over the
(38:43):
top and it looked like it was amirror, with all the green trees
on both sides of the dam.
Wow it was really gorgeous.
But we have a lot of activitiesnew this year.
We're doing ice cream socials.
So on check-ins at Friday, it'sjust basically to get people
interacting with other guests,come in, have some ice cream.
It's been a big hit.
The same guests that are eatingice cream later that day or the
(39:06):
next day You'll see him at thefire pit hanging out drinking
some wine, and so it's bringingpeople together.
We have acts throwing we wehave cornhole set up.
We have movie nights in the tincan theater.
The tin can theater can host180 people.
Set it seated for a dinner andit can be as elegant as you want
or we get happy to tell it.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
That's great.
Well, you also have.
I mean, you've got white waterrafting nearby.
We've already talked about thetrail of dragon.
I mean you're literally righthere at it.
You can hear the sound of thecars engines and the motorcycle
engines, you know, just rippingup and down the road, which is
really kind of cool to hear too.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
And that's one thing that I want to one dimension,
too, is because people say ohwell, we didn't stop because you
we thought you only catered tomotorcycles, that we thought you
only wanted sports cars.
We want everyone to feelwelcome right it doesn't matter
what you're driving.
Come and experience it.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, absolutely Well , you've already mentioned the
Fontana dam, but then you've gotLake Santilla, you have
Calderwood Lake, fontana Lakepaddle boarding paddle board.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Kayaking the lake even if you don't want to go
down there white water or raftrafting on the Chihuahua River
the lakes are really fun.
Chihuahua there's a Chihuahuabeach on Lake Santilla and so
you can go over and it's areally nice area for kids to
swim and it's a safe area.
June Alaska's gravesite is alsoin Robbinsville.
(40:37):
He is the eastern band cherrykey member that was sent to
Oklahoma on the Trail of Tearsand he walked back and he died
here, and His memorial site isdowntown Robbinsville and so it
just needs mention that that ishere.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Wow yeah, absolutely yeah.
Thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
I had no idea we now have the mountains spa and
Tiffany Duke is our massagetherapist.
She has hot Chihuahua stones,she does massages, body
Polishing and she's using all ofour new rainforest products by
Mali as well.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
Also have auto detailing by Noah.
Perfect for before, afterslaying the dragon those were
his words.
So we do full details cars,trucks inside out, bikes,
everything.
Our staff has really been takenadvantage of Of Noah detailing.
We've never had our cars lookso amazing.
He is doing a great job.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
That's so cool.
That is so cool.
What about future plans?
What about things that arecoming down the line?
And I know that you know you,you probably don't want to
disclose everything that mightbe coming, but are there
anything Events or Improvementsor anything like that that's
coming down the line?
It looks like you are alwaystrying to just keep Elevating
(41:58):
the experience here.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
That's the goal, 100% .
We'll have a Valentine's Daydinner and we'll have a
Valentine's Day dance.
We did the dance last year forthe first time and that was a
totally new experience as well.
We opened up the tin can and soafter dinner you could take a
moment and go up to the tin canand dance.
So when I was first up there, Iwas trying to take pictures,
(42:21):
making sure people knew thatthey could come up and hang out,
and there was a couple that hadbeen married for 65 years.
They hadn't danced togethersince they were in middle school
together.
What?
And they ate dinner and they?
She was just giggling andgiggling and she said we haven't
went to a dance since we weremiddle school and that's where
we met.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
What a sweet story.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
It was really sweet.
So I encourage everyone to keepfollowing us on Instagram and
Facebook see what activitieswere Offering what special
events will try to do moreevents this year in the future.
We want to.
We had a Super Bowl party.
We had a st Patrick's Day.
That's the goal is to use thetin can as a community Room for
(43:05):
us to hang out as guests here,as locals.
Trying to offer something morein the future.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
That's so good.
Well, thank you for everythingthat you all are doing, and I do
want to thank you from thebottom of my heart for this
experience and and all of thethings in the amenities.
And one of the things I thinkit's important to say is that
this is a place that you now cancome to all four seasons, and
so sometimes we just think aboutthe beautiful fall and then the
beautiful spring, when it'swarmer, but this I've always
(43:35):
kind of called this the secretseason.
I don't think I coined thatphrase, but this is the secret
season inside Western NorthCarolina, because even on that
drive up from Robbinsville, withall the lakes, now you can see
them.
Now you have all theselong-range views and you are
able to experience this no lessthan you would in the spring or
the fall.
It's just a different season.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
I think you experience it more because, if
you've already Been here in thefall, it's like a total new
experience.
In the different season we areknown as the hidden gem of the
Smoky Mountains.
That is for a reason.
You are in the Smoky Mountains,you're driving and it's like
wow, that's Topoka.
There it is.
(44:14):
Yeah now you see why everyoneuses the word wow.
Here we are the hidden gem, thesecret side the secret side.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Yeah, this is the hidden gym and the secret season
.
I love it.
Well, valerie, this has beenwonderful.
I cannot thank you enough forthe experience, for everything
that we've been able toexperience here in the last you
know, 24, 48 hours or so.
But I really thank you for yourheart too, the way that I've
watched you Lead your staff andlead the events, lead last
(44:44):
night's Christmas lighting.
You have a servant's heart.
It's very clear and it seemslike it comes through in all the
staff that we've had contactwith, and we did not know until
this morning that it was yourdaughter who was our server last
night at dinner, who did a notonly a phenomenal job serving
but also just understanding theproperty, new specifics about
(45:05):
our, our room, which I thoughtwas really really neat, but it's
a wonderful thing.
I cannot wait to come back.
We're going to come back whenthe Chihuahua is releasing,
because we definitely want tosee that.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
I want to see you go down it.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
Me and Trace is going to be taking photos here on the
terrace.
Speaker 1 (45:21):
I better get down and start training, because I got a
lot of work.
So all of my paddling listenersout there, I need some safety
builders around me.
So anybody that wants to go runthe Chihuahua with me, let's go
.
Speaker 2 (45:30):
Yes, why he's being an enthusiast on the river.
We're going to be enthusiast inthe crowd and take amazing
photos.
Speaker 1 (45:37):
Right on, Right on.
Well, you have some amazingthings going on here at Historic
to Poca Lodge and I think everylistener who is within a day,
two day, three day drive itdoesn't matter.
You need to book your stay hereat this lodge.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Well.
Thank you for coming andsharing your experience with us
and the world, as we arebecoming an international
destination.
We are the Historic to PocaLodge and Robinsville, North
Carolina.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
The very basic core of a man's spirit is his passion
for adventure.
The joy of life comes from ourencounters with new experiences,
and hence there is no greaterjoy than to have an endlessly
changing horizon, for each dayto have a new and different.
Son John Crackauer, the magicof to poke a lodge extends
beyond its physical beauty.
(46:28):
The staff's dedication toproviding an unforgettable
experience was evident fromtheir commitment to making every
guest feel at home, to the wellappointed amenities and grounds
that capture your heart andinvite you to stay awhile.
As we wrap up this episode,remember that Historic to Poca
Lodge is not just a destination.
It's a blend of adventure andsanctuary, a historic gem that
(46:50):
continues to thrive in themodern era.
I hope you've been as enchantedas I have by the tales and
treasures of this extraordinaryplace.
I'd like to extend a specialthank you to Valerie and her
entire staff for theirhospitality and warm welcome.
I'd also like to say thank youto Heather Noll, president and
Founder of ChalkboardCommunications, for making this
(47:12):
entire experience and episodepossible.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did, please considerleaving us a review.
It truly does help us reachmore people and if you know
someone who also might enjoy thepodcast.
Be sure to share this episodewith them.
Follow me on Facebook andInstagram and keep those episode
suggestions coming.
(47:32):
You can email them to me atmike at explorationlocalcom.
I get those messages about oncea week and I cannot tell you
how much I enjoy engaging withthe listeners.
Well, that's going to do it forthis episode.
Until next time, I encourageyou to wander far, but explore
local.
In 1930, as part of hydroelectric efforts in Graham
(00:03):
and Swain counties of NorthCarolina, the aluminum company
of America built the historicTopoka Lodge, which sits on the
banks of the Chihuahua River.
During the early years itserved as the executive retreat
for Alcoa executives, involvedin the building of the Chihuahua
Dam.
For several decades, the lodgewas used as a resort by Alcoa as
it shifted its focus from aprivate retreat center to a
(00:24):
place for friends and family togather.
As the late 1990s approached,the property fell into disrepair
and was sold to private buyers,and in June of 1995, the
historic Topoka Lodge wasreopened to the public as a
traditional mountain retreat forguests of all ages to enjoy.
The property has changedownership just a few times since
1995, and today it is part ofthe enthusiast hotel collection
(00:48):
where each property ispersonally handpicked to
represent a distinct and veryunique experience.
In this episode I sit down withValerie Frapp, general manager
of the historic Topoka Lodge.
We talk about the lodge's richhistory, design and
craftsmanship, which hasremained nearly unchanged since
its building in 1930.
Its spacious, cozy design was,and still is, inviting and warm.
(01:12):
The evolution of the TopokaLodge is quite intriguing.
You'll be enthralled by theexquisite offering, including
the Topoka Dining Room, theLaurel Lounge, whiskey Bar, the
Grand Fireplace, the Library andRiverside Seating, complete
with fire pits.
Valerie shares an inside viewof the 27 unique rooms,
including rustic cabins andluxurious suites, and the 11
(01:36):
alluring hiking trails thatadorn the property.
But the enchantment doesn'tstop there.
The staff has invested a greatdeal of time and energy and to
making the experience trulyunforgettable.
You'll be impressed by thelodge's commitment to using
local products and their mealsin the warm atmosphere during
the holidays, and visitors willnow get to experience the magic
(01:56):
of Topoka Lodge all year long.
No discussion about thehistoric Topoka Lodge would be
complete without talking aboutsome of the amazing places you
can explore and visit nearby,like the famed Tale of the
Dragon, one of North Carolina'smost iconic roads, the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park,lake Santilla, joyce Kilmer
(02:17):
Memorial Forest, robbinsvilleand Bryson City, just to name a
few.
This episode promises anunforgettable journey into the
heart and soul of this historicyet modern gem, and I'm excited
to share this episode with you.
The historic Topoka Lodge, whereadventure and sanctuary meet.
You're listening to ExplorationLocal, a podcast designed to
(02:45):
explore and celebrate the peopleand places that make the Blue
Ridge and Southern AppalachianMountains special and unique.
My name is Mike Andrus, thehost of Exploration Local.
Join us on our journey toexplore these mountains and
discover how they fuel a spiritof adventure.
We encourage you to wander far,but explore local.
Let's go Well.
(03:08):
I'm excited to have ValerieFrapp here with me today.
We are actually on site at thehistoric Topoka Lodge.
We're going to unpack in thisepisode all the amazing things
about the lodge things to do andwe're going to spend a little
bit of time today talking aboutthe history and how this
property has evolved over theyears.
But before we do that, valerie,I'd like to welcome you to the
(03:30):
show.
Thank you so much for hostingboth myself and my wife Teresa
last night.
I'm excited to dive in andlearn more about the historic
Topoka Lodge.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, we are so glad you are here.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
All right, let's talk a little bit about you.
I like to find out a little bitabout your background and kind
of what brought you here, andyou also have a very interesting
background and ancestry and Ilove to kind of chat about that
a little bit as we get started.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Okay, sounds good.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
All right, so you are Native American.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I am a member of the citizen of Pottawanami Nation.
Our tribe originated in theChicago area, and then we were
moved on the Trail of Death toOklahoma, which was Indian
Territory at the time.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So here we have the Trail of Tears and in Oklahoma
you're explaining you have theTrail of Death, right?
What is it like being a NativeAmerican?
I know it's a different tribein a different location, but we
are so close to the CherokeeNation, we're so close to
Cherokee, North Carolina, theGreat Smoky Mountains what does
that feel like for you as aNative American?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
That's a sense of pride.
We are on the Chioah River.
Robbinsville used to be namedChioah.
It was all Cherokee members.
Before it was Eastern Band.
Western Band is what's inOklahoma now.
It was their biggest community.
So we are very proud to beNative American and being here
(05:01):
in Robbinsville, north Carolina,is like a dream come true.
You can tell Native Americanswere here and you can tell
they're still here.
We have been welcomed by theCherokee community.
Members of the tribe that stilllive here in Snowbird treat my
daughters as though they grew uphere their whole life and it is
(05:21):
really awesome.
My older sisters growing upnever wanted anyone to know that
they were Native Americanbecause they were scared how
people would treat them.
The world has changed and theacceptance is incredible and we
honor our heritage.
My father's last name was Frappand we are very proud to have
that name.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Oh, that's wonderful.
So let's turn our focus to thelodge, where we are today.
You're under new ownership.
Now, in 2022, is when youbecame under new ownership.
In 2017, there was newownership as well.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I worked with two owners since I've been here on
the property.
The Bailey family had owned theproperty when they hired me and
I started in 2019.
Loved it.
I was doing marketing andevents and I get to see everyone
on their happiest day.
They're on vacation, they'reloving life and I feed off of it
.
I walk around here with a smileon my face and it's contagious.
(06:16):
You can tell I love what I do.
Our staff are very happy andlove what they do and it's just
a great feeling.
O'neill Koska bought theproperty in October of 2022.
And I had been promoted to GMin April of 2022.
We've added the spa and someauto detailing here on site.
(06:39):
We want to keep the historicvalue as much as possible.
He's not wanting to changestuff, just add to what we
already have.
We upgraded some of the bathproduct lines.
That's in the all the room, soyou'll find the mallee products
there that have a rain forestsmell and it's actually from
Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
And some of my favorite products.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
We also have them for sale in the gift shop.
The enthusiast hotel collectionbecame partnership with the
Cornell lab and we will beadding bird watching as well as
some of the other activities forenthusiasts to come here and to
do at the property.
It's very exciting because wehave had the kayakers coming
here for years.
When you see them get togetherthey're so excited talking about
(07:21):
their day.
We have the teller, the dragon,so you have so many sports
bikes, motorbikes, cars You'llhave Porsche, Porsche clubs or
Lamborghinis and Corvette clubs,and when they park outside you
never know what's in the parkinglot.
But you come in and it's.
It's such a social event.
Everyone is just sharing whatthey did.
(07:42):
Today.
They are so enthusiastic abouttheir activities that they're
choosing to do and we're gettingto be a part of it.
We get a feed off it.
We get that energy.
It's just them sharing.
That's what we want to do.
We want to share the experiencethat that enthusiast has had.
We all feed off of it, we alllearn from it.
It makes everyone's experiencebetter.
(08:04):
I don't know how to explain it.
Just come to the book lodge andfind out, because it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
That's great.
We touched on a couple ofactivities and we're gonna come
back to those activities here ina minute because you really are
in the middle of so much to seeand do.
And it's interesting because wetalked about the Chihuahua
River here.
Paddlers are gonna know, ourlisteners are gonna know, that
that's Class 45 Whitewater,certain release dates out of the
year Literally comes right bythe banks, like within feet of
(08:29):
the outdoor sitting, the outdoorpatio, and we're gonna talk
about that a little bit as well.
But before we do, let's kind oftake a step back in time.
And the reason for this lodgebecause today people are all
these enthusiasts, areexperiencing this lodge in their
own way, like they come here,but they've been doing things
either the tail of the dragon orwhitewater, or birding, or
(08:50):
going into town, whatever it maybe, looking at the dam.
But this place has a rich, richhistory and, as I understand it
, it was created in 1930.
And the original reason forthis lodge was because it was
housing, I believe, for theworkers who were working on the
(09:12):
Chihuahua Dam.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
That is correct, Our location here.
We had a lot of dams that wereabout to be built.
We were working on theChihuahua Dam, the Santila Dam,
Calderwood Dam and Chahaui Dam.
They all needed staff, sort oflike we do now today.
In modern days, everyone shortstaff.
Well, they were short staffback then and there was over
(09:35):
2,000 people that lived here atTopoca.
It was a town in, you know, notin Robbinsville, it was, Topoca
was the name of the town here.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
We did an episode our listeners are gonna remember,
when we did the Mass GeneralStore.
We did an episode on that inthe one of Valet Cruces and at
the time I think that had its.
It was its own town too becauseof the post office.
So back then, I think if youhad a postal zip code or if you
had a post office, that was likethe seat, that was the place
that became the town.
And so what you're saying isthat Topoca back then was its
(10:11):
own little town and I guess itwas really not much around here,
right?
So, other than the dams thatwere being built back then, this
would have been the place.
This is where they, this iswhere they lived, this is where
they worked out of, this iswhere they recreated and ate and
everything.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Correct.
When Topoca workers startedcoming here to work on the dams,
there was no road.
They had to buy a ticket on arailroad, come to stay on the
property.
They would come to the cabin.
They had to have somewhere toeat.
That's when the Chihuahuadining room was created, because
that was their mess hall.
The tin can was more forrecreation.
(10:45):
They had many dances andparties.
They would have send offcelebrations and goodbyes to
people going to war.
When people was coming home.
That's where they did it.
That was the tin can.
They played movies in there tohelp pastime and just for basic
entertainment.
When the road 129 was actuallypaved and created, it opened up
(11:07):
e-commerce for Western NorthCarolina straight into Tennessee
.
That was the first direct lineto Tennessee for Graham County
and a lot of Western NorthCarolina.
There was the road to nowherethat was started to be built in
Bryson City but that was nevercompleted.
If it wasn't for 129, you wouldhave to go all the way through
(11:28):
the Gorge and Murphy or all theway up through Cherokee to get
to Tennessee.
So it really made a hugedifference.
Not only did it open upe-commerce, it created a tourism
here that we still feed offtoday.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
And then I guess, after those dams were finished
or completed, then this lodge inthis area became somewhat of a
recreation area or destinationfor people.
Do I have that right?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Topoca Lodge was basically owned by Alcoa.
After that, only its executivestaff or its employees could
come to Topoca.
If you talk to locals, it wasmore of a country club.
You couldn't come to Topoca ifyou didn't know somebody.
After Alcoa started opening upto let more people in, it still
(12:16):
wasn't open up to tourists, itwas a members only.
You couldn't just come and hangout.
I talked to some ladies thatgrew up across the street and
told me about riding theirbicycle here and brought me an
old cookbook from their mom whenthey were little girls and on
the second to the last pagethere was a sheet of aluminum
(12:36):
foil in there.
That's how they promoted,that's how they were trying to
advertise aluminum foil, to getit known that it was there.
They were putting it incookbooks.
I think that is really cool.
They talk about the smells ofthe food from Topoca and they
couldn't wait to come here.
And she was so excited that wewere opening up.
She was asking about some ofthe old recipes and if we were
(13:00):
still using them and it was justa really cool experience.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
So when was that?
When did it transition fromAlcoa's executive resort to
opening it up to the communityfor other people to experience
it?
1995.
, 1995, so, gosh, so not reallyso long ago.
I mean in its past.
I mean that's only a third ofits lifetime here, now that it's
really kind of been opened upfor people to enjoy it as we're
(13:26):
enjoying it today.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And that was by the Cody family, and I had the
pleasure of working with some oftheir family members when I
first started, because they werestill employed here Cool, and
that was really nice.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
All right, so 1995, then we go through a series of
years and then your firstexperience.
We kind of pick up there, likein 2017, that's when you started
to work here but really now2019.
2019, so 2019 is when youstarted to work.
So just a few years later, in2022, you have this new
ownership group and they arereally making you all have been
(14:03):
really making some amazingchanges here, but the patio,
though, came with the owners in2017, correct?
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Yes, they had bought the property in 2014 with
another family it was theturners and the Baileys and they
made significant improvementsout here and put the patio.
Mr Adrian Bailey went in detailon each black rel.
If you haven't noticed, look atthe black relic.
It looks like a piece of wood.
(14:30):
He wanted it to look like itwas naturally here, even though
it was made out of steel.
They also added the fireplacein the lobby.
Okay, Thanks for looking huge.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
It's a focal point, it's like a center point.
As soon as you walk in, yeah,yeah, it catches you and yeah,
it's the very first thing.
Coming through the doors, youcan see the when the fireplaces
on, you can see that shimmering.
And then all of a sudden youwalk in, it's like boom, yeah,
much stayed there for like fiveminutes to take pictures before
I walked anywhere else.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So when I, when I first got here, I thought that
that had always been here.
They kept it looking sohistoric and made it fit so well
that you could not tell it wasadded.
And that's the goal witheverything at Topoka it is as
historic as possible.
If you make any changes, youneed to add to the value, make
it look historical as well.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
It's evident that that is at the heart of what you
all are doing and I thinkthat's the impression that Trish
and I had too is that it seemedlike all of this was.
I thought this was just sort ofthe way that it.
You know that it was like thatpatio, for example, and I know
you know the elements of it, theconcrete and all the other
elements, the metals.
You know those things are moremodern.
But yeah, I had no idea until Iwent back and looked at some of
(15:41):
the older pictures of the lodgethat it has.
Really, even those, thoseimprovements are wonderful.
It doesn't detract or take awayfrom the historicity of this
place like it still seems, likeit's kind of meant to be, even
though we're in 2023.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
I agree and I hope we continue to keep it that way.
We don't want it to ever feeldifferent when anyone comes to
Topoka.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, okay, so let's let's talk specifically about
the property here.
We are right now in one of thesuites.
We're sitting in one of thesuites on the third floor, but
we have this lodge and thenthere are other amenities around
the property as well, and I'mwondering if you can kind of
help paint a picture of whatthis property looks like as
you're pulling across the bridge.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
So, yes, you come in the lodge.
The first thing you see whenyou pull in is the beautiful
river, the brick building to theleft, and you look straight
ahead and you'll see, you'llalways see an American flag
flying there, and that is on topof our motorcycle shed and we
call it motorcycle shed.
You can put about 50 bikes inthere.
We have it all decorated rightnow for Christmas and you'll
(16:44):
also see Santa on the Harley litup, looking beautiful.
And then, if you pull to theleft, you'll see the gas station
, where it still shows gas was19 cents a gallon.
Wouldn't that be amazing if itstill?
Speaker 1 (16:58):
was.
Is that a real gas station?
Speaker 2 (17:00):
back then it was a real gas station and you can see
there it was a greyhound busstop at one time too, because
that original sign is stillthere.
We keep a lot of historic stuffin there and maps and stuff from
all over the property Oldbrochures, where you can see the
old swimming pool.
You can see cars from the 40sthat was here.
It was, I mean, it's just apretty cool area.
(17:21):
And then you look to the leftand you see this beautiful lit
up building and that is Topoka,the dining.
You walk in you feel likeyou're in a gift shop.
It's so pretty, it just welcomehome.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
If you go to the left , you walk into the Chihuahua
dining room and then there isthe new door that was put in by
the new owner and walk outsideon the terrace and now you can
enjoy a breakfast on the riveras well.
So that is new this year.
And if you go to the right fromthe lobby, you'll see the
bourbon bar.
It's the Laurel Lounge.
We're so proud of that.
(17:56):
It is beautiful.
And then to the next roomyou'll have the library where we
have a computer and games forkids, if anyone needs anything.
You'll see Kim's office.
Kim was our old GM that passedaway.
It'll always be Kim's office.
I know it.
You can tell it was the oldpost office.
(18:16):
If you look on the side of thewall, you'll see the post office
box, one of which RonnieMillsap told me during his visit
last March.
He had a PO box here.
I was like what he was trying toshow me.
He was 22, 24.
He was trying to feel at thattime I didn't know that he had
partial vision when he wasyounger.
That was interesting to know.
(18:37):
He was amazing, and one of hisfavorite things to say is 29.
29.
And when he says it he justlights up and he smiles so big
and it was so cool.
I was like what's 29?
And he just said say it, say 29.
So I did.
He said you feel good?
I was like yeah, and later Ikept thinking about it.
We're on highway 129.
(18:58):
Is that why he never explainedanymore?
but he was very sweet to us.
And then that you have theexecutive suites on the right
hand side, which now we havethree lodge suites.
We're in the road in room rightnow.
We have a living area and aclosed off bedroom to the left
and a huge bathroom with thezetted tub and shower with the
(19:23):
old vintage tile, the black andwhite that we keep in every room
on property.
Also, on this floor we alsohave the Laurel suite, which is
also one of my favorites becauseof the pale blue walls and the
rusty gold pipes that you cansee.
It has a huge restroom as well,with the tub and the separate
shower.
(19:43):
And on our second floor we havesix lodge rooms three with river
view, three with the parkinglot area of you.
You can see the cars and themountain, the mountain side, and
then, all right, we have ahandicap room, which is the
evergreen and it is on the firstfloor and actually has two
separate bedrooms and you canlook out over the lawn or the
river.
(20:03):
If you keep going downstairsfarther, you'll get to the
Topoka Tavern.
That's our indoor restaurant.
We do have the brick oven pizzaand that we are known for.
The outside bar is also therewith amazing views.
That was new and that was builtas well in 2017.
If you want to come back up andgo out the lobby door, you'll
(20:25):
walk out to the parking lot.
You never know what's out there.
We've had multiple Pagani's thecheapest one that, when we were
doing research, sold in theUnited States for $2.1 million.
We had a parking lot full ofthem.
I was a little scared somethingwas going to happen, but you
never know what's outside.
We had some Jaguar F-type.
Never heard of that.
(20:46):
We have a lot of vintage carsand Nissan's and Honda's and
Porsche's.
I mean we have everything here.
You never know what you'regoing to see.
You'll see the cabins on theleft hand side of the road.
As you pull up About a quarterof a mile, you'll see the Big
Ten Can building.
If you keep going past there,you'll see two tennis courts.
That's basically the opening toall the trails on property.
(21:08):
We'll have 11 hiking trails onproperty.
Once you're on that road, youneed to realize that you are on
the BMK hiking trail.
He's the one that did theAppalachian Trail.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
He's the founder, so he's the same one that started
developing the Appalachian Trail.
You also have cabins.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
We have seven cabins on property.
We have 27 total rooms, that is, with nine in the lodge and 18
cabin rooms.
Now.
Some of our cabin rooms arelarger Alcoa and Chahawi.
Both sides sleep six people.
So Alcoa one, alcoa two youcould have a joining door in the
middle and have up to 12 peoplethere.
(21:48):
White Oak Cabin One is ournewest, most remodeled cabin
that we have and it has a fourperson jacuzzi on the porch as a
private fire area.
It has a little private area inthe back it's like your own
backyard has huge glass windows,has a big moose head in the
living room, has a full kitchen,a full you know dining room.
(22:09):
It is a beautiful more forentertaining.
If you have people coming withyou and you're wanting to have
some private spot, you couldcome hang out in your living
room in White Oak.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Cool, very cool.
So one thing I think would bereally cool to touch on at this
point, and then we can kind ofunpack it here in a minute but
you all are a part of a veryspecial hotel collection and you
have new ownership right nowtoo.
I'd love to talk about thosetwo things.
And then I want to kind ofblend in you into this mix,
(22:43):
because one of the things thatI've heard you say is that you
lead from the heart at TopokaLodge and maybe we can talk a
little bit about this newcollection of hotel that you all
are under and with.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Yeah, that's the enthusiast hotel collection.
There are properties inMendocino, california, and I
went and visited the generalmanager there, sarah.
She is so nice.
I can't explain how beautifulit was when I opened up the
window in my room and there isthe Pacific Coast, like I could
see the waves coming in.
(23:14):
It was a total differentexperience for California for me
because I had always been toSouthern California but it was
beautiful.
They have a chef on site.
His name was Steve.
Amazing food.
It's the experiences.
That is what the enthusiasthotel collection is all about.
That experience.
You see, when you see theredwood trees, you can go to
(23:38):
Camden, maine, heartstone.
You know these old mansionswith an amazing restaurant right
there on property.
You can go down to the Keys.
There's so many experiences andthat's what the enthusiast
hotel collection is about.
It is about enthusiasts comingtogether for all the different
properties, all the differentareas and finding something to
(23:58):
enjoy and to share together.
If you could see me right now,you'd see I got a big smile on
my face.
And that's just how I talk.
I get so excited because I getenthusiastic about this
collection coming together andwhat it's going to do for people
in the community, people around, anybody that stops.
Now they are actually becomingpart of this family.
(24:20):
They're going to get toexperience these other places
with someone that shares whatthey're enjoying, to do what
I've been saying for a long timewith my daughters.
I have noticed I am from ageneration that likes things.
Me and my family are learningthat it's about that experience.
(24:40):
Let's share that experiencetogether.
It doesn't matter what shoes youhave on, unless you're hiking.
Let's take that back.
But it doesn't matter what typeof bag you're carrying or what
car you're driving when you'retogether and your experience in
that.
My daughters are younger andthey love that experience.
They would rather go take atrip that is photo worthy rather
(25:04):
than going somewhere.
They could take back something.
So I really would like to makesure that everyone knows how
amazing Tupac is and it's thatexperience that you have when
you come here.
We try to keep every inch ofTupac photo worthy at all times.
We work really hard on that.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, well, that is so evident and I have to tell
you this is one of those places,some places you can see
pictures and you're just drawnto it and you know that you
wanna visit it or that place,and that is very much what this
place has been like for me forprobably for about a year, since
I've been following it onsocial media and I have some
friends who have also come hereand they're like Mike, you've
(25:43):
got to get on this Tupac Allodgeon the podcast.
People will love hearing thestory about it.
But I will tell you, the firstthing I told Teresa yesterday is
this has actually exceeded myexpectations.
Actually being here Like thisis one of those places you have
to come walk experience andyou're so right within the first
(26:03):
30 minutes of being here.
Every angle that you looked atit was another beautiful photo,
right, but it also started fromthe very front desk when we
walked in and it was theexperience and it was just when
we first walked in.
We didn't walk right to thedesk, we just walked in and we
sat by the fireplace and we tooksome pictures and we just
(26:23):
literally just took it inValerie, so we listened to
people communicating, talking.
I knew a group was coming offfrom a trail.
They were getting ready to eatpizza down by the river, you
know there were all of thesethings, so we were just kind of
taking it in.
And it was also.
The person at the front desksaid that this was.
They talked about the Christmastree lighting that was getting
ready to happen, which wasamazing last night, and then the
(26:46):
way that she described it.
It was gonna be like a HallmarkChristmas movie and that is the
feeling that we have had,teresa and I have had ever since
we've been on property.
It just feels like we are goingto a place that is just not of
this world, like it doesn't seemreal, and yet it is very, very
real.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
That's exactly what we're going for.
Our mission statement here atSpook-a-Lodge is we create our
engaging experiences ofadventure and sanctuary to wow
each and every guest.
You feel like you're comingback in time.
Everyone is to feel welcome.
That's the goal is making youfeel like you're at home and
just looking around like, oh Iwonder what's over there.
(27:25):
This is so cool, like those arethose experiences, that feeling
.
You can't explain it withpictures.
Once you get here, the way itfeels is just an amazing.
It's like at peace, I swear.
When you get through the gateyou can feel like you can just
breathe, like just breathe andtake it in, and it's much needed
relaxation for guests.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Yeah, wow.
I can't tell you how much thathits home, because us getting
here yesterday it felt like wewent through a lot of obstacles
to get here yesterday and thenwe were leaving far later than
we wanted to get here.
And I know that, even justinternally, you know I'm driving
over to this experience and Iknow it's gonna be amazing and
I'm just I can feel frustration.
And then, yeah, even when westarted to get through
(28:10):
Robbinsville, you know, I feltlike my sense of peace started
happening kind of through there.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Your blood pressure drops a little bit, right 100%.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
My heart rate was going up, but my blood pressure
was definitely dropping, but itwas, I mean, coming through the
lakes and seeing them.
It was the time of the day, itwas the golden hour, you know,
and you're just no cell phoneservice.
Yes, yes, yes.
So yeah, if you are coming here, make sure that you don't turn
off your GPS because you mightnot get it back.
So yeah, but, and then you pullinto the property and, like I
(28:40):
said, I mean the moment that Ipulled around that last curve, I
mean, and it came into view.
I mean I'm not like my familymakes fun of me because we're up
on the parkway or we're seeingnew places for the first time.
It's always like wow, wow, wow.
You know, and I can't stopsaying it, and that's what I
felt like internally when wepulled up into this place.
So it definitely makes you justchill, get into the moment, get
(29:02):
into the experience, and thenit just carried through and has
carried through literally everyminute that we've been here,
from the food, from theinteraction with people.
Valerie, we must have seen lastnight I don't know how many
different groups here.
There's a wedding that's goingon.
The wedding party that was here.
There were people that werecoming in from the community.
You had the Christmas treelighting.
That happened last night, whichwas so very special.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
That was the first time ever and I really did not
know what to expect.
I did not expect so many peopleto show up.
We had I mean, we're trying toget the cookies refilled the hot
chocolate, the Christmas music,when it was playing and kids
are dancing in front of the tree.
It was magical.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Magical.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Like I didn't think I was already ready for Christmas
and all of a sudden, now I'mfeeling the magic.
I'm feeling the spirit.
Bring it on.
Christmas has started and it isgoing to be a magical year.
You can feel the warmth andeverybody's hearts that were
here last night at that lightingand it was special.
It's something I'll neverforget.
(30:04):
I never thought about doing acountdown.
Someone in the crowd mentionedit, so we just started doing a
countdown.
People were videoing.
It was really touching, like itwas so cool.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Touching is a really good way to put it, and I don't
know how to describe it anybetter than just that, in terms
of describing it like in a word,it was very touching, but it
gave me hope.
To be honest with you, likethere's so much divisiveness in
the world, there's people thatargue over the craziest things
and boy I tell you to know thefact that y'all celebrate
(30:39):
Christmas the way that you did.
You want people to have theexperience that's coming here to
the lodge.
It was like a throwback to myearly days, when you got excited
about it and Trish and I saidthe same thing.
I'm like we're in full mode.
We talked about it this morning.
I mean, we're in full Christmasmode at this moment.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
How you just said, made you feel like throwback.
And I was waiting for you tosay a year.
Go back to when, because I keeptrying to figure out when, like
was that what it was like inthe 50s, 60s?
I couldn't figure it out, butone of our servers last night
sent me a picture and I was infront of the Christmas tree with
the two little girls and shevideoed us dancing.
(31:18):
That's what it was.
It was a throwback to mychildhood, out there with those
little girls dancing in front ofthat lit Christmas tree.
That was the feeling and that'show it hit me.
When you, I was really waitingfor you to say a throwback to
win.
I wanted to hear the year, butthat was it.
It was my childhood and when Isaw I mean we had all ages we
(31:40):
had, you know, from six monthsyou're a six month old newborns
out here and car seats to peoplein their 80s dancing around the
.
You know, everyone was there.
The dad was so proud holdinghis baby up and for the picture
in front of the tree, and thengrandma and grandpa over here
taking pictures like it was areally heartfelt moment.
(32:05):
And I'm glad you got toexperience it here with your
wife, with us at Topoca.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
Yeah, I am too, because it was this morning as
we were talking, before westarted recording with it.
You said that you want to leadTopoca from the heart, and it
comes through in everything thatwe've experienced so far and
last night yes, themulti-generational.
It was amazing.
I mean, the moment that thelights went on and, like I said
(32:30):
earlier, I found myself justsmiling.
I'm taking video, too, and I'mjust smiling the whole time
until I caught myself smiling,you know, and you have the older
couple.
We saw him at breakfast thismorning and he almost looked
like a short bearded Santahimself.
You know, I agreed, yeah andyeah.
So, yeah, kudos to you all.
You pulled it off and I knowyou said it was your first one
like that, but I think that thatwill probably be one of the
(32:52):
things that y'all will continueto do, because you had people,
not only that we're staying here, people from the wedding party,
but people that were coming offthe tail of the dragon, people
that you invited from thecommunity.
You invited people say, hey,come and be a part of what we're
doing over here at Topoca Lodge.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
And they showed up.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
They showed up.
It was so cool, yeah, and theyshowed up, but it was cool
because people were waiting.
So we got dinner early, amazingdinner, by the way.
I mean.
You started talking about themeals.
Oh my gosh, we had.
I had the Evan Smashburger, mywife had the tacos, and then we
started out with the specialtychips that you make here.
Oh my gosh, with the ranch andthe bacon and the cheese.
I mean just unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Sweet potato fries.
We have it all.
The trout nuggets are one of myfavorite.
I've never I grew up inOklahoma Never been a big fan of
fish.
That's just me.
We had a lot of catfish, sotrout was different for me.
Trout nuggets are amazing.
Now I love trout.
We're going to add some newtrout cakes to the menu for this
winter and just keep going withit.
(33:51):
Everyone talks about our pizza.
It's something special aboutthat crust.
It's honey, local honey fromwhere Loom?
We try to use Stony Hollow Farmproducts as much as we can
there, a local farm that hasfresh produce and fruits and
veggies, and we try to use themin all the salads as much as we
can get from them.
(34:12):
And the local honey.
There's actually a locallavender form too, and so we
purchased lavender from there,even just for hints of smell
when you're walking throughdifferent rooms on the property.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Very cool, had no idea.
Just a small little touchesthat you don't pick up on, but
definitely make an impact andour breakfast is new.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
We've had a breakfast buffet before and Breakfast
menu and you can get a flight ofmimosas at breakfast.
It's pretty cool.
When I say it's new, I'mtalking about the new dining
experience.
When you come in, because ofthat that big door, you can
actually see the river and ifit's warm enough outside, you
(34:50):
can set outside and enjoybreakfast on the river.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
That's so cool, so cool.
All right, one of the thingscarrying on this theme of not
only Christmas but just the, youkind of made mention to some
things you want to kind of doall year.
This will be the first year in2023, moving into 2024, that you
will extend your season here,as I understand it right.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Correct.
So last year, with with our newownership, o'neill Koska was
like you want to have a NewYear's Eve party.
And we was like sure, we threwa New Year's Eve party and it
was.
It was more than could beexpected.
We had a balloon drop, we hadNative American dancers come and
do storytelling at the firepits.
(35:35):
We tried to make something newand special for the guest to
experience every day.
We hope to continue it thisyear.
We'll be staying up.
We'll be open Christmas Eve,christmas Day we won't be
closing for the season.
This year we are extending ourseason.
We have Santa visits comingThree Saturdays in December.
He is also going to be here toeat breakfast with us on
(35:57):
Christmas Eve Before he startshis flight to go deliver
presents all over the world toall the children.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
That is so cool.
That is so cool.
Well, one of the things thatyou said last night when we were
just talking was that You'reyou're staying open all season.
You know that, you know thatyou have an amazing staff and it
was really kind of part of yourheart and the new mission to
(36:24):
keep this place open not onlyfor the guests, but it was also
a great place for your employees, who you wanted to retain and
not just have the normal Cyclingand cycle out of a seasonal
worker.
So I think that that reallykind of spoke to the heart and
y'all's mission as well.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
It is.
Think about it.
If you don't hey, you got thisjob in December.
You need to find another one.
We hope you come back in Marchright.
That's pretty tough, so I hopethis helps with retaining staff.
And I Know you heard me say it,everyone hears me say it Topoka
is beautiful.
(37:01):
It's something extraordinary.
You want to.
You feel like you're reading abook about and now you woke up
and you're here.
There's no way for me todescribe it in words.
It Especially when you can takea picture and the picture
doesn't do it justice.
I am not that good atdescribing stuff, but no matter
how pretty it is, no matter howcool it is, no matter how many
(37:23):
people are coming here, topokastaff is what makes Topoka feel
like home.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Yeah, that's a great way to say it.
Well, so we have talked a lotabout Topoka Lodge and one of
the things that's been reallykind of top of mind for me and
again, trees and I talked aboutthis is that I could really stay
here for, you know, severaldays and never leave the
property.
To be perfectly honest with you, with all the 120 acres that
there are to explore, withsitting by the river, you know a
(37:50):
beautiful stream even thoughthe release isn't right now,
they're still you can hear thewhite water and you can.
You can hear the rush over therocks and so forth.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
We have rainbow trout in there too.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
I've had people bring me their fist to show me.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
Let's talk real briefly beforewe sign off on all the other
things there are to do aroundhere, because I just have a
short list and I'm just gonnakind of rip through this short
list, but I know there's thingsthat we can add.
We're so close to the GreatSmoky Mountains.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Yes, our property actually touches the Nana Hela
National Forest as well.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
We are in the Great Smoky Mountains.
One of my favorite activitiesto do was I walked up hiked up
to the top of overlook dam Atmidnight for a full moon with my
teenage daughters.
It was beautiful.
It the dam you could see themoon reflecting over Over the
(38:43):
top and it looked like it was amirror, with all the green trees
on both sides of the dam.
Wow it was really gorgeous.
But we have a lot of activitiesnew this year.
We're doing ice cream socials.
So on check-ins at Friday, it'sjust basically to get people
interacting with other guests,come in, have some ice cream.
It's been a big hit.
The same guests that are eatingice cream later that day or the
(39:06):
next day You'll see him at thefire pit hanging out drinking
some wine, and so it's bringingpeople together.
We have acts throwing we wehave cornhole set up.
We have movie nights in the tincan theater.
The tin can theater can host180 people.
Set it seated for a dinner andit can be as elegant as you want
or we get happy to tell it.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
That's great.
Well, you also have.
I mean, you've got white waterrafting nearby.
We've already talked about thetrail of dragon.
I mean you're literally righthere at it.
You can hear the sound of thecars engines and the motorcycle
engines, you know, just rippingup and down the road, which is
really kind of cool to hear too.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
And that's one thing that I want to one dimension,
too, is because people say ohwell, we didn't stop because you
we thought you only catered tomotorcycles, that we thought you
only wanted sports cars.
We want everyone to feelwelcome right it doesn't matter
what you're driving.
Come and experience it.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, absolutely Well , you've already mentioned the
Fontana dam, but then you've gotLake Santilla, you have
Calderwood Lake, fontana Lakepaddle boarding paddle board.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Kayaking the lake even if you don't want to go
down there white water or raftrafting on the Chihuahua River
the lakes are really fun.
Chihuahua there's a Chihuahuabeach on Lake Santilla and so
you can go over and it's areally nice area for kids to
swim and it's a safe area.
June Alaska's gravesite is alsoin Robbinsville.
(40:37):
He is the eastern band cherrykey member that was sent to
Oklahoma on the Trail of Tearsand he walked back and he died
here, and His memorial site isdowntown Robbinsville and so it
just needs mention that that ishere.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Wow yeah, absolutely yeah.
Thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
I had no idea we now have the mountains spa and
Tiffany Duke is our massagetherapist.
She has hot Chihuahua stones,she does massages, body
Polishing and she's using all ofour new rainforest products by
Mali as well.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
Also have auto detailing by Noah.
Perfect for before, afterslaying the dragon those were
his words.
So we do full details cars,trucks inside out, bikes,
everything.
Our staff has really been takenadvantage of Of Noah detailing.
We've never had our cars lookso amazing.
He is doing a great job.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
That's so cool.
That is so cool.
What about future plans?
What about things that arecoming down the line?
And I know that you know you,you probably don't want to
disclose everything that mightbe coming, but are there
anything Events or Improvementsor anything like that that's
coming down the line?
It looks like you are alwaystrying to just keep Elevating
(41:58):
the experience here.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
That's the goal, 100% .
We'll have a Valentine's Daydinner and we'll have a
Valentine's Day dance.
We did the dance last year forthe first time and that was a
totally new experience as well.
We opened up the tin can and soafter dinner you could take a
moment and go up to the tin canand dance.
So when I was first up there, Iwas trying to take pictures,
(42:21):
making sure people knew thatthey could come up and hang out,
and there was a couple that hadbeen married for 65 years.
They hadn't danced togethersince they were in middle school
together.
What?
And they ate dinner and they?
She was just giggling andgiggling and she said we haven't
went to a dance since we weremiddle school and that's where
we met.
Speaker 1 (42:42):
What a sweet story.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
It was really sweet.
So I encourage everyone to keepfollowing us on Instagram and
Facebook see what activitieswere Offering what special
events will try to do moreevents this year in the future.
We want to.
We had a Super Bowl party.
We had a st Patrick's Day.
That's the goal is to use thetin can as a community Room for
(43:05):
us to hang out as guests here,as locals.
Trying to offer something morein the future.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
That's so good.
Well, thank you for everythingthat you all are doing, and I do
want to thank you from thebottom of my heart for this
experience and and all of thethings in the amenities.
And one of the things I thinkit's important to say is that
this is a place that you now cancome to all four seasons, and
so sometimes we just think aboutthe beautiful fall and then the
beautiful spring, when it'swarmer, but this I've always
(43:35):
kind of called this the secretseason.
I don't think I coined thatphrase, but this is the secret
season inside Western NorthCarolina, because even on that
drive up from Robbinsville, withall the lakes, now you can see
them.
Now you have all theselong-range views and you are
able to experience this no lessthan you would in the spring or
the fall.
It's just a different season.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
I think you experience it more because, if
you've already Been here in thefall, it's like a total new
experience.
In the different season we areknown as the hidden gem of the
Smoky Mountains.
That is for a reason.
You are in the Smoky Mountains,you're driving and it's like
wow, that's Topoka.
There it is.
(44:14):
Yeah now you see why everyoneuses the word wow.
Here we are the hidden gem, thesecret side the secret side.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Yeah, this is the hidden gym and the secret season
.
I love it.
Well, valerie, this has beenwonderful.
I cannot thank you enough forthe experience, for everything
that we've been able toexperience here in the last you
know, 24, 48 hours or so.
But I really thank you for yourheart too, the way that I've
watched you Lead your staff andlead the events, lead last
(44:44):
night's Christmas lighting.
You have a servant's heart.
It's very clear and it seemslike it comes through in all the
staff that we've had contactwith, and we did not know until
this morning that it was yourdaughter who was our server last
night at dinner, who did a notonly a phenomenal job serving
but also just understanding theproperty, new specifics about
(45:05):
our, our room, which I thoughtwas really really neat, but it's
a wonderful thing.
I cannot wait to come back.
We're going to come back whenthe Chihuahua is releasing,
because we definitely want tosee that.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
I want to see you go down it.
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
Me and Trace is going to be taking photos here on the
terrace.
Speaker 1 (45:21):
I better get down and start training, because I got a
lot of work.
So all of my paddling listenersout there, I need some safety
builders around me.
So anybody that wants to go runthe Chihuahua with me, let's go
.
Speaker 2 (45:30):
Yes, why he's being an enthusiast on the river.
We're going to be enthusiast inthe crowd and take amazing
photos.
Speaker 1 (45:37):
Right on, Right on.
Well, you have some amazingthings going on here at Historic
to Poca Lodge and I think everylistener who is within a day,
two day, three day drive itdoesn't matter.
You need to book your stay hereat this lodge.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Well.
Thank you for coming andsharing your experience with us
and the world, as we arebecoming an international
destination.
We are the Historic to PocaLodge and Robinsville, North
Carolina.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
The very basic core of a man's spirit is his passion
for adventure.
The joy of life comes from ourencounters with new experiences,
and hence there is no greaterjoy than to have an endlessly
changing horizon, for each dayto have a new and different.
Son John Crackauer, the magicof to poke a lodge extends
beyond its physical beauty.
(46:28):
The staff's dedication toproviding an unforgettable
experience was evident fromtheir commitment to making every
guest feel at home, to the wellappointed amenities and grounds
that capture your heart andinvite you to stay awhile.
As we wrap up this episode,remember that Historic to Poca
Lodge is not just a destination.
It's a blend of adventure andsanctuary, a historic gem that
(46:50):
continues to thrive in themodern era.
I hope you've been as enchantedas I have by the tales and
treasures of this extraordinaryplace.
I'd like to extend a specialthank you to Valerie and her
entire staff for theirhospitality and warm welcome.
I'd also like to say thank youto Heather Noll, president and
Founder of ChalkboardCommunications, for making this
(47:12):
entire experience and episodepossible.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did, please considerleaving us a review.
It truly does help us reachmore people and if you know
someone who also might enjoy thepodcast.
Be sure to share this episodewith them.
Follow me on Facebook andInstagram and keep those episode
suggestions coming.
(47:32):
You can email them to me atmike at explorationlocalcom.
I get those messages about oncea week and I cannot tell you
how much I enjoy engaging withthe listeners.
Well, that's going to do it forthis episode.
Until next time, I encourageyou to wander far, but explore
local.
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