With much of Western North Carolina under abnormally dry conditions ... Fires also are burning in Macon and Haywood counties ...

And on a separate list of best small-town beer scenes, two other North Carolina destinations made their mark. The mountain town of Boone ranked No. 3 and Bryson City earned the No. 10 spot ...

Despite disagreement last year over in-town drop-off points, the Appalachian Trail hiker shuttle offered by Macon County ...