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Glorious views, secluded nature spots, make for serenity at Jasper mountain community

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Patricia McCannon

A mountain retirement home was the goal for Mark and Sheri Pruett of Marietta, but such a place was years away — or so they thought until an afternoon trip changed everything.

"One of my best friends insisted on showing me land that she bought in Jasper at the Preserve at Sharp Mountain,” Sheri recalls. Before her tour was over, Pruett called her husband and said, “I found it!” They decided to construct a home there.

“That first year, while Mark was building the house, we would come up to our lot with folding chairs, eat sandwiches and enjoy those phenomenal views. From the beginning, the memories were wonderful. I knew
we had made a good decision,” she says.

The Preserve at Sharp Mountain is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. On clear days, there are 70-mile views that include the mountains of Tennessee.

Pruett says her husband told her she could see the Atlanta skyline from the top of Sharp Mountain. “I knew it was about 50 miles away and didn’t believe him. But I studied that horizon and saw the skyscrapers. I had to eat my words,” she admits. “Now we go up with binoculars, and I can clearly see the king and queen towers in Sandy Springs.”

Home sites are 3 to 30 acres, and with all that room in between, good relations between neighbors are pretty much guaranteed, Pruett says. There are other bonuses, too. One of her favorites: She can wander around on her deck early in the morning in pajamas and putter with her plants. But if you need a friend and neighbor, they’re close enough.

Before deciding to build, the Pruetts attended several Sharp Mountain weekend events, where they met their future next door neighbors, the Jacksons.

Ray and Leatte Jackson wanted retirement property, too, and they moved up their timetable, just like the Pruetts, after deciding they didn’t want to wait years before settling into their mountain home.

“I bought the property two years ago and moved into the house last year,” says Ray Jackson, who proudly notes he is part Cherokee and that he was drawn here partly because the property had been Cherokee land. “Leatte and I walk the trails. I find a peacefulness that is almost overwhelming,” he says. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.”

Another thing that echoes the Cherokee heritage of the area are the Indian boundary trees. They were rained to grow at right angles by the Cherokee living here long ago. You can see some of them while you drive long the community’s winding roads; more have been discovered deep in the woods.

Sharp Mountain is a getaway with more getaways tucked within. For instance, put on your hiking boots, and you’ll find its seven nature parks, including Mystic Trail, which leads over boulders and mountain streams to secluded meditation spots, bird sanctuaries, a lake, picnic areas with grills and a nature playground for kids known as the Cub’s Den. Feeling a little lazy? Grab some downtime on benches that let you sit back and take in the wide-open views.

The core of the Preserve at Sharp Mountain is the lodge and its pavilion, which features a huge open hearth. That’s where you often can find a friendly crowd at planned events and impromptu neighborhood parties. The observation deck, complete with Adirondack chairs, is angled to capture perfect views of sunlight streaming down mountainsides — or maybe the pinkish-orange glow of a day’s final act. It’s the spontaneous get-togethers that Patti and Don Spedale get a kick out of. She says it’s not unusual to get a call announcing
cocktails and pizza up at the pavilion. “There’s always a fire going, and these last minute parties turn into a lot of fun.”

The Spedales had been planning to expand their previous home in Woodstock, but when they visited Sharp Mountain, they decided to move instead of remodel.

The Spedales’ two oldest sons are grown, but they still have two at home. Gabe, 9, and Dean, 12, have rooms upstairs — along with a media room in a loft that makes a cool getaway — but isn’t too far away from Mom and Dad. The master and in-law suites are on the main level.

At their previous home, “we were about to add a mother-in-law suite for Don’s mother,” Patti says. “By moving here, we easily acquired that. Better yet, Don was able to build an office above the garage here” and no longer needed to rent office space. “We have a larger home now, but we’ve actually spent less to achieve it.”

Everyone gets a chance to express his or her personality in this mountain retreat, which includes exposed ceiling beams greeting guests in the living room.

A great gathering spot is the kitchen. “My home is French country, with kitchen cabinets
in red and creamy white,” Patti says. “It actually looks more like furniture. I found the perfect granite in verdigris, with flecks of red undertones. It’s very different.”

But the kitchen’s best feature may be its windows and the gorgeous view they let in. “When I get the kids ready for school, the mountain sky is full of shades of pinks,” Patti says with a sigh. “In the evening, the
sky turns a bright orange."

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