Travel news from the sources

Hotel rooftop bees support Charlotte pollination

The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, N.C, has built a home for bees on its green, vegetated roof.

The roof, where 18,000 sedum plants enhance insulation for the hotel and a chef’s garden provides organic herbs, now is home to two new beehives that will generate honey for hotel culinary use.

The two fully-contained hives will be home to up to 60,000 honeybees by the time they are fully developed this summer.

Ski web site details North Carolina High Country

Information on skiing and winter sports in the North Carolina High Country is now at SkiTheHighCountry.com.

The web site now features three ski resorts -- Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain Resort and Sugar Mountain Resort -- as well as key info on the snow tubing park at Hawksnest Resort.

Visitors can access live webcams for real-time conditions, view trail maps, check rates and hours of operations, and browse accommodations. There's also a dining guide and an overview of activities away from the slopes.

Photo galleries of each resort feature the work of award-winning photographer Todd Bush of Banner Elk.

North Carolina's High Country is a five-county region anchored by the popular towns of Banner Elk, Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, Boone, Linville, Sparta, West Jefferson and Wilkesboro.