I haven’t worked at all 25 of them but I was there for this one. Lots of rain and even more people! This year’s Hogrock was absolutely packed. I tried to capture things from behind the scenes. Things I learned: 1) it is hard to park large RVs in the rain, 2) the show must …
Continue reading “Hogrock’s 25th Anniversary – Behind The Scenes 2.0”
On our family vacation, the entire extended family headed out for an afternoon at Burgess Falls State Park. We were the last few cars to make it into the parking lot before they filled up. Part of the adventure on a very busy Memorial Day weekend was finding a parking space. Once we accomplished that …
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During our Memorial Day family vacation with my family, Emily and I ventured out to Cummins Falls State Park. We hiked up the river to the bottom of the spectacular waterfall. We’d gone with the kids years ago but we didn’t wade up the river to the bottom on that trip (only saw it from …
We are adding kayaking when we can to our trips from now on. We visited Warriors’ Path State Park for hiking, biking, and kayaking. There are also several other activities that we didn’t even get to do (mountain biking trails, horseback riding, golf, etc.) There is a very pretty lake with some great views at …
Continue reading “Warriors’ Path State Park – Kingsport, TN”
On our way home from East Tennessee we stopped by Davy Crockett Birthplace Historic State Park. Humble beginnings for such a great American figure. We also stopped at a bunch of places to eat. We, obviously, do this very often but travel days evidently ramp up the intensity of our food search.
We saved the best for last! This was my favorite hike of our trip to East Tennessee (and one of my favorite hikes ever!). It is 360 degrees of absolute gorgeousness at around 6,184 feet elevation. We hiked from Carvers Gap up to Round Bald, over to Jane Bald, and then onto Grassy Ridge Bald. …
Continue reading “Hiking Roan Mountain – Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Grassy Ridge Bald”
When we travel we usually have a schedule that keeps us moving. Midway through our trip to East TN, we slowed down a bit. Roan Mountain State Park was our home base for much of the trip. We planned a day there to see it…and it alone. The truck wheels barely spun this day. We …
We spent the day at Rocky Fork State Park. We started in the morning hiking up the Whitehouse Cliffs Trail. This is a pretty short trail but also a pretty steep one. On our lunch break, Emily picked up some ‘road treasure’. Joey would call it trash (each to his own!?!). Then we headed back …
Continue reading “Rocky Fork State Park + Erwin Linear Trail”
On our second day in East Tennessee, we visited Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton, TN. They have an exhibit, a recreated version of Fort Watauga, and a trail along the beautiful Watauga River. While in Elizabethton we also went to see the covered bridge, Carter Mansion (oldest frame house in TN), and Sabine …
Continue reading “Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park + Jonesborough, TN + Elizabethton, TN”
I went solo backpacking on a 13-mile hike and camped overnight alone in the Wildcat Shelter at Montgomery Bell State Park. It was my first time overnight camping in the woods. It was also my first time doing it all alone. I survived by drinking from streams, eating with a toilet trowel, producing fire from …
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