My BHAG: To go to all the places!
Current Status: We now have an RV and will take up part time RV Travel. We are starting small and visiting all the Tennessee State Parks. After that? Maybe full time RV Travel. Visit all the National Parks and ton of cities across America. After that? Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Moon, Mars, Etc. Somewhere in there I’ll probably die (I guess). Regardless, there is a great big world out there and I haven’t seen most of it! I intend to do my best to change that.
What Are Our Goals?
See All The City Parks (Nashville)
Nashville is my favorite city in America and it is because of this list. The city has the best park system in the nation! Change my mind!
See All The Tennessee State Parks
There are over 50 it them so it will take a while.
See All The National Parks
This is THE goal. The United States has 61 national parks. I’ve been to only a couple of these so far. It will take many years to accomplish this goal but if fully accomplished I believe it will be very satisfying and quite an accomplishment. There are also many more National Monuments along the way (and National Memorials). While we are traveling the country we’ll hit all the state parks that interest us along the way. We’ll hit those too!
See All The States (and a TON of Cities)
As we explore the US we will surely visit every state at some point (and many, many cities). We’ll keep track of them and force rank our favorite ones along the way!
See Canada
We’ve hit a few spots in Canada already and will likely hit a few others before we get to this goal. But once we see the entire US we’ll go north and see that big old country. It looks like my kind of place!
RV The World
Pick a spot on the globe and do the same thing. We can rent/buy an RV once we get there and do the same thing on other continents. This is obviously a large commitment and an extreme end of the full-time RV endeavor.
Travel Related Posts
TN KY Thresherman’s Show – Adams, TN – I Took My John Deere Tractor
I used to go to this show with my granddad and cousins when I was little. I’ve not had my John Deere at the TN KY Thresherman’s Show since I was in high school (in the late 80s). Since that time I’ve restored the tractor my grandfather gave me (watch that video too). I’ve had …
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Henry Horton State Park – Kayaking the Duck River (AKA The Dirty Duck) – Chapel Hill, TN
We visited Henry Horton State Park, near Chapel Hill, TN. Our main goal was to kayak on the Duck River (which runs right through the state park). We soon learned the locals call it the Dirty Duck…even though it isn’t dirty at all?!? Weird?!?. We also explored the Tennessee humidity on bikes (as well as …
Kayaking The Harpeth! – Harpeth River State Park – Nashville, TN
The Harpeth River State Park covers almost 40 miles along the Harpeth River. There are 10 access points to put in/take out all along the west side of Nashville, TN. Our plan is to kayak the entire stretch (not all at once). We started off by doing two legs for about 10 miles. We started …
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See Rock City! Rock City Gardens in Lookout Mountain, GA
We went down to visit Molly in Chattanooga and decided to “See Rock City”. Rock City Gardens up on Lookout Mountain (in GA) are pretty interesting. To think they used to be someone’s backyard?!? It had been several years since we’d been there. The last time we went it was cloudy and rainy (but not …
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Hogrock’s 25th Anniversary – Behind The Scenes 2.0
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 …
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Burgess Falls State Park – Sparta Tennessee
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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Cummins Falls State Park – Cookeville TN
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 …
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Warriors’ Path State Park – Kingsport, TN
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 …
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Davy Crockett Birthplace Historic State Park + Travel Day Food Adventures
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.
Hiking Roan Mountain – Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Grassy Ridge Bald
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. …
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Roan Mountain State Park
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 …
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Rocky Fork State Park + Erwin Linear Trail
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 …
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Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park + Jonesborough, TN + Elizabethton, TN
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 …
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Overnight Backpacking Alone (My First Time)
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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Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail (Ashland City, TN) – Biking
We rode bikes on the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail. It is just up River Road in Ashland City, TN. It is a rails to trails conversion that runs alongside the Cumberland River with an awesome bridge. Oh…and I almost lost my drone (because I didn’t check the wind conditions). That was a fun near heart …
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Montgomery Bell Park State Park
We went to Montgomery Bell State Park to hike and bike. The boys joined us. We biked on a few of the trails on the extensive mountain bike trail network. We hiked to all three of the lakes on the 3700-acre property. We also saw all the iron ore pits from when was mining was …
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Vero Beach Florida – Spring Break 2021
We joined up with the extended family in Vero Beach, Florida for the back half of our Spring Break. We did a lot of eating (that was the main priority actually). When not stuffing ourselves we played PG-13+ rated games, hit the beach, went on boat rides, and explored up and down the coast to …
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Biking Fall Creek Falls State Park
We ditched the car to explore the Scenic Road Loop of Fall Creek Falls State Park via bike. Biking is better than driving…always!
Hiking Fall Creek Falls State Park
We kicked off the 2021 RV season with a visit to spectacular Fall Creek Falls State Park. I was positive no Dean child would ever come with us on a trip but Max proved me wrong (on our 8th trip). He and Arden joined us over Spring Break. I planned a full day of hiking …
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Backpacking Preparation – Getting and Testing My Gear In Nerd Fashion
I spent the winter months ‘nerding out’ learning about backpacking. I’ve always thought it would be interesting to head out man vs. trail. I’ve never done it, however. For me, part of the fun in most things is in the planning. Ultralight, backcountry, backpacking provides plenty of opportunity for that. Researching, making checklists, taking measurements, …
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Breckenridge, Colorado – Summer Fun (Ziplining and Mountain Biking)
We visited Breckenridge, Colorado for a few days back in the Summer of 2018. The boys and the girls ziplined on a stunning course. The boys did some mountain biking. This was the easy kind of biking. It was all downhill without all the annoying sweating and panting involved in pedaling up the mountain. Pops …
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Recapping Our First Year RV’ing – Reviewing our RAM 1500, Heartland Mallard, & cameras (+ Upgrades)
We finished up our first year of RV’ing last year. We just cranked up our second season. We learned a lot in our first year as new RV’ers. So far we are happy with all the decisions we made in our equipment choices. Our RAM 1500 Bighorn, Heartland Mallard trailer, and camera equipment have worked …
Hiking Harpeth River State Park
The Harpeth River State Park is pretty unique. It spans multiple locations over many miles. It is mainly for relaxing canoeing and kayaking with 9 put-ins / take-outs along 40 miles of the river. We plan to do that this year. There is also great hiking here. There are 3 places to hike that we …
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Edwin Warner Park – My 2nd Favorite Park In Nashville, TN
I love the Warner Park system (Edwin and Percy). I have chosen my last two homes based on proximity to these parks. We recently moved to Bellevue and now live closer to Edwin Warner Park. We spend a ton of time in this park hiking and biking. Edwin Warner Park is my 2nd Favorite Park …
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Our 1500 Mile 3 Kids Visiting Fall Break
We hit the road on Fall Break to visit 3 of the far-flung little ones. We were going to see Emmaline in Orlando and decided to swing by Knoxville to see Max and Chattanooga to see Molly along the way. 1,500 miles later our fuel tank was empty, our wallets were empty from resupplying the …
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Hiking Charlies Bunion on the Appalachian Trail (Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Day 8)
On the final day of our 25th anniversary trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, we hiked to Charlies Bunion mountaintop. I didn’t realize I had a touch of vertigo until I was sitting on the edge of this rock. The view was worth it! It was a great hike to end up our trip that …
Viva Las Vegas – Deano Goes To Vegas!
[Throwback] We spent a day in Las Vegas before flying home from a family vacation in the area. I came home with a little extra cash in my pocket! Because I’m a winner! Some might even say a shark! Too bad Emily came home with less cash in her pocket! Oh well, Vegas isn’t really …
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Hiking Andrews Bald and Mingo Falls + Mingus Mill + Oconaluftee + Newfound Gap (GSMNP Day 7)
On day 7 of our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we set out to hike to Andrews Bald. We detoured up the Newfound Gap Parkway to see Mingo Falls too. We made several unplanned stops along the way that were also fun including Mingus Mill and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 8/7/2020
Edgar Evins State Park – Hiking Merritt Ridge and Millennium Trails
We spent Halloween at Edgar Evins State Park to hike the 7+-mile Merritt Ridge and Millennium Trails. This was a pretty hard hike and also one of the less-traveled trails we’ve ever been on. At times it felt like we were just wandering along in the open forest. The views of Center Hill Lake hiking …
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Abrams Falls + Elijah Oliver Place + The Sinks + Tuckaleechee Caverns (Great Smoky Mtns. – Day 6)
The goal on our 6th day in the Great Smoky Mountains was to do the hike to Abrams Falls (our final waterfall hike of the trip). We hit the road early with Emily helping with filming (after some quick training). We made a quick pitstop at The Sinks. Then we got to the hike via …
Hiking Cades Cove – Full Time-lapse (Great Smoky Mountains – Day 5)
14 miles…hiking…not driving…not biking (although we tried). I time-lapsed this very peaceful hike (all 14 miles in 12 minutes). Every time I’ve ever been on the Cades Cove Loop (in the Great Smoky Mountains) it has been a bumper to bumper traffic jam. They close it to auto traffic on Wednesdays during some parts of …
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Cedars of Lebanon State Park
We took our 5th RV trip to Cedars of Lebanon State Park in September. We hiked almost all the trails in this state park (6 trails in 2 days). There are so many things to see along the way. There are caves, sinkholes, rock formations, and more cedar trees growing in the thin, rocky soil …
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Hiking To Rainbow Falls + Laurel Falls + Foothills Parkway (Great Smoky Mountains – Day 4)
We spent the 4th day of our Great Smoky Mountain National Park trip hiking to Rainbow Falls! I cannot say enough good things about this hike. We hiked six waterfalls on our 8 days in the park and this one was, by far, my favorite. Later in the afternoon, we hiked to Laurel Falls (which …
Hiking To Grotto Falls + Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail + Ogle Farm (Great Smoky Mountains – Day 3)
We waited out the rain on our third day in the Great Smoky Mountains to hike to Grotto Falls. Before going, we fueled up at Crockett’s 1875 Breakfast Camp (very good). Then we headed towards the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. On the way, we stopped for a quick (and unexpected) hike at Ogle’s Farm. …
Hiking Chimney Tops Trail + Gatlinburg Trail and Cataract Falls (Great Smoky Mountains – Day 2)
After a big hike on day one of our trip (in the Great Smoky Mountains) we were looking for a shorter hike the next day. The Chimney Tops Trail is shorter (check). It is not an easy recovery hike by any means (not check). It is steep and has lots of steps (lots and lots …
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Our 8 Day Hiking Adventure
8 days of hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains! We did 78 miles and 2 1/2 miles of elevation gain hiked over 8 days inside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park! We saw most of the big waterfalls and a couple of mountain tops. I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend our 25th …
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Sunrise and Sunset While Hiking Clingmans Dome (in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park)
We’ve hiked the trail to Clingmans Dome (in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) several times over the years. It is a quick, steep hike. We did it a few fairly spectacular times. One time in 2014 for a sunrise which was one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen in my life. This year after …
Hiking Mt. LeConte (Via Alum Cave Trail)
Mt. LeConte (Via Alum Cave Trail) @ Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee – 8/1/2020 – 13.98 miles, 2,937 feet elevation gain. We spent 8 days hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for our 25-year anniversary. We started off day one on the longest hike of our life. It is one of the …
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Chattanooga, TN – Moving Into UTC and Seeing A Cool Town
Molly is in her 3rd year at UTC in Chattanooga, TN. She started nursing school this semester. We make this short drive from Nashville often and have fun every time we are there. This little town in Tennessee is a favorite of mine (and one of my favorites in the nation). There are fun activities …
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Visiting Winter Park, Florida
Visiting Winter Park, Florida (in Orlando) and Moving Into UCF (University of Central Florida) We visited Winter Park, Florida (in Orlando) last year while moving Emmaline into college (at UCF – University of Central Florida). It was off the regular tourist path which was exactly what we were looking for. We did all our very …
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Hiking Winding Stairs Trail (Red Oak, Milk Pail, Jacob’s Ladder, and Cascades) in Lafayette, TN
We drove up to Lafayette, TN (while up at Bledsoe Creek State Park) for what we thought would be a short, mile and a half long hike. Our target was Winding Stairs Trail. 5+ miles, a couple of thousand feet of elevation, and almost 3 hours later we finished a very enjoyable hike! There were …
Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
We spent a fun-filled, jam-packed, day in Bryce Canyon National Park in the Summer of 2019. This is my favorite National Park that I’ve visited so far. It is so beautiful! We drove down from Park City, Utah, and explored the park before heading on to Zion National Park. I might have cut it a …
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Zion National Park – Our Two Day Adventure
Zion Canyon, The Narrows, Riverside Walk, Weeping Rock, Emerald Pools, Big Bend, Pa’rus Trail, South Entrance, Cable Mountain Lodge, Zion Canyon Shuttle, Swimming, Hiking. We saw all that but two days at Zion National Park wasn’t nearly enough to see everything! Phenomenal! If you have not been…GO! Zion National Park is currently duking it out …
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Bledsoe Creek State Park (Gallatin, TN) Hiking Shoreline Trail and High Ridge Trail
Camping in the blazing hot Tennessee Summer without working AC?!? Not advised! In July we went to Bledsoe Creek State Park (in Gallatin, Tennessee). This was our first state park camping in our RV. It was extremely hot on the weekend we went. It was 98 degrees (the hottest weekend of 2020). We hiked the …
Clarksville (TN) Greenway + Fort Defiance + Old Glory Distilling + Adventures Of The Stinky Slinky
Back in the middle of June, we traveled back to Clarksville, Tennessee to check out a few things on our list! This was our second RV trip so we spent part of the weekend still getting set up and acquainted with our new RV. The rest of the time we visited all the things we …
Hiking The Narrows (and the Riverside Walk Trail) in Zion National Park
The Narrows @ Zion National Park, Utah– 7/26/2019 – 6 miles, 335 feet elevation gain. We only had two days on our visit to Zion National Park and made sure to get The Narrows hike in. We went during the monsoon season which is not the best time to go hiking in the Narrows due …
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Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville (Our Second RV Trip)
Back in the middle of June we traveled back to Clarksville (our second RV trip) and checked another Tennessee state park off our list, Dunbar Cave State Park! This was our second RV trip so we spent part of the weekend still getting set up and acquainted with our new RV. The rest of the …
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Hiking Navajo Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park
After spending a day in Bryce Canyon National Park, we found a trail that looked interesting. So, we hiked it. We are sure glad we did!!! The Navajo Loop Trail wound up being the highlight of our day in the park. It was a short hike and not terribly difficult. What made it rank so …
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Hogrock! Behind The Scenes
Every year I help run ‘the family business’, Hogrock! My father-in-law has been running this biker rally for over 20 years. I’ve been helping run the front office for 5-6 years. I take vacation from my real job to go work at this one. Some might say this is a horrible waste of time. Over …
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Summer Fun In Park City, Utah
We visited Park City, Utah for a few days (last Summer). We checked a lot of boxes from our cabin in the mountains. We did tourist activities at the Utah Olympic Park (where we saw cool athletes fly through the air). We visited Park City Mountain (where we did the alpine slide, zip line, and …
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RV Trip #1 – Port Royal State Park
We took our very first RV trip once the COVID quarantine lifted back in mid May. We went to go see Port Royal State Park in Clarksville, TN. We hiked around and explored it fully. While we were in town, we also hit a few other places on our list (including Liberty Park). We hiked …
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Our First RV Trip!
We are fast approaching an empty nest. We bought a Heartland Mallard (M210RB) RV travel trailer and a Dodge Ram 1500 Bighorn to hit the open road. We think our ultimate goal is to visit all the National Parks. We are starting smaller (and closer to home) and going to visit all the Tennessee State …
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We Went Survival Camping!
Was Max’s Red Rider BB Gun able to keep us alive? One of my favorite television shows is Alone. It pits man against nature one on one. The Dean Men decided that we would test our abilities and go out into the wild to test our mettle! We prep our gear, shoot guns, ride bikes, …
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Spring Break 2020 In Vero Beach (Coronavirus Edition)
We’ve spent many Spring Breaks in Vero Beach over 14 years. See what makes this our #4 Florida city (out of the 14 we’ve spent time in)! Video is rated PG-13 (at least)?!?! We braved the Coronavirus this year and went to Vero Beach, Florida for our Spring Break. We’ve spent Spring Break (and other …
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We Bought Our First RV!
After doing a good deal of research on my own I decided to get more help. Back in January I put out a call for help from friends and family to learn as much as I could about the RV lifestyle. https://deanorolls.com/2020/01/26/why-i-think-the-rv-life-is-for-me/ I had some great responses that were super helpful. I took what I …
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Why I Think The RV Life Is For Me!
“That There Is An RV…” – Cousin Eddie Cousin Eddie had a ‘really nice’ RV…why can’t DEANO?!?! I had always had a grand vision of packing all the kids up and going on a big RV trip. We never did it. I never could rally the troops. I guess we/they had watched the movie ‘RV’ …
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Exploring Austin, Texas Outside!
We went to Austin, TX for a Deadmau5 concert (that my wife didn’t want to go to at all). To make it up to her I tried to show her a good time exploring Austin outdoors. Austin, TX is a fun city and reminds me a little of Nashville (where we live). We like Nashville …
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My Droning, Gaming, Cattle Feeding, Speeding, Shooting, Ziplining Thanksgiving!
But…wait…there’s more! For years, we used to have our family Thanksgiving in a bar (family-owned) in a small town in Illinois! Years ago, we moved it to the farm. It is always fun. It is easier to watch the video than to explain. Subscribe to my YouTube channel. I’m going to be making lots of …
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So Many Miles On The Harpeth River Greenway!
I have ridden so many miles on the Harpeth River Greenway. It is #7 on my favorite Nashville park list but it isn’t really a park at all; it’s a greenway. It is an awesome one too. It runs along the Harpeth River from Edwin Warner Park out to Bellevue. I ride my bike on …
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I Got A Drone (DJI Mavic Air)! My First Flights and A Lame Old Guy Review
My plan is to do more traveling now that the kids are starting to leave Emily and I with an empty nest. [sad face emoji] We had already reached the point in our family life where the places I wanted to go in no way interested the kids. “These kids today!?!” I ultimately plan to …
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Travel Update (2019)
There is a great big world out there and I haven’t seen most of it! I intend to do my best to change that. First Let’s Back Up I’ve been to some pretty cool places in my life. Many I’ve visited multiple times and some I’ve been to once but could have spent much longer …
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