Eastern Tennessee - Knoxville - Atomic Bomb!

[scifan57]

It's possible in a really hot fire to ignite the aluminum and have it burn in a similar manner to magnesium.

 

[Czevski]

Museum of Appalachia - A Must!

The Museum of Appalachia is located about a half hour north of Knoxville and is now part of the Smithsonian Institution - their website HERE - founded by John Rice Irwin contains numerous historic buildings from small cabins to larger log houses, workshops, and a wonderful building called the Hall of Fame, which is stuffed w/ thousands of artifacts and stories of the peoples and cultures of the Appalachian area (Susan & I spent nearly 2 hours in the building but even a whole day would not be enough).

Their story (short version, of course) is quoted below from the link above. A wonderful gift shop is on premises w/ many mountain crafts, foods, etc. on sale - also a quaint restaurant serving food of the region, so a nice lunch stop. I've added a bunch of pics, some are mine including Susan walking out the Hall of Fame (also pic of a portion of the mountain instrument collection) - as stated in the title, if you happened to be in eastern TN, then a must stop! Dave


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If you are visiting East Tennessee, don't miss this museum!

The jail

Other outdoor scenes.

 

[scifan57]

These fires were allegedly caused by two juveniles who are currently in custody. 2 juveniles charged in Tennessee wildfire that killed 14, including 2 Canadians

 

[giradman]

These fires were allegedly caused by two juveniles who are currently in custody. 2 juveniles charged in Tennessee wildfire that killed 14, including 2 Canadians

Hi Scifan.. - sad to say but not surprising, I guess; the National Park Service estimates that up to 90% of forest fires are caused by humans (quote below from link), and likely a substantial number due to arson, as seems likely in this recent disaster. Dave
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[giradman]

In Tennessee wildfires, officials estimate $500M in damage!

Well, just a follow-up on the Tennessee wildfire disaster - the total damage is given above, i.e. a half billion dollars (more details below) - Gatlinburg downtown was mostly undamaged - interviews w/ local officials are asking for tourists to return - the community needs a LOT of money and tourism is its major revenue.

Also, a recent Dolly Parton telethon raised $9,000,000 for the area (second quote) - she is a native of Pigeon Forge and has a foundation which will provide funds to those affected by the fires - SO, for those who live close enough to drive to eastern Tennessee, think of the Gatlinburg area for a visit. Dave

Deadly wildfires caused more than $500 million in damage as they tore through a tourism community in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and killed 14 people, local officials estimated Tuesday. The fires harmed more than 2,400 buildings in the Gatlinburg area, including more than 2,100 homes and almost 60 businesses destroyed, officials have said. For the first time since the fires, Gatlinburg officially reopened to the public Friday, and its main downtown district was largely unharmed (Source).

Parton headlined the Tuesday night event that was broadcast on several cable networks and livestreamed online. Parton says in a statement that all donations have yet to be counted, but the total stands at around $9 million. The total is expected to rise in the coming days as mail donations are counted and the telethon is rebroadcast (Source).

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[giradman]

Well, last post here was 2 years ago - I'm sure that there has been much recovery since then - our son, Stephen, and his wife, Joy have just brought up a joint visit to the Gatlinburg area (5 hour drive for him from Indianapolis & 4 hours for us) - have picked an early May date - he wants to rent a multi-bedroom cabin - will post more later - Dave

 

[giradman]

Today Early May 2019 Arrived at our Gatlinburg Area Cabin!

Our son found a cabin in the mountains remote from but near the 'hustle & bustle' of the Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge area - BUT, we were not expecting such spaciousness and luxury - the location is shown on the map below, actually in Sevierville - the cabin has two main levels + a smaller 3rd higher loft; 4 1/2 bedrooms, game room, and big screen entertainment room (we both brought a bunch of DVDs & BDs). Pics below of the place (from the web); last views of the mountains are mine from the outside decks - believe that we will have a pleasant 4 nights there - more to come! Dave
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[giradman]

Just a couple of pics early our first morning from the cabin deck - these are certainly lovely mountains - Dave

 

[scifan57]

Today Early May 2019 Arrived at our Gatlinburg Area Cabin!

Our son found a cabin in the mountains remote from but near the 'hustle & bustle' of the Gatlinburg - Pigeon Forge area - BUT, we were not expecting such spaciousness and luxury - the location is shown on the map below, actually in Sevierville - the cabin has two main levels + a smaller 3rd higher loft; 4 1/2 bedrooms, game room, and big screen entertainment room (we both brought a bunch of DVDs & BDs). Pics below of the place (form the web); last views of the mountains are mine from the outside decks - believe that we will have a pleasant 4 nights there - more to come! Dave
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A perfect place for a vacation!

 

[giradman]

Thanks Scifan.. - the place is indeed spectacular and the views wonderful - Tuesday, we were out most of the day and saw a 'comedy show' at night, so no time to post; and we're about to go out for the day in an hour or so - Cade's Cove and Clingman's Dome (up coming posts) - interestingly, the 'satellite' Wi-Fi in the cabin behaves erratically, i.e. I'm getting only about 1 Mbps DL speed at night but 30+ Mbps in the morning, so can really post pics early (or the middle?) in the day - my IT son is at a lost for the moment - for the moment, I'll have to just save the posts - there will be plenty to come. Dave

 

[scifan57]

Thanks Scifan.. - the place is indeed spectacular and the views wonderful - Tuesday, we were out most of the day and saw a 'comedy show' at night, so no time to post; and we're about to go out for the day in an hour or so - Cade's Cove and Clingman's Dome (up coming posts) - interestingly, the 'satellite' Wi-Fi in the cabin behaves erratically, i.e. I'm getting only about 1 Mbps DL speed at night but 30+ Mbps in the morning, so can really post pics early (or the middle?) in the day - my IT son is at a lost for the moment - for the moment, I'll have to just save the posts - there will be plenty to come. Dave

I'll be waiting for what I'm sure will be some more very interesting travel posts.

 

[giradman]

Gatlingburg - Aquarium - Ole Smoky Moonshine - Roaring Fork Auto Tour - Comedy Barn

Well, on our first full day, we headed toward Gatlingburg - will not give much detail unless an activity is new or I have some new pics to share - this area has been covered in previous posts, so for those planning a visit, please look back at the earlier pages of the tread.

We revisited the excellent Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies - one of the best attractions in the area (IMO); love the large tunneled water enclosure (just a couple of web images below - much more earlier in the thread). Then lunched at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a chain w/ a Forrest Gump theme (i.e. the movie w/ Tom Hanks) w/ obviously a LOT of shrimp options. After lunch, a visit to the Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine distillery for a tasting - TN moonshine made on site (plus in other nearby locales) and blended at usually lower proof w/ a wide assortment of 'goodies' (pic below shows just some of their products - they also put cherries, pickles, etc. into the moonshine); then took the 5.5 mile Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, which will be described w/ pics in the next post.

After the 'auto nature trail', we headed to Pigeon Forge for an excellent dinner at the Bull Fish Grill - Susan & I shared charred oysters and I had a well prepared mountain trout. Then just down the road, we saw the show at the Comedy Barn - despite this being our 4th visit to the area over the decades, we have never been drawn to a live show - but all of us did enjoy - a variety of musicians, cloggers, comedians (w/ audience participation), dog act, and an outstanding juggler (originally from the Netherlands) - a little corny, as expected but entertaining - for those interested, watch several YouTube videos for an introduction. Dave
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[giradman]

Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail - Gatlinburg Must Do!

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is close to downtown Gatlinburg, and a 'must do' - only a 5.5 mile one-way loop road, there are scenic overlooks, trails to waterfalls, such as Rainbow and Grotto Falls (which we did not do at our age, i.e. 5 or 7 mile walking round trips on moderate to strenuous trails - but I've included some web pics below - other images my own). I've always been amazed to be in hustle & bustle of this tourist resort mountain town and be able to see nature in just 5-10 minutes - highly recommended. Dave
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[giradman]

Woes of Wi-Fi in our mountain cabin -

My posts have been delayed a day or so because we determined that our satellite Wi-Fi router had a 'data cap' which permitted only 1-2 Mbps DL & UL speeds, insufficient to do much more that check our email, and certainly not adequate to upload and download multiple large images or to even browse the web at a decent rate.

SO, our IT son setup his iPhone as a 'hot spot' and I've been on his 'network' for the last few days, and was able to just place a couple of posts (getting about 30-40 Mbps DL speeds on his network) - we do not have that choice on Susan's iPhone, and his company pays his expenses. Felt like I was back in the dial-up modem days -

He called the rental office and they are 'checking into the satellite service' but I'm sure the rates are set in stone - this cabin can easily accommodate a dozen people, who together could have at least 2 dozen Wi-Fi gizmos - now that's a LOT of bandwidth - really the first time lately that I've had an issue w/ broadband wireless in a rental place, either condo or hotel. BUT - we've brought along a bunch of DVDs/BDs and have been enjoying that entertainment room shown earlier! Dave

 

[giradman]

Cades Cove - Another Must Visit in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On our second day, our major goal was a visit to Cades Cove, nearly an hour and half drive and located in the National Park - there is an 11-mile one-way loop road and multiple potential stops along the way (see map) - walkers and bicyclists are often seen - our son had an audio tour (purchased on Amazon, shown below) which was great giving us much of the history quoted below - the 'valley' is between two mountain ridges (my pics at a scenic stop) - historic buildings can be visited and include homesteads, churches and a grist mill - a Visitor's Center is also present; for $1 an excellent guide book can be purchased at the entry point. After our drive, we stopped at the picnic grounds for a bag lunch, sitting next to a beautiful stream - much wildlife lives in the area - however, we saw just a bunch of birds, some horses, and one young bear (see pic). Another must place to visit in the park. Dave

Cades Cove is an isolated valley located in the Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park. Today Cades Cove, the single most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well preserved homesteads, scenic mountain views, and abundant display of wildlife. (Source)

John Oliver (1793–1863), a veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife Lurena Frazier (1795–1888) were the first permanent European settlers in Cades Cove. Between 1820 and 1850, the population of Cades Cove grew to 671, with the size of cove farms averaging between 150 and 300 acres. The early cove residents, although relatively self-sufficient, were dependent upon nearby Tuckaleechee Cove for dry goods and other necessities. During the Civil War in 1863, Confederate bushwhackers from Hazel Creek and other parts of North Carolina began making systematic raids into Cades Cove, stealing livestock and killing any Union supporter they could find. (Source)

Cades Cove suffered from the effects of the Civil War for most of the rest of the 19th century. Only around 1900 did its population return to pre-war levels. The Chestnut Flats area of Cades Cove, located at the base of Gregory Bald, was well known for producing high-quality corn liquor. Of all the Smoky Mountain communities, Cades Cove put up the most resistance to the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. By 1927, however, and when the Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill approving money to buy land for the national park, it gave the Park Commission the power to seize properties within the proposed park boundaries by eminent domain (Source).

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