Les Jones

Daytrips to Jonesborough, Tennessee

Driving time from Knoxville: 2 hours
Where to point your car: West on I-40 to 81 North

Jonesborough is Tennessee's oldest city and home to the National Storytelling Festival in October. There are several of great restaurants, antique stores and shops, bed and breakfasts, and music in the square on Saturday night.

Melissa and I are getting married in Jonesborough this August. The ceremony will be at The Wedding Loft, and the wedding party will stay at the Eureka Hotel and the Blair-Moore House. Everything is within two blocks, so it's easy to walk everywhere.

Jonesborough was once the home of U.S. President Andrew Jackson, who fought a deal on the outskirts of town. An inn in town has hosted all three presidents from Tennessee: Jackson, Johnson and Polk.

Jonesborough is right next door to Johnson City. Visit the Down Home if you like bluegrass and American music. There are also some working drive-in movie theaters in the area.

I'll post pictures once I move the blog to the new site.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Melissa and I both like getting out on the road and exploring. We like natural stuff, old stuff, and neat restaurants. I'm writing up some of the daytrips and weekend trips we enjoyed. I'll post them one at a time so I can archive them separately. Articles already in the hopper: Crossville, Jonesborough. Coming soon: Ocoee, Boone/Banner Elk, Gatlinburg, Townsend, Etowah and Asheville.

It's hard to draw the line on what qualifies as a daytrip. My rough estimate is that it has to be two hours of driving or less. Any longer than that and we'd probably spend the night. In some cases we pack a toothbrush and a pair of clean underwear in case we decide to sleep over. So while these trips are good daytrips, some of them work as well or better as weekend getaways.

Chattanooga

Driving time from Knoxville: 1.5 hours
Where to point your car: South down I-75

The first time we went to cat town, we planned on coming back that night. It's lucky we packed our toothbrushes, because we discovered plenty of reasons to spend the whole weekend.

The Chattanooga Aquarium is the heart of the city for tourists. Once you're there, you can park your car and walk or take the free electric bus. Nearby you'll find the riverfront and the annual Riverbend music festival, the Imax theater, the baseball stadium, the Creative Discovery Museum, a brewpub, and plenty of shops, restaurants and hotels. If you're planning to go to the aquarium and Imax, buy one of the packages that include tickets to both.

We liked staying at the historic Reed House. The original was antebellum, and was used as a hospital during the Civil War. Many of the paintings depict battles that took place in the area. The hotel has hosted many historical figures, including Winston Churchhill. La Dolce Vita is a great Italian restaurant, though as I recall it was a short car ride away.

Lookout Mountain is an enormous mountain that comes up out of nowhere and dominates Chattanooga. You can drive on top of it for miles and miles. There are many neighborhoods, schools, churches, a grocery store, and several tourist attractions.

Lookout Mountain was the site of a civil war battle, commemorated by a national park monument, Point Park. The park is beautiful, but has a surreal quality. It's a national park right in the middle of the expensive homes of Chattanooga's toniest. That was a plus for Melissa and me, since we like looking at houses. There's a nature trail you can access by parking next to an expensive house, though the day we went the trails were wet with rain and we had to turn back after slipping on the rocks. I wouldn't take rambunctious kids on this trail even in good weather.

Also on Lookout Mountain there's the incline railway, Ruby Falls, and the Rock City of barnside and birdfeeder fame. I never made it to Ruby Falls, but I went to Rock City as a kid. It's where you can "See Seven States." As I recall there's a little train ride, a bunch of caves, and an observation area with coin-operated telescopes. That probably doesn't do it justice, so go ahead and visit the web site. For the adventurous, Lookout Mountain also offers hang gliding.

Chattanooga Links

• Chattanooga and the Civil War - North Georgia Historical Society page.
• Chattanooga Times Free Press - The daily newspaper. Funny story: the Chattanooga News and the Chattanooga Free Press merged to form the Chattanooga News Free Press. (If you didn't laugh, read that name again.) Why didn't they call it the Free News Press? Beats me. After a lot of ribbing they changed it to the Times Free Press.
• Harrison Bay State Park - State park just minutes from Chattanooga. Camping, hiking, swimming and a Jack Nicklaus Bear Trace golf course.
• Lake Winnie amusement park - Terri Smith writes "I just want to add, in case you guys go back, the fact that you missed the most exciting thing to me "near" Chattanooga (to me this is in Chattanooga but I'm not sure where the Chattanooga suburbs start and stop). Anyway, this was my favorite place when I was young and still cool if you like to ride theme-park rides."

Daytrips to Crossville, Tennessee

Driving time from Knoxville: 1.5 hours
Where to point your car: West on I-40

I spent a summer in college working as a naturalist at Cumberland Mountain State Park and fell in love with the area. Every time I go to Crossville now I find something new.

The park is a great place to stay or visit. The picturesque bridge and dam are the largest steel-free masonry structures ever built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. You'll also find boat rentals, hiking trails, rental cabins, RV and tent camping, the largest swimming pool in the Tennessee state park system, a very good restaurant, and a Jack Nicklaus Bear Trace golf course. In the summer there are nature programs, sports, and children's activities. Like many of the buildings in Crossville, many of the park structures are made from Crab Orchard sandstone, which is quarried nearby. Because of the park's compact layout, you can walk everywhere, which is great if you have kids.

Near the entrance to the park you'll find the Cumberland Homesteads Tower and Museum (free, donations encouraged). The Cumberland Homesteads were a New Deal project to give families a start in farming, and many of the homes constructed in the project still stand. The museum is in the former administrative building. It's made from Crab Orchard sandstone in the shape of a crucifix. At the center of crucifix is a tower that served as a water tower and firetower. You can climb the stairs to the top for a view.

Right across the street from the tower is an antique store and the Cumberland General Store. Their motto is "Goods in endless variety for man and beast." If you need to live off the land for a few years, this is the store to visit. They have all of your 1900 house needs, from beekeeping and animal husbandry to soap making, home brewing, and vegetable canning.

About half an hour north of the city lies Muddy Pond, a working Mennonite community. The Mennonites were a part of the Anabaptist movement, which declared that the faithful should not be baptized involuntarily at birth, but willingly and with a voluntary confession of their sins. Because of their common heritage, the Mennonites share some characteristics with the Amish (who are also Anabaptist), including a minimal association with the outside world, a pacifist philosophy, a Germanic heritage, and a de-emphasis of organized religious services in favor of private services.

At Muddy Pond there are working blacksmith and leather shops, a store, and a bakery. In October, they harvest sugarcane and make molasses using a mule-drawn press and wood-fired furnace. The molasses shop has a variety of baked goods, including shoe fly pie, which tastes a little like pecan pie, but with a crumbly texture.

Crossville claims to be the golf capital of Tennessee. Besides the state park, there are courses at Fairfield Glade, Four Seasons, Lake Tansi Village, Renegade, River Run and Stonehenge.

If you want to talk me into playing golf you'd better get me drunk first. I recommed taking me to Chestnut Hill Winery or Stonehaus Winery. And don't be stingy with the bottle there, shooter.

Crossville Links

• Crossville Chronicle - The local paper of record.
• Crossville Online - Local web site. Recommended!
• Cumberland County Playhouse - Well-known playhouse with a full schedule of productions.
• Homestead Bed and Breakfast - A B&B in the homesteads and park area.
• Ozone Falls - A beautiful waterfall located just five milles off of I-40. You can be lazy and see the falls from a perch above, or you can reach the base of the falls with a short hike.

Daytrips to Townsend and Walland, Tennessee

Driving time from Knoxville: 30 minutes
Where to point your car: South on Alcoa Hwy/Airport Hwy and follow the signs to the Smokies/Townsend

Townsend is the nicest, least developed entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In contrast to the sprawl and traffic snarls of Pigeon Forge, Townsend didn't even have its first traffic light until the new millennium, and it has yet to install a second one. I plan on writing about the park elsewhere. I'll try to keep this article focused on Townsend and refer to the park as it relates to the town.

Besides its proximity to the nation's most-visited park, Townsend has two great things going for it. One is a 3 mile bicycle and walking path built in the 1990s. This makes Townsend a great place for cyclists and physical fitness buffs. Cyclists will also be interested in the Cades Cove Loop in the park. The one-way, 11-mile loop is closed to vehicles until 10:00 AM to allow cyclists exclusive use of the road. Bicycle rentals are available at the Cades Cove campground. The old Walland Highway on the other side of the river is also popular with local cyclists who don't mind sharing the road with cars.

The other fantastic part of Townsend is the Little River, which parallels the highway. The river provides great opportunities for swimming, trout fishing, kayaking and tubing. There are several shops in town with trout fishing gear, and several concessions that rent innertubes. The further upstream you go, the better the water gets. Just after you enter the park you'll reach the Y, which is what everyone calls the intersection of the roads to Townsend, Gatlinburg and Cades Cove. It's also the intersection of Laurel Creek and the Little River.

There are a number of picnic sites by the river, including a handicapped-accessible park across from the Apple Barn. The best and largest picnic site is Walnut Bottoms. To get there, enter the park and take a left towards Gatlinburg. Once you're at Metclaf Bottoms, drive the extra mile or two to the Greenbriar Schoolhouse and cemetery. Next to the school you'll find the trailhead to the Walker Sister's Cabin. With its easy grade and two mile round trip length it makes an excellent short hike.

Another, slightly longer hike is White Oak Sinks, which is closer to four and a half miles roundtrip. White Oak Sinks isn't on any of the park service maps, and the trail isn't marked, but it's one of our favorites, and it's a short drive. To get there enter the park and take a right at the Y towards Cades Cove. Drive about five miles and look for the Turkey Pen Ridge trailhead on the right. Hike 1.1 miles until you see the trailhead to Schoolhouse Gap Trail. Go 150 yards past Schoolhouse Gap Trail. You'll see a very clear trail on the left. From there it's about another mile to a downhill run and a three-way trail intersection. At the intersection you can go a few hundred yards to the left to reach the gated bat cave, or you can go a few hundred yards to the right to reach the spectacular waterfall. The waterfall comes off the hillside and disappears underground into the eroded limestone labyrinth of White Oak Sinks.

Where did it get its name?
The town of Townsend was named for Colonel W. B. Townsend, a Pennsylvanian and president of the Little River Company, which logged much of the area and built a railroad to extract the lumber. Townsend later sold more than 500 acres of land to the state which was included in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I'll have to find out where Walland got its name.

Even without going into the park, there are plenty of other outdoorsy activities in Townsend. Tuckaleechee Caverns is fun, rain or shine. There are plenty of horse riding stables to choose from.

For arts and crafts, there are several shops. Nawger Knob hosts periodic craft shows and bluegrass shows under the shady trees by the river. There's an Old Timer's festival in the spring and fall. There's now a very nice antique store in Walland. I can't recall the name of it, but it's next to the Harley Davidson shop.

My favorite restaurant in the area is Dead Beat Pete's, a Mexican joint on the river with good cerveza. When I want a hearty breakfast I go to the Timbers or the breakfast buffet at the Carriage House (closed in winter). For quick snacks there's sandwiches and Broasted Chicken at the Little River Campground next to the park entrance. If you want the best food, you'll have to leave Townsend. At the traffic light (there's only one!) take Wear's Valley Road almost to Pigeon Forge and look for Chef Jock's Tastebuds Cafe on the left. Chef Jock's is BYOB and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 PM.

Townsend and Walland offer every lodging option under the sun. There are hotels, naturally, but those are the least interesting option. There are numerous campgrounds by the river. Little River Campground and Lazy Daze are my favorites. Both offer tent camping, RV camping with full hookups, and basic cabins. There are a wide variety of more-appointed rental cabins in the area. There are also cabins, lodges and group retreats in Wears Valley.

I haven't eaten at the Mill House, but it's a beautiful old building. I mowed the grass there for a while in college, and my mother - who grew up in Walland in the Everett and Whitehead households - worked there as a young girl when it was a family's home.

If you like driving, motor south to the Foothills Parkway. The parkway is closed to commercial traffic and offers unimpeded driving through flowing curves accentuated by glorious mountain views. When you feel like stretching your legs park at Look Rock and the fire tower, located right next to one another. When you reach the parking lot, go to the far right (southern) end and look for a faint trail in the woods. It leads to a beautiful rock overlook. I rappelled there in high school with Tyson Crowder and the other Droogs. There's a campground right next door.

The parkway terminates at highway 129 at Chilhowee Lake. Not much to see there except the lake and the dams, but it's a fine area for fishing and boating. When you go north/west and the road veers away from the lake you've entered the famously curvy Dragon's Run, an 11 mile, 138-turn knot of asphalt stretching into Deal's Gap, North Carolina. It's a favorite of local motorcyclists. It's not a favorite of local parents if their kids are prone to carsickness. Those kids will find it blecch-tastic.

Townsend and Walland Links

• About Townsend - Good site for tourist information.
• Camp Wesley Woods - Summer camp for kids.

Kentucky was great. Melissa and

Kentucky was great. Melissa and Jay and I went to Lexington for the horse race at Keeneland. We spent Sunday at the Shaker village at Pleasant Hill. I'm writing up a trip report on Lexington, so for now I'll just say both places were beautiful. I got lots of pictures, which I'll post when I move the blog to the new site at www.lesjones.com in a few weeks.

I found a web site I built in 1999 for the Cumberland tourism board. The Cumberlands of Tennessee Heritage Trail is a self-guided auto tour of 26 attractions in the Cumberland Plateau region. I couldn't find it with Google, and I realized it was probably defunct. Chris Range suggested a search of the Internet Archive, which I had never used. Sure enough, they had a copy.

I'm still proud of the look and navigation of the site. You can choose areas of interest from a list on the main page, or traverse the entire web site like a slideshow using the Next links. The general navigation scheme was borrowed from Yahoo! There are some navigation buttons at the top, and those are repeated as text links at the bottom of the page: that's an old web design technique that's still useful. Every page has a copyright notice, a link to the home page, a link to the search page, and a link to the contact page.

If I were designing the site today, I wouldn't change much. Instead of the plain blue background I'd probably use a simple striped pattern. I'd definitely make the fonts sans-serif (using a stylesheet, of course). Serif fonts were on the way out even back in 1999, but the only way to reliably change fonts was to use the font tag, which I didn't like. I didn't change 56K.COM to sans-serif until I could do it using a linked stylesheet.

Daytrips to Jonesborough, Tennessee

Driving time from Knoxville: 2 hours
Where to point your car: West on I-40 to 81 North

Jonesborough is Tennessee's oldest city and home to the National Storytelling Festival in October. There are great restaurants, antique stores, shops, and bed and breakfasts. During the tourist season there's music in the square on Saturday night.

Melissa and I are getting married in Jonesborough this August. The ceremony will be at The Wedding Loft, and the wedding party will stay at the Eureka Hotel and the Blair-Moore House. Everything is within two blocks, so it's easy to walk everywhere.

Jonesborough was once the home of U.S. President Andrew Jackson, who fought one of his many duels on the outskirts of town. An inn in town has hosted all three presidents from Tennessee: Jackson, Johnson and Polk.

Jonesborough is right next door to Johnson City. Visit the Down Home if you like bluegrass and American music. There are also some working drive-in movie theaters in the area.

I'll post pictures once I move the blog to the new site.

Postcard from New York

We did all of our touristy stuff this week - the five burroughs, the City Pass, the Broadway show, the Yankees game, the New York Sightseeing Tour - and now it's Sunday. We wandered around this morning and found a flea market, and for lunch ate falafel from a street cart. I'm in a cybercafe on 48th street next to Rockefeller Center. Melissa's looking for a gift for her mom.

New York's been great and we wouldn't mind living here. Lots to do, lots of interesting people, lots of opportunity. The people have been extraordinarily nice, from the bus driver who let us ride for free before we bought a metro card to the owner of the restaurant who let us use her VIP pass to go straight to the top of the Empire State Building without waiting in line.

Here's what we liked best.

CityPass
One-priced ticket to six attractions: Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, Guggenheim, Museum of Modern Art, U.S.S. Intrepid, and Harbor Cruise. Cost is about half what it would be separately, and you never have to wait in ticket lines. We liked the Chicago City Pass, too.

Right now the MOMA is being renovated, with a temporary home in Queens. The temporary home is kind of small, and doesn't justify the trip. Go the Metropolitan Museum of Art instead. We spent a couple of hours at the Met and still didn't see everything.

New York Sightseeing Tour
Double-decker red tour buses. The lower deck is climate controlled. The upper deck is open air, with great views and a great vantage point for pictures. The tour guides are native New Yorkers who give their own narrative. You can hop on and off at any stop and explore. We could never have seen so many parts of the city without the tour.

Frommer's Guide to New York
We looked at a lot of guides and brought three, but Frommer's was easily the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and useful. Want a free copy of Frommer's? Go to Ellis Island. I accidentally left mine on a park bench on the northeast corner. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is terrific.

New York Yankees
Going to the Bronx for a Yankees game was incredible. The stadium is the perfect size for the crowd, and the crowd was wild. (Well, except for this guy (4 MB AVI movie). He was more dorky than wild.) The subway comes above ground just before you get to the stadium. From the subway car, you look down into the ballpark. Likewise, you can look up from your seats and see the subway pass.

Thoroughly Modern Millie
Won six Tonys in 2002, including best actress for Sutton Foster. We loved Foster. Melissa pointed out how much Foster is like Carol Burnett - tall and knock-kneed, sassy and goofball, pretty and homely, and with a comedic voice that goes from a picollo to a bassoon.

Food
The first night we took a trip to SOHO to eat at Lombardi's. The food was great, but we decided it wasn't worth the three hour trip. After that we just ate wherever we were at when we got hungry, and it was always good. If you eat at the Carnegie Deli, split the sandwiches - they're huge. We split a Reuben and still couldn't finish it. Best food was at a Mediterranean/Turkish restaurant on 3rd Avenue on the Upper East Side. We had a bunch of appetizers, from ezme (a spicy dip made from vegetables) to sardines wrapped in grape leaves. Also Efes, a Turkish beer, which even Melissa liked (and she doesn't really like beer).

In Search of Efes Beer in Knoxville

Does anyone know where to get Efes Turkish beer in Knoxville? Melissa and I had it in New York and liked it a bunch.

LATER: We stopped by Sam's Party Store after the UT game hoping he'd have it. No luck. What he did have was some darned fine Wurzburger Oktoberfest </obligatory German spelling>.

I love me some Octoberfest. The sadly defunct New Knoxville Brewing Company had a great one that I drank at the Black Mountain music festival with Al Cruzen, one of the company's founders. He had a pup tent set up with two kegs of the stuff. Drink all you want. Good times. Al's brother is also a brewmaster and a nice guy. It must run in the family.

Does anyone know why Octoberfests aren't made year round? I hate sitting in front of the calendar 11 months out of the year, crossing out dates as the season slowly approaches.

Canadian FAQs

Via Clayton Cramer. I just love snappy answers to stupid questions.

Q: I have never seen it warm on TV, so how do plants grow? (From the UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: It is imperative that I find the names and addresses of places to contact for a stuffed Beaver. (Italy)
A: Let's not touch this one.

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Canada? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada? (USA)
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Ca-na-da is that big country to your North . . . oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary. Come naked.

Continue reading "Canadian FAQs" »

Brushy Mountain Prison

Via SayUncle comes news that Tennessee may close Brushy Mountain prison to build a newer, larger facility. The driving force is economic: Brushy Mountain, a maximum security facility, is currently the most expensive prison in the state system.

The new facility will be at a different location, which will almost certainly be less secure. The current prison is set in a natural bowl surrounded by mountains that make escape difficult. James Earl Ray served his sentence there for the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King. Ray tried to escape in 1977, but was caught in the forest 55 hours later. National media at the time described the area surrounding the prison as "snake-infested rugged mountain terrain."

SayUncle says that family legend has it that his great grandfather's brother was the first man to escape from Brushy Mountain. I can't match that, but I have seen the prison while hiking. If you go to Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area in Wartburg, Tennessee, you can hike to the top of Old Mac Mountain. At the top of the mountain you can climb a firetower and look down into the prison. It really is set into a bowl, with mountains on all sides.

Continue reading "Brushy Mountain Prison" »

The Hill in St. Louis

Melissa found this CNN article about The Hill in St. Louis. I need to scan our photos from that trip.

The Hill is Ethnic Town in St. Louis. At different times it was German-, Irish-, French-, or Spanish- Town. Today, though, it's markedly Italian, with Italian groceries and restaurants. We ate at Charlie Gitto's and a little neighborhood deli with bocce ball courts. Melissa's dad swears he'd pay a hundred dollars just to eat at Charlie Gitto's again.

Italian food isn't the only fare. When we were there two years ago there was a great tapas restaurant called Modesto's. Modesto's had - I kid you not - the best rice I have ever eaten. I have no idea how you make fantastic, superior rice, but their chef did it, and it opened my eyes to the differences between good and great food. Incidentally, the big culinary traditions in St. Louis are crab cakes and toasted ravioli, and every restaurant does them up right.

Until I have time to scan those photos and write up St. Louis, I'll recommend these things: the St. Louis Zoo and St. Louis Art Museum (both free and right next door to one another), the St. Louis Arch, Ted Drew's, and the Budweiser factory tour (free as in beer, with free beer). The St. Louis Zoo is the most fun, best laid out zoo we've visited. We liked it much better than the San Diego Zoo, and Melissa preferred it to the Chicago Zoo (which I haven't seen).

Take a pass on the botanical gardens and Mammoth State Park unless you've got time to kill. Laplace Landing is a good area to walk around, get smashed, and see a band, and riverboat gambling is nearby if that's what floats your paddleboat.

You can tell that St. Louis is one of those towns that took it right in the breadbasket at the end of the industrial revolution. You can almost see the wispy ghosts of the missing employees. You'll drive through town and notice an old brick manse and think, "That house would be wonderful if Bob Villa fixed it up." Then you'll pass a whole street of those houses. Then you'll notice an entire neighborhood of the same. Gradually it dawns on you why no one is rehabilitating those old houses.

Lileks's New York Pictures

James Lileks posts his 2003 New York photos as part of his ongoing New York pictolog. Boy, do I agree with his rating of the Times Square HoJo. Melissa and I went there for breakfast, looked at the restaurant and the menu, and got up and left. There are better, cheaper, cleaner restaurants a block away.

Back from Camping

The trip to Kephart Shelter was great. Everyone had a great time. The kids loved it, and complained much less than Melissa did on her first backpacking trip. (Ouch! Well, OK, dear, Icewater Springs was a much harder hike.)

I didn't mention it last weekend, but this was my birthday hike. October is my favorite month, and so for my birthday I like to take a trip somewhere in the Southern Appalachians, which are just gorgeous this time of year.

The fall colors are peaking right now at the high elevations of the Smokies. The lower elevations should be their most colorful next week. As a rule of thumb, the peak color in the park is usually the second or third weekend in October, and that was true this year.

After we got off the trail we drove to the Oconaluftee visitor's center and toured the homestead exhibit, then had lunch in Cherokee, North Carolina. Once we got back over the mountain, Charla took the kids back to Kingsport, and Melissa and I went to Gatlinburg to split a Beer Sampler at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Then we hit the Apple Barn for fried apple pies and a half bushel of Stayman Winesaps. A perfect autumn trip.

Bonus park history for reading this far down: Horace Kephart was a botanist and early proponent of making the Smokies a national park. He's best known for his book, Our Southern Highlanders.

Back from Camping

The trip to Kephart Shelter was great. Everyone had a great time. The kids loved it, and complained much less than Melissa did on her first backpacking trip. (Ouch! Well, OK, dear, Icewater Springs was a much harder hike.)

I didn't mention it last weekend, but this was my birthday hike. October is my favorite month, and so for my birthday I like to take a trip somewhere in the Southern Appalachians, which are just gorgeous this time of year.

The fall colors are peaking right now at the high elevations of the Smokies. The lower elevations should be their most colorful next week. As a rule of thumb, the peak color in the park is usually the second or third weekend in October, and that was true this year.

After we got off the trail we drove to the Oconaluftee visitor's center and toured the homestead exhibit, then had lunch in Cherokee, North Carolina. Once we got back over the mountain, Charla took the kids back to Kingsport, and Melissa and I went to Gatlinburg to split a Beer Sampler at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Then we hit the Apple Barn for fried apple pies and a half bushel of Stayman Winesaps. A perfect autumn trip.

Bonus park history for reading this far down: Horace Kephart was a botanist and early proponent of making the Smokies a national park. He's best known for his book, Our Southern Highlanders.

Backpacking Headlamps

Some people are turned off by the nerdiness of a headlamp, but even my most non-nerdy friends fall in love with headlamps once they try them. The benefits are obvious: light whereever your eyes are pointing, with both hands free for pitching a tent, cooking, or hoisting a food bag into a tree. Headlamps are also ideal for cycling, caving, and climbing. There are dozens of headlamps on the market. The ones below are the ones I've owned, in order of purchase.

Features

Tilt Except for the Saxo all of these lights have a pivoting lamp. You can tilt the light up or down, which is especially handy when reading. It's also essential for good headlamp etiquette: if you're talking to someone and notice your light is in their eyes, you should tilt your lamp away.

LED vs. Incandescent Bulbs
Flashlights and headlamps have traditionally used incandescent bulbs, but LED lights are moving into the mainstream. The big advantage is their battery life, which is many times that of regular bulbs. You'll carry fewer batteries and be assured of long-lasting light. The downside is generally lower light output, and less distance (LED light can't be focused). LED bulbs last many times longer than traditional bulbs before burning out, but if they do burn out or break they generally can't be replaced.

One or Two Strap Headband
All headlamps have a band going around the head. Some also have a a strap going over the top of the head. The extra strap is good for heavier lights to help distribute weight, but tends to make adjustment more difficult.

The Headlamps

Petzl Micro
I bought this lamp years ago for the simple reason that it was the lightest on the market. Today, the LED lights have taken away that title. Even if they hadn't, I wouldn't recommend the Micro. The beam is anemic. I once compared it to a Mini-Mag (which also uses 2 AA batteries). It was about half as bright. The tilt stage on the Micro can't be tightened enough, so with a little age it works loose and begins flopping down during night hiking or caving. The straps are also difficult to adjust.


Petzl Saxo Noi
The Saxo is a compromise between a flashlight and headlamp. It works pretty well as a headlamp, but lacks a tilt adjustment and tends to bounce around because of its size. In flashlight mode, it's shaped for comfortable carry. You can remove the headband and thread it through the tail of the light to create a cushy wriststrap. I used it this way at the Lake Eden Arts Festival, where a headlamp really would have been too nerdy. The Saxo is a good choice if you aren't sure about the whole headlamp thing, or expect to use a flashlight more frequently.

Petzl makes a waterproof version called the Saxo Aqua. That may be a good idea, since my Saxo succumbed to water damage that corroded the electronics.

Black Diamond Gemini
The Gemini bridges the divide between incandescent and LED bulbs by using both. Press the power button once for LED, and a second time for incandescent. It works great, and the headband and switch are very good. When folded, the tilt mechanism shields the power switch to keep it from being activated inside a backpack and draining the batteries.

The Gemini's incandescent bulb is the brightest of the four lights reviewed here. If it still isn't bright enough, a high-output krypton bulb is included in the package. My original model uses just one LED and was plenty bright for Melissa and I to play rummy at Icewater Springs. Newer models include two LEDs for even better output.


Petzl Tikka Plus
If I'm camping I'm wearing a ball cap. With most headlamps, that means turning the bill around and wearing the lamp over the cap. I bought the Tikka Plus because I could easily wear it under a ball cap, with the lamp shining out from under the bill.

The Tikka Plus uses 4 LEDs for amazing light output. It's almost as powerful as the Gemini's incandescent output (with 8 meters range compared to the Gemini's 10). That's remarkable considering it uses AAA batteries to the Gemini's AAs, and has significantly longer battery life.

You want tricks? It's got em. Press the power button once for maximum light, again for medium, then low, then emergency strobe. In strobe mode it lasts for an incredible 400 hours. You can go directly from the current power level to off by holding the power button down for a second.

Conclusion: Duh! Buy the Tikka Plus
This is easily the lightest, simplest, and most comfortable headlamp I own, and one of the brightest. It's the perfect light for backpacking.

	Black Diamond Gemini	Petzl Micro	Petzl Saxo Noi	Petzl Tikka Plus
Empty Weight	4.6 oz	3.5 oz	4 oz	2.8
Batteries	3 AA	2 AA	4 AA	3 AAA
Burn Time	7/1000 hours *	7.5 hours	9 hours	80 hours

* 7 hours for incandescent bulb, 1000 hours for LED bulb

Mt. Cammerer Firetower Hike (Great Smokies)

I plugged in the scanner this weekend and started going through old photos. This is from a trip in 1999 or so, judging from the other pictures on the roll of film. Now I remember. I was working at U.S. Internet at the time, because I remember telling Cecil about my plans for the trip, and he couldn't believe I would go hiking in that heat. I needed some backpacking therapy, even though it was mid-summer and eleven kinds of hot. I got up around 5:00 AM, made straight for the trailhead, and got to camp by 10:30 before the temperatures got unbearable. I rigged up a water bag and showered off, then lazed away the rest of the day.

The shortest route to Mt. Cammerer is a 10.4 mile roundtrip hike beginning near Cosby Campground, hiking up Low Gap trail, then following the Appalachian Trail to the trail spur that leads to Cammerer. That route also has the least elevation gain, about 2000 feet. I visited Mt. Cammerer as part of a two-day backpacking trip, spending the night at Cosby Knob Shelter on the Applachian Trail.

The fire lookout is of the Western style, being built on rock. Fire lookouts in the Eastern United States are generally built on metal or concrete towers to lift them above the lush tree cover. Because it's on a rocky summit surrounded by scrubby heath, the park service was able to build the Mt. Cammerer lookout directly on rock. The park quit using the Mt. Cammerer station in the 1960s.

This is a view from inside the tower, looking out. The interior was surprisingly dark. At the time I was there, the windows were intact. From some of the descriptions I've read of the tower's delapidated state, I can only assume that someone had done some maintenance work.

Looking out over Eastern Tennessee from the observation deck. This was an intermittently cloudy day, and the dark areas of the ground are cloud shadows. The Hiking Trails of the Smokies describes all of the landmarks visible from the lookout, including Bays Mountain, Stone Mountain, Snowbird Mountain, Mount Sterling, Max Patch, Naked Place, Balsam Mountain and Mount Guyot.

Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness

In East Tennessee, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park gets all of the attention when it comes to hiking and backpacking. The Smokies certainly deserve their big reputation. They're gorgeous mountains with abundant wildlife and a rich history.

However, most East Tennesseeans live nearly as close to the Cumblerland Plateau, a table of buckled rock and mountains that runs in a north-south line roughly parallel to the Smokies, from Chattanooga in the south up through Crossville to Jamestown in the north. Whereas trails in the Smokies are steep and every inch is covered in lush greenery, the Plateau has milder trails and gentler, rolling terrain. The uplifted rock creates more waterfalls and exposed geological features, from rock shelters to caves and natural bridges. Twin Arches, in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, is the longest natural bridge east of the Mississippi.

Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness is on the Plateau just south of Crossville. It's owned by Bowater paper mills, which spared it from logging. When a paper company can't bring itself to log an area, you know it's spectacular. Honey Creek Pocket Wilderness near Big South Fork is similarly inspiring, and may be the most rewarding five mile roundtrip hike in Tennessee.


Jesse and I hitched up with the University of Tennessee Canoe and Hiking Club for a trip to Virgin Falls. Randy Bigbee organized and planned the trip. We hiked around this same time of year, in November of, I believe, 1997.

This first waterfall is about 30 feet tall and marks the smaller of the two caves on the trail. It's a great beginner's cave. The floor is level, and the ceiling is tall enough to stand upright. There are enough stalagtites and crystal formations to keep anyone's interest.


The next few pictures show a magnificent rock shelter. There's a small waterfall above it that drips into the shelter. The water then disappears underground. This picture is from inside the shelter looking out. That's Jesse in the red pullover, chicken legs and all.

Click on any image for a larger picture.


The competition here was to see who could run all the way up this rock without sliding backwards. That's Randy, who won the challenge.


This is Virgin Falls, a 110 foot waterfall by the Caney Fork River. There's a deep, eroded basin at the bottom of the falls.


There's a narrow, steep trail that takes you to the top of the falls. There you'll find a wet cave that the water issues from. About 30 feet above that is the entrance to the dry cave. That's me on the far left wearing a headlamp.



You go down about 20 feet as you enter the mouth of the cave. A short ways in there's a crevice that's three or four feet across. We jumped it, then came to another, wider crevice. We didn't have a lot of caving experience, and no one had any ropes or safety equipment. Breaking an arm or leg inside a cave four miles from a road seemed like a bad idea, so Jesse and I turned around and left the cave.

Everyone made it out OK, and we had a great time in camp on the banks of the river. Virgin Falls is one of my top five backpacking trips, and I'd love to hike there again.

Backpacking Links

I've blogged about backpacking and hiking trips before. Now I've added these to the links on the front page.

The ultralight backpacking stuff is pretty fun. I've tried some of the gear and techniques, and they pretty much work. Tarps are great in mild weather (and wild weather if you're prepared to batten down and wrap yourself in a tarp). I've always preferred light, ankle-height hiking boots. I've sometimes hiked and backpacked in Teva sandals. They're great except when it's raining, oddly enough (considering they were designed for river use). I get tired of my feet being wet, the straps tend to loosen up, and if it's a muddy trail your feet get disgustingly dirty. Come to think of it, the muddy feet were what sent me back to boots.

• Backpacking Lightweight
• Backpacker Magazine
• Big South Fork
• GORP
• Great Smoky Mountains NP
• Joe's Ultralight Backpacker
• Rec.backcountry newsgroup
• Tennessee State Parks
• Trailspace Gear Reviews

What to do in Asheville, NC?

Help us out, y'all. We're going to Asheville over the holidays to see the candlelight Christmas tour at Biltmore House. What else should we do while we're in town?

Melissa and I like museums, old buildings, downtowns, and good restaurants. What's a good place to stay? Melissa has done some online research to find B&Bs and hotels, but a lot of of places are already booked. What are the can't-miss restaurants and neat neighborhoods?

Daytrips to Asheville, North Carolina

Driving time from Knoxville: 2 hours
Where to point your car: East on I-40

Asheville's downtown is amazing. It's an example of a downtown that's been revitalized, but it's also an example of a downtown that was never completely de-vitalized. Some of the shops have operated continuously for over 100 years, and everything is well-kept and prosperous-looking.

There's no shortage of shops, restaurants, coffeehouses, and book stores. On the weekends there's a hippie arts and crafts market at Bio-Wheels on Biltmore Avenue. While Melissa shopped in the Oak Grove Arcade on Monday, I got online at Malaprop's bookstore and cybercafe at the intersection of Haywood and Walnut.

For lunches we indulged in Asian food at the Noodle House (best wonton soup we've ever eaten) and Doc Chey's (great noodles and great interior). For dinner we took SouthKnoxBubba's advice and drove down to Tunnel Road to eat at the Greenery, which was excellent. The wine selection is especially amazing.

We visited Biltmore House for the candlelight Christmas tour. For Christmas they light the fireplaces (all 65 of them) and candle aubras, and decorate the house with holiday ornaments. The candlelight tour includes the behind the scenes tour of the basement, with its pantries, kitchens, laundry rooms, twin bowling alleys, and the indoor swimming pool, which was one of the first to have underwater lights. (I still think the coolest thing in all of Biltmore estate is Napolean's chess set.)

Asheville is a great daytrip from Knoxville, but the night tour of Biltmore meant making a weekend of it. We stayed at the Days Inn on Patton Street downtown. Not the greatest hotel, but cheap at 45 smackers and within easy walking distance to everything downtown. Josh and Kerry recommend the downtown Best Western (nicer, but 65 smackers, and you'll have to drive more).

For the return trip we took the scenic route through Hot Springs, North Carolina, a cute little town on the French Broad river. Besides the natural hot springs, its other claim to fame is that the Appalachian Trail goes right down the town's main street. The scenic route also passes through downtown Newport, Tennessee. It seemed just as fast as the interstate, so unless the weather's bad take the scenic route.

Other daytrips from Knoxville:

Chattanooga, TN
Crossville, TN
Jonesborough, TN
Townsend and Walland, TN

Looks like I've got some extra space down here to talk about the photographs. The long shadows would lead you to believe that these were taken early in the morning. In reality, all of these pictures were taken at mid-day between 11:00 AM and about 2:00 PM. The reason for the long shadows is the date: December 22, just one day after the winter solstice, when the sun is lowest in the sky. Between now and the summer solstice (June 21) the days will get longer and the sun will get higher in the sky.

Weekend Trips to Boone and Banner Elk, North Carolina

Driving time from Knoxville: 3.5 hours
Where to point your car: I-40 West to 81 North through Elizabethton

In a Metro Pulse wrapup, Knoxville singer Jodie Manross includes this vignette from the band's tour:

On Feb. 6, the band and I were traveling to a gig in Boone, N.C. when we got hit with eight inches of snow. Two tractor-trailers collided on the mountain roads, and it took three hours more than usual to get to Boone. Our show was cancelled due to the ice and snow. We ended up staying in a strange motel with a water wheel, a comedy club with a huge stage called Geno's Lounge, a bocce ball court, and outside pet rabbits you can feed for a quarter.

That's the High Country Inn in Boone. Melissa and I stayed there during a Valentine's Day ski weekend two years ago. The rooms aren't the greatest, but the hotel has nice quirks. There's a stream on the hillside that's been diverted into a stone sluice. There are ducks and geese, and a stone rabbit hutch. The sluice steps down the hill and ends at the bottom of the hill in a waterwheel.

Skiing in Western North Carolina
We spent some time in Geno's lounge practicing on the ski simulator and watching the 2002 Winter Olympics. We watched Olympic athletes in Salt Lake City trying to break records in the downhill, while we drank beer in Boone, hoping we wouldn't kill ourselves on the slopes. That trip was the first time either of us had skied. I was going to a March business conference in Sante Fe that included a day of skiing, and I wanted to take a few lessons before going out West.

The first day Melissa and I went to Sugar Mountain. It was snowing when we left the hotel, and was a near blizzard by the time we got to the lodge. Skiers were coming in off the slopes, and the weather was frigorific. It wasn't a good way for novices to start, so when the storm failed to lift after lunch we bagged it and spent the rest of the day bumming around Boone.

Appalachian State University is in Boone, and Lees-McRae College is in Banner Elk. College towns always have some cool bars and restaurants, and these two are no exception. Some of the things I recall visiting on the main drag in Boone are a cool old drug store, a large antique mall, an Irish pub, and a vegetarian restaurant.

The next day we went to Beech Mountain for another shot at skiing. That time we had great weather. The abundant sunshine reflecting off the snow made the below-freezing weather almost balmy. Within half an hour on skis we were down to T-shirts.

The morning ski lesson didn't go well. The artificial snow on the training slope was packed into ice. It's hard to manuever on packed snow, and even harder to sidestep uphill for the next run. Between wearing ourselves out trudging uphill in skis and beating ourselves up by wiping out, we weren't having much fun.

At lunch we were discouraged, but decided to give it one more try. Something must have happened during lunch, because we did much better that afternoon. I relaxed a little bit and learned to lift my turning ski a little instead of bearing down while trying to turn it. I could turn with some degree of control, and I could stop reliably without butt-braking. We were still amatuers, but we made progress.

There are plenty of other ski resorts in the area. Hawk's Nest is one that's close by. Even if you don't ski, there are snowtubing slopes on all three mountains, with special tube lifts to haul you up the slopes.

For some reason, ski slopes tend to have lousy food. For dinner drive into Boone. We especialy liked the Daniel Boone Inn. They serve family-style, with bowls and baskets of food brought to your table. Everything is delicious. We stood in line for an hour to get a table, so make reservations or be prepared for a wait.

Daytrip to Athens, TN

Distance from Knoxville: One hour
Where to point you car: South on I-75. If you're leaving from Maryville, take 411 South to Englewood, and turn right on 39 West.

Saturday was gorgeous, so we called our friend Jay and set out for a quick afternoon daytrip to Athens.

Athens has a pretty downtown with several gorgeous buildings. A good-sized campus of Tennessee Wesleyan College is directly adjacent to the downtown. If you like old churches, this town has plenty. Athens also has a drugstore with a lunch counter, for fans of that vanishing institution.

Greeks Bearing Gifts is a very nice shop near the courthouse. If you're getting married in McMinn County, that's apparently the place to order invitations, and they have silver gifts and such. The family that operates it is extremely nice.

There's only one antique mall, which was just OK. There's a bookstore with lots of kid's stuff and romance novels. Overall, we were a little disappointed with the small number of stores and restaurants.

Besides the drugstore, we only found one pace to eat, and it didn't seem promising, so we drove back a mile east on Highway 39 and ate at Castillo's Mexican restauarant.

It was a fun trip, but not the best. If you're looking for antiques, you'll have better luck in Sweetwater, Clinton, Etowah, or Jonesborough.

Googling for information after the trip, I found out that there was something called the Battle of Athens in 1946.

On the way back to Maryville via 411 we turned off at Vonore and visited the Fort Loudon museum and historical site, which includes a full-scale reconstruction of the eighteenth century British pallisade fort and trading post. Interesting botanical note: the fort's defenses included a dry moat planted in honey locust, which produces razor-sharp thorns up to four inches long.

No pictures, unfortunately. My camera's LCD conked out. It's still under warranty, so I've sent an email to the manufacturer to stop the clock.

UPDATE: Something else to do in Athens - the Mayfield Dairy tour.

The Dakota

Watching Law and Order right now. Melissa said "Hey, that's the Dakota. We saw that on our honeymoon." Sure enough, the camera glided over the Imagine memorial across the street at Strawberry Fields.

As Law and Order fans we loved New York, even though we were a little disappointed we didn't stumble over any bodies.

What to See in St. Augustine and Ft. Myers, FL?

Melissa and I are packing the cooler and hitting the road. We're planning two or three nights in St. Augustine (Atlantic side, north end of state), and two or three nights in Ft. Myers (Gulf side, south end of state), with some flexible time in their to shift our plans around.

We're staying at the Pirate Haus Inn and Hostel in St. Augustine, so we'll be right in the historic district. And they have wi-fi, so I can post a few updates to the blog from there.

We've got the Frommer's guide, and we've visited FLAUSA, but we trust you more than a book or a Web page. What are some good sights to see and places to eat? Cuban food a plus. We love historical stuff, nature, and great scenery. I'd like to do a little fishing, and we'd both like to take a swamp buggy ride.

Safe and Sound in St. Augustine

Made it to St. Augustine about 9:00 PM. 536 miles on the trip odometer.

Took a sidetrip to Savannah, Georgia since it was so close to the interstate. Right across the bridge there was a tour company. Stopped in, found out that a tour was leaving in five minutes. Got on the tour. 90 minutes later we were heading back across the bridge. Fare thee well, Savannah.

Caught a great radio station on I-95. '80s and More. It had been a while since I heard The Cars on the radio. That got us most of the way to Jacksonville. I hadn't been through Jacksonville since I was a kid. It's really grown. [Back atcha. - Jacksonsville]

I'm on the second-story patio of the Pirate Haus Inn and Hostel using the wi-fi network. It's a little slow right now, so no pictures until later. Back soon.

Driving Games

You probably know the game Punch Buggy. When you see a Volkswagen, you hit the arm of the person next to you and yell "punch buggy!"

Now there are spinoffs. When you see Chrysler's retro-wagon you hit the arm of the person next to you and yell "PT Bruiser!"

Melissa and I liked that so much we started playing it, and invented our own game. When we see Subaru's four wheel drive station wagon we hit each other's arm and yell "Outwhack!"

Yesterday on I-95 I invented another game: Meanie-Cooper!

When we were in Asheville last December, we had to suspend Outwhack. That town is so crunchy there was an Outwhack on every block. We saw eight or nine at the hippie flea market at Bio-Wheels.

A Salty Tale by the Sea

Digging through our travel kit, the mini-toothpaste turned out to be Arm &Hammer Complete Care. The first time Melissa used it I heard "Ooh, this is awful" from the bathroom. The first time I used it Melissa heard, "Ugh! This toothpaste is salty."

Checked the ingredients. Active ingredient: sodium flouride. Inactive ingredients include baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), sodium saccharine, sodium laurel sarcosinate, and sodium laurel sulfate.

We tried to guess the marketing angle. "It's supposed to be like brushing your teeth with ocean water." "No, wait! It's supposed to be like brushing your teeth with country ham." We're back on the Colgate now.

Sunday in St. Augustine

Melissa and I took the trolley tour of St. Augustine. Nice enough, but by 2:00 we had seen just about everything we wanted to see. Tomorrow we're touring the fort and going to the beach. After lunch we'll head for Ft. Myers.

After lunch and a nap we went to Edgewater to visit Melissa's cousin Lisa. They're a nice family.

On the way back to St. Augustine we stopped at New Smyrna beach, found a little dive by the beach, and watched the Survivor. Rob and Amber were the final two, and Amber won, which is what Melissa and I were expecting. Rob proposed to Amber at the end of the show, which was a surprise.

After the show we took a little walk on the beach and came home. We're hanging out in the common room at the Pirate Haus, watching The Italian Job, and using the wi-fi. Someone fixed homemade key lime pie, so that's tonight's bedtime snack.

We've really loved this place. Conrad, the front desk clerk, is awesome. Last night there was watermelon in the kitchen. When I showed up Michael and another person were speaking in Italian to Patrick, a guest from Italy.

Pirate Haus Pics

A couple of pics of the Pirate Haus this morning before we leave. That's Conrad in the dew rag. He made us a "Melissa + Les" pancake this morning. The other picture is the front desk, which shows the color scheme.

Back in Tennessee

We're home. A little tanned, a little sunburbed, some sand in our clothes, and 2119 miles on the trip odometer.

I didn't get to blog after Monday. That was the last day we were anywhere with Internet access, except for a couple of minutes at a Starbucks when we had to get online. I missed blogging, but I didn't, if you know what I mean.

I took lots of pictures and a couple of movies. I'll post all of it later this week.

Thanks to SayUncle for filling in on the Thursday Gun Links while I was gone. Thanks to Barry and especially SouthKnoxBubba for some very good advice on places to see in Florida.

It's good to be home.

Naming Babies on the Road

Here's a way to solve our dilemma about naming the baby. Close your eyes, spin the vanity license plate rack at the Stuckey's on I-95, and point.

Years from now when our daughter asked why she doesn't have a Biblical name like her friend Mary, we could have told her that Stuckey's was all out of Mary license plates at the time. Blame it on a crummy inventory management system. Good thing we're not having a boy this time. They were all out of Bort license plates, too.

If Melissa had pointed to the alphabetically out of place Angel, would that have been a sign?

Maurice's South Carolina Mustard BBQ

On the way to Florida we stopped in Columbia, South Carolina for lunch at Maurice's. Jim Thames had brought back some Maurice's sauce and fixed a pulled pork roast at work, and I wanted to try more.

When most people think of BBQ, they think of Memphis-style BBQ, with its sweet-to-tangy, tomato-based sauce. The Carolinas have other varieties.

There's vinegar-based BBQ, with just a hint of tomato. You'll also find mustard-based BBQ, which is what Maurice's serves. I ordered the Big Pig so I could get the complete experience to report to you, my reader. Taking one for the team, I had ribs, pulled pork, cole slaw, cornbread, fries, and a fresh pork rind with lean meat.

Verdict: it may not displace Memphis BBQ, but it's great stuff, and you should try it if you get the chance. If you're not planning a trip to South Carolina, you can try one of the online recipes, or get Maurice's to ship you some. He has an online store, and the shipping's free.

You won't find Maurice's BBQ sauce at your local grocer because, well, here's the thing. Big stores like Wal-Mart and Bi-Lo used to sell it, but they stopped because people complained about Maurice's politics. Maurice Bessinger is - how to put this? - a political nutcase and unreconstructed Confederate cracker. That's him in the picture standing in front of one his stores, which display the South Carolina flag flying over the Confederate battle flag. One of his pet peeves is that state flags should fly above the national flag.

You can get a better idea of his beliefs by visiting his (ahem) Truth Store. Or just visit his restaurants, which sell Confederate flag t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "May We Never Forget Their Sacrifice" and books like "Myths &Realities of American Slavery." Or you can judge him by the company he keeps. At the store we visited, there was a signed thank-you note saying how good the barbeque was. The author? Pat Buchanan.

Friday Dog Pics

Friday pet-blogging seems to be the thing these days. I'll pitch in with someone else's pets this week. These are some Great Danes we met at Daytona Beach. The woman in the picture is one of their owners.

Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky

These are photos from our trip to Keeneland for the horse races last year. Enjoy.

Continue reading "Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky" »

Your Moment of Beach Zen

A little surf video from Ft. Myers Beach, Florida. I think it's a little more enjoyable with the speakers turned off, since the sound is mostly wind and wave noise breaking across my digicam's little tiny microphone. Beach video (3.0 MB). This probably qualifies as the most minimalist, artsy-fartsy thing I've done on this blog.

Mt. Airy, North Carolina

Last week Melissa and some of her kinfolk went to Mt Airy, North Carolina for the day. Never heard of it? Me neither. It apparently has some connection to The Andy Griffith Show. I went to the town's Web site to see what the connection is, and found this FAQ (Frequently Avoided Question):

Is Mount Airy really Mayberry? Explore Mount Airy, the hometown of actor Andy Griffith, for the Mayberry parallels, such as the Snappy Lunch, Floyd’s City Barber Shop, the Old City Jail, the Andy Griffith Playhouse, Wally’s Service Station, Andy’s Homeplace, and the famous Andy Griffith Museum, which is housed at the Mount Airy Visitors Center. The owner of the Mayberry Motor Inn, Alma Venable has a collection of Frances Bouvier’s – better known as Aunt Bee -- personal belongings, which can be seen by appointment. Mount Airy hosts an annual event called Mayberry Days, which is a celebration of The Andy Griffith Show’s anniversary. Mayberry Days is scheduled for Sept. 25-27, 2003.

It's at this point in The Simpsons when Lisa exclaims "But that doesn't tell me anything!" The real Andy Griffith apparently did grow up in the area, and "incorporated names of places and people from Mount Airy on 'The Andy Griffith Show.' "

The area's other claim to fame is that Eng and Chang, the original Siamese twins, lived there.

Continue reading "Mt. Airy, North Carolina" »

Friday Photoblogging: Savannah, Georgia

On our trip to Florida we took a little detour: "Took a sidetrip to Savannah, Georgia since it was so close to the interstate. Right across the bridge there was a tour company. Stopped in, found out that a tour was leaving in five minutes. Got on the tour. 90 minutes later we were heading back across the bridge. Fare thee well, Savannah." These are the best pics from that 3 hour 90 minute tour. All pictures were taken from the trolley. Even better shots are available from foot. Savannah is one photogenic town. Click on any picture for a larger version.

Savannah, of course, is the setting for the events described in "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." It was on TV last week, which is what prompted me to go through these pictures. The diner scene in the movie takes place at Clary's cafe, shown here. I was disappointed with the movie when I saw it in the theater, but it was better the second time. It's a movie that moves slowly, as if the production crew is trying not to exert themselves in the stultifying heat, but the performances are good. Clint Eastwood gets the best out of the actors in his films. In the bonus DVD for "Unforgiven" he notes that he learned a trick from one of his Italian directors - instead of shouting "action" he casually says "whenever you're ready" and lets the actor begin at his own pace. Kevin Spacey's role is one of the high points of his career and illustrates his remarkable range. LATER: Here's a good Savannah Web site for Midnight fans.

Continue reading "Friday Photoblogging: Savannah, Georgia" »

Blogging from Turkey

Jim Geraghty of TKS (formerly The Kerry Spot) has moved to Turkey to become an international affairs correspondent. Here's his photoblogging of his first days in country. Scroll down for lots of pictures.

Hotels in Downtown Nashville?

I'm belatedly making hotel reservations for BlogNashville next week. Something near the conference (which is at Belmont University) preferred. I'd like to keep it under a hundred bucks a night. We won't be spending much time at the hotel, so location is more important than amenities.

Which of these hotels would be good?

Guitar Town

We spent the day wondering around downtown Nashville and Music Row. Went to Ernest Tubb's Record Shop and bought a copy of John Hartford's RCA Recordings. Good stuff. Talked to the people at the shop. The clerk is a guitar major at Belmont University named Justin Schafer.

Tubb's has a great set of autographed photographs of country legends, and I told Justin about Roy's Record Shop in Maryville and their collection of autographed pictures of country music stars from Dolly Parton to Freda Parton. Roy has an autographed photo of John Hartford that Roy told me he got when Hartford was at the Musuem of Appalachia in Norris. Hartford had truly beautiful calligraphy, BTW. He was really an amazing guy.

Slideshow of our Nashville rambling below. Guitars, Cadillacs, etc., etc. UPDATE: Added captions at Countertop's request. Mouseover the pictures below for a description and comments. Click on any picture to enlage it. We found out why there was such a big line around the Wild Horse. American Idol contestant Josh Gracin was playing there.

Friday in Nashville

We slept late today and had a great brunch at a deli around the corner called Noshville. Then we went to the Nashville Zoo where I snapped these macaws. I got some great pictures of the meerkats, too. Cute little guys. I'll post those some time later.

We're about to head out the door to the blogger meetup at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Look forward to meeting everyone.

There are "Food for Thought" dinners tomorrow night after the conference. Melissa and I signed up for Henry Copeland's dinner at Granite Falls, which is also right around the corner. Copeland - the founder of BlogAds - is someone I've emailed back and forth, and he responded to some of my skepticism about blog advertising in a very professional way. Looking forward to meeting him.

Friday Night Blogger Meetup Notes

Wrap-up from last night.

One of the first people to arrive was Kevin of Seriously Good, a Knoxville-based food blog. While we waited for other people to arrive I got his advice on kitchen knives. He really likes the Hustof Japanese-inspired knives.

I talked to Chris Wage of My Quiet Life more than anyone else. Chris is as nice and easy-going as I had guessed he'd be.

Mr. Roboto of Thursday Night Fever is a total character.

Met Chris Muir, the Day by Day cartoonist. I expect cartoonists to be disheveled, unkempt, and discombobulated, but he was sheveled, kempt, and combobulated. Very smooth guy.

Right after that I ran into Melissa at the bar and told her that I'd met Muir, and that cartoonists Cox and Forkum were around somewhere. It turns out she had been talking to Cox for about 15 minutes. I met Forkum right after that. He and Chris Wage were talking about blog comments and how hard it was for Cox and Forkum to keep up with them (which is why they mostly keep them turned off). Cox's day job is with a specialty auto industry paper in Nashville. Forkum sketched Muir and Reynolds during the party.

Got a chance to briefly speak to Henry Copeland of BlogAds. I'm looking forward to dinner with him tonight.

Met Eric Schieie of Classical Values. That was an unexpected pleasure. Had no idea he'd be there. I always thought he lived in California, but though he's from there and visits a lot, he lives in Philadelphia. Glenn Reynolds has a picture of him at the party here.

At that same link Glenn also has a picture of Hossein Derakshan of Hoder.com. I met him briefly, but didn't really know who he was at the time. It turns out he's a pioneering Iranian blogger. He flew into BlogNashville from Toronto.

Melissa had a good time talking to Andi of Andi's World. Glenn Reynolds has a picture of her (third from the bottom in the pink sweater).

We briefly met Donald and Cathy Sensing for One Hand Clapping and talked about an appearance he did on Fox News that I had seen.

Eric Janssen of the Quixtar Blog is hilarious. He also the Memphis Commercial Appeal's tech blogger. The Appeal has a ton of other blogs, too.

Saw Glenn Reynolds of you-know-where, but didn't make it over to talk with him. He came late after his talk and left early to do this morning's opening talk. I'll probably see him today at Belmont.

Pat Hughes at Paulding.com has an interesting site. It's a catch-all site for Paulding County, Georgia. His traffic ranks him in the top 9,000 sites on the Internet, which ain't an easy thing to do anymore.

Met Blake from NashvilleFiles, and ran into him today at the conference.

It was a fun time. Very warm bunch of people, and very little political talk.

UPDATE: I'm reading other people's wrapups and remembering more people. I met Fishkite and ran into him again at the conference, and met Busy Mom and Rex Hammock. I may have forgotten to mention someone else, and if so I apologize. I was very glad to meet everyone.

Goofy Trips To-Do List

Goofy trips are what Melissa and I call little day trips and weekend trips within a couple hours of Knoxville. When we first moved in together we made a list of different things we wanted to do. Some of them were things neither of us had done and some of them one of us had done, but we wanted to do them together.

With a long weekend coming up we've been thinking about goofy trips. I used to keep this list in Excel on my computer, but I'm moving it to the blog. This is the list we'll look at when we have a free weekend day and need something to do.

Things To Do

All cities are in Tennessee unless they're not.

- Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia
- Sharp's Chapel ferry ride
- Whitewater rafting on the Ocoee
- Scottish Games and Festival in Gatlinburg
- Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) in NC (Memorial or Labor Day)
- Parkway Drive-in Movie Theater in Maryville
- Abbingdon, Virginia theater and antiques
- Visit Mark in Bristol
- Kings Island theme park, Ohio
- Visit Tammy in Atlanta, Georgia
- Hot Springs, North Carolina weekend trip
- Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburgh
- Smokies baseball game at the new stadium in Kodak
- National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough
- Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg
- Gethsemani Monastery in Bardstown, Kentucky
- Jefferson Co. Fair (July/early August)
- Rent a boat on Douglas Lake
- Alvin C. York birthplace (could combine this with the next two, which are in the same area)
- Historic Rugby
- Northrup Falls hike at Colditz Cove State Natural Area
- Jack Daniels BBQ Festival in October
- Lake Lure, NC

Trip Reports and Pictures

Some of these were on the list, too.

- Alleghany Falls and Alleghany Springs Hotel in Maryville (Blount County), Tennessee
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Athens, Tennessee
- Boone and Banner Elk, North Carolina ski trip
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Cades Cove, Tennessee (Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Crossville, Tennessee
- Dayton, Tennessee, part 1: Scopes Trial Museum and Downtown
- Dayton, Tennessee, part 2: Stinging Falls Pocket Wilderness
- Dandridge, TN and Tennessee's Covered Bridges
- Eintstein Simplified (Knoxville improv/sketch comedy group)
- Elkmont Synchronized Lightning Bugs (2nd week of June in the Smokies)
- Grainger County Tomato Festival
- Gregory's Bald Azalea Backpacking Trip Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Hwy. 30 - Mayfield Dairy Tour, Etowah's L&N Depot, Reliance, Ocoee River Whitewater
- Horse Racing at Keeneland in Kentucky
- Jonesborough, Tennessee
- Kephart Shelter Backpacking Trip, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Knoxville Zoo
- Ladies night at the pistol range
- Millennium Manor in Alcoa (Memorial Day)
- Morristown, TN and Its Unusual Downtown Walkways
- Mt Airy, North Carolina
- Mt. Cammerer Firetower Hike, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Tennessee Valley Fair
- Townsend and Walland, Tennessee
- Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness Backpacking Trip, Middle Tennessee-
- Waynesville and Sylva, NC
- World's Longest Yard Sale on Hwy. 127

Links to some other things we did on our list:

- Knoxville homes tour at Christmastime
- Foothills Fall Festival in Maryville
- Teddy's play
- Palace Theater concert in Maryville
- Turkey dinner in Georgia
- Etowah antiques shopping
- Valleyfest Film Festival (now defunct)
- Pleasant Hill, Kentucky Shaker Village
- Crossville/Muddy Pond
- Steve Kaufman Guitar Camp Concerts at Maryville College

Goofiest Trip Yet

It's hard to even describe today's trip down Highway 11. I need to think about how to explain it. It ended up - totally unexpectedly - at a BBQ joint and I wound up riding an electric scooter around Cleveland, Tennessee. More later.

Hwy 27, Part 1: Dayton, Tennessee

Tuesday was the last day of my five day vacation. Jay and I used the opportunity to get in a hike and visit Dayton, Tennessee, the setting for the Scopes monkey trial. The trial was the test case for the Butler Act, passed just four months earlier by the state legislature. The Butlet Act banned the teaching of evolution in public schools, and in particular teaching that man descended from lower orders of animals. A local school teacher named John Scopes agreed to be the test case, though it's doubtful he ever actually taught evolution.

The American Civil Liberties Union had offered to defend anyone accused of teaching evolution in defiance of the law. A group of businessmen in Dayton, Tennessee, then a town of 1,800, thought that the controversy of such a trial would put Dayton on the map. They approached 24-year old John T. Scopes, who was the high school's football coach and who had substituted for the principal in a science class. Scopes pointed out that while the Butler Act prohibited the teaching of evolution, the state required teachers to use a textbook, in this case Hunter's Civic Biology, which explicitly taught evolution. Scopes argued that teachers were essentially required to break the law. When asked about the test case Scopes told the group gathered in Robinson's Drugstore, "If you can prove that I've taught evolution and that I can qualify as a defendant, then I'll be willing to stand trial."

Dayton is about an hour from Knoxville. We arranged our schedule so we could eat in the city. After a quick automobile reconnoiter through downtown and peeking in a couple of restaurant windows, we decided that the locals were going to Jacob Myer's Deli, so that's where we went. The food was good, and we struck up a conversation with the folks at the next table and asked where we could find something about the Scopes trial. It turned out they weren't locals - they were insurance agents from Knoxville in town to meet clients. Still, the woman recalled that the courthouse had a Scopes display of some sort.

Rhea County's current courthouse is the same one that was the setting for the Scopes trial in 1925 when Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan argued their cases. There was a farmer's market in the courthouse parking lot the day we were there.

Continue reading "Hwy 27, Part 1: Dayton, Tennessee" »

Hwy 27, Part 2: Stinging Fork Pocket Wilderness

Read Part 1, our trip to Dayton, Tennessee, home of the Scopes monkey trial.

"Pocket wilderness" seems to be a term of art of the Bowater paper mills. They're small, privately-owned nature preserves that were so pretty even the timber beasts of the paper mill couldn't bear to