THOUSAND TRAILS ANNOUNCES GEAR UP AND CAMP SWEEPSTAKES

While we aren't RV'ers by any stretch of the imagination, Thousand Trails, home to some of the most beautiful and natural campgrounds and RV resorts across the U.S., is giving outdoor enthusiasts a chance to get out and camp with the Gear Up and Camp sweepstakes.  One lucky camper will win a free week of camping and a camping gear package, with a combined value of $1100.  Sweepstakes entrants will also be entered for a chance to win one of four second place prize packages, and one of 30 third place prize packages daily.

The sweepstakes grand prize includes a week-long camping trip for the winner at any participating Thousand Trails or Encore RV resort campground.  In addition, the winner will receive a package of camping gear, including the following: Rand McNally’s RV-specific GPS device - the  RVND™ 7720 LM; $100 gas card; Strongback Chair; Coghlan's Camper's S'mores Grill and Corn Popper; Coleman Lantern; $50 MyRVMarket.com gift certificate; Thousand Trails sweatshirt, umbrella, window cling, backpack, blanket and travel mug; and a Duck Harbor Cool Weather Sleeping bag.

A Blue Ridge Road Trip (Pt. 2)

It was our second full day on our Blue Ridge Parkway trip and we (rather I) woke early once again before the girls did. For some reason, this whole trip I was always the first one up. I guess knowing that I had Robin and Ashby to contend with for the bathroom, my subconscious decided it was best to be first before anyone else was up and avoid fights over the bathroom.

It wasn't long after I was done and ready, that Robin was up and at 'em. Not long after Ashby and Dinah were both up and going, we were packed up, loaded up, and ready to check out of the Hidden Valley Motel by 9am. Our first task was to sequester breakfast. It wasn't hard, as we had eyeballed a Cracker Barrel in the heart of Boone the day previous to this.

A Blue Ridge Road Trip (Pt. 1)

The third weekend in July is always family reunion time on my mom's side of the family. Every third Sunday in July, the Patteson Clan gather for fun, food, and reminiscing at Glenwood Park in Princeton, WV. Seeing how Dinah was new to the family, and all my aunts absolutely love to see her we decided we would go to the reunion this year. As an added bonus, I thought it would be fun if on the way back home we spent a couple days driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway. The four of us (Tim, Robin, Ashby, and Dinah) as a family doing a mini version of the vacations Robin took as a kid with her family.

Once the reunion was over, or rather close to the time people were starting to leave, we loaded back up into our SUV and we were Blue Ridge bound. We had made arrangements to stay over night at the Allegheny Inn in Sparta, NC shortly after making it to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We got all checked in and hung out for a little bit before going out in search of food. The Allegheny Inn was a wonderful motel, located in the heart of the quaint downtown of Sparta, North Carolina and only 15 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway, where we would begin our adventure on the next day. Unfortunately, our adventure wouldn't begin without some sort of hiccup.

Featured Destinations Archive (LeConte Lodge)

Since we haven't featured any new destinations in some time, we figured it was time to decommission the "Featured Destinations" page and instead archive the two destinations here in separate blog posts. Going forward, if we do have a "Featured Destination" to write about, it will be a regular blog post and we will have it tagged with "Featured Destination" along with any other relevant tags. So for the first archived "Featured Destination" We present to you LeConte Lodge.

LeConte Lodge - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

(Originally Posted on the now absent "Featured Destinations" page in Spring 2011)

Last year around this time, Robin and I took an overnight trip to the top of Mount LeConte for our anniversary. For years we've always rented a cabin for a weekend to celebrate what we coined our "anni-moon". You see, we were married on top of a mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and for our honeymoon we stayed in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. So every year since we have celebrated our anniversary in much the same way. Always a cabin, and always in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Autumn Activities in East Tennessee

October is such a great month. It's almost as good as September. You start to feel a little nip in the night air. The leaves start to change colors, and harvest festivals are available to all who look for them. Football season is already well underway, but hiking and festival season is just getting cranked up.

Last weekend was the Newport Harvest Street Festival. We went, walked around the town center, and quickly left. I hope this doesn't set a precedence for the other festivals we plan on attending for the next few weekends. Honestly though, we went last year and this time around, it really seemed to be more of a junk sale or there were too many booths for those who wanted to make a small buck selling by their gold, and not near as many crafters as we remembered from last year. Anyway, we decided people-watching in Gatlinburg would be more fun and I had an itch to check out NOC's new Great Outpost in Gatlinburg, located on the main drag just before you enter the Great Smoky Mountains. That place is huge and has all the outdoor gear you could possibly want, albeit at a much higher price than you can normally find online for most things.

Great Deal on Wahoo Ziplines!

If you're in the area and you're looking for adventure, you may want to try one of the Smoky's newest tourist-traps family activities: zipline canopy tours.

Photo Courtesy of Wahoo Ziplines

There are plenty to choose from, and we have yet to fall for the trap try one out, but it looks like it would be a lot of fun.

But with so many to choose from, it's hard to decide where to spend your dollars. However, we have friends that frequent Wahoo Ziplines and have nothing but
great things to say about them.

Right now, Half Off Depot Knoxville has a great deal on tickets for this establishment. For $32.00 (per person) you'll receive a six line tour. The regular ticket price is $89.00! (Tax is not included - you'll have to pay that, too - and don't forget to read the fine print and make reservations).

New Featured Destination - LeConte Lodge

For the next couple of months we are featuring LeConte Lodge as our "Featured Destination". Be sure to head over to our Featured Destination page to get all the details on this wonderfully rustic retreat from all the hustle and bustle of the daily grind.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin