Lot's of Hiking Already this Year

Well hello folks, and welcome to another edition of the great outdoors with your host Robin and Tim. It's been sometime since our last post and we would just like to apologize for that. For you see, we had some issues with funding and our sponsors... erm wait a minute... sorry... just ignore that...

Okay, so, right yes, this year has been quite the year so far. We've made it to May and already several hikes have been accomplished. We decided to keep a log of our hikes this year, and for the years to come, just to keep track of the miles we have hiked. To date, we have over 30 miles logged and our newest fancy spot for hiking, the area we seem to be focusing on, is the Cumberland's in Tennessee. From Cumberland Gap at the TN, KY, and VA border, all the way down to Spring City so far and even a little farther south to Dayton, TN.

We have been to several different and each uniquely beautiful water falls (Ozone Falls in Crab Orchard, Stinging Fork Falls in Spring City, Piney Falls in Spring city, and a couple others). We hiked to a cave (Windless Cave to be exact) and to White Rocks, (a huge rock outcropping that you can't miss). There are a few other trails that we've been on, but of those, the most memorable so far has been the backpacking trip Robin and I took up Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains to stay the night at LeConte Lodge for our anniversary.

For the hike up to LeConte Lodge, we took the Alum Cave Bluff trail. This is a 5.5 mile trail with an average elevation gain of 2,560'. It was an absolutely beautiful day to hike up a mountain even if we were lugging 15 or 20 pound packs. It took us roughly 3.5 hours to make it to the lodge, which included a rest stop at Alum Cave, and plenty of photo ops.

Staying at the lodge was absolutely wonderful and the charge isn't that much considering. There's plenty to do on top of the mountain, which includes but is not limited to, watching the sunset from the Cliff Tops trail, watching the sunrise from Myrtle's Point, or congregating with other visitors to the lodge who share the same love of nature. Staying at the lodge is a pure disconnect from our electronic world. It's refreshing to get away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday rat race.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain and getting to the lodge, we were escorted around on a brief tour. The dining hall, the facilities, our cabin, etc. We had a couple of hours to kill before supper would be served, so we sat around took in the sights, drank cups of coffee and cocoa, and rested a bit from the strenuous hike. Supper was served and we enjoyed beef w/gravy, mashed taters, soup, green beans, cinnamon apples and more. You can even drink wine if you've paid for it. After supper, the office has a host of games, puzzles, books and more to pass the time. We played checkers and chess until it was time for bed. It would be an early morning especially knowing that we would have to hike down the mountain in rain.

It was apparent that in our lodge, we had some visitors that kept Robin awake half the night. Luckily they were never able to get into our room even though they tried. Tim wouldn't have known anything about it as I slept soundly in the double bunk. That morning we awoke to a ominous morning sky, filled with dark clouds that told the story of approaching rain. Soon enough it was time for breakfast. A nice hearty meal to fuel up on prior to the hike down.We ate pancakes, eggs, grits, Canadian bacon, and more. We again enjoyed the company of other guests at the lodge while we feasted.

It wasn't long after breakfast that we had our packs ready to go and we were headed down the mountain. It was about 30 minutes worth of dry hiking before the sky decided to open up. Luckily it was a slow soaking rain, and much to our surprise, it wasn't as tough of a hike down as we initially thought it would be. By the end of it however, we were thoroughly soaked. Thankfully our pack's rain flies kept most everything inside dry as a bone. We reached the car and gave our lodge mates a ride to their vehicle which they parked at Newfound Gap. After that we headed home with the heater blowing full blast.

Well that's our story and we are sticking to it. Did we mention that LeConte Lodge offers day hiker services? Yes a day hike to the lodge can be just as rewarding as an over-night stay. We plan to one day return even if just for a day. There are plenty other trails to take up there and we'd like to say that we've hiked them all.

Until next time, enjoy the photos of our various hikes so far.

Peace,
Tim and Robin.

Black Mountain - Windless Cave

Stinging Fork Falls

Ozone Falls

Piney Falls

White Rocks

 

 Alum Cave Bluff to LeConte Lodge

Learning to Breathe

I know I know. It's been a while, and I'm sure some of you have been holding out to find out more about our camping trip and all that. Well there's be good bit of time pass since the last post so I'll give you the quick run down. We didn't camp but for another night as the weather was going to turn for the worst. By Thursday we decided to pack it up and head for the homestead.

Fortunately this did not mean that vacation was over. Not by any means. Nope what we did the rest of the time was we headed up to Erwin, TN for the Apple Festival. It was a pleasant drive up and back. Saw some great crafts, bought some too. I just happened to picked up a choice new walking stick, and the girls opted for honey. There were a couple different honey vendors attending the fair this past year and we always love to pick up a jar or two.

The next day we headed to the River Corn Maze down in Ocee, TN. We partook of the fare offered at the snack stand as then headed to the maze of maize. Of course I shouldn't forget to tell you that beforehand we shot the spud gun. It was a good time indeed. Refreshed and enriched we were from the experience.

Well that was the most of the whole camping vacation and the side trips afterward. we have been actively hiking again. Things have been a bit hectic here but we are learning to breathe again and get out more. It was been a long winter indeed in the Bird House. New posts of our recent journeys will be up soon. Look for Stinging Creek Falls, Ozone Falls, Black Moutain/Windless Cave, Andrews Ridge, and many more soon to happen in the coming weeks.

Until then peace be with you all.

Tim and Robin.

Erwin, TN Apple Festival

The FairThe Ladies

The new walking stick.

(Just ignore the orange thing)

Live Entertainment

Craft (Turkey Feathers)

River Corn Maze
Ocoee, TN

Mmmm. Burgers

Yummy!

Tater and Kiddo

IT'S CORN!

I Told You we Shot the Spud Gun.

Our Annual Unplugging Part Deux

So far, we had survived the 'coons for two nights. It was Tuesday morning and again the morning ritual took place. Get the fire going to heat water in the camp coffee pot for those mornin' cups of joe and then start breakfast. On this morning we had eggs and sausage if I remember correctly, all cooked on the Coleman stove.

Morning time coffee and fire

Nothing better than waking up on a chilly morning to a nice warm fire

It was definitely chilly that morning, so the hot breakfast, coffee, and fire were essential. Before long, it was time to get into our day clothes and start the second daily ritual of gathering wood and getting it squared away for the upcoming evening. Once that was done and the kids had some play time and several walks around the campground and too the bathhouse and back, it was lunchtime. I don't remember what we had for lunch on this day. As a matter of fact, I don't remember our lunches past Monday. I think we had Sandwiches or something easy like that, possibly BLTs.

After lunch, it was time to get the big Ham Radio out and see what I could do. Once again I won't bore you with these details so you can check the Ham Radio blog for those details. I will tell you that I didn't have any luck in making contact with anyone. I only played for about an hour before it was time to get a fire going, start thinking about supper and entertaining Clover and Ashby.

For supper, Robin cooked us a nice big ol' pot of chili. It was quite delicious especially considering how cool it was that evening. I believe the low that night was in the lower 40's. After the chili, it was time for some dessert. Robin took a can of biscuits fried em up in a pan. With that came the fixin's which included a cinnamon and sugar mix and both cherry and blueberry pie filling. That's right mini pies. Let me tell you how good these were. Absolutely delicious. After about 4 or 5 it was time for our evening cup of coffee and our nightly sitting around the campfire, listening to both the HT (it's a hand held Ham Radio) and/or the shortwave radio. You'd think we were into Radios or something.

Anyway, this day we had carried our garbage out further this time. However, earlier in the day, there was another family that joined us in the campground and the trash can we opted to play the raccoon's favorite game, Guess which trash can has food, was right across from the campsite the family had chosen to stay at. I'm sure they got quite the thrill out of that. Of course we heard the raccoons but luckily we didn't have any run-ins with them this evening. Instead, we had another pleasant surprise. It was later in the evening and the kids were already asleep in the tent. Robin and I was sitting by the fire enjoying a cup of coffee and each other's company when I heard the kids stirring in the bed. Robin heard it too, but she also heard something else. We had a small bag of trash still on the picnic table under the awning and Robin heard it rustle. Of course I just thought it was the wind. We both turned and looked and what did we see? Well, if you said a raccoon, you couldn't be further from the truth. Instead it was a big orange, no it wasn't a bobcat, it was a kitty cat. That's right, we had ourselves a big Tom camp kitty. It was rather startling at first, but once he realized we were on to him, he took off rather quickly. Robin and I both got a pretty good chuckle out of it, and shortly there after it was time to tote that bag of garbage off and get ready for bed.

Well, I'll leave it at this for the time being as it has become another lengthy post. I'll be sure to get working on the Third shortly for your reading and viewing enjoyment. Until next time....

God bless and enjoy the outdoors,
Tim and Robin

Here's an extra treat:

Little button mushrooms all around camp.

Our Annual Unplugging from Society and Technology (mostly) Pt. I

It was time for our annual unplugging. We decided to head to our trusty camping area, Frozen Head State Park. Our original plan was to stay a full week. We started our planning a food two weeks in advance. Well, really Robin started the planning two weeks in advance. She's very organized like that. For two weeks, her biggest concern was the menu. What were we going to eat for a week at camp? I can tell you this, thanks to Robin's planning, we ate real good, but I will save that for a bit later.

I was responsible for the radio portion of our trip. Of course it was the last minute with me and Robin was sure to point out the faults of my planning or lack thereof. Well I won't bore you with the details of the radio plans, especially considering I've already wrote about it on my Ham Radio blog. Let's just say I took an HF radio had it powered by the jeep battery, and we strung a big ol' wire antenna up in the trees. I will tell you this much, I made one contact with another Ham living on the Canary Islands. Needless to say, I was pretty excited about that.

So we had our plans made most everything packed up and it was just a matter of waiting for the day to go to get here. See I took a half day on that Friday and on Saturday we had already planned to go to a hamfest in Sevierville, TN so we figured that we would leave on Sunday afternoon once we had everything packed in the jeep. So the Sunday was finally here and as planned we had the jeep packed and a couple days prior, we decided, that with all the stuff we were bringing with us, why try to cram everything, including ourselves, into the jeep. So we also packed stuff in the car and took two vehicles, which worked out quite nicely.

Everything was set, we were packed and off we set. We got there shortly after 2:00pm and started the task of setting up camp. It was just after 3pm when we were complete with setting up the tent and awning and the rest of camp, including unloading all the other essentials. We were finally camping and it felt great.

Here's our campsite.

For 4 days and 4 nights, we were left to live off the food we brought with us, and the wood we gathered on a daily basis. We were left to our own devices without much technology at all. We did have the Coleman stove and propane. That was about the only advanced device we had for cooking.

Speaking of the cooking, our meals were very tasty. It's something about working in camp most of the day, gathering and chopping wood. The walks back and forth from the bath house, riding bikes, walking the dog and all the other fun things associated with camping, that make camp meals so gratifying. Sunday night we ate potato and sausage packets with onions and peppers. These are foil packets that we laid on the grill and cooked over some charcoal. For dessert we had sort of a strawberry shortcake which really hit the spot.

Afterward, our bellies were full and it was time to sit around the campfire and enjoy a cup of coffee. Of course this was after the dinner clean up and all. It wasn't long that the kiddo and the Beene retired to the tent and Robin and I were both up enjoying the campfire. After all, it was a long, hard day. Before long Robin was on the phone checking in with dad when we heard a racket that sounded much like lids on garbage cans being dropped to the ground. It was a bit startling considering the only light we had was the campfire, the Coleman lantern, and flashlights. It wasn't a few minutes later that we discovered that the raccoons had sniffed out our McDonalds for lunch and our dinner garbage that we placed in the cans. Luckily, they didn't attempt to come into camp, but it wasn't long that we decided it was time to put the food boxes and cooler into the back of the jeep for the night and lock it up tight.

Dawn broke the next morning and it was a new day at camp. For breakfast, we had pancakes and bacon. When breakfast was over we enjoyed our morning coffee around the campfire as usual and then it was time to get the day started. Another round of wood gathering to make it through the evening. Ashby rode her bike a few times throughout the day. We played with the dog periodically between our different activities. Lunch time was upon us and we had tacos in a bag. That has to be one of my absolute favorite camping meals. After lunch we got the Antenna for the radio in the air and did some other things around camp. Robin and Ashby ran out to Darnell's food mart at one point to get more ice for the coolers and Ashby talked Robin into getting a cake for herself as it was her birthday. The funny thing was that they came back and talked about having gone to Darryl's food mart. It was then that it became Darryl's Food Mart, amongst us three anyway, for the rest of time.

Ashby decided she would make Robin some present from around camp, as camping was the only thing she wanted. So, Ashby decided to make her a spear, using a good stick she had found and some rocks to try and sharpen one end of the stick. After a few minutes in a lesson of futility, Ashby brought the stick to me to ask if I would help. What daddy could say no to a daughter struggling to make her mom a present. Out my knife came and before long I had produced a decent looking spear. Of course it wasn't sharp but then again it really didn't need to be as we were planning on using it for food. After the spear was done, she wanted to make her a sling. So around camp there were plenty of partial walnut shells, and earlier Ashby had found some twine in one of the other campgrounds. So I set to work helping her make the sling. Of course I totally forgot about cutting the string into two piece and Robin ended up with a really fine looking camp necklace.

Amazon Woman with spear and sling necklace.

It wasn't long before dinner time was upon us again. Mom and dad had come up to visit and wish Robin a happy birthday. For dinner we had Chunky Potato Soup with bacon bits and added fried Spam. Considering how cold it was getting, this was a good choice for supper. After the soup, we lit the candles for Robin's birthday cake (a Boston Creme Pie Cake, absolutely divine) and sung her happy birthday. It wasn't long before the cake was obliterated and we were around the campfire enjoying coffee and conversation. Mom and Dad left to head back home shortly after dusk as they had no intentions of camping and didn't want to get locked inside the park.

Mmmmm. Potato Soup w/Spam

Birthday Supper

Happy Birthday to Robin

I forgot to mention that while Robin and Ashby was at Darryl's Food Mart, that they decided for some extra Birthday fun they picked up some wax lips.

It was fun for sure....

Inspector Clouseau?

I vant to suck your blood.

But fun always comes to an end...

Hot Lips Houlihan?!?

I wasn't going to use them after that. hehehe.

This evening we got smart and took our garbage down to another set of garbage cans. Of course we thought that was smart, but little did we think as it was the set of cans that we had to pass to get to the bath house. It was well after we got ready for bed that Robin and I had to go answer the call of nature. So down to the bath house we went. No problems with that whatsoever. You see this evening we were the only people in the campground. The night previous there was a couple in a pop-up camper that had left earlier in the day. Anyway, we had already heard the 'coons earlier getting into the garbage and feasting on tacos in a bag, potato soup and Boston Creme Pie Cake so we figured it would be safe. It was on the way bag as we were passing the cans that we heard something in the cans and Robin was off to the races back up to camp. I was behind by a few paces. It was about 30 feet later that I stopped turned around and flashed the light at the cans and saw a big ol' 'coon sitting there and I could have sworn I saw him laughing at us when in all actuality he was just wanting a ride to Darryl's Food Mart for another Boston Creme Pie Cake. It wasn't long after that we were ready to turn in for the night as it was another cold one.

Stay tuned for Part Deux of our trip....

God Bless,
Tim and Robin

Sunday Swoon: Supper in the Park

This past Sunday was a lovely day, and we were all aching to get outside. Clover had lots of energy to expend, seeing how she’d been cooped up all week with us sick people. She needed a walk in the park; we needed to eat supper. So, we resolved to combine the two, and had supper in the park.

I whipped up an insanely easy, but delicious, supper and had us packed up in less than 30 minutes. In our little plastic containers I had purchased just for those occasions, I placed two boneless, breaded pork chops each, some stuffing, and a side of long-cut green beans. I added a brown gravy to the pork chops (something I made out of a package and later regretted – I typically make a buttermilk roux gravy for pork chops, but it takes longer). I added a container of capped strawberries, and threw a bottle of honey into our basket. I made sure everyone had a fork, gathered some napkins, and packed a cooler. I hunted down an old sheet to use as a tablecloth, and we headed for the door.

We decided to go to Norris Dam State Park, as it is close to home and Clover likes to walk there. She gets tired of the same ol’ walking places, so we try to mix it up for her. Besides that, the park offers a really nice picnic area on the East side of the dam, with an array of wildlife and wildflowers to be photographed.

When we arrived, we unpacked and set to eating. It seemed we were all famished, as hardly one word was passed between the three of us. Only chomps and deeps swallows could be heard amidst the birds singing and some children playing far off to the side of us. It didn’t take us long to finish up, and then we packed the picnic, stored it in the car, and took Clover Beene for her walk.

Beside our choice picnic table was a long stretch of young trees, and beside it was an easement for the power lines that wind through, offering a small bit of field – and Clover loved that. She sniffed and hunted for “hoppers” while Ashby took advantage of the young growth forest. She tugged, swung, climbed, and played on just about every tree in there. She stopped to count rings on the only old growth stump we found. She lost count after about 5. It had been there a while, and was very decayed. I accepted this opportunity of natural child playtime, and took lots of pictures. I set focus on some wildflowers, while she hunted for sticks to play with. Clover continued to sniff, and dragged Tim along with her.

We walked a short piece down to the lower picnic area. There I caught more photos of wildflowers, and some wild berries. Ashby played with a huge stick she had found, and sat on the “mushroom topped” tables – at least that’s what she called them. She played on the rocks that border the parking area, while Clover sniffed and sniffed and sniffed some more. She was drawn towards the scent of a deer, which came remarkably close to us. They must be used to people in the park. I caught a great picture of it (posted below).

After letting the kids play just a bit more (Ashby the ruler of the bathrooms, and Clover the ruler of the nose), we took the road back to the upper picnic area, packed up the kids and left for home. It was a great Sunday in the park… relaxing and refreshing. We highly advise “Supper in the Park!”

And now... for the pics:

Pic-a-nic Basket

Yummy Food

Dessert: Strawberries with Honey

Ashby chowing down.

Young forests = Good Fun

How strong is she? Well, the tree still stands.

Nice try... but we see you!

*sniff, sniff* My Favorite Thing!

Wildflowers in the Park

More sneezes - I mean, Wildflowers - in the Park

Thistle in Bloom

Lots of "Do Not Eats"

Ashby's favorite thing... A Stick!

Ashby on her "mushroom table"

"By the power of this stick, I shall rule the bathrooms!"

A lovely, curious little deer

An ugly picture of the dam due to "Dam" power lines.