Storytelling Time in Tennessee

The weekend before last we went through the out door and headed up to Big South Fork NRRA for the annual A Haunting in the Hills story telling festival. I'll just say that we had a load of fun listening to the stories. They had some wonderful storytellers again this year along with the ever wonderful MC and Storyteller in her own right, Faye Wooden.

We arrived just before dusk, in time for us to grab some food, or what was left of the food at the 2 vendor areas that were there, and settle in for some amazingly spooky, haunting, stories. That's right we missed the dulcimer and bluegrass music but that's okay, we can certainly catch it next time. Besides there was work to be done around the house before we could get up there.

Anyway, back to the storytellers. As I said their stories were amazing. This year the featured storytellers included Gran'daddy June Bug (Mitch Capel), Charles Maynard, Joyce Slater, and Elizabeth Ellis. I have to say that this year Gran'daddy June Bug was the storyteller of the night. Not to take anything away from the other storytellers as they are great in their own right. However, Mitch really gave a spectacular show. He had the kids involved and in an uproar with his first story and then really tugged the heart strings with his last story.

After enjoying the evening of haunting, chilling, and heart wrenching stories not to mention the cheeseburgers and popcorn, we called it a night and headed back to the homestead. I believe that even the kiddo's friend enjoyed the haunting stories as well as her cheeseburger hold the burger.

Until the next installment, which will be soon because I'm quite behind considering we've been on vacation this week and have done much.

Happy trails and go through that out door as much as possible.

God Bless,
Tim and Robin

P.S. Pictures may be included at a later time. It really all depends on if they are any count or not. They were mainly night shots.

September Out of Doors East Tennessee

As you all know, Fall is in the air and rapidly approaching. This can only mean one thing here in East Tennessee. It's time to get out of doors and enjoy our natural wonders, take in the local culture, and just be outside. From football, to heritage festivals, this time of year really brings out the best of what Tennessee has to offer, well at least in my humble opinion. Robin hates football.

If festivals aren't your sort of thing, then maybe a scenic drive, or a wondrous hike in many of the great parks East Tennessee has to offer. I for one can say, that I am looking most forward to the Haunting in the Hills storytelling festival at Big South Fork today. It's been an annual favorite for our family, and this year will be no different.

Camping is another great thing to undertake this time of year, the weather is starting to cool down, which means less bugs, and less heat. Several of the parks in East Tennessee offer rustic tent style camping. If you prefer to go deeper in the woods and away from the campground crowds, then the back country should fit the bill. The Smokys, Big South Fork, Frozen Head, you name it, there are plenty of back country camp sites to enjoy.

If you'd like to find out more about the festivals that are around the area, I suggest you check out tnvacation.com. They have a wonderful listing of festivals and other entertainment options in the East Tennessee area and more.

So if you've been cooped up and crazy busy this summer due to the heat, work, family, etc. take some time this weekend to get out of the doors and experience life around you. I know we will.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin

Big Ridge Cycling

So this morning, after a cup of coffee, Wifey suggests a bike ride at Big Ridge State Park. Of course I think this is a grand idea. It's still early, cool, and I've always loved cycling. This of course isn't the first bike ride we've been on. We've done the Virginia Creeper Trail earlier this year, mountain biked at Panther Creek State Park, even rode Cades Cove loop in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and rode a nice mountain bike trail in Big South Fork NRRA.

Since I agreed enthusiastically, we left our back deck and went to don our cycling apparel and prepare for the ride. It had been quite some time since we last had the mountain bikes out, and you know what that means. That's right, you guessed it, they had to be wiped down and cleared from spider webs and the tires needed a good airing. Once that was complete I loaded the bikes into the back of the jeep. We recently purchased a new car and hadn't tried our bike rack on it yet for fear we might tear of the rear window wiper.

With the bikes loaded, water bottles at the ready and helmets in hand, we were off to Big Ridge. Upon arriving, the sun was shining bright, the weather was just a touch warmer. Looks like wifey's bet of freezing while on the ride was lost. We started down by the gristmill, up the hill towards the front of the park, around the campground, past the swimming area and tea room, out to the front entrance, back towards the gristmill to the back entrance, turned around and went back to the gristmill and for good measure back to the back entrance and to the gristmill once more.

Total approximate distance was 3.5 miles. Don't know how long it took us but I could tell it had been awhile since we had been in the saddle. For those who are interested, here is a link to the course we took, mapped out on gmap-pedometer.com. The course isn't exact as the campground and the tea room roads aren't properly mapped on Google maps. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4020623.

Anyway, it was truly a wonderful way to start our Labor Day. Until next time, stay out of doors as much as possible. There's a whole world outside waiting for you.

Well wishes,
Tim and Robin.

It's a Byrd, it's a Creek...

Fall is in the air this weekend here in East Tennessee. Although we are in the last stretch of Summer, this weekend has felt like the beginning of Autumn. With this being the case and the additional bonus of it being Labor Day weekend, we decided it was high time to get in the woods.

While a camping trip would have been wonderful, and I guarantee one is being planned for later in the month, we really couldn't swing one this weekend. So instead we opted for a nice hike at Cumberland Mountain State Park.

As always, the night before we were looking researching a place to hike. We decided, since it had been a few months since our last hike, we'd do something that was a bit easy to more or less get back into the swing of things. Additionally, since we've done most of the short easy hikes that are in our vicinity we decided on Byrd Creek Trail to Cumberland Plateau Nature Trail.

This hike was only 2.7 miles and had a total elevation gain/loss of approximately 60ft. For the beginner to intermediate hiker, this is just enough to get the heart rate up and the terrain is good to "cut your teeth on". It was a mix of soft sand and pine needles in some spots and real rooty, and/or rocky in others.

The park itself is really pretty, offering plenty amenities for those that don't hike or need something extra. The history of the park is rather interesting much like the origin of the man-made dam. Unfortunately the lake was down causing Byrd Creek to seem rather unmoving and a bit stagnant. Aside from this, there was plenty of flora and fauna to admire along with birds, trees, and other cool trail features like the Boy Scout bridge just before the nature trail portion of the hike.

So that's all we've got on this adventure. Stay tuned for our next edition. As the weather turns cooler there will be more adventures to go on. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

P.S. - For a more in-depth trail description check out cloudhiking.com's entry. Keep in mind we did the hike in the reverse direction and did not do the Overnight trail portion.

The Bird's on Byrd Creek Trail

Byrd Creek

Wintergreen
WTF? The Little Dipper? O_o

Zombies!!! Everyone, run for your lives!!!

Byrd Lake

Your's Truly: Some call me Tim

Wifey, Kiddo, and Sidekick at Boy Scout Bridge

Byrd Lake Dam

Trail Head Signpost

Smooth Phlox

Dam Kiddo (LOL)

Some type of Agaric Mushroom. There's too many to know which one.
If you happen to know please leave a comment.

Looking up through the canopy

Evening Strolls

We haven't been going to many places lately to enjoy the outdoors as much as we would love to. We have made impromptu trips to Mississippi and then up to West Virginia for a family reunion and a 50th wedding anniversary party for my folks (Rose and Larry). We've also been busy with upkeep around the house such as clearing the outside of and patching a barn. (Really it's a huge detached garage that serves more as a barn, and up until recently a plush home for some four-legged masked bandits). There's been a yard to keep mowed, weeds to kill and eat with a weed-eater, flower gardens to tend and such.

While that has kept us quite busy we have made time for some outdoor fun, not much on the hiking, backpacking, or camping scene, but more so on the try everything we can to stay cool. Yes we've had plenty of trips to Aunt Patty's pool including a nice 4th of July celebration which included games of volleyball and a few libations.

Other than that, we have been having evening strolls for the last week. Mainly just some walks in the parks (Big Ridge and Norris Dam State Parks to be exact). The trusty side kick has been dying to get out so we have been trying to humor her by our evening strolls not to mention keeping ourselves active in addition to all that was stated above.

So with that said, it's late and time for bed. Here are some select shots of the past few days that the most excellent photog of the house (Wifey Robin) has taken. Enjoy.


Peace,
Tim and Robin

Trusty Side Kick Clover on the Sniff

Smooth Phlox

Rose Pink

Fog on the Clinch River

Sunset on the Clinch

(Those are not our poles)

Kiddo, Side Kick Clover, our God Sons 

(L to R Zorro and Gizmo) and me

Wifey Robin and I munchin' on hotdogs at Frozen Head

 Mom and Dad Surprised at Anniversary

Mom and Dad's Wedding Photo

(Aren't they beautiful?)