Caching in and Around Blountville and Kingsport 5/6/2008

Well we got off this morning with a bunch of caches to do around the area with hopes of seeing something interesting and/or historical. Well that didn't really pan out like we figured it would as there just doesn't seem to be a lot around this general area like that. We started out with a few caches close to the campgrounds, the first and second being at a now closed Sam's Club, one in front and one in back. Then it was on to a Sleep Inn for a cache in the back of the motel, a cache close to a gas station in a phone booth, a cache at a health center and one at an old school (not what we would consider old though).
We drove into Kingsport to the Fort Patrick Henry Dam and a virtual cache at the dam overlook. Fort Patrick Henry Dam is named after the colonial fort, also known as Long Island Station, that was established nearby at the site of present-day Kingsport, Tennessee. The dam was built primarily for hydropower, but it is also used to regulate the flow of water downstream to ensure a reliable supply of water for local industry and for cooling water at TVA’s John Sevier Fossil Plant. Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir is a popular site for fishing, particularly rainbow trout, bluegill, bass, and crappie. Warrior’s Path State Park is located on the reservoir. This was our 1500th find so we took a couple of pictures for posterity and we were off. We drove up to Warrior Path State Park and took a ride through it. A very lovely park with campgrounds, fishing, swimming, boating, a children's play park and many sports fields.
Next cache was on a guardrail near a dangerous ledge, then it was a multi-cache located at an old Kingsport cemetery which we found quickly. Our last cache was close to another gas station near Rt 81. We drove into Kingsport to see if there were any interesting or historical sites. We did find The Netherland Inn on the banks of the Holston River. This Inn has some long history and although we didn't take the tour through the Inn we found it very interesting. From the 1760s travelers came by wagon down the Island Road to the river bank where they built boats and migrated west. Originally built by William King in 1802 and 1808 for the sole purpose of developing a boat yard from which to ship his salt, the Netherland Inn was later sold at a sheriff's sale in 1818 to Richard Netherland. Netherland immediately procured a stage contract and established this beautiful three-story building as an inn and tavern on the Great Old Stage Road, the main route to Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. The Netherland Inn became established as a popular stagecoach inn hosting many famous persons including Presidents Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson and James Polk. Netherland Inn remained in the Netherland family until 1906 when it became the home and boarding house of H.C. and Nettie Cloud. In 1968, it was purchased by the Netherland Inn Association to be preserved as a historic house museum. The inn today has been furnished to represent life as it was in an important American frontier settlement. Research was collected from the diary of Richard Netherland, as well as other primary and secondary history sources. The first floor tavern, second floor family quarters, and third floor guest rooms all have been furnished with period pieces. Although much of the Netherland Inn furniture was destroyed or lost in the Civil War, some of it remains and can been seen throughout the house. This Inn is also on the National Register of Historic Places. There are also several other cabins on the site such as The Pence Cabin, The Daniel Boone House, The Schoolhouse and a Flat Boat Replica.
Then it was off to Sonic for a little lunch and then back to the RV after finding a few historical markers that we did put in our pictures for today. Mom did our cache logs and I showered and took a nap. Mom is outside reading now and I am doing the blog. Well time to say so long until tomorrow and we love you all.


I hope everybody realizes if you click on a picture it should be enlarged so you can read the text on that picture.


Picture List:1-Mom & Dad at Fort Patrick Henry Dam our 1500th cache find, 2-We think it's a butterfly or ?????, 3-Art sculpture in downtown Kingsport, 4-8-Fort Patrick Henry Dam, 9,10-Netherland Inn, 11-The Daniel Boone House-This cabin was built in 1773 in Duffield, Virginia vicinity, Daniel and Rebecca Boone lived in this home until 1775. This is a fine specimen of the region's early pioneer log architecture, 12-Pence Cabin-This cabin built in the 1800s and shows original adze marks on the logs. It was originally located on a route used by travelers as well as Civil War troops in Sullivan County, 13-The Schoolhouse-This 1790 log structure served, at varying times, as an inn, a home and a schoolhouse. Attached to the Schoolhouse is a dependency, (which is now a caterers kitchen), 14-Flat Boat Replica-In 1779 Col. John Donelson built 30 flat boats here to use on a journey that carried 300 people to their "Big Salt Licks" (Nashville) destination. The group left Kingsport on December 22, 1779 and arrived at their destination on April 24, 1780, 15-Boatyard Adventure, 16-Pactolus Ironworks Historical Marker.

Arrived Safe and Sound at Rocky Top and Blountville, TN 5/6/2008

We left about 10:00 this morning for our drive to our next stopover which as you see above was Rocky Top CG in the Cumberland Mountains. The drive was uneventful and the traffic wasn't to bad. We got here about 1:00 and were all set up by 1:30. The campgrounds is very nice and clean and quiet this time of year. Although they didn't have any water when we got here as there was a water main break down the road and they were presently fixing it, it did come back on about 3:00 though. The bathrooms are clean and bright and the sites are very large and are pull thrus. We had lunch and took a drive to Kingsport and Wally World to pick up a few things. Not much going on in this area as it is pretty rural. Bristol Speedway is near here as well as Bristol Dragway and in fact they are having the O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on May 16-18th. After we drove around a little we made our way back to the RV and did some things around there and now we are watching TV and I am doing the blog. No pictures today and we are sorry. It's almost dinner time so we will say until tomorrow and we love you all.

Our Last Day in Pigeon Forge........ Breakfast, Caching & Shopping 5/5/2008

We left early this morning as I took Mom out to breakfast at Flapjack's Pancake Cabin #21 here in Pigeon Forge. Very nice small place and the pancakes were great. After we ate it was on to our first cache in front of an amusement park. Our next cache was at a CVS Drug Store in a tree. We went and picked up Muffy & Raggs and went to our third cache behind a small shopping center. Then our fourth cache was near the Comedy Barn and a retro diner. The theater features comedy, variety shows, magicians, fire-eaters, jugglers, ventriloquists and country and gospel music. The retro diner was named the Happy Days Diner and of course was decorated in a 50's and 60's theme. Our next cache was at a Walgreens Drug Store in a tree behind the store.
The next cache was at a very quaint restaurant named The Old Mill. In the early 1800's, a water-powered gristmill on the banks of the Little Pigeon River became one of the main hubs of activity in the small mountain community of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. In those days, the mill faithfully produced the meals and flours that were crucial for the day-to-day existence of the Smokies' early settlers. In fact, The Old Mill even furnished electricity for the town until 1935. One of The Old Mill's most distinctive features is the giant water wheel that harnesses the flow of the Little Pigeon River. Inside the structure, an antiquated yet reliable system of shafts, belts, and pulleys still gets the job done, working to turn the 4600-pound stones and grain elevators. Weighing one ton each, the massive flint granite stones, called French Buhrs, are only the second set ever used in The Old Mill's 175-year history. When they're in action, the stones convert grain into about 1000 pounds of product each day, six days a week. Resident millers then hand-fill, weigh and tie each bag of stone ground grain. Products ground at The Old Mill are used in many of the dishes at the Old Mill Restaurant including biscuits, corn bread, pancakes, hush puppies, muffins and grits. We also use our own grains for the homemade artisan style breads that are prepared each day at the Old Mill Bakery Café. Today, The Old Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and just as in the 19th century, it's still one of the most popular places in the Smokies and one of the most photographed mills in the country. We walked around looking at the restaurant as well as visiting the gift shop which carried many of the things made by the artisans in the area as well as many homemade food stuffs.
Next cache was located at a now defunct theater called Dick Clark's American Bandstand which as i said is closed now but is in the process of remodeling and will reopen in 2009. Last year the theater hosted many many headline acts such as Air Supply, Beach Boys, Chubby Checker, Mel Tillis, Tony Orlando, Wynona Judd, Lorrie Morgan, Charlie Daniels, The Temptations and Crystal Gayle. They will be adding an indoor amphitheater, restaurant and resort hotel.
Next cache was located near the Pigeon River along an overlook, then it was on to a location where they had a train ride up to Dollywood as the engineer sounds the whistle and your mountain excursion is under way. Our authentic 110-ton coal-fired steam engine takes you on a breathtaking five-mile journey through the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains where you'll enjoy pastoral scenery and some of the most beautiful views that nature has to offer. The only thing is that it also was out of service while repair work is completed. Due to the age and complexity of the machinery, a readily available supply of parts and raw materials is not accessible. Parts needed for this first step of the renovation are being fabricated by a blacksmith under exacting specifications. Just a note that we did drive out to Dollywood but you had to pay $10.00 to drive through the gates and park so we couldn't even get a glimpse of the park.
Then it was on to a cache located in a small local cemetery, then a long long drive out in the country and down a narrow 2 lane road and up a grass driveway to an old cemetery located at the top of a hill and we can say that was quite a drive for a cache. Then we drove 2.3 miles up the side of a mountain for a virtual cache called "The View from Heaven" and it certainly was as you can see by the pictures. Once we got to the top we couldn't believe the view as it was breathtaking. On the way up we also stopped for a cache along the only pull off on the road. Then it was back down and to our last cache located out in the country at Oldham's Creek Missionary Baptist Church.
We drove back into Pigeon Forge and back to the coach and Mom went shopping at a few of the interesting shops she saw as we drove around. I stayed here and planned the rest of our trip back north to home, shaved, showered and took a nap. Once Mom got home she did our cache logs and I fixed dinner. I am doing the blog before we eat and then plan to watch TV for the rest of the evening. We are off tomorrow for Rocky Top Campground in Blytheville, TN so we will say until tomorrow from there we love you all and miss you.


Picture List:1-4-A View From Heaven, 5-12-The Old Mill Restaurant and Gift Shop, 13,14-Dollywood Express, 15-Oldham's Creek Missionary Baptist Church, 16-Old barn along the back roads, 17-Wedding Chapel, 18-Boogertown Road, 19-22-Happy Days Diner, 23-25-Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater.

Caching in Sevierville and a Little Housekeeping 5/4/2008

I was going to take Mom out for breakfast today but she slept in and I told her it must have been the time change. So we loaded our caches up and away we went to do some caching. We found our first cache in a parking lot of theater that has magic shows. Then we drove on into Sevierville as they have a minor league baseball team and we wanted to check it out and see the field. The team is the Tennessee Smokies of the Class AA Southern League a farm team of the Chicago Cubs. We stopped in and looked around the souvenir shop and they let us into the stadium to have a look and it was a very nice facility. Then it was back to caching and a cache in an old Baptist Cemetery, then it was on to two more caches located in small cemeteries in Sevierville. Next cache was on the Sevierville memorial River Greenway Trail located on the Pigeon River. We took Muffy and Raggs and walked to the cache about a 1/4 mile away from where we parked. Next was a cache at a Burger Barf, a cache in the rear parking lot of Tanger Outlet Mall, and our last cache was in a small park along the Pigeon River. Then we drove back to the coach and I washed all the windows in the RV and Mom dusted and vacuumed the floors. By the time we got done it was 3:00 so Mom did the cache logs and I showered. I watched the Rangers-Penguins hockey game and some of the PGA golf while Mom sat in the sun outside and read. We ordered pizza for dinner and Mom is showering now and I am doing the blog. As you can see not much in the way of historical sites today although we did see the McMahan Indian Mound located right in downtown Sevierville next to a motel. Well time to say good night and until tomorrow we love you all and miss you.


Picture List:1-9 Tennessee Smokies Baseball Stadium, 10-A Wedding Chapel, 11-14-Baptist Cemetery some markers dating back to 1818 and a marker of someone who fought in the War of 1812, 15,16-McMahan Indian Mound.