Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for tennessee
A Theme Park with Southern Charm
By Linda Tancs
Surrounded by breathtaking views of the Great Smoky Mountains, Dollywood is an attraction touted as the only theme park with southern charm. Partly owned by entertainer Dolly Parton, it was also recently ranked the No. 1 theme park in the United States. Located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the park highlights the rich heritage and artistry of the Smokies with mountain music and craftsmen demonstrations. A family-friendly resort, it also boasts more than 40 rides and attractions, including the opening this year of Big Bear Mountain, the longest roller coaster in the park. This time of year the Harvest Festival features a 40-foot-tall pumpkin tree, a larger-than-life glowing owl and over 12,000 illuminated pumpkins. The event runs today through October 30.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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The Sunsphere
By Linda Tancs
Held in Knoxville, Tennessee, the 1982 World’s Fair was the first one in the South. Hosting 22 nations, it was located in an abandoned railroad yard next to downtown Knoxville. Its symbol was the Sunsphere, which featured a restaurant and an observation deck. Largely vacant and underutilized for most of its post-fair life, the Sunsphere is enjoying a resurgence with the reopening of the fourth level observation deck. It offers a 360-degree view of the original 1982 World’s Fair site (now World’s Fair Park), downtown Knoxville, the Tennessee River, the University of Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains.
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The Mountain Goat Trail
By Linda Tancs
Historically, the Mountain Goat Trail (one of the steepest railroad ascents in the world) carried coal and passengers between towns in Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. Now it serves as a path for walkers, hikers and cyclists, currently running between Monteagle and Sewanee (with more connections to come). It’s a highlight of a visit to Sewanee, home of the University of the South and some of the best dining in Middle Tennessee. The campus is renowned for its architecture, particularly the vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows at All Saints Chapel. You’ll also find a World War I memorial on the edge of a bluff on campus, a 60-foot-tall cross erected in 1922 to honor the residents who served their country during the war. Fifty miles from Chattanooga, it’s a great day trip.
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A Flooded Forest in Tennessee
By Linda Tancs
Tennessee’s Reelfoot Lake State Park has an ecosystem unlike any other in the state. That’s because it’s a flooded forest, resulting from a series of violent earthquakes in the early 1800s that caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for a short period of time, which created the lake. A variety of aquatic plants and flowers occupy the shoreline and saturate the shallow water, together with towering cypress trees with submerged stumps. As you might expect, the lake also hosts an array of shore and wading birds as well as eagles. Boating is a key activity here; scenic pontoon boat tours are offered May through September.
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Following the Mississippi
By Linda Tancs
You may have wondered whether you can drive along the course of the Mississippi River. Yes, there’s a road for that. The Great River Road National Scenic Byway follows the course of the Mississippi River for 3,000 miles from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, passing through 10 states. Its designation as a National Scenic Byway is in recognition of the route’s outstanding assets in the areas of culture, history, nature, recreation and scenic beauty. The different roads and highways comprising the byway are marked by a green pilot’s wheel logo to keep you on track. Watch for river-related attractions and interpretative centers. You can take in the whole route in 36 hours of straight driving, but why not stretch it out for four to 10 days and enjoy the ride.
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Nashville’s Hottest New Spot
By Linda Tancs
Years in the making, the National Museum of African American Music is now a part of the fabric of the music scene in Nashville, Tennessee. Located downtown on Broadway, it’s the only museum dedicated to preserving the legacy and celebrating the accomplishments of the many music genres created, influenced or inspired by African Americans. Over 50 genres and subgenres of music, including spirituals, blues, jazz, gospel, R&B and hip-hop, can be explored throughout five different galleries. Timed tours run throughout the day every 30 minutes.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Gray’s Anatomy
By Linda Tancs
You never know where fossils of the Early Pliocene Epoch will turn up. That’s surely how workers in the eastern Tennessee town of Gray felt when they unearthed fossils in 2000 during a road construction project. The only known fossil site of its age in the Appalachian region, it preserves the remains of an ancient sinkhole pond that existed around 5 million years ago, revealing tapirs, rhinos, alligators, mastodons and more. And the dig is far from over. More than 25,000 fossils have been catalogued from the site, including several extinct species that are new to science. Learn more at Gray Fossil Site & Museum, which is built around this amazing discovery.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Chasing the Trace
By Linda Tancs
The Old Natchez Trace is a travel corridor used by American Indians and others, representing over 10,000 years of history. Today it’s known as Natchez Trace Parkway, a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. It’s so much more than a drive, though. It’s also a designated cycling route as well as a place for hiking, biking, horseback riding and camping. You’ll have the opportunity to see prehistoric mound sites, gorgeous waterfalls, imprints of Old Natchez at places like Sunken Trace and the hills of Mississippi at Jeff Busby Little Mountain. You’ll even find The Meriwether Lewis monument, marking the burial site of famed explorer Meriwether Lewis, near present-day Hohenwald, Tennessee.
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To limit the spread of COVID-19, attractions may be closed or have partial closures. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Tennessee’s Cherokee
By Linda Tancs
Tennessee’s only national forest, Cherokee National Forest is the largest tract of public land in the state, separated into two parts by Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Covering nearly 630,000 acres in 10 East Tennessee counties, it has a whopping 30 developed campgrounds, 30 picnic areas, 700 miles of trail, hundreds of miles of cold water streams and seven whitewater rivers, among other things. Recreational opportunities are plentiful, a popular one being ginseng harvesting. Ginseng is a native plant of Tennessee that grows mostly in cool, moist mountain forests. Keep an eye out for the permitting process in the coming months. The collection process is limited.
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As coronavirus proceeds, it is likely that the vast majority of us will be limited in our travels. But this, too, shall pass. Our love for travel remains, so Travelrific will continue offering travel inspiration in this medium. Please keep those affected by the virus in your thoughts and be sure to follow the safety practices advocated by the Centers for Disease Control. Stay safe, and be well.
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Nashville’s Italianate Villa
By Linda Tancs
Belmont Mansion is Tennessee’s largest antebellum house, an Italianate villa in Nashville that once boasted an art gallery, a bowling alley and a zoo, among other things. Originally the summer home for Nashville socialite Adelicia Acklen and her family, the estate also served as temporary headquarters for the Union army during the Civil War and later as a women’s college. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971, the mansion features 36 rooms over 19,000 square feet. A guided tour takes about one hour.
UPDATE: Since the scheduling of this post, the Nashville area has suffered one of the most devastating storms in its history. Please consider donating to a relief organization and keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers.
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