Blogs from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, North America

Racoon Valley, Escapees, provided full hookups for our stay outside of Knoxville. We visited Scheryl and John’s scenic retirement home on the Powell River which feeds Norris Lake. We were treated to a relaxing 2-hour pontoon boat ride. Mike enjoyed a prime rib birthday dinner at the local Chop House. In Knoxville the next day, we rode our Lectric bikes along the beautiful Tennessee River and through the University the day before the Tennessee-Alabama football game.... read more

Today started with a cloudy cool day. We took a short drive and began the day with a trip to Hammer's in Clinton to see if we could find any shopping deals. We had a quick lunch and then it was out to do some more hiking. We headed to House Mountain Wildlife Area. This was the park recommended by our waiter last night. It was his favorite park when he was a kid. The trail starts at the base of the mountain. It is a standalone outcropping just east of Knoxville. The trail was rocky and had water flowing in places from all the rain yesterday and overnight. We hiked up the west trail that was rocky and steep in places. Leo led the way up the trail. At the top there was a view ... read more

Where did I go this weekend? Here are a few hints: a smokey dog, an iconic checkerboard, and a unique shade of orange. Still stumped? Before I tell you, let's keep it real for a minute. I saw a headline through the windows of the journalism building this morning that scared me: “AP News: New Covid-19 Strain Spreads Faster Than Previous Versions.” My heart stopped, wondering if I was unknowingly taking part in a new disaster movie. Much of 2020 has felt that way. But it’s not the disaster movie we all expected; most of us take precautions while others act like nothing is out of the ordinary. We’ve even got a new pair of vaccines being rolled out just in time for the holidays. But that doesn’t mean that everything has gone back to normal, ... read more

KNOXVILLE The Department of Energy got underway as a branch of the Tennessee Valley Authority beginning in about 1940. The Manhattan Project, in which we developed the atomic bomb, originated at the Oak Ridge Laboratory outside of Knoxville. Science and Energy have always been a big deal around those parts, and the locals quietly take a good deal of pride in it. The engineers at Oak Ridge started out using carbon as the primary source of energy to drive the burgeoning nuclear program. In due course of scientific trial and error they deduced that carbon, as coal, did not produce the rapid release of energy needed for the nuclear trigger to detonate an atomic bomb. Carbon did, however, perform admirably enough as a source of power in dry cell batteries. It has provided a cheap, reliable ... read more

Right now, we have so many plans that our plans have plans. We have packing lists, checklists, and to do lists. (And you already know that we’re pathologically organized.) But having a plan – or plans – when you’re going away for five months is critical. So – how do you go about planning a trip like this – and why? Here are some considerations. · The basics. What do you really want to see or do? Question 1: what do you want to do? Question 2: where will you do it? Question 3: when? And Question 4: what do you need to do to make it happen? For example, the salmon spawning (i.e. fishing) season is short and changes with the type of salmon, the tide, the moon, and the year. If you want to ... read more