I didn't have to head off early this morning, so I slept in until 8:53. Awesome! My husband K, on the other hand, got up early to go exercise. Good for him.
He headed out after 11 to take the trolley to the University of Tennessee campus. I left in my car, with the odometer reading 57,284 at 11:20. I drove to campus and drove around looking for any free parking. No luck. So, at 11:41 (57,285), I parked in the Visitor Garage and headed down Phillip Fulmer Way to the Alumni Memorial Hall by the football stadium, passing the really large Student Union en route. I liked the architecture of the buildings I passed.
When I arrived at the building, it wasn't really clear, what door to go in. I finally found my way in and to the lecture hall that was serving as a recital hall at 11:56. The previous performer was just finishing up and K was setting up and warming up for his noon performance on bass clarinet. Some of the pieces were originally composed for cello, but sounded quite good on this instrument. His performance went very well and the audience was appreciative.
It was 12:40 before he'd finished packing up and was ready to go to lunch. We walked over to the aforementioned Student Union and up through it to reach the food court. It was really quite nice inside, which makes sense, as it first opened in 2015 and Phase II was just opened in January. VolShop is because they are the Volunteers. (The state is the Volunteer State, because they answered the call of President James Madison to help during the War of 1812. They were instrumental at the Battle of New Orleans.) The glass sculpture is a torch (see school logo) made by Matthew Cummings of Pretentious Glass of Knoxville. Nice that they used a local artist. It lights up, but not during the day.
Even though there were a lot of teenagers on campus obviously taking tours and otherwise doing their campus visits or orientations, there were not a lot of food places open. Panda Express was pretty much it, which was why their line was incredibly long and slow. We got a Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Bowl with Fried Rice for $6.20, 2 cream cheese Rangoons for $2.20, Orange and Teriyaki Chicken Plate for $7.60, a Coke Zero to share for $2.19, and paid $1.68 in tax. This is the second tine I'd eaten at a Panda Express and both times I was disappointed. It was all rather dry.
K went back to ClarinetFest and I continued out the Student Union as a way to avoid some heat on my way to the parking garage. It was a very warm 88 degrees. As I left the building, I passed by the very large school logo.
It cost $5 to exit the garage at 2:08. I'd programmed the GPS ("Sarah") for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. This had not been a place I'd really planned to visit on this trip. However, I really didn't have any place I wanted to visit in Knoxville and the late hour did not allow for going too far afield. And, I'm a fan of the National Parks. As soon as I was able to after turning 62, I drove out to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to get my senior pass. So, this seemed like a good place to go.
The route took me up I-275 and off on Exit 3 to I-640. At Exit 6, I turned onto Old Broadway/US441 north. The route followed 441 to State Road 33, which in turn became Rte. 61 in Paulette. It was 33 again sometime after Maynardville. At Tazeville, I turned north onto Rte. 32.
There were towns, small and otherwise, along the way, lots of green, kudzu, too. There were plenty of Baptist churches and I saw a sign that said "Prepare to Meet God". There was also at least one McDonald's.
I should have reached Kentucky much sooner than I did, but the state line, which had been running horizontally for quite a while from the west, does a weird jog northeast southeast of Middlesboro, Kentucky until it reaches the Virginia/Tennessee line and makes a corner. So, I reached Kentucky at 3:31 (57,348). Soon, I was on US 25E and reached the park at 3:33 (57, 349).
It's weird how things turn out. In June, I was in Scotland, where I visited and learned all about the defeat of the Highlanders at Culloden at the hands of "Butcher Cumberland", Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. And, here I was in July at a beautiful national park that is in an area named for him. There's irony there I suppose.
This second sign explains the Gap part. By the way, fun fact, Abraham Lincoln's grandfather followed Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road thru the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky in 1779.
On my way into the Visitor's Center, I photographed these flowers and the cannon, which was used at the Battle of Chickamauga (it does not look that old). I think the first photo is spirea, the second purple coneflower, and the third is Queen Anne's Lace.
Inside, there were exhibits about the Wilderness Road and the Cumberland Gap. There was also a very good video, that showed why Boone may have come to dislike the Indians-his son was killed by Indians.
I got my National Parks Passport stamped and found some good things in the shop, including a Christmas ornament shaped like the Passport. I talked to the young woman at the desk about getting to the Gap itself. She encouraged me to drive up to the parking lot for Pinnacle Overlook and to go up the handicapped path to the overlook. (I'd mentioned bad knees.) Then, she showed me where to park to hike the path to the Gap. She assured me that it was an easy 0.6 mile hike. Going further to Tri-State Peak, which is at the corner of Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky was just another 0.6 miles. However, coming back down from that would be hard on my knees. So, she recommended just getting to the Gap.
At 4:44, I drove off for Pinnacle Overlook.
I turned off the radio and opened the windows, as I had for Pikes Peak recently. I spied wild turkeys or pheasants ducking into the brush at the side of the road. The road had its fair share of switchbacks and hairpin turns. I drove the car manually, as usual.
It was 4:55 (57,355), when I reached the parking lot for Pinnacle Overlook. There were a few cars here, even at this late hour. I put sunscreen and water into my plastic Scottish backpack and set off up the hill at 5:01. I took my time, stopping to read signs and take pictures, of course.
I really could not find Tri-State Peak, even with the help of this sign. I think that things have grown a lot since it went up. I do love the way the mountains roll and layer in the last photo.
One advantage of the handicapped trail was this line. I showed it to some folks on the harder trail above me and they appreciated it.
I reached the overlook (2440 ft) around 5:19. What a view! I could see for miles, which meant I could see civilization butting right up to the protected area. I also go to watch a hawk or other raptor soaring around the overlook. Just too cool! I was entranced.
I was able to find the mountain that I drove through to get to the park entrance. It makes for a pretty dramatic photo to just have the road disappear into the trees.
There were two young women a the overlook with me most of the time. They didn't seem to be terribly interested in the great view.
I got back to the car at 5:42 and turned back down the mountain to go to the Thomas Walker Parking area. I overshot it the first time and had to drive pretty far to be able to get back to it. When I did park at 5:57 (57,358), there were a few cars in the lot, but no people.
I encountered several explanatory signs as I started out on the trail. I found them useful, so here they are, plus a photo of what Object Lesson Road currently looks like.
The trail was in Kentucky, which is a cool thing, when you consider that I was just up at the Virginia/Tennessee line. As I went along, a few people would pass me from the other direction every now and again. Only 1 or 2 people passed me going the same way I was going. It was late in the day, after all. I rather liked having the trail to myself. At times, I could hear bubbling water, but I never saw it. The same was true of the people behind the voices on another trail to my right. They sounded like kids running along their path and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The woods were dense to either side of the trail, which meant taking photos upwards or straight ahead.
I saw just two flowers along the way, but only the clover turned out clear.
The way grew warmer and my knees did not like what I was asking of them. However, I don't let them stop me at home, so why would I here? No, it was too lovely here and I had a goal.
Every once in a while, the trees cleared just enough for me to see a mountain.
Finally, at 6:24, I reached the Cumberland Gap. Hurrah! And there was this poetic sign to make me think of all the history that had passed here.
I took that photo with my phone and was shocked to see that I had several bars. So, I took advantage of this unique opportunity to post a photo of this spot from this spot. And then, I turned around and headed back.
The way down the trail was harder on the knees and it was definitely hot. I was so glad to have the water with me. I was rewarded by more lovely views above. Oh, and here's a shot of what it looked like to the side.
I was back at the car at 6:46. I headed for the Visitor Center, because even though the inside would be closed, the rest rooms would be open. I also took the time to program Sarah to get me to a restaurant I wanted to try in Knoxville. I left the park at 7:05.
At 7:08 (57,361), I was back in Tennessee. It was an uneventful drive, except for the shock of actually seeing a Catholic church! I saw only Baptist earlier.
The restaurant I was heading for had been recommended to me by the facilitator of my weekly Bible study John F. He and another guy from church had discovered it, when they brought the youth group up on a mission trip. This was a good opportunity to try Tandūr Indian Kitchen on Kingston Pike, which I reached at 8:24 (57,424).
I ordered Tikka Masala Chicken for $9.95 and Mango Lasi for $2.95 at the counter and then chose a table. I chose well, because I had a great view of the beautiful tandoor.
When the food came, I sent John a photo of it, which he loved, especially since he happened to be with the other guy right then. They thought it was cool that I was there.
The food was delicious, if a little spicy. I had to make sure that I made the Lasi last.
Before I left, I looked for a Shell station with diesel near the hotel. I found one and programmed Sarah, before leaving at 9:14. When I pulled in, imagine how surprised I was to find no diesel. I said something to the manager and she said I should fix my Google. Google isn't the problem here store is. She told me to go down the street to the Pilot and she wasn't pleasant about it. I didn't like the Pilot, too many loud people milling about. It was 9:29 and the odometer read 57,431. I'd driven 411.9 miles on the tank and bought 10.243 gallons @ $2.959. The car got 40.2128 miles per gallon, great!
I was out of there at 9:34 and reached the hotel 6 minutes later (57,432). I drove 148 miles today. I'm going to drive a heck of a lot more tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment