Anakeesta group outing

Pigeon Forge is a favorite of mine. When I did the Appalachian Trail, I came of the trail in the Smokey Mountains to spend my 31st birthday at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. 

This trip, we talked about Dollywood, but ended up settling on Annakeesta. It's this village built at the top of a mountain with tons of things for everyone. We rode the chairlift up to the top, climbed through rope playgrounds and hanging walkways. Some of the group did the mountain coaster. There was so much to see & do. The majority of the day was spent enjoying the views and trying not to sweat to death. Don't worry. They had misters and splash pads to help cool off. 

Upon return to the VRBO, some of the group headed to the community area where we played miniature golf using clubs and balls from the VRBO. After mini golf, my college roommate, her boys, & myself hung out at the community pool enjoying the waterfall nearby and watching the kids play. It was a wonderful day.

 

Casey Jones

From Memphis, we made our way towards Nashville where we stayed just west of town in an area called Casey Jones Park. Of course I had to explore in the morning while my husband was sleeping. 

From Casey Jones Park, we headed towards Sevierville, where we found a DC fast charger outside a Harley Davidson shop with a distillery right next door. We were in moonshine territory. What better way to kill the 30-45min of charging time than by sampling. Besides, we were only 45min-1hour away from our VRBO & my college friends.

We ended up picking up a few small bottles and a larger bottle to share with the group. 

Graceland

Because many of our stops to charge the Ioniq were at Walmart, we would wander the store while car vharged. One of our wanders we found wedding rings. So, it became a joke that my husband of 20+ years was going to propose. 

Anyway, on to Graceland in the rain. I always heard it was amazing. So, I convinced the husband to join me on the adventure. I even made him listen to the SiriusXM Elvis station to prepare. 

The place where Elvis was found dead...his studio.

As we finished at Graceland, the rain started to clear up. We decided to head in to Memphis to check out the historic Beale Street.

Of course we had to check out a local brewery.

We finished the day with a park where we could charge for free while my husband ran and I checked out the park. It was beautiful. 

 

An Electric Adventure

    It’s time for another adventure. This time it is without Jasper again, but it IS with the new Hyunadai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle (EV) and my husband. We are headed to The Smokey Mountains to spend about a week with my Kalamazoo College friends and for my husband to run a 12 hour race. We bought our Ioniq 5 the end of March 2022, and so this is the first cross country adventure with it. I won’t lie there were ups and downs throughout the trip.

    We took off the first day about 2pm, so my husband could work in the morning (I think he just wanted more time to pack, he’s a procrastinator). On the way out of Denver, we grabbed a charge just east of town. 

A stop in Arkansas for my husband to run on a overgrown trail allowed me to explore some pretty spots. 

And enjoy a beautiful sunset 
 

home again, home again jiggity jig

    The day started early, as I was able to pick up my sister at 8am, and head for home. We were raised not to take the same way twice, so we went home via Nebraska instead of I-25. I packed up most of the car the night before, so that I could get out early. It was easy going through the rural hills of South Dakota to the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Re-Member location. 

    My sister was ready to go upon my arrival, and we headed out. She caught me up on all the things she had done during that week, and I told her what I had been doing (for the most part). We enjoyed the scenery, and eventually grew quiet. Until, I was driving along a 2 lane highway in Nebraska, and I looked to my left. What the heck was that? My sister read the sign as I was wondering what it was, and I found the nearest spot to turn around. 

    We had found CARHENGE!! Out in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, we came across this place where Stonehenge was made of cars painted grey and there were other car sculptures out there. We got out of the car, used the restroom, and began our exploration of Carhenge. It was corny, and yes! it IS on the roadside america list of curiosities and oddities, but I figured my sister would be too tired to go out of our way for too many things. Luckily, it was just there. We toured the location, bought our souvenirs, and got back on the road heading south.

    As we drove, we watched roadside signs for more interesting things to visit. On the way up, I had mentioned stopping to see Scotts Bluff National Park, and so we did have that as a small target on the route home. We passed through various little towns with cool little chapels and a train depot/museum, which was not open. Eventually, we noticed a sign for the Pony Express and for Chimney Rock NHS. We decided to check both items out, and get me more stamps for my National Park passport.

    From Chimney Rock, we made our way to Scotts Bluff, where we parked, used the restrooms, wandered through the historical information in the visitor center, and then wandered outside a bit. It appeared that the best thing to do was take the short drive to the top of a butte and check out the views from there. So, up we went with my sister gripping the dash and hanging from the "oh shit" handle of the car (she likes to be in control of the car when climbing up roads without guardrails). 

    At the top of the butte/bluff, we checked out the view, and happened to notice people walking a trail down below us, which seemed to disappear through a tunnel in the bluff. We decided we needed to check it out. In true outdoor enthusiast fashion, we headed out on this hike of unknown length without water or any of our 10 essentials we take when hiking the Rockies. Since we were at the top, of course the path lead us down, and we decided we would just go down to the tunnel and then back up; however, as we descended, we talked about one of us walking to the bottom and the other driving. It ended up that my sister would walk down (which was better in the end because I like taking photos while I'm driving sometimes, and she is anxious when not in control), and I would drive down to the visitor center and pick her up. 

    Before I headed down in the car, I completed the loop trail of the top taking in the views from the various designated points. It was very pretty and you could see for miles. On the way down, I paused, checked my rearview mirror, took a couple photos of the tunnel and the road, and then continued the rest of the way to the visitor center to get my sister. It was a neat and free park that I would say does not see the tourism that other national parks do, and I think it should. I could have explored a bit more, if I had the time. 

    Back on the road towards home, we enjoyed singing out loud, cussing at the traffic, and got the joy of seeing a double rainbow as we came back in to Colorado. I guess Colorado really is colorful. We made it to my sister's place in Highlands Ranch in time to pick up her youngest for a quick dinner at Wendy's before I headed home to my husband. Overall, it was an amazing trip full of adventure, information, and experiences.