Digging Knoxville with Leslie and Natalie [February 26 - March 1, 2016]

The last time we visited Leslie and Natalie in Knoxville, they had recently moved into their home.  In the two years since we had last visited, they had made a bunch of  terrific improvements, including a lovely and (very) sturdy two story deck, raised vegetable garden beds along the slope of one side of their back yard and fruit trees around the perimeter.  It was fun to see how they are realizing their dreams for the house.

We left Gray TN in a cold snow flurry, and yet the sun came out as we neared Knoxville!  Yay!  So great to see the sun!  And so wonderful to see the girls!

While we were in Knoxville we took a fabulous yoga class, made bread, played with the dogs, had a crawfish boil, and planted seeds for the new garden.  We also went to the last (University of Tennessee) Lady Vols basketball regular season game.  They won!   

Russ and Leslie worked on fixing a clogged drain from the driveway.  The project involved a lot of mud, digging and ingenuity!

Success!

Lady Vols Fans Bleed Blue and Orange

Victory!

We've Finally Visited Natural Bridge VA - And So Should Everyone! [February 24, 2016]

The Natural Bridge is a limestone arch over Cedar Creek.  It is 215 feet high and the arch has a span of 90 feet.  The day we visited, the creek was flooded with run off from a fierce deluge the previous day.  No one can say how the bridge was formed, but it is believed to be all that remains of a cavern or tunnel through which the creek flowed underground.  At some point, the rest of the stone structure fell away leaving this beautiful and impressive arch.

We walked down a long set of uneven stairs alongside of the lovely falls in Cascade Creek that joins Cedar Creek at the bottom of the stairway.  A paved path takes you along Cedar Creek and as you come around a bend you see the Bridge.  It really is impressive.  Benches are set up to view the light and sound show that plays at night.  They are also useful during the day for sitting and enjoying the lovely arch.

A little history.  The Monacan Native Americans held it as a sacred site where the bridge appeared before an outnumbered group of Monacan fleeing a Powhatan raiding party.  The narrowness of the bridge allowed the women and children to flee while the warriors fought and eventually defeated the enemies.  Later it was re-discovered by the English and a young George Washington was sent to survey it.  They say he carved his initials there.  You can see them marked on a wall along with other initials.  Founding Father-Graffiti Artist.  Later Thomas Jefferson purchased the land from the Crown and built a 2 room cabin there for guests to come visit the site, starting an enduring history of tourism there.  A series of hotels have operated next to the Bridge since.

The land remained privately held for over 200 years and you still pay a lot to see the Bridge.  In 2014 the property was sold to the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund with the intention of it becoming a state park.  Below is a link to the Washington Post article describing the sale.  The Virginia Parks web page notes that it will become a State Park in late 2016.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/natural-bridge-will-become-virginia-state-park/2014/02/06/35f386c6-8f6a-11e3-878e-d76656564a01_story.html

Natural Bridge is a US National Historic Landmark and has at times been included on lists of “Wonders of the World.”  It is in the town of the same name, and has two exits off of I-81 that get to it.  Yet, somehow in all of the years we have lived in Virginia, neither one of us has managed a visit there.  We’ve driven past it on I-81 countless times, each time vowing to stop, but never took the time.  If you have been like us – take the time.  It is worth it.

Unexpected Fossils in Gray, Tennessee at the ETSU Natural History Museum [February 25, 2016]

We have a book called Off the Beaten Track with descriptions of wonderful gems that are not widely known about.  One such entry is for the ETSU Museum of Natural History and Fossil Site in Gray TN.  What a fabulous place!

The story goes that in 2000 road construction crews were widening route 75 just outside of Gray TN.  They came across some dark black soil very unlike the yellow soil of the area, so they brought in the researchers to figure out what was going on.  It ended up being the remains of a pond that during the Miocene Era was inhabited with alligators, turtles and snakes and frequented by mastodon, camels, tapirs, red pandas, badgers, rhinoceros, saber tooth cats, and other creatures.   The fossilized remains of these exciting animals and leaves of the plants that grew around them, are trapped in the black mud of this pond that had dried up and gotten covered over with regular dirt.

They’ve made some very exciting discoveries here.  This is the only location in North America where they have found the remains of many red panda.  There is a tooth found some place else – but all other remains are in Asia.  How did they get to Tennessee?   These red pandas have been determined a different species from their Asian cousins.  The scientists have discovered a new species!  And that isn’t the only one, there is a new species of badger, and a new species of musk turtle. 

There is still a lot more of the site still to be excavated!

They have built an incredibly well designed, small museum about the era, the fossils, and the site.  Very, very well done and interesting for all ages.  The second floor of the museum has work areas for the paleontologists with big windows where you can watch them work.  Then a door leads out to the dig itself where you can see them working during the summer.

http://www.etsu.edu/naturalhistorymuseum/default.aspx