DollyWood

I've heard about it for years but have never taken the time to visit DollyWood Theme Park. I have, however, stopped by once several years ago to check out Splash Country. Sporting the fair skin my parents blessed me with, I earned a nasty sunburn and vowed never to return. 

I had to revisit this notion this past weekend. My 12 year old niece, Caroline, gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. Either be her chauffeur and roller coaster partner, or be considered a chicken forever. I decided  at point that even though the roller coasters fell under the same parent company, I would now only actively boycott the water park. It was show time. 

We arrived in Pigeon Forge in the early afternoon, about 2:00. We had to let the tracks thaw. The park has a strict 40 degree Fahrenheit rule in place. Thunderhead coaster was closed due to it's location in the shade and its inability to allow the ice to melt. As the coasters began to open we rode like the wind. 

The coolest part of the whole day was that it was chilly and offered almost no wait times for the rides. There was a mechanical malfunction on Tennessee Tornado while we waited to board. Naturally we skipped that one and left it alone for the rest of the day. My niece was too sissy to ride Mystery Mine because she said it "hurt her neck" HAHAHA. I didn't let her live that down!

This narrowed us down to Dollywood's latest coaster, Wild Eagle, and their very first (indoor) coaster, original to the park, Blazing Fury. Blazing fury was a little cheesy but it was cool to see the history. It also surprised me with two stretches that had my free fall sensation going. 

The Wild Eagle was undoubtedly the piece de resistance piéce de résistance. It was the style coaster that allowed your feet to dangle which adds to the effect, for me atleast. Since the lines were so short we opted to wait a little extra to ride in front which is a totally different experience than any other vantage point. The ride lasts 1 min 40 sec and includes plenty of flips and corkscrews. I don’t know about you but I’m a yeller while Caroline gripped until she was white in the knuckles.

I know this post lays a little outside Knoxville. But if you’re feeling adventurous enough to consider riding a roller coaster, then you’re probably crazy enough to meander over to Pigeon Forge. If you do, have a blast and for heaven’s sake, wear sun screen.

UnderGround Knoxville

As far as Urban Legends go, Knoxville has a few.

-  The "Curse of the White Mule" that haunts the Woodruff building on the 400 block of Gay Street (AKA Downtown Grill and Brewery).

-  The "dead-light" on Gay Street that repeatedly goes out after numerous replacements. The street lamp is thought to be haunted because of a mad lynching of an alleged local bandit who claimed innocence.

-  The catching, jailing and escape of Kid Curry - a member of The Wild bunch led by Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid - after an old city showdown.

Jack Neely, a writer for the Metro Pulse, has a spectacular track record of publishing articles on these matters as well as many more pertaining to Knoxville History. He's even published a few books that compile his "Secret History" articles from the Knoxville periodical. And it was Jack that opened my eyes to the subterranean city that lies beneath Gay St.

Gallery


Once I moved downtown from campus I had an excitement to get out and discover. Unknown to my attention for years, the "final frontier" of Knoxville was right under my nose each trip I stole downtown.



What exists today as Gay Street used to be known as Market Street (as named in 1791) , and was one of only about 10 roads that made up our city.

Nearly a century ago, the Gay St. existed at the same level as the railroad tracks that lay parallel to Jackson, rising southward up the hill towards the Tenneessee River.

(Jackson can be found in the North Eastern region of the map to the left- running East/West)

(Gay St. can be found as the center white line running continuously from Jackson the river - running North/South)

So essentially, while you follow Gay St. from the top to the bottom the height of the street would have been climbing a hill that ended at the river.

As the city grew the idea came up to rise the height of Gay St. so as to make it completely level from Jackson to Gay St Bridge. All this to make car travel easier across the Jackson St. rail yards and uninhibited pedestrian travel. This project came to be known as the Gay St. viaduct of 1919.

An additional viaduct was needed for cars to cross over Gay Street's new height while traveling on Jackson, i.e. the Jackson St. Viaduct. 

What has resulted is an underground cavern of old store fronts, sidewalks, and fancier than usual basements. There has been on-and-off talk about resurrecting the old pathway... but that too must be just another urban legend. 

Here are a few links if you're interested in further info:

Photo Gallery

InsideKnoxville Blog Article   (REALLY COOL LOCAL BLOG!!!)

Blank Magazine Article

KnoxNews Video

Discovering Downtown

I mentioned briefly in my last post about my time spent living on campus. After two years I'd had enough. I was lucky enough to know a few fella's that were to be vacating a nice, exposed brick, loft off the beaten path. My two buddies and I jumped right on it and we've been there ever since.

For awhile the new downtown pad operated much like an extension of campus. The dorms had forced me to move back home with my parents during the summers. I had no Knoxville identity other than UT.

My 21st birthday coaxed me out of the house and instilled a new fervor for patronizing a few downtown hotspots. The Downtown Grill & Brewery quickly became my favorite because of its proximity,  friendly service and affordable, locally brewed beer. And by locally I mean right there on the restaurant floor.

Through my "consistent patronage", home-brewing experience and a little luck I landed myself an opportunity to take part in a one-time, hands on brew with the brewers. This eventually led to the part-time job I hold there today as an unpaid apprentice.

You may enjoy a seasonal pumpkin beer but the old timers over in Europe would laugh at you. According to ACTUAL German law (Reinheitsgebot) Beer is made up of only four ingredients: water, grain, yeast, and hops.

So, downstairs just under the restaurant we begin the beer making process at 5:30 am by milling the grains. The grains are then sent back upstairs to the main brewing equipment and steeped in hot water, 155 degrees to be exact.

Once the hot beer tea, as I call it, is made and brought to a boil, the appropriate hops are added. Hops are added for their taste (most intensely shown by IPA's) and their preservative value (the oldtimer's mentioned before  were especially concerned with this).

Finally the wort, as it's known in this stage, is cooled and sent downstairs to ferment and become beer.

The only byproduct of this process, besides the beer, is a whole bunch of "spent grain" that has been steeped. At this point most of the nutrients have been taken from them. So we have a local farmer, Mr. James, that comes by a few days a week and takes the grain to feed his cattle. In turn we get occasional hamburger meat and a whole lot less trash to haul off.


The only job left to do now, is a little Quality Control!

Next time your thirsty, meander on over to the Brewery and have a taste of what Knoxville's got to offer.

Distraction Made Easy

This photo was taken at the top of the bluffs. What used to be private property has now been purchased by Legacy Parks and donated as county park land. It will soon be Suttree's Landing. (There's an article in this weeks Metro Pulse if you're interested in more info)

Distraction is natural and convenient, but comes with a heavy negative stigma these days. ADD is everybody's favorite thing to self diagnose and self medicate through. I think a little ADD (attention deficit disorder) is good for you and necessary for mental health. You've got to find your own personal balance between "going with the flow" and "sticking to the plan". Nobody wants to be the know-it-all, pencil-neck geek that lives, eats and breathes work. On the other hand, I never found much satisfaction in living like a total free spirit either. 

My college experience has been a sort of real life laboratory for me to hone in on my personal balance. I moved to Knoxville in 2008 and have since taken breaks from school and changed my major a few times, like a few of you may have done. I have finally chosen my path and live in my own definition of harmony between the two extremes of nerd and hippy. Bookworm and party animal.

Having lived in Knoxville for five years now, I’ve been around the block a time or two. The campus and dorm life was fun for a while and served me well in its time. After a few semesters, however, I began to feel boxed in. This lead to the realization that there is much more to this scruffy little city we call home than the TRECs and Hodges Library. While working for River Sports I got the chance to see this city from a different perspective. They had me leading day trips on foot, in the saddle and even in a kayak or two. I began to see other options Knoxville offers. 

Now when I get time to clock out of my new inside job, or steal away from the library, the GREAT OUTDOORS offers me a step towards my nirvana. 

I've posted here photos I took on a day spent hiking right inside Knoxville. Both are only a stone’s throw away from our beloved Mrs. Meredith’s classroom. So if you get the chance I'd encourage you to do some meandering of your own. 

This one is a view of Mead's Quarry, part of Ijams Nature Park and Knoxville's Urban Wilderness.