Many people put things off when they think they have all the time in the world. Oh, "I'll just do it tomorrow/next month/next year/later." Then one day you realize that time is up. And if you are like us, you try to cram it in while you still can -- IF you still can. That's been us these last two weeks!
When we first got here I created a big Excel sheet on all the things there was to do in this area of northeast Tennessee. This list came from brochures for neighboring cities and towns and from recommendations. I gathered this info for us to use, but then expanded it to give to Rocky Top for Joe and Sue to share with fellow campers. We didn't do too many of the travel/touristy adventures because we figured we had all summer!
Here is my list of the Attractions Near Rocky Top Campground. You'll see there are several pages (attractions & Event Calendar), and it was a work-in-progress.
Hopefully someday we'll be back in this region to do some of the following left undone:
- Roan Mountain - hiking the Balds
- VA Creeper Trail - riding Damascus to Abingdon, consider doing the annual Creeper Marathon (around March?)
- eat at Scratch Bakery in Johnson City
- Burke's Garden (in VA) - go road biking
- Breaks Interstate Park (VA)
- Cumberland Gap (KY)
- Smoky Mtns - more hiking and biking in Cades Cove (when road is closed for bikers)
- Bays Mtn Park - hike to the firetower (squeezed in on last day!), run the Bays Mtn 15 Miler trail run in Sept
- Linville Falls & Gorge (NC)
- Elizabethton - two waterfalls near town (Laurel Fork Falls and Blue Hole Falls)
- not getting Spirit into NC, VA and WV
- Grayson Highlands SP (near Damascus, VA - to hike on balds and see wild ponies
Some of our special finds that made our stay here that much more enjoyable included:
- running in Warrior's Path (roads & trails) or on the Greenbelt
- Fleet Feet - Phil's running group
- Kingsport Grocery Co (KGC) - good microbrews on draft
- massages by Olivia Raney at RedClover
- RedClover Yoga - especially enjoyed Vinyasa with Rebecca
- yoga on Tent Deck #3 at Rocky Top
- Wildflour Bakery (VA I-181, exit 19) in Abingdon
- homemade bread at Farmer's Market (from Scratch Bakery)
- Earth Fare - organic/veggie grocery store in J.C.
Hope you try to take advantage of some of these fun things if you're ever in the Tri-Cities area of northeast Tennessee!
No comments:
Post a Comment