We drove up and down I-75 many times as we headed south and north. We always just drove by The Lost Sea and said that it was something we wanted to see. But, we were always in a hurry to get where we were going, so of course, never stopped. This year we were at Raccoon Valley RV Park, just north of Knoxville. This was the closest we have ever been to The Lost Sea so I asked Jim if he wanted to go, and we decided to see it. The day we were scheduled to go dawned crisp and sunny, so it was a good drive down I-75. We got there about 1/2 hour earlier than our scheduled time, so we sat along with the others scheduled for the 2pm tour, and waited for our guide. That was the only time Jim enjoyed being here.
The Manhattan Project was a top secret mission. It was the largest industrial project ever conducted. The race to the moon, 20 years later, does not compare with the magnitude of this endeavor. Even more extraordinary, the scientific and industrial advancements that resulted in the first atomic bomb occurred quickly -- just under three years. The Manhattan Project succeeded through the unprecedented collaboration of multiple nations, military agencies, scientists, and industries. Despite its many participants, the project was conducted in secrecy. Even U.S. Vice President Harry S. Truman did not know it existed, until becoming president upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. To understand the complex story of the Manhattan Project, you must understand its context -- the context of a particular place in time, of a world at war, and of the unique personalities of those involved. The K-25 History Center tells this story.
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| K-25 Center |
Every year during Knoxville's Dogwood Arts Festival, the Baxter Gardens are open to the public for the entire month of April. It is comprised of 15 gardens, which connect through walking trails or the road. They have a beautiful printed map of the gardens and the paths connecting all the gardens are well kept. There were a lot of flowers that had not bloomed yet, so we did not walk the entire gardens.
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| Mock Orange Tree |
Yes indeed, there is actually a museum dedicated to the four legged feline pet. Dr. Harold Sims is a retired biology professor and his wife Kay set up a no-kill cat shelter in 2002 right next door to their home in Sylva, North Carolina. The museum was conceived as way to share their vast cat-themed collection with feline lovers, document the history of human-cat interaction, and raise money for the shelter. On most days, Sims is at the museum, adding to the unique experience with stories about the exhibits. Dr. Sims was at his American Museum of the House Cat on the day we visited. He was showing some people around and then started talking to Jim and me about the various phonographs he has and played some records on them -- all still working great. He had just celebrated his 88th birthday just last week, but he is still going strong.
Detsadanilvga ~~ Welcome. The Cherokee people have told stories for many generations, passing them from generation to generation. These stories tell important lessons about how to live in the world as a Cherokee person. Stories also preserve history, entertain people on long winter evenings, explain how things came to be, and recount marvelous and supernatural happenings. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian help tell those stories.
The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void. The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley's "Believe-It-Or-Not" cartoon about "the only place in the world where snow falls upside down." Visible from The Rock down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Rockies).
