Special Visitors from Wisconsin!

Laurie and I do enjoy having guests at our home here in East Tennessee… We were very happy recently when Carla, one of Laurie’s cousins from Wisconsin, and her friend Diane decided to escape the cold weather and head south! 

Our home in the woods shines just a little bit more during the fall season.  Carla and Diane arrived at a great time of the year…beautiful mild weather…and lots of color.  As it turned out, their visit coincided with the peak of our fall foliage display. 

The ladies woke up to this sunrise on their first day with us… The flowers and plants on the deck, (facing east), and the front porch, (facing west), even survived for duration of the visit.  This was despite a couple of freeze warnings and some very low overnight temperatures.

This is a photo of Diane and Carla.  We have a couple of ‘must’ places and sights where we take all first time visitors.  One of the places is the Tellico Grains Bakery.  We purchased some terrific scones and cookies and we had some great sandwiches on fresh bakery bread for lunch.

FYI… Tellico Grains Bakery is located at 105 Depot Street in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Phone: 423-253-6911.  Website: http://tellico-grains-bakery.com/. 

Following lunch we headed on up into the Smoky Mountains following along the Tellico River.

The Tellico River rises in the mountains of North Carolina, but it flows mainly through Monroe County, Tennessee.  It is a major tributary of the Little Tennessee River and it’s one of the primary streams draining the Unicoi Mountains.  The Tellico River and its main tributaries are renowned for their brook, brown, and rainbow trout fishing. 

Our primary objective was to show off the Bald River Falls!  These spectacular waterfalls are more than 80 feet high…and they’re right next to a paved Forest Service Road.  The Bald River Falls is considered to be the most impressive and scenic waterfall in East Tennessee.

Carla, Laurie and Diane posed for me on the bridge overlooking the falls… The sunshine kept going behind clouds and then popping in again.

Laurie and I have visited this waterfall many times in the past 5+ years.  In the spring, with the rain and snow melt, it is truly an impressive sight.  In mid-summer, the younger crowd swims in the pool beneath the falls and some of them even jump into the pool from the rocks above the pool.

Diane took this photo of Laurie and me… I think that Laurie still likes me!

The forests of the Bald River and the Tellico River basins were almost completely logged off during the early 20th century.  The present road up the Tellico River was built on the old logging railroad bed.  The Bald River and 3,721 acres of its watershed are now part of the Bald River Gorge Wilderness.  The Wilderness area has an average elevation of 2,642 feet above sea level. 

I took this photo of the fall colors along the Tellico River right on the other side of the bridge over the Bald River.  That river joins the Tellico almost immediately after coursing over the falls…

This is another picture of the Tellico River looking downstream.  After it merges with the Little Tennessee River, the water flows into Tellico Lake which in turn merges with Fort Loudoun Lake. (Both of those ‘lakes’ are actually Tennessee Valley Authority reservoirs)

Note: The Tellico River is also very popular for kayaking, so if that's your 'thing', check it out!

Following our drive along the river, we turned onto the Cherohala Skyway. (TN Route 165/NC Route 143) This road has been designated as a National Scenic Byway.  The Cherohala Skyway crosses through the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina.  The name “Cherohala” comes from the names of the two National Forests: “Chero” from the Cherokee and “hala” from the Nantahala. 

This photo was taken by Laurie from the Brushy Ridge Overlook. (Elevation: 3,750 feet) 

The Cherohala Skyway is a wide-paved 2-lane road connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee, with Robbinsville, North Carolina, and it’s about 40 miles long.  The elevations range from 900 feet above sea level at the Tellico River in Tennessee to over 5400 feet above sea level at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line at Haw Knob.

Carla loves old cars, especially fast ones!  This 1951 Ford was ‘on display’ at the Brushy Ridge Overlook.  Its owner had a lawn chair on a grassy area where he could watch travelers admire his ride…

Laurie showed the ladies around our area, focusing on the available amenities.  This is a view of Tellico Lake from inside the Blue Heron Restaurant at the Tellico Village Yacht Club.  

To learn more about this restaurant and its great views, you can go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g55167-d3952798-Reviews-Tellico_Village_Yatch_Club_Blue_Heron_Resturant-Loudon_Tennessee.html.

I took this photo of Laurie and Diane. 

On this particular day, we all drove into Knoxville’s Turkey Creek area for a little shopping and dinner.  (Carla and Diane’s treat!) We chose Wild Wings Café.  They have great wings, sandwiches and salads as well as a full and reasonably priced bar…

I also took this picture of Laurie and her cousin Carla.  When I took this photo, the Wild Wings Café was fairly quiet… Before we left, the place had filled up with a jillion kids.  The restaurant was staging a big pre-Halloween pumpkin painting party. 

To find out more about this fun and food venue, you can go to http://www.wildwingcafe.com/locations/knoxville-tn.  Wild Wing Café also has locations in 6 other states…

I also took this photo of Diane, Laurie and Carla at the TN Route 444 north portal to Tellico Village in Loudon County.  The sunshine and I were in conflict when I took the picture…

To make the ladies feel at home, I was wearing a ‘north country’ sweat shirt from Traverse Bay in Michigan.  When Laurie took this photo, Carla thoughtfully tried to camouflage my slowly shrinking by still impressive girth…

That’s about it for this adventure… When I was writing this posting for my blog, it was 62 degrees and cloudy in Loudon County Tennessee.  It was 39 degrees and cloudy in Portage County Wisconsin!  Ladies…you may want to make a return trip in the near future!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Time for Some “Vittles”!

Anyone who reads my blog is well aware that I love to eat good food!  It makes it tough to watch my weight but between bouts of eating, I cut out the carbs, French fries, desserts, etc.  Consequently, I’ve managed to lose sufficient pounds for now…enough at least to keep my doctor happy! 

The struggle continues…but hey, food is one of my few remaining vices.  In my opinion, good food is one of life’s true pleasures.  The following  photos show some of the homemade foodie highlights we’ve experienced in recent months… 

I was inspired by Bev and Larry’s iteration on fried fresh corn from the cob.  (Larry’s blog can be found at http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/) So, using our iron skillet, I created a spicier version of the tried and true version that Bev and Larry had served us.

This was the finished product… For my fried corn, I added a bit of Benton’s ham and prosciutto plus some hot shot pepper mix and a bit of Jalapeno.  The result was spicy…with a bit of heat…but it was good!

While we were visiting our son David II, his wife Amy and our two grandsons, David III and Emmett Lee, Amy used her iron skillet and she produced these very nice pan-fried boneless chicken breasts.  They were just right, moist and tender with a very nice crust. 

Laurie coated these boneless skin-on chicken thighs with Costco’s Kirkland Brand Basil Pesto and a little bit of extra Hot Shot pepper mix.  Then she ‘oven fried’ them in grape seed oil.  They were very juicy and delicious!  Laurie prefers the dark meat of a chicken over the white meat...more flavor and I have to agree, a lot more tender and juicy.

 The finished thighs were plated with a nice heap of penne pasta with marinara sauce and some fresh shaved asiago cheese.  Of course I added Tabasco!  This was yet another very satisfying meal…

Pork is probably my favorite meat… One of my favorite pork entrees is the most simple…grilled boneless or bone-in country pork ribs.  This is the beef version as sold by our local supermarket.  This grilled ‘boneless beef rib’ had plenty of flavor but I must admit that it was a bit tough.  Our jaws got a workout!  It looks good but we probably won’t do this again…

Laurie’s cousin Carla and her friend Diane recently came down from central Wisconsin to visit us here in East Tennessee.  We had a great time with them…excellent house guests…and they brought a selection of Wisconsin cheeses with them as a gift.

We didn’t get around to eating any of the cheese until a couple of days after they left on their trek back to snow country.  One night we didn’t feel like cooking and I put together a very tasty cheese and meat plate for dinner.  For meats, we had a bit of salami, bites of beef stick, what I believe was a variety of Soppressata, plus some chicken salad from Fresh Market.  I plated the meats with a Super Sharp Cheddar, Swiss, Longhorn Colby, Pepper Jack and Gouda.  Delicious!!  THANKS CARLA AND DIANE!

The cheeses were all produced by Mullins Cheese.  Their retail store is located at 598 Seagull Drive, Mosinee Wisconsin.  Phone: 715-693-3205.  Their website can be found at: http://www.mullinscheese.com/.

While Carla and Diane were here for their mini vacation, we fed them pretty well.  Laurie started them out with a terrific comfort food meal consisting of slow cooked beef pot roast with carrots and her ‘special roasted red potatoes’ with gravy.  I made a big breakfast one morning with cheese eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and toast.  For their final dinner with us, we served them 2 spectacular racks of Big Dude’s slow smoked bar-b-que ribs.  They were a real hit!  THANKS LARRY!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

A Trading Post in North Platte Nebraska!

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t care much for shopping...or spending money on more ‘stuff’.  My better half will tell you that my favorite trick is to arrive at our destination so late in the day that she has little or no chance to shop.

However, based on a recommendation in our guide book, “Off the Beaten Path – Nebraska” by Diana Lambdin Meyer, our next stop was a “must” see…and a chance to stop makes Laurie happy too!

Well…here we are in North Platte Nebraska and, yes, that is a giant sign with a picture of Buffalo Bill Cody on it!  He appears to be guarding the fort beside him…

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman.  Buffalo Bill started working at the age of eleven after his father's death, and became a rider for the Pony Express at age 14.  During the American Civil War, he served from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865.  Later he served as a civilian scout to the US Army during the Indian Wars, receiving the Medal of Honor in 1872 for "gallantry in action" at Loupe Forke, Platte River, Nebraska.

This is the “fort” that Buffalo Bill is guarding… It’s the Fort Cody Trading Post.  The Trading Post is located just north of I-80’s interchange with US Highway 83 in North Platte. 

As per our guide book, “This place has the most eclectic collection of gifts, from astonishingly tacky trinkets to exquisite jewelry, pottery, western clothing, antiques and leather goods.  There are a zillion too many things to mention.”  As we learned during our visit, Fort Cody is also a museum of sorts…with oddities, old western clothing, Stetson hats, spurs, Buffalo Bill documents and other western memorabilia.

This is a BIG souvenir shop… This photo shows just one side of this many faceted retail establishment.  I can spot painted wooden plaques, wooden boxes, rubber chickens, religious items, signs, antique western wear, mounted hunting trophies and horns from longhorn steers. 

Opening in 1968 with the completion of I-80, this version of the Fort Cody Trading Post has now been in business and operated by the same family for 48 years!  

In May of this year, USA Today named Fort Cody as one of the 10 best places in the USA to buy souvenirs.  To view the complete listing, just go to http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/10greatplaces/2014/05/22/souvenir-gift-store-shop/9436173/.   In 2011, Travel+Leisure Magazine named Fort Cody as one of America’s Kitschiest Roadside Attractions.  Check it out at http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/kitschiest-roadside-attractions-in-america.

Yup…this is a two-headed calf!  I told you that this place is eclectic, perhaps even a bit weird…  In the stockade behind the fort, kids can explore a frontier jail, wagons, a log cabin and one of the few remaining ‘Muffler Men’ in the United States!  Yes, I didn’t know what a Muffler Man was either…

“Muffler Men” are a tribe of fiberglass titans, 14 to 25 feet tall, which stand watch along the American roadside landscape.  The first statues were holding big car mufflers, so the ‘tribe’ was named "Muffler Men."  The figure in Fort Cody’s stockade is a Native America brave that was originally used at a service station.  Believe it or not, RoadsideAmerica.com has a map and a listing with photos of “Muffler Men” across the entire USA.  You can check out these unusual American attractions at http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/37422.   

Buffalo Bill is even on display…although he’s not a taxidermy mount… This is one of the outfits he wore later in life when he was promoting his “Wild West Show”.   Buffalo Bill lived in North Platte for 32 years at his home known as “Scouts Rest Ranch”, which is located along the beautiful North Platte River.  We didn’t have time to visit his ranch during this trip...but it is a future destination for us.

Scout’s Rest became a state historical park in 1965.  Since then, his big Victorian mansion and the horse barn have been restored.  A wealth of Cody memorabilia has been acquired and placed on display.  Cody owned some 4,000 acres here.  The park encompasses 16 acres of the original ranch (including the house and barn) with another 233 acres in the adjacent state recreation area.  To learn more, go to http://visitnorthplatte.com/attraction/buffalo-bill-state-historical-park/.

This is another view of a corner of the Fort Cody Trading Post.  In this photo I can spot antique Native American beadwork and jewelry, a headdress, pottery, painted reed crosses and Buffalo Bill Plaques.  In another area, I spotted carved wooden animals, painted stones, mugs and John Wayne Toilet Paper… (I wonder if the latter product is licensed by the Wayne heirs)

I didn’t see any real firearms for sale, only replicas, but there were a couple of interesting knife/edged weapon displays like this one.  All of these items were priced for purchase.

To continue with the expansive selection of stuff offered for sale as the Fort Cody Trading Post… Let’s see, there is: food; candy; lots of western books, retro soda pop, play sets, t-shirts, cowboy and cowgirl outfits, puppets, leather goods including moccasins, western CD’s, soaps, 3D bookmarks;  Christmas ornaments…and more!

Buffalo Bill Cody was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West.  He started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars.  He founded his Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in 1883, taking his large company on tours throughout the United States and, beginning in 1887, even in Great Britain and continental Europe.

This is one view of the huge action Wild West show diorama on display at the Fort Cody Trading Post. 

  

Fort Cody Trading Post is the permanent home of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in Miniature!  The show, made by Ernie and Virginia Palmquist, took 12 years to carve and contains over 20,000 hand-carved pieces....  The grand parade features cowboys from all over the world, wearing costumes and carrying flags of their countries.  Inside the parade route are the circus acts that accompanied Buffalo Bill on his world tour, among them the snake charmer, the fat lady, and the knife thrower.

The detail and expanse of the Wild West show is pretty amazing!  There is a kitchen, eating area, a barber shop, a crooked game of cards.  There is even a tiny woman with a cigarette being flicked out of her mouth with a bull whip!

Here’s another vignette from the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. 

Wild West shows took the reality of the West and glamorized it for the eastern audiences in order to give it an exciting appeal.  The shows adapted western life to fit an exaggerated yet captivating image which the eastern audiences both expected and were intrigued by.  They were a marriage of reality and theater and were designed by the showmen to be both “authentic” and entertaining.

The Fort Cody Trading Post's miniature Wild West Show is animated, with many action figures and actions portrayed.  The show is activated for the benefit of tourists, kids and shoppers every half hour…

Various Wild West shows were developed.  They were all started by people with generally flamboyant names such as Dr. W.F. Carver, Pawnee Bill, "Buckskin Joe" Hoyt, and Mexican Joe.  Well known characters and performers such as Bill Pickett, Red Cloud, Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley made names for themselves in these venues.  In any case, the first, most famous and most successful of all these shows was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World.  To learn more about the Wild West show phenomena, just go to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_West_Shows.

This is one more view of some the detail of the Wild West exhibit.  It’s hard to conceive of the effort, patience and skill it took to create this huge diorama! 

Buffalo Bill Cody was a very interesting character and, in his time, he was probably the most famous personality or celebrity that there was.  He was pro-women’s rights, supported fair treatment of Native Americans and he started the movement to irrigate parts of the west to raise crops.  He also supported conservation by speaking out against hide-hunting and pushing for a hunting season.  To learn more about Buffalo Bill, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Bill.  

Even I was entertained by the exhibits and products for sale at the Fort Cody Trading Post.  The best part was that Laurie didn’t spend too much money!  We would recommend this interesting and extensive attraction to other travelers.  The Trading Post is located at 221 Halligan Drive in North Platte Nebraska.  Phone: 308-532-8081.  Website: http://www.fortcody.com/Home.html.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Penny’s Diner - North Platte NE

Another day exploring south central Nebraska and it was time for something to eat… Our destination for lunch was determined by some pre-trip on-line research on TripAdvisor.

This is Penny’s Diner in North Platte Nebraska.  Penny’s is situated right off of I-80 at the interchange with US Route 83 and it’s very visible from the expressway.  This diner was ranked #2 among all of the restaurants in North Platte.

FYI… U.S. Route 83 is one of the longest north–south U.S. Highways in the United States, at 1,885 miles.  The highway's northern terminus is north of Westhope North Dakota, at the Canadian border.  The southern terminus is in Brownsville Texas, at the Veterans International Bridge on the Mexican border.

The interior of Penny’s Diner has that standard diner feel and look… It was clean and orderly and our waitress was friendly and chatty.  Based on my research, Penny’s apparently has an arrangement with the adjacent Oak Tree Inn to provide room service and discounted meals for its clients.

We stopped for lunch after the normal meal time so not much was going on with the grill.  As you can see in the foreground, Penny’s has Tabasco in every booth…a critical point for me!  The grill cook was mildly annoying…with comments that were a bit inappropriate for positive customer relations.

I would have liked to dine at Penny’s at breakfast time… The breakfast reviews were the most positive on Trip Advisor.  Nevertheless, it was time for lunch and I ordered a cheeseburger.  While it wasn’t among the best burgers I’ve ever had, it was pretty good, still juicy and slathered with plenty of cheese.

Laurie’s burger with Swiss cheese was a lot neater and more lady-like than mine.  She agreed that it was a decent burger and it satisfied our needs.

Penny’s Diner is located at 473 Halligan Drive in North Platte Nebraska.

Phone: 308-535-9900.  Penny’s doesn’t have a website, but you can check it out at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g45737-d2285720-Reviews-Penny_s_Diner-North_Platte_Nebraska.html. As I wrote this posting, Penny’s had 51 Excellent/Very Good vs. 8 Poor/Terrible reviews. (There were 17 average comments) My normal standard is a ratio of 10:1 Excellent/Very Good to Poor/Terrible.  While Penny’s didn’t meet my “give it a try” criteria, it was the 2^nd highest ranked restaurant in North Platte…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Photos From Loudon County Tennessee

It’s time to take a break from our ‘travelogue’ of our trip to Nebraska which was back around the first part of September…

The following photos were all taken in Loudon County Tennessee… Sometimes we just have to ask ourselves, “Why travel when we live in such a beautiful area of the country?!”  We really appreciate where we live when we return home...

This is a view as framed by Laurie...from a hilltop looking East over Tellico Lake toward the Smoky Mountains.  Fall season was almost upon us.

This second view of the Smoky Mountains and Tellico Lake was taken by Laurie from another hill right around the corner from our home in the woods.

Tellico Lake is a reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1979 upon the completion of Tellico Dam.  The dam impounds the Little Tennessee River and the lower Tellico River.  The lake has approximately 16,000 acres of surface area with roughly 357 miles of shoreline.  This lake was the last major reservoir created by the TVA. 

This little buck was just browsing through our neighborhood building up his strength for his upcoming rutting season.  About 3 weeks ago, we had a herd of 8 or 9 young bucks pass through our yard… We’d never seen a herd of bucks before.

Laurie captured this scene... Crossing guard on duty!  Apparently this doe and her fawn have taken on the responsibility of ensuring that our local ‘rafter’ of Turkey safely crosses the road. (A group of Turkeys is not called a flock) The wild turkey is one of the largest birds in North America. An adult male can grow up to 4 feet long from his beak to his tail.  In spite of its large size and rather awkward appearance, the wild turkey is a powerful flier, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph over short distances. 

Well…I had to throw in one photo of the ‘beast’ that allows us to live with him and serve his every need.  We like his little pink rat nose and rat whiskers… He was in Laurie's lap for this photo.

This ‘little’ 151 foot yacht, the “Freedom” was docked at the marina in Lenoir City on Fort Loudon Lake.  This is the largest yacht we’ve seen on our lakes in the 5 + years that we’ve lived here.  The owner was apparently in the area for the Tennessee Volunteers vs. the Alabama Tide football game…and unfortunately for us “Vols” fans, the “Tide” did roll!

Tellico Lake and the adjoining Fort Loudoun Lake are above the last set of locks on the Tennessee River.  These 2 lakes are at the head of navigation for the river.  In the distance to the right of “Freedom” you can see the bridge over the Ft. Loudoun Dam as well as a line of barges headed downriver waiting at the lock.    

This is another view of “Freedom”.  From my research, I believe that she was originally the “Bella Bri”.  This tri-deck yacht was built in 2008 by Northern Marine in Anacortes Washington.  In 2012, she was sold and her name was changed to “Freedom”.  She has 5 master staterooms and operates with a crew of up to 12… The asking price in 2012 was $21,500,000!  For a video tour of this yacht, just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R85_mVksKAE.

I’m guessing that “Freedom”, which is based out of Ft. Lauderdale Florida, came around the tip of Florida and up that state’s west coast to Mobile Alabama.  From there, she would have come up the Tombigbee River to the Tenn-Tom Waterway (canal) and then into the Tennessee River near the Mississippi-Alabama-Tennessee border.  One of the crew members told Laurie that the trip took about 15 or 16 days.  Knoxville…and Loudon County can also be reached via water and a series of locks from Nashville, Pittsburgh, the Great Lakes, New Orleans, Omaha and Minneapolis-St. Paul.  To learn more about the Tenn-Tom Waterway, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee%E2%80%93Tombigbee_Waterway.

Laurie took this photo of a foggy early fall morning from our front yard.  As you can see, our home is surrounded by forest!

This is a photo I took of one of the holes at the Toqua Golf Course in Tellico Village, a former Cooper Development in Loudon County.  There are 3 18-hole golf courses in Tellico Village and the cost for playing these beautiful courses is very reasonable…even if you aren’t a resident!  To learn more about Tellico Village’s golf courses, just go to http://www.tellicovillagegolf.com/. 

This particular view of Tellico Lake and some of the homes in Tellico Village is from another hole on the Toqua Golf Course.  

Tellico Village is not a gated community and it’s not a retirement village per se.  The ‘Village’ stretches along roughly 9 miles of shoreline, occupies about 5,000 acres and has a population of between 7,000 and 7,500.  Homes cost anywhere from roughly $200,000 to $2,000,000 or more.  There are about 3,500 homes in Tellico Village with lots available for another 2,500 or so… To learn more about the “Village” and to check out a sampling of the homes and lots for sale, just go to http://tellicovillage.org/ and http://www.lakeside-realty.net/communities/tellico-village/.

That’s about it for now… It will be back to Nebraska for my next posting!  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave