Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Visiting Dixie – Day 5 Part 1

Tuesday was a pretty full day. We started out in Knoxville, TN, woke up early and drove north into Kentucky for a trip on the Big South Fork Scenic Railway. Little did we know that the federal government would consider it essential to send a crew out to blockade the railway’s privately-owned tracks the day before. Had we known, we would not have pre-bought our tickets the night before. Because of the little snafu, instead of touring the scenic trip to the mining town, we took a shorter trip along the river where their Halloween train travels in the evenings.

But before the train took off we watched what we, at first, thought was a rocket taking off in the distance.

Carolinas Day 5 part 1 01Carolinas Day 5 part 1 02Carolinas Day 5 part 1 03Eventually, Chris was able to zoom in enough to see that it was, in fact, a plane. I have to say, I was kinda disappointed…

Carolinas Day 5 part 1 04Most of the trip was pretty slow and uphill and most of the scenery looked the same until we hit some Halloween decorations or the tunnel… Pretty, but not what we were expecting.

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We did pass through a mining town that is now a hotel and cabins for tourists.

Carolinas Day 5 part 1 12 Carolinas Day 5 part 1 09 Carolinas Day 5 part 1 10 Then we arrived at our destination: a hastily constructed platform (built the day before), 4 picnic tables and a couple of rented porta potties. Not the greatest place to spend a 45-minute layover. But we made the best of it by wandering down the tracks and crossing the yellow caution tape to take a couple of pics…

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On the return trip, about 5 minutes from the station, the engine’s brakes locked and we were stopped. So we waited for about 20 minutes while they went to the service garage and pulled out a second engine to hook up and pull us back. It was the last engine to pull a coal train. That last trip must have been a bit too much for it because we really weren’t sure we were going to make it. But the sparks and flames coming from the wheels did make it a little more exciting.

With the train trip a sort of bust, we headed back south to Knoxville and a few things we had driven by that morning.

First stop: The Second Happiest Place on Earth!

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There are fireworks stores all over along the interstate and I just had to stop at one even though we couldn’t buy anything. But just being there, made me happy! How could you not love a place with fireworks, a pink elephant, a giant clown and $3.01 gas??? They had so many cool things and we hadn’t even seen any fireworks yet!!!

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Being there made me miss the boys and also made me think about my brother and grandpa. They all would have loved it there! Yes, I come from a long line of pyros! :o)

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This is what makes America great!

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