After a rather restless night, Ken was up at 6:30 and spent some time reading and doing e-mails. I got up at 7:45 and started prepping for breakfast and packing our lunches. Ken cooked breakfast while I got ready. I did dishes and then got a phone call from my Dad. The last several years he could not hear me when we tried to talk on the phone, but recently we are able to communicate. It was nice to be able to talk to him.
At 10 the 4 of us drove in our CRV to Kingsport, TN (about a 30 minute drive) to the trailhead of the the Kingsport Greenbelt Trail that runs 9.2 miles along the Holston River and Reedy Creek through the city of Kingsport. It is a historic trail, passing by Civil War sites, historic homes, landmarks, and bridges. It was a very nice trail with most of it paved and fairly level. It was nice to ride along the river and through the woods. We saw some deer, wild turkeys, ducks, geese, birds, a turtle, and playful otters!
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This was the beginning of the trail that we expected to be
paved and level - wrong!! |
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| What is this uphill about????? |
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| A nice riding trail when you get to the paved part! |
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| We saw numerous ducks.... |
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| ...went over several bridges.... |
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| ....this domestic duck. Who put him/her here????? |
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| Passed by a huge chemical plant in Kingsport! |
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| Even had a covered bridge! |
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| Canada geese too! |
When we got to the end of the trail, we walked along the water and met Rack Cross, a native of the area who works on the planning commission of Kingsport. He is also an avid bird watcher. We had such a good time talking with him. What a great ambassador for the town and all the things they are doing to improve the area. He only has very positive things to say about his town.
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| We are approaching the end of the trail that is surrounded by water! |
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| You had better stop here, Chuck! |
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| Not a bad view????? |
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This is Rack Cross who told us so much about the area and his
specialty - bird watching! |
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| Rack even got the otters to perform for us! |
We turned around on the trail and started heading back to the trailhead. We stopped at an historic site that had a log cabin that was the home of Daniel Boone and his wife for 2 years. It was brought to the area and reconstructed on this site.
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| This is the current day Netherland Inn! Well preserved! |
Daniel Boone and his wife lived in this cabin for 2 years.
Not too much room, but maybe as much as in Waldo!
Another primitive building that is now a gift shop!
We also stopped at a hanging cable bridge so we could walk/hop across (I love when they swing and sway) to Long Island of the Holston where 3 1/2 acres were given back to the Indians in 1973.
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| We were swinging and swaying! |
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| What a beautiful view! |
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A wall talking about the Indians that originally owned the land
and their tribe names! |
The last 3/4 mile of the trail is a tough ride. It is a rather steep uphill and loose gravel, making it tough to get good traction. Only Chuck made it to the car without getting off his bike. Well, after all, he is quite a bit younger than Ken and I!!!!
We were back to the car by 3 after riding 18 miles and felt we deserved a reward! So, we stopped at McDonald's where we all enjoyed a small ice cream cone - so good!
We made 2 other stops and arrived back at the CG by 5:15. Ken and I had a nice chat with Jamie and then the 4 of us sat outside to reflect on our time here in Bluff City. The weather has been great for bike riding and hiking and we loved both of the trails. The guys worked outside getting ready for tomorrow's departure and the ladies did the same inside. Ken and I had leftovers for dinner after showering.
Melissa and Chuck came over at 8 and it was another game night. The men were victorious on Tuesday and the women last night, so I guess tonight determines the real winners Bluff City! We only played Pinochle and the men won "big time"! Oh, they are driving tomorrow!
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Just another gorgeous tree we saw when
driving back to the CG. |
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