Cheers to Gatlinburg

Posted on February 28, 2014February 28, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Like I always say I learn so much from my friends and readers. One of the comments on my post in Facebook was from a friend of mine who currently lives in Atlanta , Ga. He’s been a wonderful host when I visited that city and has a wealth of knowledge about many of the southern states.

Here’s his comment : Love the the mtns in spring. Gatlin now has moonshine and whisky tasting stores too

I saw the listing for the moonshine and whiskey distilleries. Let’s start with the Moonshine Distillery . They aren’t backwoods hillbillies anymore. They have a web page.

OLE SMOKY DISTILLERY

The Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery, “The Holler”, is America’s most visited distillery and produces all of our signature flavors.

A visit to Ole Smoky Distillery is the true moonshine experience. As you approach the   entrance, the distinct smell of cooking and fermenting grains takes over your senses. Here, you’ll see authentic-working moonshine stills and take in the entire process – from beginning to end. Our distillers like to visit with folks. They’ll be glad to answer your questions about the history and lore of moonshining in East Tennessee.

After you see, smell and hear about the process, treat yourself to a free taste of our homegrown shine!

Choose from samples of our Original Unaged Corn Whiskey, White Lightnin’, Moonshine Cherries, Blackberry, Our World famous “Apple Pie”, Strawberry, Peach and Lemon drop. We also offer seasonal and special flavors that aren’t available in package stores. You’ll be able to buy plenty of moonshine and Ole Smoky merchandise to take home with you.

I remember my dad making home brew when I was a kid. After the beer he always made some root beer for us underage drinkers. I loved the smell of all that fermenting. I bet I’ll like the smell of the distillery too and I doubt a small taste will hurt me.

The Frenchman Orleans

Posted on February 22, 2014February 22, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Leaving Kansas City to stew for a bit, the next state with an exchange is Louisiana. Now I think if I want to go to Louisiana that I should plan that for the winter or it will be hot and humid! When I talked about visiting Louisiana I mentioned New Orleans and low and behold that’s where the exchange is!

Sure enough the 1 timeshare exchange is in the Frenchman Orleans. The web site describes it as ” Bridging the French Quarter and the Faubourg Marigny, the Frenchmen Hotel is located on Frenchmen near everything: nightspots, hip cafes, and some of the world’s finest restaurants. Just steps away, you’ll find exquisite shopping, museums, and a bunch of excitement! The Frenchmen Hotel is truly the place to start and end your days of French Quarter discovery!”

That sounds exciting! But then the web site goes on to say they are undergoing renovations. 🙁

I can think of a few friends that wold love to be in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras so I’m pretty sure I’ll have company on that visit.

If I/ we can tear ourselves away from the partying I’d like to visit the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. The Aquarium is located on the edge of the French Quarter, facing the mighty Mississippi River at the foot of Canal St.

Not far away Audubon has a Butterfly Garden. Those are always great places to visit.

New Orleans also has a Zoo and I always try to visit zoos when I travel. I even visited the Zoo in Hawaii!

Of course I’d have to visit the swamps and bayou and there seems to be a ton of tours to chose from. There are City Tours, Swamp Tours, Cemetery Tours, Ghost Tours and plantation Tours. I want to do them all!

I’ve missed Mardi Gras this year but many of the comments on various travel sites downplay Mardi Gras and recommend Springtime around May.

Something to think about.

Anchorage

Posted on July 6, 2013July 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As Mr. Roberts would say “It’s a lovely day in the neighborhood.” And that would be very true here in Anchorage. Sunny and warm, a perfect day! We ate breakfast in the hotel. When we were ready to go exploring the doorman pointed us in the right direction. It was just a couple of blocks to the Visitor Center, a sod thatched log cabin right there on a main street.

Our plan for the day was the Anchorage Zoo. There was a shuttle from the Visitor Center right to the Zoo. We got there just after the shuttle had pulled out so we had about 30-40 minutes to wait. I wandered the street exploring the souvenir shops while Sandy went into the Visitor Center and chatted with the ladies working in there.

Nearby was a Cultural Museum. That would have been interesting if there was more time. The totem poles were different.

One of the stores had a big plush bear in front of it.

Another was called “Once in a Blue Moose.” How cute is that !

I loved the Blue Moose totem pole by the door.

Look at that! They have a sign post! The first time I ever saw one of these was in Hawaii. Its a sign post with the distance to other places like North Pole. San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and so on. It’s always interesting to see what places made it onto a sign like this.

A trolley was offering city tours and if we’d had more time that would have been high on my list of first things to do. Trolley tours at a new location are one of the best ways to get the “lay of the land” but since we were only going to be here one day the zoo was a better choice.

When the Zoo shuttle arrived and we got settled, the driver told us how nice it was to finally get sunshine and warm weather. Like everyone else she said spring had come late this year. Normally the weather we were getting now should have started 2 weeks earlier. Just our luck!

It was about a 20 minute ride to the zoo. We were dropped off right by the entrance. We’d have about 1.5 hours before we’d have to catch the shuttle back so we could get back to the hotel for our shuttle to the airport. The driver said it was a little zoo and that we’d have plenty of time.

Maybe now I’d finally get to see some of the iconic Alaskan animals that had been eluding me.

Time for a little TLV (Tour, Lunch. Visitor Center)

Posted on June 28, 2013June 28, 2013 by Dusty Roads

So far the tour had been ok. I had hoped we’d see more animals. We’d scoured the mountainsides for Dall Sheep but there weren’t any around. No bears either even at a distance.

We did see a couple more moose and then some caribou.

The guide finally addressed the issue of gulls in the middle of Alaska.

They are called Mew Gulls. And according to him they migrate here to nest. They usually build their nests in trees or even on the ground as long as they are near water. Each time I/we saw them there was a river or pond nearby.

We even got back to the lodge in time for lunch.

Thinking we might be able to save a couple of dollars (or a few pennies) we went to the Base Camp restaurant next to the King Salmon. Turns out they are really the same restaurant just different names. I didn’t quite get the logic there. They share the kitchen, the menu is the same and so are the prices.

Both Sandy and I ordered the fish and chips. It was so good. Not cheap (or inexpensive) but worth every penny.

Then we wandered through the souvenir shops before heading to the shuttle for a trip to the Visitor Center.

After all, I had to get my National Parks Passport Stamped because who knows when I’ll ever get back to Denali again.

The Visitor Center was awesome. There was a small museum nearby that we never even got to go to because the displays in the Center were so good. I got my passport stamped and then we explored the exhibits.

We saw more animals in the Visitor Center displays than we’d seen the whole trip. There were dioramas of Moose

and bear

and wolves.

The Dall sheep looked magnificent.

The Golden eagle was caught in the act of snatching it’s dinner.

The conservation message was clear. Even the smallest things can make a big difference even tipping the balance of nature. I couldn’t help but think of the endangered Piping Plovers back home.

The Athabaskans, the First People, understood this and still respect the delicate balance of man and nature today.

Finally one of my favorite posters…Dogs Don’t Run Out of Gas…I loved that and it was a reminder that we needed to catch the shuttle back because we were going dog sledding this evening.

Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge

Posted on June 26, 2013June 26, 2013 by Dusty Roads

What a long day. It may not have been strenuous but as anyone who has ever been confined in a tight place, whether a plane, a train or other form of transportation, for a number of hours can attest, that gets very tiring very fast. In the end our train ride was 11.5 hours! If it had been more roomy I’d be cheering that we got the extra time!

The dinner show was “the Music of Denali”. It’s the story of the first summit of Denali (Mt McKinley) told in song and dance .

The players are also our waiters and waitresses. They even get some of the audience involved. Dinner was sliced beef or salmon. The beef was good. I think Sandy ate the Salmon and I’m sure it was good. After all, this is Alaska! By the time the show and dinner were over and we headed back to our room, dusk was finally starting to fall.

Tomorrow we had the park tour in the morning and the dog sled tour in the late afternoon.

The Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is located on the Nenana River Canyon one mile from the entrance to Denali National Park. A shuttle runs from the lodge to the visitor center on a fairly regular schedule.

The layout of the lodge is not like a hotel. The rooms are arranged in separate bungalow style buildings. They are built in a very rustic style and named for various animals. Our building was “Wolf Den”.

The beds were large and comfortable but we both noticed that there was very little heat in the bathroom.

There must have been some or the pipes would have frozen but it sure didn’t feel like it! Just part of the ambiance.

Even though we are on Princess property, there is no “on-board” account and meals are not included. We’re on our own. There is a “strip” of stores, souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants across the highway from the main lodge but we stayed on the Princess properties for our meals.

In the morning I was out first and discovered the canyon while waiting for Sandy. I was hoping to see some animals but no luck just, of all things, sea gulls!

Once Sandy caught up with me we headed over to King Salmon (the main restaurant) for breakfast.

The Princess hospitality continued as the waiter was top notch. I think he was from Florida too. It was amazing how many of the staff were from other states.

I’m not sure we met any Native Alaskans working on the property.

Following breakfast which was the size a lumberjack might want, we started working our way slowly up to the main lodge. (I never did manage to finish a whole breakfast the whole time we were there)

We really got a kick out of the carvings for sale with their little signs.

The main lodge was a 2 story affair with a souvenir shop, courtesy internet (15 minute limit) , and a coffee shop on the first floor. The 2nd floor was filled with comfortable chairs and couches where everyone waited for the tour buses. There was a registration desk and a tour concierge located there too.