Great Smoky Mountains

Good Morning Blog Pals!  Little Fox here just hanging out near the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  This park shares the border of Tennessee and North Carolina and is home to the Cherokee Indians and many homesteaders who settled in the valleys near the mountains.  There is a famous musician who grew up in the mountains.  Do you know who she is?

This park is a little different.  The way the government acquired this park was through purchasing private land.  Mainly from Timber companies but also from local residents.  There is a lot of hiking (over 800 miles of trails) and I have a map and I am ready to go.

At this spot in 1940 president Roosevelt dedicated this park.  Many of the trails, hiking shelters and roads were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s.  This was a program to ease the burden of families during the depression.  Kids in their early 20s and late teens could join a corp, work, and learn a new skill.  They were paid $30 a month and $25 was required to be sent home to their families. 

Here's president Roosevelt in 1940.

Here I am in 2018.

A great viewpoint.  Which state am I in?

The Appalachian Trail.  Thanks CCC for building this trail. Huh, only 1972 miles to Maine.  That seems feasible.

A wild rhododendron. 

I am on the lookout for more wildflowers. 

Trail junction.  Which way to go?

Looks like my roommates took me to the Jumpoff first. 

Not a bad view.  Next stop?  Charlies Bunion.

Beary scenic.

Time for lunch?  On the trail back home it was time to stop at the trail shelter.  On the Appalachian Trail, most thru hikers (those who hike the 2000 miles or so) often stay at the trail shelters.  The CCC built many of these buildings.

Very rustic and pretty nice accommodations.  Perhaps a snack bar would drive more traffic to this shelter?

A new adventure

Today's adventure in Cincinnati starts with a walking tour in a really nice neighborhood.  This house might be a good rental for me and my stuffy friends.

This house isn't available for rent but maybe this one is.  It does have a mural on the side of the house, that would be an easy place for all of my stuffy friends to locate.

Attention:  Everyone be careful.

A beary cool fountain in a nice park.  My goodness I am getting hungry for some famous Cincinnati food. 

Oh yeah.  Skyline Chile.  Not a bean based, Texas style chili but a more Greek flavor chili.  It's so good. 

They start you off with some crackers.  I recommend them. 

This fox came here for chili, where is it??

Oh my goodness!  This chili looks amazing, I can't wait.

Mine, all mine,

Flash forward to the next day.

I have had a chance to explore Cincinnati and now we are off to the Smoky Mountains.  Lot's of rain today.  Perhaps if I take a lunch break the rain might go away. 

My goodness, this rain is so intense that it's flooding the street.

Perhaps relaxing with a beer sampler will take this fox's mind off of the rain.

Yep, the beer worked.  This fox is happy. 

A proper vacation

Hi Gang, I am hanging out at the airport wondering where my roommates are going to take me.  Do you think I am flying first class?

First class?  Yeah right, I don't even get a full seat.  What stuffies put up with for a good vacation. 

8 or 9 hours later I have arrived in the Queen City, that's right Cincinnati Ohio.  They have a huge chair for me to relax in.

After lunch at the Findlay market it's time to explore. 

This is a cool church.

This is the opera house.  

More opera house.  It's huge!

Cool old buildings.

Narrow alleys.

I am staying at my roommates friends house.  Hello world, meet Dylan. 

World meet Stella.

And there is a special guest.  He used to spend most of his time running around the Southwest chasing a certain road running animal.  Hello blog pals meet Wiley Coyote.

A great first day.  So much to see in Cincinnati. 

Recipe #2 - Ajdin's Salmon

Hello Blog Pals,
It's time for another recipe from my recipe contest.  Today, I am featuring Ajdin's salmon. Ajdin has the coolest toys, here he is showing off his salmon puzzle, I hope his recipe isn't too puzzling.

Enough chit chat.  Let's get to work. 

Step 1:  Get salmon and defrost it. 

Step 2: Begin organizing the ingridients.  Lemon juice (what not fresh, ugh humans).  Oyster Sauce for a little saltiness.

Don't forget the garlic powder and lemon pepper. 

Voila.  A little of this, a little of that and mix it all together. 

Preheat oven to 375.  Layer a cookie sheet with tin foil, place salmon on foil.  Spread the sauce over the salmon.  

Well, it's baked but I think it needs a nice side of rice.

A

Ah, this looks better. 

Thanks Ajdin for sharing your salmon recipe.  Time to eat!