Christmas Trains Updated

Our family loves garden trains, so I was very excited to discover The Holiday Express garden train display at the UT Gardens.  Hopefully, we will be checking it out this weekend.  Hours and rates at the link.

Update:  Yes, the garden trains were lots of fun.  They had a number of different trains running on various loops, including a Thomas the Tank Engine train, a UT train, a John Deere train and, even an aquarium train with actual fish.  For an aerial view, there is a raised bridge in the middle of the display.

The display runs daily, noon to 6:00, until Dec. 29th.

If it's a nice day, you're free to walk the grounds of the UT gardens.  The grounds have lots of fun sculpture and interesting little paths to walk down. Great for kids.  Do note: that is Neyland Dr. in the middle ground, so the gardens, while lovely, are not very peaceful.  

East Tennessee History Fair

I'll be missing the East Tennessee History Fair due to a prior commitment, but it sure looks like fun.  Friends of the Library is having a history book sale and Jack Neely will be signing books.  There will be music, free trolley rides and open houses at the various historical sites near downtown.  Maybe next year.

Fightin' the Power at Market Square

Picture by Glenn Reynolds:

"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and Urban Farming

I've been enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. She describes her family's move to a small farm in southwest Virgina and their attempt to grow all their own food or buy it locally for one year. 

I have never harbored a secret desire to farm, but this book has inspired in me a desire to grow asparagus and... keep laying hens.  So I was delighted to discover that residents can now keep hens inside the city limits of Knoxville.  We're civilized here though: No chicken coops in the front yard.

Cades Cove

The in-laws were in town, so we decided to do a little touristing and take them to Cades Cove.  It's in the Smokies, about an hour from Knoxville.  The drive is very pretty once you pass Townsend, but be warned, the twisty road made my 10 year old very car sick.

Just before the park entrance, there is a great little picnic area with a creek just right for wading:

The cove is looped by an 11 mile, one-way road. Along the road are a number of buildings original to the cove.  Some are at the side of the road, some are an easy hike into the forest.  A guide book describing all the sights can be purchased for $1 at the entrance.

The cove is a great spot for wildlife viewing. We saw deer, wild turkeys and a tiny black dot in the distance that was rumored to be a bear.  The park is notoriously crowded in the summer and on the weekends. We visited on a Thursday morning in June and found it somewhat crowded, but we didn't experience any traffic delays. 

University of Tennessee Arboretum

The UT Arboretum is a great place for a quick hike. It's easy to get to from Knoxville, just off the Pellissippi on the south side of Oakridge.  The visitor's center is not open on the weekends.  The trails are pretty well marked, but you might want to print out a trail map before you go.  The map lists the mileage of the various sections and the trails interconnect at various points, making it easy to customize your hike.

We hiked the Oak Hickory/Lost Chestnut Trail with a three-year old and it was just perfect.  Challenging enough to be interesting, but not long enough to wear her out to the point of exhaustion/tears.

Chalk Walk 2011

Chalk Walk is a street painting festival held as part of the Dogwood Arts Festival.  It takes place in Market Square and Krutch Park.  Anyone can apply for a patch of sidewalk on which to create a picture in chalk.  The weather this year was sunny and warm.  We really enjoyed watching the artists work, but keeping a three-year-old from stepping on the art was more challenging than I had anticipated. 

We arrived at 9:00 am, because my older daughter's school class was doing a group picture.  We had no trouble getting a parking space in one of the free garages by the square. However, when we left about 1:00, that same garage was swamped, with cars backed up into the street. 

Here are a few pictures of the artists at work.  

College of Veterinary Medicine Open House

We visited the UT College of Veterinary Medicine's open house over the weekend and the kids had a good time.  When we first arrived there were all types of dogs available to pet.

 

Knoxville Greenways

The Knoxville area has an impressive system of greenways for walking or biking. I haven't found a map that includes the entire system, since it runs through three jurisdictions.  However, the Knox Greenways Coalition maintains a list of all the greenways in the area with links to maps of the various sections

We found this great little spot near a favorite playground: