HAPPY THANKSGIVING -

"When you arise in the morning, 

give thanks for the morning light,

for your life and strength.

Give thanks for your food,

and the joy of living.

If you see no reason for giving thanks,

the fault lies with yourself."

~Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief

THE BITMORE ESTATE - How the wealthy lived in the 1900's

Geni and I took a side trip to the Biltmore Estate near Ashville NC. I though the Deering Estate in Florida was awesome, this place is the most incredible Estate I have every seen! No expense was spared in building this stunning piece of American architecture. It took Geni and I over 5 hours of walking and climbing, and we only seen a small part of the estate. Owned by the Vanderbilt family still today.
LINK: http://nchistory.web.unc.edu/the-biltmore-estate/


                                                         

Fireplace in main dinning room

Main dinning hall was amazing

Mrs. Vanderbilt bedroom

Home under construction in 1894

Dinning hall

The cigar room for after dinner

The Greenhouse was incredible , thousands of plants and flowers 

Going to the GREEN HILLS OF TENNESSEE

We bid Ohio goodbye and here we come to TENNEESSEE!
Something about the great state of Tennessee, the people are so friendly and they talk with that cool southern draw, the state is so beautiful its like going back in time to a more simple place! We really never want to leave when we are here, and someday we never will!





 NASHVILLE

We met our nephew and his finance here

THE RYMAN THEATHER Where it all started!

VIEW OF NASHVILLE FROM OUR HOTEL ROOM

PUNDERSON STATE PARK - Vist with friends and Family

It was a long and mostly boring drive across the country to our old hometown of Wiloughby, Ohio.
We drove a little over 2700 miles, we drove thur a snow storm in Colorado, and a rain storm in Iowa.
We finally reached Ohio and camped at Punderson State park that is about 20 miles south of Wiloughby. We spent a couple of weeks visiting family and friends and was sad to leave!

our camp its still fall here!

Son, Brother and I rode a 5 mile Mt bike trail

Son catching air!

Me catching a break

Punderson lake

It was almost Halloween and I took my son and Grandson to The old Mansfield state prison that is rated one of the top 10 haunted buildings in America! They have special spook tour for Halloween!
It was awesome and very scary!!

The Ohio State Reformatory, also known as the Mansfield Reformatory, is a historic prison located in Mansfield, Ohio in the United States. It was built between 1886 and 1910 and remained in operation until 1990, when a United States Federal Court ruling ordered the facility to be closed. While this facility was used in a number of films, TV shows and music videos, it was made famous by the film The Shawshank Redemption when it was used for the majority of the movie.

A VAST WILDERNESS - Canyonlands National Park

Geni and I spent 14 glorious days in the Moab area of Utah. What a awesome area to explore, it has it all a perfect dry climate and miles of hiking, biking, jeeps tours, etc. Canyonlands NP is totally the opposite from Arches NP in that Arches is only a few miles from downtown Moab and very popular with lots of people! Where Canyonlands is almost a 100 miles from Moab and very remote with few people! They both offer camping and visitor centers but that is a far as a comparison it goes. Thousands of square miles of spectacular scenery and desolation await you here.
Link to Park

 

 

 

One of the largest natural bridges in the world

We climbed this 1000 feet vertical  to reach some Indian ruins

not much of a trail just climb straight up till you reach the top

We made it yea!

Not a bad view on top!

The Aztec that lived in this vast desert stashed corn and seeds for future use in these hidden handmade stone structures

A really GRAND VIEW in a really GRAND PARK!