Chasing Cars: Bristol (and the South)

[lhuff]

When I went through to Indianapolis that part of the Southeast was experiencing a drought. Great for my trip, but crappy for them.

Shreveport, on the other hand is catching the outer edge of all that rain that's flooding Texas. It's rained everyday here for about 3 weeks. In fact it's raining now and it appears that I'm going to be driving straight into it for the next few days.

[UKCraig]

Just heard on the radio... today is the 66th consecutive day that it has rained on London :o I am really looking forward to this trip!

[UKCraig]

Just discovered that you can now book tours of Mammoth Caves online. I was planning on chatting with someone at the visitor center before booking but at least booking now means we can get a tour in first thing in the morning and then hit the road to get down to Bowling Green in time for the factory tour.

What I don't know is what tour to do! Can anyone who has been previously offer some input? I was thinking of doing the 'Historic' or 'New Entrance' tour but I am slightly asthmatic (and pretty out of shape!) so the promise of 440-500 steps, together with the warnings on the tour description page, concerns me slightly. I'd hate to be the one delaying the rest of the group - how embarassing that would be - but the 'Frozen Niagara' tour sounds petty uninspiring! Help!

[UKCraig]

Have just booked a couple of places on the 'Historic' tour at 9am on the 27th. If I don't come back to this site after that... I've probably had a heart attack!

[UKCraig]

I'm off to the Great Smoky Mountains NP in a couple of weeks and the guy I'm going with has starting going on and on about the number of bears living there. He's convinced we're gonna get eaten to the death!

My suggestion was to take an air horn which he didn't seem to think was such a great idea. Maybe I should be having the last laugh now, and not just at his description of what he almost 'subccumbed to' :)

[Mark Sedenquist]

I'm off to the Great Smoky Mountains NP in a couple of weeks and the guy I'm going with has starting going on and on about the number of bears living there.

One of the very cool things about the Great Smokey National Park is, indeed, the number of black bears who live there -- I have read some estimates at ~1600. That being said, it is still unusual to see them.

My suggestion was to take an air horn

It is a good way to ensure that you won't be re-joining us on this Forum, because you probably won't survive the attack. If I was the bear that you "blasted" in such a way, I would maul you just on general principles. Singing and carrying a whistle is appropriate -- scaring a bear is just plain stoopid.

Mark

[RoadTripper Brad]

If I was the bear that you "blasted" in such a way, I would maul you just on general principles. Singing and carrying a whistle is appropriate -- scaring a bear is just plain stoopid.

I think we can all appreciate that Mark is on our side, and not a bear!

-Brad "Bear" McGarr
/And yes, that is my real nickname.

[Quebec Gen]

Sat 1st September start the day with a track tour of Atlanta Motor Speedway before returning to Atlanta to visit World Of Coca Cola, take CNN tour and visit Martin Luther King Jr Historic Site before returning to airport for return flight at 8.25pm

Might as well dig Atlanta a little further. My favourite part of Atlanta is the funky area known as Little 5 Points (not to be confused with 5 Points). It is very artsy, has a lot of art galleries, second-hand clothing stores, bookstores, curio shops. Also, check out the Druid Hills with its huge colonial manors and Piedmont Park in Midland. Centennial Olympic Park is quite nice with its fountains and flower displays. Decatur also has a lot to offer in terms of architecture, restaurants and nightlife. For happy hour, try out Feist restaurant, for dinner the Watershed Restaurant (owned by one of te Indigo Girls) and for live entertainment (blues/rock), head to Eddie's Attic. If you want to see some cool modern and often provocative art exhibitions, go to City Gallery East on Ponce de Leon. I doubt you'll have time for all of this but I just wanted to give you more options:o).

It is a good way to ensure that you won't be re-joining us on this Forum, because you probably won't survive the attack. If I was the bear that you "blasted" in such a way, I would maul you just on general principles. Singing and carrying a whistle is appropriate -- scaring a bear is just plain stoopid.

In my experience, the bears are usually more scared and eager to run away from humans. Each time I encountered bears on my camping or road trips, they were the ones running away first, even though I was petrified and scared to death. Even so, I always carry a whistle, peppers spray and a knife just in case. These probably wouldn't help much in case of a bear attack, but I don't carry them only for bears. Like Mark pointed, I wouldn't use an air horn because they are extremely loud and since most animals have very sensitive ears it might make them upset... My guess would be that a whistle will do the job, i.e. just by making a point of saying hey I'm here and I know you're there.

More and more national parks have bear-proof containers where you can put your food, toothpaste, shampoo and other stuff that might attract bears. If not, you can leave your stuff locked in the car. If you don't have your car with you (ex. : canoe-camping trips), put bungee cords around your cooler or bags and put it as far away from your tent as possible : in the canoe or in a tree, although, in my experience, the tree thing doesn't work that well for backpacks, since squirrels and other small creatures will get to it...and eat all of your precious chocolate treats (%$!#). Also, some bigger animals might be able to make things fall off the tree. In the morning, your stuff will be all over the campsite and possibly running down the river (been there done that too)...

Have a nice trip!
Gen

[UKCraig]

Thanks for the tips, Gen! I will definately print these out and take them with me. Everything is pretty tightly planned (which I don't actually like to do, believe it or not) with the exception of the Atlanta part. I didn't really know what to do there so these tips could come in very handy.

I'm sat at my computer, right now, printing off all the various bits and bobs that I've booked for this trip. I'm now officially looking forward to the trip! :) I must chase my travel insurance though, I don't seem to have got that through the post and, with those bears, and those steep trails, I might need it!!

[MrsPete]

The Varsity . . . World of Coca Cola or perhaps the Aquarium . . . Ruby Falls. . . Dollywood

The Varsity is really a cool place to eat -- it's worth going out of your way a bit. World of Coca Cola is more fun than you'd expect. Ditto for the aquarium. Ruby Falls is definiately worth a stop. I'm pretty sure Dollywood's been torn down and replaced by a shopping center -- not a big loss; it was a mediocre theme park.