We are always looking for interesting things to do in any place we visit. Since Knoxville is small without much going on, in addition to exploring the downtown, we ventured out of town a few times. We wanted to go to the Oak Ridge National Lab, and we already had tickets, but it was closed due to the government shutdown. That gave us another free day to explore places outside of Knoxville.
On our way from Pigeon Forge to Knoxville, we saw a sign that said, Sam Houston Schoolhouse, this way so we figured we would check it out. Like many attractions in the area, the schoolhouse was just the way you would figure, small, wooden, and you pay to see it. They had a surprisingly compelling 6 hour video on Sam Houston’s life playing. We watched it for quite a while before we torture ourselves away to drive on.
Concerts
Mike always looks for interesting events, mostly related to music, for us to go to when we are visiting somewhere. It turns out that Knoxville is a pretty happening place for concerts. Mike found a Samantha Fish concert at the Bijou Theater in Knoxville around the time we were going to visit, so we planned our time in Knoxville to make sure we could attend that concert. Additionally, since we moved to a hotel in Knoxville a day earlier than planned, we were able to see the Yonder Mountain String Band in the same theater a few days earlier. Mike didn’t really enjoy the Yonder Mountain String Band because he couldn’t hear the lyrics over the instruments. Also, it was a little more rock and less country than we had expected.
I don’t know how many of you know that I have issues with loud concerts, and I don’t go anywhere without earplugs. I’ve even walked out on famous artists like Queen and Bruce Springsteen. I can tell you that the Yonder Mountain String Band was so loud that I had my fingers in my ears on top of the earplugs. My iWatch even gave me a warning about high decibels. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy this concert at all, and my arms were pretty tired by the end. Samantha Fish was much better. Also pretty loud but not unbearably so, I happened to enjoy her style.
Downtown Knoxville
The first night we were in town, we decided to go downtown and check it out, which was easy because it isn’t very big. We were heading to our selected restaurant from the parking lot and saw signs for an Art Walk that was happening right then. All of the galleries were open and serving drinks to guests. We stopped into a few galleries on our way to dinner. In artsy towns, which clearly Knoxville is trying to be, art walks are a great way to see the galleries.
Knoxville also has a street art program in a few alleys downtown. It really does make the city more interesting to visit.
Downtown also had a big plaza area that was pedestrian-only, lined with restaurants with outdoor seating and free parking. It was still pretty warm at the beginning of October when we were there, so we sat outside. Walking around was a nice way to spend an evening, but there wasn’t much to do besides the two theaters, a bunch of restaurants, and some bars. The same night as the Samantha Fish concert ZZTop was playing in the other theater down the street.
Lost Sea Cavern
This was one of the must-see attractions in the area, so we drove for a while and arrived at the Lost Sea Cavern. We had no idea what to expect, but when we got to the ticket desk, they told us it was a couple mile walk up and down stairs, so it was sounding more interesting. I figured they were joking about a boat ride on the Lost Sea, but I was wrong. Our initial descent was down a steel-reinforced corridor. I was really not sure about how this was going to work. But the walk through the cavern with its stalagmites and stalactites was really pretty and interesting. It was clear that there had been a lot of activity there because many of the formations were broken, and they take hundreds of years to grow.
It turns out that this cavern has had various uses over the last few hundred years. There was plenty of military storage and garbage, but the most interesting one was the bar accessed through a different tunnel. People would go down the stairs ok but many didn’t make it back up after their evening in the bar. There were also several whiskey stills; they kept one to show us. Then we came to an area where it was your choice to go into; this was the trail down to what turned out to be a lake, not a sea.
A Boat Ride on the Lake
In for a penny, in for a pound, I say so down we went. They pointed out that we had to climb back up, but there were rest stops along the way. At the bottom, as promised, is a beautiful freshwater lake with a dock and boats. So we loaded up and went for a boat ride on the “Lost Sea”.
We were all curious about the fish we saw in there, but there was no explanation. One of the owners thought the fish were a good idea, but they couldn’t breed down there, so they all eventually died. Today, the lake is stocked with fish, and they actually live for a few years. Another interesting thing about the lake is that you can see how the water comes in, but no one knows how it goes out. It must go out because the water level stays constant. They have even had divers looking for an exit, and they couldn’t find it.
Rock City
On another day, we took an excursion to a place advertised as allowing you to see seven states. So, we had to go look for ourselves. Our GPS took us to the entrance to Rock City, which is a private attraction that includes lots of walkways, tunnels, Lovers Leap, a waterfall, and whimsical gnomes. It turned out that you really couldn’t see seven states because they don’t actually join up, but the trails, Halloween decorations, swinging bridges, and gnomes were great fun. We actually spent hours following the trails to and from the main viewpoint.
Toward the entrance on our way out, we saw an entrance to “Fairyland Caverns” to intriguing to pass up. Inside was a series of lit dioramas of nursery rhymes. Each diorama was lit by a black light, and everything was painted with black light paint. As we went, we guessed the nursery rhymes that were depicted. Then we came to a big room with many different nursery rhymes depicted. I really think the entire thing was awesome and apparently, the vision of one woman in the 1930’s. Well worth a visit if you are in the Knoxville area.
Food in Knoxville
There isn’t much to say about the food in Knoxville. We dined at one highly rated place called the Kennedy but the rest of our food experience was good but not great. However, since I know some of you live for the food pictures, I’ve included some.
Where would you like to visit when you are in Tennessee?
