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Kingsport - Johnson City - Bristol The Tri-Cities area
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Old 07-26-2009, 01:24 PM
 
4 posts, read 10,560 times
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My husband and I have spent our last several vacations scouting the central south for a retirement spot. We will be spending the second week of September in JC and checking out the NE corner of Tennessee.
What are some "must see" things to do (including restaruants not to be missed)? Are there any festivals that week that would give us some particularly local flavor? We enjoy history, science, outdoor activites, zoos, museums, and the like. We also both enjoy gem grubbing. Are there any local gem mining areas (we have "done" NE Georgia and the Franklin, TN area).
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Old 07-26-2009, 08:28 PM
 
Location: NE PA
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We've taken several 'vacations' to NE TN the past few yrs while looking for a lot to buy, and got to see a good bit of the area. Since you like science and museums, you'd possibly enjoy the fossil museum in Gray (outside of JC). It is an actual excavation site ( I think it's the only one on the east coast) as well. I also recommend Bays Mtn. outside of Kingsport. They have some animals on display, including wolves, a barge ride on the lake, a planetarium and more, besides beautiful grounds for hiking. Check out their website for more info. Enjoy your trip.
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Old 07-26-2009, 09:35 PM
 
Location: Sullivan County, Tennessee
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Your timing may just miss one of the biggest local events in September, the Bristol, VA/TN "Rythm and Roots" festival.
9th Annual Rhythm & Roots Reunion - September 18-20, 2009 | Celebrating Bristol's Musical Heritage

Bristol claims to be the "Birthplace of Country Music" based on the huge surge of popularity of the genre following the 1927 recording sessions in Bristol that brought forth the Carter Family, Jimmy Rogers, and several others. This is a huge event with many performers coming in from across the country and performing on several stages for three days starting September 18.

Regarding gem mining, the geology of this side of the mountains does not produce gem bearing rock. However, about an hour east of Johnson City is the Spruce Pine mineral district in North Carolina (mostly in Avery and Mitchell counties) that is abundant with gem bearing pegmatite formations and many mines (mostly worked out and closed). There are many roadside flume operations catering to visitors around Spruce Pine but my favorite is the Emerald City Mine and Museum Emerald Village Gem Mining, Gem Stone Mining North Carolina Attraction located on McKinney Mine Road somewhat south of Little Switzerland (Between Little Switzerland and Burnsville). This is one of my favorite areas to visit locally.

There are a couple of nice commercial caves in the area here also which are on the southern outskirts of Bristol. Bristol Caverns is just off US 421 going out of town toward South Holston Lake and Appalachian Caverns is just south of TN 394 at Blountville Boulevard, Turn off 394 next to Walgreens opposite Food City- this is near "the race track"- and follow the signs. Not sure how the road name came about but I think it is on Cave Hill Road. Great tours both places.
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Old 07-27-2009, 07:11 AM
 
4 posts, read 10,560 times
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Thank you so much for your replys. I am excited about finding this message board. I have lived in several places and am enjoying reading what people have to say. And I think it will be especially helpful in scouting out retirement spots.

Cougargm - thanks for the info on the Gray Fossil Museum (which I had already researched) and Bays Mountain (which I had not heard of). Both sound interesting. I am hoping to convince my husband that we can do the Knowville Zoo as a day trip. I have worked in zoos, nature centers, and raptor rehab facilities and I always am interested in seeing the local centers.

Jim37680 - my husband fed out pages and pages of festivals and I am trying to not look at all the ones I am going to miss! Rhythm and Roots looks really good! We might get down there in time to enjoy part of the Sycamore Shoals Celtic Festival. I also really appreciate the geological info. I had read about Bristol Caverns but didn't know about Appalachian Caverns. My husband will greatly enjoy visiting those. And I figured there would be little to no working mines in your area, but wanted advice from locals. We really enjoyed gold panning in GA and rock grubbing in NC. We will be sure to check out Emerald City and surrounding areas.

Thanks again for your responses. Looking forward to visiting the Tri-Citiies area!
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Old 07-27-2009, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Seattle
7,504 posts, read 17,120,825 times
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You might wanna check out the Ijams Nature Center, in South Knoxville, if you go to the zoo down there.
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