Do I hear them out there again? Yes they are!
Welcome to the small community of Norris, Tennessee, home of today's match at the Norris Disc Golf Course. This is a free-to-play nine hole course situated within the woods in the heart of the small, hillside, yet somewhat self-contained city. This is a short but technical course, and although any shot trackers you use won't be the most accurate, the signage to guide you around is some of the best you'll find in the country. Our players will be playing the short tees for the first six holes, and the short baskets for the final three. How did our players fare?
Course Result:
His Holes: 2
Halved: 6
Her Holes: 1
Course Record: Him 10 - 4 - 15 Her
Holes Record: Him 67 - 98 Her
Hole one had a bit of an odd start with a converted shuffleboard court being a sideways tee, as our players halved this. Hole two saw him have some bad tree luck along with a missed putt, as she made par to take the lead. Though the trees would continue to plague him on the third, she found herself deep into the rough leading to another halve. Four would see a more respectable four-shot from each of the players to keep it close. However, a bad shot into the rough on five gave him the opportunity to tie the score, and he capitalized. After a halved hole on the six, a missed putt from her led to him taking a difficult seven and the lead in the match. He almost gave it back in the rough, but a missed putt allowed him to scramble back to a halve. Trading missed putts on the nine, he was able to hold on as our players halved the hole. The shot count was 43-all.
He is now in the double digit win column, but can he gain any momentum from this? We'll find out next time, but until then, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Trip number 25 saw the Freedom Rolling crew staying at the Raccoon Valley RV Park in Heiskell, Tennessee. This is a privately owned and sponsored park just outside of the greater Knoxville area. A two week stay was had here.
Grounds: Raccoon Valley is well situated for access to many things around the area, only about a mile or so from Interstate 75. With Knoxville being nearby, there are plenty of resupply opportunities available, as well as other sights to see. And if you don't mind the drive, even Nashville can be done as a day trip.
Sites: This park has 68 full-hook up sites, a combination of back-in and pull-through. However, with the actual park sitting along a hill and the sites at an angle, the gravel pads themselves are not flat, so be ready to use leveling blocks. These are also probably the tiniest sites that you'll find for a privately owned campground, so we were barely able to fit everything. Although they have both 30 and 50 amp service, be prepared to pay extra for 50 amp service.
Staff: Though we seemed to have an acceptable experience while reserving, we came to find a rude and condescending person running the park when we arrived, and seemed like they were stalking during our stay. It was someone we encountered before, and actually chose not to stay at another campground because of the same person, who had since been transferred to this park. Maintenance decided they were going to pesticide spray near occupied lots with pets present, making a difficult situation for the fur baby.
Amenities: The park has very limited things to offer within its grounds, including a dog park and nature trails that patrons were discouraged from using. Laundry facilities exist, but be prepared to use extra quarters for the dryer. The bathrooms are stocked in such a way that the management insists paying customers do the housekeeping work, with squeegees and spray bottles at each shower and an abundance of signage to the same extent. We've seen this at some of this corporation's other locations, and felt lucky we weren't harassed about it this time.
Atmosphere: This campground is certainly meant for the 55+ crowd, as families didn't seem as welcome. If it weren't for Knoxville being nearby, this may very well have been a disaster of a location to stay, as it was incredibly uncomfortable, and was one of the leading factors to us doing further due diligence and changing plans for another of the corporation's parks.
Overall, Raccoon Valley RV Park receives a six out of a possible 10 rating. One of the few redeeming factors for this location is the price, as it is lower than many of the other parks where we had stayed during this recent run. Unfortunately it is not enough to salvage the experience had, as if our Internal Compass brings us to the Knoxville area again, it would be best to choose a different campground.
Once again, off to the links they go.
Welcome to Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville, Tennessee for today's disc golf match. The course at Victor Ashe Park is free to play, and both the design and outside gates lead us to believe that this may have once been home to a traditional golf course. Today, it hosts an 18-hole course along with many walking paths and other amenities. For today's match, our players will be playing a "modified nine", which has previously been discussed but not actually done. They will go through holes 1-5, but instead of going to a different section of the park, head to hole 15 and finish out the course. In addition, because of the water hazard at the first tee, our players will modify hole 1 and play an "alternate tee" that is on some maps, despite no tee box existing on the course. The blue short baskets are in play for this round. With all the ground rules out of the way, how will the players do?
Course Result:
His Holes: 3
Halved: 0
Her Holes: 6
Course Record: Him 9 - 4 - 15 Her
Holes Record: Him 65 - 97 Her
The alternate tee proved rather difficult for our players, though he was able to take hole 1 and jump out to a lead. It wouldn't last long, as two missed putts cost him hole 2 and she tied the score. Missed putts would continue to plague him, as she take the last lead on hole 3. She was once again able to pick up another hole, this time on 4, and a missed putt from him gave her the game winner on hole 5. The missed putt woes continued for him, as despite some better driving from him, she was able to seal the match on hole 15. With the game iced, she had some trouble in the rough, while he was finally able to get a 4 and win hole 16. The rough and missed putts plagued both our players on the 17, but he was able to pull out the win. Those trees would prove to be detrimental on the 18, though, as she would take her sixth hole for the match. The shots were 48-52 in her favor.
Will she win another? Will he pull it back? Will their handicaps improve? You'll find out next time, but until then, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Off they go to another course!
Welcome to Powell Station Park in Powell, Tennessee, just on the outskirts of Knoxville for today's disc golf match. Powell Station is a free-to-play nine-hole course situated on a municipal park near the local high school. Although this is a shorter course, it can be deceptively tricky with the number of trees protecting the holes even along the fairway. Signage is fairly good, including how to get across the dried-up creek bed. Most importantly with this match, how did our players do?
Course Result:
His Holes: 1
Halved: 1
Her Holes: 7
Course Record: Him 9 - 4 - 14 Her
Holes Record: Him 62 - 91 Her
Right off the bat, this was not going to be a good game for him with some short fairway shots. Our players traded missed putts, but she had enough to win the first hole. On both holes 2 and 3, a shot into the rough cost him, as she took both. A misdirected tee shot put him further into the hole, as despite traded missed putts, she takes hole 4. The missed putts continue for him, this time costing him hole 5 and sealing the victory barely halfway through. Things get worse for him, as bad tree luck slows him up, giving her a sixth win on hole six. Despite traded missed putts, she was able to get to the green quicker, leading her to take yet another hole. Things would turn around for him on the eight, as a missed putt gave him the win and prevented the sweep. He had a chance to also take hole 9 with bad tree luck from her, but a missed putt from him halved the final hole. The shots were 45-51 in her favor, a complete domination as he was unable to break five shots on any hole.
The competition is starting to look out of reach, but can he pull anything back? We'll find out at the next course, but until then, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Is Appalachia calling your name? Check it out!
Welcome to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a popular destination for tourists between the states of North Carolina and Tennessee. The Great Smoky Mountains are so aptly named after the natives saw the immense amount of smoke-like fog coming from the mountain range, and the name stuck. Many communities had settled with what are today's boundaries, resulting in controversial land purchases around the time of the Great Depression to create the park. Today, visitors are able to drive, hike, and camp within the park as weather permits.
The Great Smoky Mountains, although being a national park, does not honor the National Parks pass used in several other locations across the country. Similar to Mount Rushmore, it is dependent upon parking fees to fund the location while allowing visitors to drive through at no additional cost to them. One can enter along US Highway 441 from either Cherokee, North Carolina to the south, or Gatlinburg, Tennessee to the north. The Newfound Gap at nearly a mile high in elevation serves as the midpoint of the highway through the park, as well as the border between the two states. Stop to experience the wonderful views of the Great Smoky Mountains. While along the route, perhaps make a stop to view the elk from a distance. When at the southern end, you can also find the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
One of the features of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the BARK Ranger program, where your pup can become a sworn ambassador of the park. Completing this program is fairly simple, as you'll do a sort of scavenger hunt along one of the two pet-friendly trails near the visitors' centers of the park. Take a number of pictures of your dog along the way, and submit to the ranger on duty. They will help your dog to take the oath of BARK (Bagging waste, Always leashing, Respecting wildlife, and Knowing where to go), and receive a certificate with his or her paw print. As of the writing of this, Miles the Chug Terrier has become an official BARK Ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We are proud of his accomplishment.
So the next time your Internal Compass takes you to the southern Appalachians, be sure to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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