Back to Knoxville

Knoxville's iconic SunSphere

On our way north, we decided to stop at Raccoon Valley RV Park in Heiskell, TN, just north of Knoxville on I-75. We had stopped here going south in the fall of 2006. The weather forecast was terrible, and we ended up spending 4 days waiting out the rain. When it cleared up some, we discovered that our friends Mary Jo and Wayne Lorhmann were hiding out in another part of the park, so we spent another 10 days there visiting and sightseeing with them.

One warm and sunny day we went down to the McCluney Museum on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Though small, the exhibits were interesting. Consuelo especially enjoyed the exhibit on forensic anthropology, a subject that UofT experts teach to police the FBI how to recover evidence from moldering murder scenes.

Of course, we had to make a stop at the old Chocolate Factory and sample some of the handmade candies. I had the rum balls, they were yummy.

Redbuds and one of the fountains

Later on, we went down to the World's Fair Park, a lingering remnant from 1982. We saw the Sunsphere, Knoxville's iconic reminder of the fair. This gold plated tower has been virtually unused since the fair, although several entrepreneurs have proposed uses for it, mostly as a restaurant like Dallas' Reunion Tower. The 4th and lowest floor in the ball reopened in mid 2007 as a visitors viewing gallery, and we took the ride up the elevators for a look. The upper floors are owned by a catering company who uses the place for special events.




Mary Jo and Consuelo chatting

We walked through the park, which was beautiful on such a fine spring day. A concert tent provides seating for concerts and gatherings, and the lake stretches nearly to the river. The redbud trees were blushing the landscape with their rosy blossoms.