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Blog
Categories
- Destinations
  - All Destinations
  - Asia
    - Japan
  - Europe
  - North America
    - Mexico
    - United States
      - Midwest
      - Northeast
      - Southeast
      - Southwest
      - West
  - Oceania
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  - South America
    - Colombia
    - Peru
- Tennessee State Parks
- Nashville Local
- Books
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Day: June 10, 2020

Books

Black Characters in Literature | Children’s & Young Adult

June 10, 2020

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Fall Break, 2016: my only-ever trip to @greatsmoky

Fall Break, 2016: my only-ever trip to @greatsmokynps. Our intended campground was unexpectedly closed, and, in a race with the setting sun, we had to find a new, last-minute place to sleep. We landed a nice site next to a babbling brook - no reservations, just driving up and paying at the gate. Is that even possible anymore? It was only 10 years ago, but the state of travel now feels so vastly different.

And though it was just early October, it legitimately felt like fall. The Smokies were smokin’, and I needed a morning jacket for our first adventure to one of the park’s most visited locations.

In 2016, Kuwohi, the highest peak in the park and in the state, was still called Clingmans Dome. In fact, I didn’t even know official naming had changed until I started researching for this post. Kuwohi has always been the Cherokee name for the peak, a sacred location within their ancestral lands. Following petition by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and support from the National Park Service, the name was officially restored by the US Board of Geographic Names in 2024. (Note: this is the same agency that, just a year later and following executive order, introduced us to the “Gulf of America”).

The photography gods blessed me with perfect foggy conditions for this scene that looks straight out of the Jetsons. Back in 1956, the National Park Service launched Mission 66, a 10-year plan to modernize park infrastructure to support the surge in post-war, car-based tourism. Rustic-style architecture was replaced with midcentury lines and concrete Brutalism. Built in 1959, the Kuwohi Observation Deck is a quintessential example of that architectural trend.

If I’ve piqued your interest, there’s a great @natgeo article from Aug 2025 on this retro park architecture!
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#kuwohi #greatsmokymountainsnationalpark #mission66 #nationalparkphotography #smokymountains

Took a fall family hike on the 2.5-mile Warner Woo

Took a fall family hike on the 2.5-mile Warner Woods Trail at @friendsofwarnerparks and though the leaves were definitely dry (thanks to our indefinite drought), it was still 80° outside. 🙃

Summer forever?
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#percywarnerpark #nashvillefall #nashvillewithkids #outdoorkids #explorenashville

Indignant that my stable, gratifying job requires

Indignant that my stable, gratifying job requires me to be inside for 180 days of the year. 🙃

📍1- Smith Park trail system, Brentwood
2,5,6- @reelfootlakestatepark
3- @longhunterstateparktn
4- @natcheztracesp
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#tennesseeoutdoors #exploretennessee #tnstateparks #getoutside #natureaesthetic

I’ve been trying to write about my trip to Morocco

I’ve been trying to write about my trip to Morocco for 9 months now and I can’t seem to get the words out. I don’t entirely know what to say.

My iPhone notes are full of narrative threads and turns of phrase, usually ones that popped into my head at 3am. I write. Abandon. Reread 2 months later. Delete most of it. Start again in a new direction.

It was a significant trip but, in retrospect, not monumental. It didn’t change me but rather scratched an itch; it was more confirming than enlightening, so why does it matter? Why is my story worth telling?

I’ll probably never be able to answer that question, but maybe eventually I will actually have one to share.

(And also, I’ve never shared most of my photos. So I’ll share a few now, as my days are filled with little more than school, work, and soccer practice.)
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#moroccotravels #surfculture #sunsetphotography #travelauthentic #sidikaouki

Shoutout to all my Instagram and IRL friends that

Shoutout to all my Instagram and IRL friends that have sent me memes about it still being summer. You get me. 😉

SUMMER FOREVER!
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#summerdump #summervibes #tennesseesummer #endlesssummer #madeintn

Catching end-of-summer vibes at Pickwick Landing S

Catching end-of-summer vibes at Pickwick Landing SP. (@pickwick_landing_state_park)

✅ Lakefront living
✅ Modern lodge amenities (@lodgepickwicklanding)
✅ Quality fam time

This park is slightly off-the-beaten path bc it’s not near any major interstates—you go about halfway between Nashville and Memphis and head straight south towards the TN-MS-AL border.

The lake is magnificent (those sunsets!) and the lodge is pretty stellar, too.
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#tnstateparks #lakedays #exploretennessee #outdoorkids #pickwicklake

Not me crying bc I had to spend every day last wee

Not me crying bc I had to spend every day last week indoors. 😭

Back to school is rough.
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#tennesseeoutdoors #exploretennessee #nashkids #outdoorfamily #getoutsidewithkids

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