Cluckingham Palace

We are on a short trip to Galveston for beach, sun and grandkids and I didn’t plan to blog until I saw an unexpected sight! Leaving Paris, Texas on our way to Longview our GPS took us down a road we had never traveled. We drove through tiny towns and past farmland and then... a mega mansion in the middle of no where - Pittsburg Texas population 4,000. We had just visited the Biltmore and it was like a slightly smaller version!

If you know me at all, you know that I just can’t go “well that was cool” and move on... research Vicki kicked in. 

Nicknamed Cluckingham - the house that chickens built is 18,327-square-foot mansion on 45 acres was custom-built in 1992 for the late “Bo” Pilgrim, the founder of Pilgrim’s Pride poultry products. Unable to sell the mansion in the middle of nowhere, son, Ken Pilgrim, brought home to auction without reserve in late 2019. Valued at 8.75 million the house sold for a little over 3 million! I had a little fantasy moment about what you could do with this for three million - high end spa, hotel, event center, then a screeching halt when Mark reminded me that this mansion is 130 miles from Dallas and 100 miles from Shreveport. Who would want Pittsburg, Texas as a destination ...anything?  But check out this place!

The foyer is decorated with gilded details that also run throughout the living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and indoor pool area. Beside the indoor pool is a bar, a seating area and a hot tub. The house also features a spa, a wet and dry sauna, a fitness center, a home theater, and a glass elevator that overlooks the grounds. 

Pretty spectacular and someone bought is for 3 million! Wow. 

Then we started to see hundreds of abandoned oil wells near Kilgore, Tx. You know home of the Kilgore Rangerettes. Ok another thing that drew me in. After living in Texas for over 30 years, how did I not know that east Texas had the second largest oil field outside of Alaska? Discovered in 1930 over 5 and a half billion barrels have been produced. A few still are producing but most just are rust buckets left to decay and litter the landscape. 

Nashville- Dukes of Hazzard, Belle Meade Plantation & American Pickers

The General Lee and the Dukes of Hazzard museum was a mile from our campground! How could we not drop in? The most popular TV show in the early 1980’s dropping to #2 and losing top billing to “Dallas”. 

When was the last time you found mood rings? 

Continuing on the TV theme, we moved on to check out the area of Nashville revitalized by Mike Wolfe - American Pickers and his restored warehouse district containing many stores including Antique Archeology. Cool area. Not tempted to buy anything but did move on to sample some Tennessee moonshine. I know y’all are shocked by that! 

We needed to let Kate get some exercise. So we stopped at a near by park which had the super cool sea serpent that is a tile mosaic   

Met our favorite niece, Megan,  after she got off work and we checked out Belle Meade Plantation and winery. 

Belle Meade Plantation began in 1807 with a log cabin and 250 acres.  Over time, and with the dedication of the Harding and Jackson families and the slave workers who lived here before and after Emancipation, this site became one of the largest thoroughbred horse farms in the South.

We toured the house and then stopped for a tasting at the winery and enjoyed a bottle in their patio. 

Mansion

Slave house 

Carriage house and barn

Winery 

Zeta Bust

Rain and wind from what remained of Hurricane Zeta created a bit of a bust today. We decided to head south towards DuPont State Forest and turned around after driving almost an hour because the fall leaves were gone. Just blah! Then tried to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a drive but was closed. Lots of water... swollen creeks and rivers plus downed trees in the area.   And the temperature dropped like crazy! 

So we just drove back towards the Smokey Mountains. Not near as vibrant as yesterday but did find an area with a great vista. I took a couple of pictures of what color was left on our drive. 

On a bright note- lots of rain makes for mountain run off and really pretty waterfalls. I totally enjoy watching Mark doing what he loves doing the most on our trips. 

We hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain (the Way of St James) and why I started this travel blog. When we got back we talked about where to hike next and discussed taking on portion of the Appellation Trail.  However, after hiking 10 feet Kate pointed to the sign that no dogs are allowed and we decided it was way to muddy anyway! 

Off to Nashville tomorrow! It will be our second visit. We did all the first pass touristy things to see and do last year.  Any recommendations for hidden gems that we should check out???!

Smokey Mountain National Park & Gatlinburg, TN

It was a super rainy day but if there is a silver lining, the Smokey Mountains lived up to their name origin. The Cherokee Indians called the clouds and fog that settles around the hills and valleys “Blue Smoke”. 

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Smokey Mountain National Park. Even with rain, the vibrant fall colors filled the drive from Cherokee to Gatlinburg. I can only imagine how beautiful the view is with sunshine hitting the leaves. Maybe on a return visit...

 We stopped to tour a turbine powered stone grist mill built in 1886 to make flour and cornmeal. It is still operational, today. A 73 year old volunteer played a harmonica and described the process to visitors. 

We planned a picnic in the park but we ended up eating in the truck before heading to Gatlinburg because this was our lunch view! 

 

Some snapshots of the Smokey Mountain NP

The park service has a sense of humor - in the bathrooms. 

Gatlinburg is a cute town that has only one purpose... tourism! Every nook and cranny was decorated for fall. . 


We enjoyed a moonshine tasting and had to leave with several bottles.  

Driving back to the campground -  the same return route - a state highway vehicle had the road blocked and we couldn’t go through. Mark asked why and was told that they expect downed trees from hurricane Zeta  over the next 48 hours!  We might be in for a rough ride tomorrow! The news stations are predicting 4 inches of rain and 30 to 40 mph winds. Kate is going be a hot mess!