Tri-State and the Pennacle

If you look at a map of TN and look at the little corner where Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia all meet... that is Harrogate. Our house is in TN, we do our grocery shopping in Kentucky, and sometimes when I am tired my usual way of going to Kentucky, I will drive through Virginia to get there. Sometimes its hard to remember which state I really live in.

When we first moved out here Steve and I woke up one day and wanted to go explore. He has been here before to visit family but this is still all new territory for me.

We live about three miles from Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. It is a gorgeous park and the tiny town of Cumberland Gap is one of the cutest towns I have ever seen.

Steve wanted to take me on a hike that takes you to the point where Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia meet. It was a gorgeous hike!

A big, old furnace

Steve inside the furnace

So beautiful and green. Luckily the trail was mostly in the shade.

Made it to the top! Steve standing in between three states.

This was the strangest hike I have ever been on. It is only like a twenty minute hike but I was dying! I was so confused because it was right after our wedding so I had been running a lot and we had just hiked Angels Landing two weeks before. But I was sweating more than I have ever sweat before and felt totally exhausted. I kept complaining to Steve about how out of shape I was and he kept assuring me that it was the change in elevation and humidity. When We finally got to the top and I caught my breathe I realized he was right. I didnt feel tired at all! He said it was just my body tricking me because I was sweating so much.

Signed in! 7-11-11

Home sweet home!

After we were done hanging out in three states at one time, we hiked back down and went looking for some waterfalls that Holly had told us about. We went looking and sadly they were mostly just streams now. But it was still pretty and fun to go exploring a little.

Just a disclaimer for anyone who might come hiking with us- my husband does not stay on trails. He turns into a little kid when he is hiking and just goes all over the place. He very rarely stays on the actual trail.

Pretty sure fairies live here Natalie!

Awesome tree

After I was done taking pictures of these cool trees, I looked around and couldn't find Steve. Then he started screaming "Hi, Stephanie!" I looked and he was standing on top of the giant old furnace. I am going to have my hands full if our sons turn out to be anything like their dad.

A picture of an old B&B in Cumberland Gap.

Old street sign. So cool.

The National Park decided to build this giant tunnel that connects Tennessee and Kentucky. It is the fanciest tunnel I have ever seen! It is completely titled, has fans in it, has continuous signs telling you to stay in your lane. Very fancy, very annoying. The most annoying part of it is when a Haz Mat truck comes through. They have to shut down the tunnel and the truck has to be escorted through. After hiking the Tri-State hike, we decided to go to the Pinnacle. To get there you have to go through the tunnel. This is when we both experience our first run in with a Haz Mat truck. It was really exciting at the time, but now it seems to happen every time I need to go shopping.

We ended up just driving to the Pinnacle instead of hiking. It was a beautiful drive and the overlook was amazing. The elevation at the Pinnalce is 2,440 ft... the elevation of Cedar City is 5,864 ft. Just a little bit of a difference.

Do you see that big, brown building to the right in this picture? That is Steve's school!

A fun day of exploring with my husband. It is fun living in an entirely new place. And I am glad we got to get out and explore before school started.