Our Favorite Blogs

We just added another "gadget" on the right side - a list of our favorite blogs. Here's why they're our favorites:

Andy's Fragments - Andy Beal is a great friend with whom I worked at ServiceMaster. He's still there - as the Business Development Manager with ServiceMaster Clean. Although ServiceMaster is headquartered in Memphis, TN, Andy and his wife, Nancy, live in Littleton, CO. Andy's blog covers everything from his family to life in the Mountain West to some great musings on life.

GOSmoky - Last fall, Raymond Owens called and introduced himself. Raymond is a super-fan of the Smokies. While he lives in South Carolina (and works nights as a producer at a local TV station), his hobby is the Smoky Mountains. He even produces an online radio show in which he interviews people from all over the Smokies. You definitely need to check out Raymond's Web site and his blog (just click on each link separately).

Hickory Cove Bible Camp - This is "our camp!" We moved from Memphis to North Carolina 9 years ago to help run Hickory Cove. While we're no longer on the staff, Dave still serves on the Board and we both volunteer for a variety of jobs at Camp. If you're looking for a great place to send your kids for summer camp, check out Hickory Cove.

Working Mom's Cookbook - If you've been reading through our blog, you know that reservations for our Smoky Mountain cabins are handled by our daughter, Angie Jones. In addition to working full time, being a full-time wife and mother, and a bunch of other stuff, Angie loves to cook. So she just started her own blog for working moms who want to trade recipes. Check it out!

The View from the Tower

One of the things we like best about Mountain Tower is the view. It's about 180 degrees - from Mt. LeConte on the left to Ober Gatlinburg on the right. Take a look.

The picture below is a panorama shot taken in the Spring, before the leaves are really filling out the trees. Notice the mistletoe growing in the tall tree on the left.

Here's roughly the same view in the fall, with the leaves turning colors

And winter also offers some great views, with the snow on the mountains and the clouds always changing.

One of the fun things to do is to watch the tram from downtown Gatlinburg arrive at Ober Gatlinburg. On this picture, Ober Gatlinburg is the white spot, just to the left of the middle grouping of houses. The tram is about 3/4 of inch left of that white spot (someday I'll figure out how to put an arrow on this picture to help you find it). Ober Gatlinburg is about two miles (as the crow flies) from Mountain Tower.