2026 Oct 17, Day Trip to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens with Backroads Tours LLC

 We started the morning with a drive to Madison, stopping at the Shell Station in Athens to buy a bottle of grape Propel and use the restroom.

We arrived at Gabe's, our stop, around 7:45 A.M., but got a text that our driver was running late. Small bus 1503, driver Sierra, and our guide Angie Himburg. 

We loaded the bus around 8:45 A.M. and began our journey to Nashville. We made one stop at Loves in Columbia, TN. 

We arrived at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens around 11 A.M. and were greeted by a park member. She gave everyone a map, and we were free to go at our leisure. 

We used the restroom and decided to eat at the restaurant, but the line was long, so we toured the Cheekwood Mansion instead. 

We visited the Mansion, which was filled with Art, the library full of books, and photos of the family that once lived there. 

From the Mansion, you could see thousands of pumpkins, and music filled the air. 

It was Harvest Weekend, so it was filled with food trucks 9-3  (BBQ, CAKE BITES) and pumpkins (to take photos & for purchase). 

Hay Fever and Mandy Miller played music from 12-2.

We strolled among the vibrant mums of over 2,500 to the Pumpkin Village, where three interactive pumpkin houses stood. 

We strolled along the storybook scarecrow trail created by a local artist. 

We walked back to the Perenn Cafe, where we purchased cokes in a bottle, a sandwich of chicken salad, bacon, cheese, and kale on homemade bread, and a kids' picnic box filled with crackers, turkey, cheese, berries, and a small cake. 

We returned to the pumpkin area where Hubby sat, and I walked through the gardens. 

We returned to the bus at 3 P.M. and began our journey home. We stopped at Dolly Parton's Tennesseean for a restroom break. The stop was packed, so it took a little while to get in and out. 

Hubby and I split a peach Ice cream. We walked outside, took a few photos, and then got on the bus. 

We got off the bus at Gabe's, did a little shopping, and then went to Ollie's. 

We traveled home, stopping at Burger King for supper. 

We arrived home around 8 P.M.

We had a wonderful trip; the weather was perfect for an autumn day. 

9769 Love's Columbia, TN 10:31 A.M.

9770-9783 Cheekwood Museum 11:54–12:01 P.M.

9784-9845 Cheekwood Gardens 12:16–2:51 P.M.

9846-9862 Dolly Pardon's Tennesseean Cornersville, TN 4:04–4:37 P.M.

9865-9866 Sunset 

Burger King Athens $19.26

Gabes S25.82

Perenn Cafe $35.55

2021 Sep 26, Day Trip to Huntsville Botanical Gardens Huntsville, Alabama

Arrived at 11 A.M., just as the gardens were opening. My first stop was the Purdy Butterfly Gardens, where I saw several Gulf Fritillary Butterflies, red-spotted Admiral butterflies, Zebra Long-wing butterflies, monarch butterflies, great southern white butterflies, the white peacock butterflies, and the common buckeye butterflies. I spotted several Blue Jays and heard a woodpecker, but never saw it. I also heard several other species of birds and saw a snake as I was exiting the wooded area. I walked through the vegetable garden, where I saw just a few plants, including one large orange pumpkin and a few vines with fruit dangling from them.

I saw the fruit of Japanese Persimmons hanging on the trees. On the tree next to them was a thorny tree with Trifoliate orange fruit hanging on it. I also saw an Osage orange lying on the ground, so you can see that there was plenty of fruit for the animals. I spotted a praying mantis on a small limb. I saw several turtles swimming and lying along the bank of the pond.

I saw pink and purple blooming asters and mums, all in shades of purple. I even spotted a pink rose. I spotted a gray heron and several turtles lying on the bank near the butterfly house. Uncaged: Birds, Nature & You, along with Night Blooms, still fill the gardens.

Some of the scarecrows that I saw were Santa's Helper, Mr. Antsy Pants, Zooey the ZooKeeper, It's a Girl Scout Vibe, Frida Kahlo, The Scarecrow Dietitian, Terry Lewis "Herb's wife:/Herb the Birdman, Papa's Pumpkins, Mr. Crow the Birdwatcher, Dog Day Bride, Collaborative Carl, We can do the job, Snow Fairy, Betelgeuse Scary Spirit, Sir Night fo make it right, Faith, Service, Diversity, Page Turner, Autumn, Larry If I only had a spaceship, Rooted,

Mr. Morgan, Bill the birdwatcher, Johnny Apple Seed, and Demeter, Find Your Space, South Huntsville Sam, Auntie Smile, Miss Mary, La Ofrenda, Rosie the Refunder, Discovery Daisy, Lady Golfer, Noah, Cedrick Crow pin, Meets the Adams Family, Tiger, and Crow, & Voting Violet. I saw several people in line to go into the park as I was leaving. I spotted a lady with a Nikon camera, so I walked up to her and told her where I had seen the heron and all the butterflies that were not inside the Purdy Butterfly House. She asked me about my camera, and I said I had been taking pictures for many years. She said she had just started with her new camera. It started out a cool morning by afternoon, it was hot. I walked back to the car, ate the bowl of nuts and the diet Sprite that I had brought, and rested for a few minutes before starting the hour-and-a-half drive home. That morning, I had stopped at Wheeler Dam to see the waterfowl. Several people were fishing, and more were arriving to fish. I asked a young man about the waterfowl, and he said there were a few, but a couple of days ago, they were more numerous than he had ever seen before. I miss them. I did get a couple of shots of a heron catching a fish.