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Located just off Interstate 26 in Gray, the East Tennessee State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site offers an opportunity to check out an entire ecosystem of plants and animals – fossilized, of course. Visitors can observe saber-toothed cats, the world’s only near-complete fossil red panda and various other interesting discoveries.
The Miocene site, estimated to be 4.5 million to 7 million years old, was unearthed by a highway crew working on a road-widening project in 2000. Paleontologists were notified, and thousands of fossils have been uncovered so far.
The museum is open daily from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., offering guided tours each hour as well as a variety of activities, lectures and programs.
Go online to www.grayfossilmuseum.com or call (423) 439-3659 to learn more.
The Walking Horse Hotel in Wartrace transports visitors to a bygone era. Located just outside of Shelbyville, the hotel was built in 1917 and exudes old-fashioned charm. Owner Joe Peters, who purchased the hotel in 2007, has renovated portions of the building while retaining its historic allure – which is magnified amidst rumors that it’s haunted.
Guests can also tap their toes to the hotel’s thriving live music scene. Acts ranging from Grammy winners to bluegrass legends to Beatles cover bands perform in the Chais Music Hall, named in honor of Peters’ late wife.
For more information or to make reservations, call (931) 389-7050 or visit www.walkinghorsehotel.com.
Turning off the TV and saving energy is easy when you can curl up by the fire with a good book. Kathy Schultenover, book club coordinator for Davis Kidd Booksellers, which has locations in Nashville and Memphis, gives a few suggestions for some real page-turners – all written by Tennessee authors.
Nashville native Ann Patchett’s bestselling novel Bel Canto describes a fictional situation where international hostages and their captors unexpectedly connect. I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down
by William Gay, who hails from Hohenwald, features 13 short stories set in rural Tennessee. The title story was recently made into a film. In Widow of the South, Williamson County resident Robert Hicks tells the based-on-truth story of a woman who turns her Tennessee plantation into a hospital and cemetery during the Civil War.
From the nonfiction category, Fortunes, Fiddles and Fried Chicken by Bill Carey takes an in-depth look at several businesses and industries developed by Nashville residents.
We’d Like To Hear From You
Do you know of a wonderfully special restaurant
or a quirky little museum?
Send your ideas to TN Connections Editor, 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, or e-mail tnceditor@jnlcom.com.
