Greenback Castle Re-Visit With the Grandkids 2019

Action figure embedded in the walls of Greenback Castle 

Greenback Castle Re-Visit With the Grandkids 

Dana Koogler, Lydia Koogler, and Gabriel Koogler

Michael and Tessa Lindsey

Friday July 26, 2019

Greenback Castle Info

Greenback Castle Pictures starting with frame #98

( Photos in this album are combined from two visits)

Greenback Drugstore Diner 

Home Decor Resale Store 

Directions to Greenback Castle: 

Hwy 411 South-- a little over a mile past the intersection of Hwy 411 South with SR 95

turn LEFT onto N Trigonia Road and go 3/4 mile to a LEFT turn onto Lee Shirley Road

Go 0.10 mile on Lee Shirley Road to a RIGHT turn into a gravel driveway.  It is a residential area so go slow.   There are signs for the castle at the turn.  It is straight back the road and there are signs indicating where to park.  It is free, but take some cash for the donation box out front.

Coming north on Hwy 411 it is about 3.50 miles from the bridge across Tellico Lake to a right turn onto N. Trigonia Road 



       I had my grandchildren Friday to watch while my daughter started back to teaching.
Michael age 10 and Tessa age 5.  I talked to daughter in law Lydia and it was decided we'd all to visit Mr. Junior Banks' Fortress of Faith.. the Greenback Castle.  She said she'd never been and neither had the other two grandkids.   Gabe, Kenny, Jared and myself went a little over a year ago.   Gabe liked it, but I wasn't sure he'd remember it.   We figured on a visit to the castle.  Lunch at Greenback Diner, and if all went well a stop by the Home Decor Resale Store across the road from the diner.   

     We gathered everyone up and got on the road at a decent time.   Lydia was considering staying home to do some chores and letting me take the kids by myself.  I plainly told her if I had to take all three kids by myself I wasn't going.  The castle is not safe for one adult to handle three kids ages three to ten.  The space is chopped up and while it is fun, it is not safe for a kid to play alone especially little ones.  Junior cannot be expected to babysit and play tour guide.
She agreed to go and we set out.  It is not a long drive and we were there by about 9:45.  
We'd have arrived a little sooner, but I probably wasted fifteen minutes in the making of a wrong turn.  Somehow I missed the turn onto Lee Shirley Road and went two miles out of my way.  I recognized it much sooner, but had to drive further to find a safe place along the road to turn around.   It is a winding, narrow road in a residential area.

           Once we arrived at the Castle and parked the kids were immediately excited and so was Lydia.   It is quite something to see. Junior was up and about so we greeted him at once. I put our money in the donation box and we started our tour in a counter clockwise fashion.  We visited once before and went clockwise.  Counter clockwise is better!   It is far more dramatic.
The best parts are on this leg of the journey.   It also helped me to pick up parts of this property I had somehow missed the previous time!  It was one of the neatest things we've done. The place is mysterious, exciting, quirky, and beautiful in a grungey way.    It is a visual feast for the eyes and senses.   We spent 2 1/2 hours there and had to drag Michael and Tessa away!  They were not ready to leave even then.  They loved it and loved Junior.   They were talking about when could they go back again as we were leaving.  That speaks volumes.  They told me it was without doubt the neatest thing I'd ever done with them.    A big win for Nanny.  

 Above: Gabe heading in the entry door at the front

 Above: Front facade of the Castle

 Above: Granddaughter Tessa age 5

 Grandson Michael age 10

Above: All three kiddles on the thrones.  Junior was quick to remind me to get their photos taken on the thrones!             Gabriel had been before and was smaller and growing tired and hungry.  
He was ready to leave.   We took him back to the car and got him a dry butt and a drink and a small snack to hold him til we got to the diner.    It was only a couple miles to the diner .  Though it was busy we found a parking spot easily.   We also found a table immediately and were waited on promptly.  Our food arrived hot, fresh and delicious.  Everyone got their tummy full and felt better.  Lydia took the boys outside and I stuck around to let Tessa eat ice cream for dessert.   It was a fun day thus far.  Lydia and I realized the home decor store was not a good idea today. The kids were tired and restless.   We'd come back for that another day with just us women.   No kids.    Greenback is a charming little town.  It has a post office, a school that is K thru 12, a Farmers Co-op,  a diner, a couple churches, the home decor store, a historic museum, a grocery store, a library, hair salon, and veterinarian.  Greenback is a place full of history.  I envision several more trips to the area to visit, to learn and enjoy the area.   

 Above: Detail in one part of the courtyard.   Skull and all sorts of neat shells.  It is a feast for the senses!

 Above: Michael, Lydia, Gabe and Tessa in the chess game room

 Lots of neat alcoves and arches here

 Colorful corner

 Above: Tessa and Gabe going up the spiral staircase in the rotunda.  It was very exciting!

 Above: Michael stands by the White Horseman of the Apocalypse who Junior says has begun his ride.  The White Horseman is the first of the four... and he is Conquest.

 Beautiful woodwork and detail in the rotunda.

 Above: Daughter in law Lydia, grandson Gabe and Tessa in the courtyard

 Above: Two spooky looking prisoners peeping out of the "jail cell"

 Above:  Loved how this archway leads to another archway!

 Above: Gabe and Tessa come down the steps from one of the upstairs rooms.

 Above: Junior and Tessa. The kids really enjoyed this sweet gentleman.  He is a fine Christian brother and elder.

Above Grandson Michael and Junior with his cool shades on.        I took Lydia home. I took the kids home with me to play at my house for a few hours.  Once Crystal came to pick up Tessa and Michael I took Gabe home.   He was worn out and cried.  I sat down on the couch with him and visited. He put his little feet in my lap kicked back on the couch.  It wasn't long until he calmed down with Nanny rubbing his feet and toes.   He was snoring when I left.   Tired boy.   That is another win for Nanny when I can wear the kids out but still have energy left myself!  

 Michael amidst the crosses

 Above:  A beautiful wild area out back where Junior is working on a maze that is not yet finished. It will be made up of native cane! Sunflowers and sumac give the place some color.

 Archway of glass bottles!

Junior feeds the birds and provides watering spots for them.   A bird bath.   

All in all a fascinating and beautiful place. Not another one like it on the planet!         

        


          
    

Tessa's Birthday and Labor Day Weekend Visit to Virginia

Tessa on her new Minnie Mouse big wheel

(photo credit to Valerie Graham my sister)

Tessa's Birthday & Labor Day in Virginia 

Friday Sept. 4 -Monday Sept. 7, 2015

Dana & Kenny Koogler

Crystal, Michael & Tessa Lindsey

Our Whole Family from Va. 

Pictures are here starting with frame 125

Tessa's Birthday Pix

   We have had a bad year in many ways.  Teresa Lindsey passed away in March.  

Adam's Dad has remarried and that has been an adjustment.  I'm believing it will be a blessing.

It has still been hard.     Adam deployed in July.    We have tried to keep the kids busy and ourselves occupied so that the time would pass faster until Adam is home.  We have tried something that worked really well and that was spending more time with family from Virginia.   Chris, Kelly, Matt, Allison and Mia came down for vacation.  We spent time with them and that was great.  My parents were down after T-ma passed away and that helped. Michael didn't have a good birthday in February because T-ma was sick and dying.  Kenny's mom had been in the hospital and was out. We were able with Chris & Kelly's gracious help........ have Tessa Grace a 2nd birthday party combined with a 

family cookout at their home.    

          Chris and Matthew have a side business Gravity Zone Inflatables.  The love and support

shown by our Virginia family toward us and the grands was amazing.   I am VERY proud of our family.   We like each other. We love each other.  It was exactly what was needed.  I am grateful to God for the healing of my brother in law, Chris. I am grateful for Matt's healing.   My brother in law Brian was not there, but he is out of the hospital and he is finally getting well after many years of struggle.   We have much to be thankful for.   It was great spending time surrounded by family.

We miss Adam, but he will come home to us and we'll be fine.  Just going to keep pouring lots of prayer on all these situations, thanking the Lord for results.   

                  Tessa and Michael both got birthday presents and all the kids and some of the grownups

enjoyed the bouncy castle!  Mama Koogler was there and feeling better.  She over did it and was sick the next night, but I dusted off my nursing skills and got her feeling better.  The next day we visited my mom at her house. She fixed us another wonderful family meal. Aunt Mike and Uncle Bill were there.  In today's world of gender benders........ let me clear something up.  Aunt Mike is a woman.

Her real name is Mary.  She has gone by Mike since she was tiny.   Her twin was Aunt Fairy whose real name was Martha.  They were named after the sisters in the Bible who were friends of Jesus. 

Fairy gave herself her own nickname because she wanted to be a fairy and pretended to be one.

Mama Koogler and Heidi on her lap, My brother in law James

Tessa and Crystal

 Nephew Cody coming down head first

 Chef Kenny and my Daddy

 Michael and a new set of cowboy cap guns! pow pow! Kenny and Cody

 Jim in the far left. my beautiful sister in law Kelly and cute puppy Zoe.

       Tessa and her new cowgirl hat and boots and she got a pink minnie mouse big wheel and a pink cap gun from Nanny Cookie and Pawpaw Kenny. Crystal my daughter helping her on with her boots!

This look right here sums up the day.  Tootsa Rootsa the rootinest, tootinest Cowgirl!

Yeeee Haww!
Photo by Val Graham

Knoxville Zoo Trip With Grandkids Tessa's First Zoo Trip

Knoxville Zoo Trip With the Grandkids
Tessa's First  Trip  

Saturday May 9, 2015

Dana & Kenny Koogler
Tessa and Michael Lindsey



Pictures here: Knoxville Zoo Pix

    We went to Virginia on a family trip a few weeks ago. Consequently Michael missed

getting to go to the Knoxville Zoo with his Kindergarten class.  We had promised him we

would go soon after we got back to Tennessee.  We also promised Crystal and Adam we'd keep

the kids for them to have a date night.  We figured we'd combine the two things and everyone

would have a really good time.  

     Crystal and Adam brought the kids over to us just after lunch

 They got to the table at our house and ate again!   We had a pretty day to be at the zoo.

It was a little on the hot side, but we found a way to solve that problem.   We visited the bears first

and it was a neat experience. Today was Tessa's very first trip to the zoo ever.  We borrowed 

Aunt B's two kid stroller so we'd have happy kids instead of fussy ones.  Plenty of sunscreen was applied to the kiddles so they would not burn.  

Big black bear

Michael age 6 peeping at the bears.

Pawpaw holding Tessa up to see the bears.  She liked them!

   Next we went round to see elephants, water bucks, camels and giraffes.

A dromedary or one hump camel. 

Tessa Ressa checking out the camels. She liked them and burst out laughing when she saw them.

   We went in the Safari cafe and had something cold to drink and popsicles.  Tessa cannot say 

Popsicle, but they are "Pockas" .   

Michael has finished his popsicle off.

Cheese!  Tessa smiles a pokka smile for the camera.  She offered me a bite and when I took it she fussed at me!

     Next we dealt with the heat by going to the splash area.  We'd all get good and wet and play in the water so the rest of the day would be comfortable.  The sooner you do this on a hot day the more fun the zoo trip is during Summer!  It was so much fun.

Michael runs and splashes and makes friends with other kids.

Tessa plays with the other kids and splashes.  She tried to drink the water. slurrp! Ah!

Kids having fun in the splash area at the zoo.  Great way to cool off.

Lions were some of the big cats we saw!

    We saw a ton of animals, birds, and reptiles!

Michael's favorite part was the snake house.   He tried to catch a snake at the zoo. It was a harmless 

gray rat snake he saw darting across the sidewalk.

River otters showing off and swimming for the kids to see.

     We had to stop at the play land after the snake house. We hiked the nature trail.

We saw squirrels and birds. Tessa and Michael both liked the gorillas a lot.

We had to go in the store and get a toy for each kid. 

       Michael of course got a cobra snake. Tessa wanted a bracelet.

We went home and they were napping in the car on the way home.  They played a little while 

at home outside on the swing set.  They ate supper.  We were in bed and asleep by 8:30pm.

We were a tired bunch and had to rest so we'd be fit to go to church on Sunday!

We were all so tired we went to bed dirty. Baths had to wait until Sunday morning.

Look Rock Tower and Spruce Flats Falls

Michael with the Ninja Turtle Lunch Box

Look Rock Tower and Spruce Flats Falls --Two Hikes in One Day With Michael! 

"Nanny Cookie" aka Dana Koogler

and Grandson Michael Lindsey age 5

Wednesday August 6, 2014

Total hike distance 3 miles round trip

Pictures are here 

Look Rock & Spruce Flats Falls Pix

     I am now the grandparent of a kindergartener!  Michael started school this past Tuesday. 

They do things differently now and they go 1/2 day for two days the first week, 1/2 day every other day the second week, then the third week they go the normal schedule from 7:45 am to 2:45 pm.  

He is liking school a lot.  The days  he is off he is here with me.   We decided to get to the woods and enjoy 

Summer on Wednesday.  He is getting to be such a big boy now and can hike further. It has opened up lots

of possibilities as to what he can do and where we can go!  

      I asked him if he wanted to climb a tall tower and look off on Wednesday and then go to a pretty waterfall? He exclaimed YES!, but  ONLY if we can get in the river!  So it was agreed upon. 

We packed a picnic and some toys.  We took Dissy blanket.. yes. Dissy doesn't go to school, but it is

still important to take our security blanket on hikes. 

    We left the house about 9:30 am and drove up Foothills Parkway to Look Rock parking area.
I had a thought about getting him interested in the hike and drove a short distance past the parking area.
I turned around and headed the jeep back in the right direction and started slowly driving back. I found
a spot to pull over on the shoulder. I told Michael to get out of his car seat which he did.  He came up to the front of the jeep with me and I was able to point out the tower in the distance.  I asked what he saw?
His answer was a wide-eyed "Can we go there?!" We made it to the parking area and got ready to hike.
We gathered the camera and a small lunch box of stuff and hiked the 1/2 mile up to the tower. Nanny had to
stop and take photos of every thing because it was all fascinating to Michael. Mushrooms, leaves, bugs, rocks!   He had to climb on the rocks and eat a cookie.   He noticed the shortcut trail.. the unofficial trail up
to the tower. Who does that remind you of?   He did not find the hike up to be hard at all.  I had taken him
up there once before, but he was still a papoose then.  He has not been when he was old enough to recall
the trip until today.   He was astonished when he got the first glimpse of the tower from the trail.

       He ran up the ramps and was checking out the rocks and the surroundings. He was disgusted when he
realized we were not allowed to climb the spiral staircase or go up into the cab.   I know that feeling well.
He still enjoyed the view and told me he was just sure he could see my house down there!

Top: Look Rock Tower
Bottom: Michael enjoying climbing around on rocks

Checking out the view from Look Rock Tower out across Blount County, TN

     It was a new experience for Michael coming to the tower, but he did not find it that interesting.
He was ready to go see waterfalls and play in the creek.  He was unhappy that we had to drive in the jeep
to get to the next place.  I told him it was not far and to hang in there.  I bribed him with promises of a
visit to the visitor center store at Tremont.  I had not bought him anything in awhile and I can usually find him
something there that is a little educational as well as fun.   We made it there without too much complaining.
He enjoyed the visitor center and the staff there was so nice to him.   A lady was there and had brought her
little dog in the store for a short visit. He got to pet the dog and liked his name which was "Banjo".
He picked out a stuffed bear to cuddle and named him Scout.   We learned about bird banding. We learned about bears and what they do.   We had us a nice picnic lunch at the Tremont Institute on the grass.
Scout got up in a tree like bears do and did not get our picnic basket.   It was a chance for me to start educating him about NOT feeding bears or wildlife, chasing them, or otherwise harassing them.  I certainly
don't want him to fear wildlife, but respect it and enjoy it.  We had sweet tea, homemade lemonade,
turkey sandwiches, and homemade brownies for dessert.

         We did a quick Presto Chango into swim trunks. Grabbed our toys and walking sticks and backpacks and all our stuff and away we went down the trail. I had taken time back at the jeep once the Look Rock trail was done to ask Michael "Do you know how far you just walked? ONE MILE!" He was tickled at that and remarked "That was NOTHING!" And for him it really wasn't.  I then told him the hike to the waterfall would be one mile. He again said "That's nothing!" and true to form ... it wasn't for him.
He is a big, long legged boy for age five. He is in the 95 percentile for his age on height and weight.
He has an uncle who is about seven feet tall and Pawpaw is 6'4". He's a hoss.

       We hiked the trail out to Spruce Flats Falls and he was thrilled at seeing the water tower.
He really was intrigued by that.  He liked the log steps too.  He liked the narrow trail and the views.
He saw salamanders in the springs coming down over the trail. He loved the woods.  He held my hand and made sure Nanny did not fall or do anything unsafe.  He kept pointing out roots to me and rocky places and telling me to be careful.  A few times he got uneasy and wanted me to lift him down over a bad place which I did.  He is a leader already, but he is not embarrassed to ask for help when he needs it. He told me one time on the hike "I need your help. I'm just a little boy!"  We encountered another family on the trail who had
a little boy with them.  His name was Ian and he was also five!  It was his first trip to the waterfall and
he and Michael hit it off right away.    Michael is competitive and was determined he was going to get there
first. He got me by the hand and whispered "We can't let them beat us!"  He was pleased that we got there ahead of them.

    He was pleased at the first sight of the falls and was hollering WHOA!  but he also let me know right then that we needed to go right up to the falls!   First we need to play! So play we did.  We got in the creek and
visited with Ian and his family. He shared his toys with him and other kids.  It was very sweet. He threw rocks in the water, but was sure to be careful and only throw them in the water and not at people or anywhere near people.   The boys dammed the creek. The checked out crawdads, salamanders,and minnows.  Lots of time for building rock stacks and digging sand and rocks. 

Spruce Flats Falls

Michael & Ian playing together. It's great to be five!

Michael has found a stick that looks like a Pow Pow!   Woo Hoo was the mood of the day!








Sharing toys and digging sand and rocks. Putting them in the lunch box!


           The rest of the trip was not photographed.  Why?  Because we were too busy playing in the water.
Lots of families were here today with us.  All nice people. We were the only ones who were "locals".   Everyone else was on vacation. Everyone was in a great mood.   We visited with children and grown ups
of every stripe and description. They were all lovely.   The older kids were sweet as could be and had nets.
They were gently catching critters in the stream and bringing them over for the smaller children to see.
Michael got to touch a crawdad for the first time.   He could not believe that Nanny would pick it up!
The presence of the other families there really made it fun.

    Today's visit to Spruce Flats Falls was the most fun hike I've ever taken there. Hands down.
I have visited there too many times to count.  I had never climbed up into the waterfall until today.
I had never been swimming there before until today.  Today was a breath of fresh air with a little boy who
knows how to have a good time and takes the party with him where he goes.   We were sliding down a small cascade into the plunge pool. We got IN the waterfall and let it splash us and pelt us with cold drops of water.  We swam in the plunge pool.  Michael swam across on my back. I was like a momma bear.
It was great fun.   I will never forget it.   I could hear other kids and parents remarking about us.
I could not hear all of what was said.   Later a mother of two older daughters told me what she thought.
I figured she was going to correct me for teaching my grandson to be reckless.  She said she thought
it was great that we were having a good time, but being careful while doing so.  That is always a good policy.
Enjoy yourself. Have fun, but use some common sense.   It is not necessarily so common, eh?

    We spent 2 1/2 hours at the falls swimming and playing.   Finally we had to leave. We put on our dry shoes for the hike back.  We told our new friends good bye.  Michael had two brownies while I put my boots on.  He hopped, skipped, jumped, ran, and pretended to fly like an eagle along the trail on the hike back.   Thanks so much to the family who was behind us and played along with him being the hike leader!
He had that chest stuck out and was showing us how to get back to the parking lot.

        We put our things away. He told the other family good bye. We changed into dry clothes.
He hugged Scout and his blanket and we had only gotten as far as Townsend IGA when he konked out.
He slept all the way home. We played hard!  Five and one half hours outside and three miles of  hiking, swimming, sliding and rock throwing will do that to you.

          I look forward to more adventures and opportunties to teach my grandson to love outside!