What’s NEW at Anakeesta - The Willow Man / Vista Gardens / Bear Venture / Treehouse Village & MORE
A visit to Anakeesta mountain top park in Gatlinburg Tennessee . Last year I visited this attraction for the first time shortly after it’s grand opening . Since then a lot has been added to the property and decided to check it out .
Transcript
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today's adventure brings us to an icky
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stuff Gatlinburg Tennessee starting out
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on ground level but we'll be making my
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way up the side of a mountain this fair
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is ready to go he's ready with his
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camera and family if you decide you are
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not feeling up to riding the chairlift
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they have a truck you can take are you
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ready to ramble no it's another option
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that you can choose instead of taking
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the gondola I have decided however not
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to take a cabin but to take a chair
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spelled Chon Dula I was noticing this
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last time not gondola I've spelled out
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Chon Dula it's easier just to say chair
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you were saying the scariest tower is
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number one number six what happens at
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number six
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nothing nothing happens at our own
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absolutely nothing why are you bringing
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it up then because it's so it's the most
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scenic I've almost seen it mostly most I
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have nothing to worry about nothing
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nothing no bears hang out near there why
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would the bears hang out the hypothetic
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there's berries underneath it in fact
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most of bears hanging out underneath the
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mid station platform because our wild
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berries underneath Gillian be in between
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2:00 and 3:00 I'm going to take a number
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coward coward
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he said tower two or five six six you're
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confusing me I'm standing here on
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between two and three and I have this
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entire seat to myself
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what's our am I looking for six tower
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six cross the road and what happens at
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six again the bear says hello welcome
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everyone and in Wu here late last year I
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went to the top of this shortly after it
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reared its head the grand opening was
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prior to that but they have added quite
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a few since that visit of mine so now
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I'm heading back up to the pinnacle to
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the top of this particular mix mountains
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everywhere there our ski lift style
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attractions taking you the top of lots
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of mountains here in the Smokies but
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this one is the one I'm focusing on
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specifically and check out all the new
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things they have added the attractions
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up here I'm inviting you to join me show
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you going directly over a surface street
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I was gonna say waiting on some traffic
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this is not your normal traffic that is
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a construction vehicle
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the ambience is enhance by the squeaks
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it sounds the gentleman at the front was
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saying to look out for tower six this is
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Tower seven and there was nothing at the
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one previous to this so we escaped
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unscathed
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however gotta keep your feet up put my
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feet up I was told tower six some twenty
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dollars it's a good thing it's a video
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then it's not a not a fetter and he down
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there last time I was on this I did see
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some bears I think they were rummaging
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around and in this area according to
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this voted Tennessee's best attraction
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and this creature shown is brand-new.i
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he was not here the last time also the
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longest treetop bridge in North America
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let me flip it over and you can see some
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of the other activities my first
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impression is how toasty and warm to be
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boxed up in those it would have been but
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now after this kind of a rather lengthy
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ride up and the Sun beating down upon my
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face and skin that probably was the
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better option dangling the guide map
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showing a kind of an overview a general
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overview of the tippy-top and I will
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soon be out a started way down here and
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I'm still continuing on that pathway and
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will very very soon eventually be right
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up here surrounded by all these
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buildings structures and wonderful
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Gardens
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I'm doing all this as I'm still still
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climbing stopped swaying the swaying is
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nice because it kind of makes like a
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breeze motion and there is a nice little
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wind going through the hair and down the
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side of the hill the quicker I'm up
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there and in the shade I will not
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complain however I will will not
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complain about that waiting very
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patiently
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certainly gonna need a beverage not
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gonna turn one down wet my whistle
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almost there almost there looking back
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behind me on how far I've come thus far
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is it gonna be good once you get my good
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side we'll exchange
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hello all right I'm going to move fast
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unloading I'm unloading here is a bigger
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version of that map I showed on the way
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up
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just to give some perspective on how far
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from the bottom to the top it is this is
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kind of looking down on the mechanisms
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that I just deboarded stepped over a few
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feet on this balcony area and you can
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see all of downtown Gatlinburg
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I'll just pan over the right a little
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bit you can see the gondolas or
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shawndala's house pelled
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and looks as if they've already started
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decorating for the upcoming season got
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some pumpkins here some jack-o'-lanterns
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and a couple of fishing skeletons have
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appeared ooh
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skinless fish I don't know how tasty
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those would be just because my also beat
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piranhas I don't remember the seating
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area being up here before but I like it
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it's a nice little arrangement
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you just hang out and take a gander at
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the Overlook and there's an overlook
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beer garden there to the loft very cute
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little coffee stands here in the shape
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of retro trailers and a beer stand there
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on the right coffee on the left here on
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the right
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Vista Gardens there's a some kind of
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bulbous item there on the lofty walk
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through what is that if you feel like
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doing a little gem mighting you can just
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follow this roaring water pathway and
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once you get over here
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a tray utilize dip it down in there and
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see if you find anything works wild I
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ended up purchasing a soda pop a $3 in
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chain I think it was about three dollars
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and 20 cents
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give or take a nickel and they give you
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one free refill
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have you met willow the friendly
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protector of the forest waiting and
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Vista gardens I have not that's why I'm
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here
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also what does Ana Kista mean it's a
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Cherokee Indian word referring to high
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ground literally meaning the place of
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the balsams this reef like object placed
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here on the side of this wooden fence is
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very interesting the child crying in the
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distance
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probably stared too intently at it
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that's carton for life
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going underneath a high-five of sorts
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into bear venture I'm gonna come back to
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that do the Lu cuz I believe that might
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be the exit to the gardens head this was
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hard not to show all the future
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Halloween decor that has been placed
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here as they set up for that particular
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season so I'm just going to embrace it
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I'm gonna show the swamp zombie that is
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residing down here on this very
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beautiful waterfall as well hello there
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which is sitting next to
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are those petunias in order to get over
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here I must cross this rope bridge so
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that's what I'm doing I'm going to walk
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across this very bouncy into this pot oh
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I see you I see a peak in the early here
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for the next couple months but I believe
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a structure you're looking into is a
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permanent permanent item at least I
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think so it's kind of hard to tell
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because some of the stuff is so fantasy
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ask him definitely has like a aura of
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imagination to it it's really hard to
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tell what's for the halloween season and
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what is it looking downward upon the new
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food court area and the village oh
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trying to either escape you climbing up
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or down I can't tell if you're trying to
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just drop down there try to get up
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towards me
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I don't think that's part of the
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instrument but these are tiny little
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gnome homes lead the pathway up or we're
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still going straight up appears as if
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Jack Skellington is has a little
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competition I would imagine this looks
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very cool in the evening hours all
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illuminated after doing a little reading
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this is known as a twig glue made from a
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plant called a privet well maybe not a
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plant specifically but definitely a
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substance called a privet you're not
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allowed to climb on to the sign States
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but you can come inside and just take a
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close-up view
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look at the helicopter flying by
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here's another piece made from that same
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material if you look straight through
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the middle of it it is a heart with the
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mountains in the distance statue of
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Saint Francis who is a friend to animals
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like birds and even squirrels feeding
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the little creatures of the wild oh yes
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I've waited patiently waited a few
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months to Wheaton to meet though I can't
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speak to meet the wheat the mill oh the
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willow man that's a tongue twister the
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protector of the forest it was very
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comfortable I've got a nice little spot
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over there above the flower bed got a
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bit of moss up the arms and a little bit
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of a leaf hat it was nice meeting you
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give me a fist bump now that the willow
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man forest friend and protector about to
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go through this course now and I'm
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looking at the sign no bare feet it's a
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clever pun because you know they're
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they're bears oh that's a little boring
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intense tonight this treehouse area
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reminds me a lot of the Ewok village in
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Return of the Jedi tell me if you think
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I am correct in that assumption
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it's a little it's a little bit shaky
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and then here we go going around these
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walls here oh there's like a little just
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a tube of sorts you're gonna take a path
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you must choose choose wisely
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I really I really hope I did hope that
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was the right the right way to be honest
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every way is okay because it's more like
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a labyrinth than a maze any possible
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direction you go leads out oh this is
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kind of oh my goodness this is kind of
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this is nuts
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no that's those are nuts alright I stand
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corrected it's a bird's nest those are
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eggs not nuts and if you wind around up
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this wooden staircase and then up this
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these metal bars you can sit on this
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little plateau and look out of this
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little hidden area this is really cool
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check out the view out pass that nest
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with the eggs and off in the distance is
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that massive tree bridge please respect
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the trees they are alive and are
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allowing you to visit their canopy after
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the second bridge the canopy walk is a
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one way loop there are a total of 16
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bridges and on the way they are getting
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a downward up scale view at that little
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village I was just at that
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I want a facility like this in my
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backyard at some point for sure going
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downward deep into the foliage okay
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they're just like oh wow let me just get
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down there to show you in case you
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forgotten how high up those things are
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whatever you do talk about ow I just
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still cannot wrap my head around how
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they're just mounted onto each of the
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tree trunks about halfway up these huge
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massive pylons of wood way up in the air
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my goodness awesome at one with nature
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and every possible way to say the least
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it's also daytime now
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I believe last time it was nightfall had
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already reared its head so I can see a
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little better this visit the chirping
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birds are a nice touch adds to the
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full-on experience not many other places
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you can find something like this into
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the woods mission accomplished
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I did the walk to the trees plenty of
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shops up here as well to get little
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trinkets souvenirs and knickknacks and
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there's a big fan blowing air which is
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pretty dang nice on this hot day the
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slogan is there's magic in the mountains
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it's true it's very true noticing this
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here is a necktie
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oh no loose article like Buick
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just got to be careful if you got
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something you'll want to get long hair I
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don't have long hair what kind of long
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so if you cook your bookbag you know
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make sure you actually pick up ghosts at
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all before
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okay if you have long hair you got to be
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careful and get caught once again I'm
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gonna have my own
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I think that one is going to be my pony
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what's not a podía sassy but that's the
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one that I'm going to be sitting in a
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city - beeping stops a nice leisurely
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descent if I look over to the right you
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can see what I was just meandering
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through through those shrubs whoa just
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stopped on the way in they were
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promoting a vehicle that you could take
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set of the gondola Kondylis I think
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that's it over there I was informed that
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today currently it is not quite
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operational will be a pretty good option
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when it's when it's working might be a
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little quicker as well this is usually
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the region where you can sometimes see
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feeding bears hanging around not seeing
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anything I'm gonna ask
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no bears where would they be if I was
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looking for him
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just anywhere and everywhere all right
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I'll keep an eye out in the kudzu I
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think that's what that's called down
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there kudzu it's not kudzu it's still
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fun to say kudzu that's gonna do it for
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next video the vlog
19:52
I've stated this before but I'll
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reiterate it always amazes me that the
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only thing holding up this contraption
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and my body weight combined is that one
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little hook up there this that's it
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that's the only mounted section that's
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attaching me in the air how'd you like
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to be staying down there either owning
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or renting and always look out your
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window and random person is staring down
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we're dangling their feet gyrating them
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back and forth like so non-stop