Register Now! Turn It Up! How do you turn the excitement of tourism into social media?

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Social Media Week Chicago 2013

Register for the BTB Black Travel Bloggers Social Media Week Chicago Event:

Turn It Up! How do you turn the excitement of tourism into social media?

The Travel and Tourism Industry is challenged with new methods of influencing the traveler. BTB Travel Bloggers will discuss social media effectiveness in reaching travelers. Travel Journalists
possess the immediate ability to engage travelers. Panel will focus on images/photography, storytelling and social media as they relate to travel blogging.
Moderator:
+Aminah Hanan , Blogging While Brown
Twitter @Aminah Hanan

Aminah Hanan was born, raised, and continues to make her home on the Southside of Chicago. The consummate multi-tasker Aminah is a bibliophile, blogger, health care professional, mixed media artist, social media consultant, and writer.
Aminah dreams of one day retiring to the South of France, but first she must become fluent in French.
An aspiring new and social media maven, Aminah is a steadfast advocate for people powered media.

Panelist:
+Rosalind Cummings-Yeates , Writer/ Blogger will focus on storytelling
Twitter @FarsightedGirl

Freelance journalist and blogger specializing in travel and arts topics. I write features and reviews for print and online publications. I also host travel shows and documentaries as well as teach college journalism and philosophy courses.

+Janice Temple , Flight Attendant Travel Blogger will focus on Social Media
Twitter @Skychi_travels

SkyChi is my alter ego when I fly. SkyChi is an international traveler who is a linguist. Skychi has lived in France, Belgium, Venezuela, Argentina, and Turkey. SkyChi speaks French, Spanish, and some Turkish. Skychi has the unique ability to communicate and understand people of other cultures.

More Panelist to come so check the blog for updates.

Dag 1, Aankomst.

Several East Tennessee Dams

Two thousand thirteen has been one of the wettest years on record in the Tennessee Valley.  Here are pictures and some video of East Tennessee dams and reservoirs in early July, 2013.  All available generating units were running and some of the dams were spilling water as well.  Spilling water is only done when all available generating units are operating and additional water needs to be moved downstream quickly to reduce flooding and restore storage capacity somewhere upstream.


Calderwood Dam

Calderwood Dam on the Little Tennessee River is owned and operated by Brookfield Smoky Mountain Hydropower LLC.  Built in 1930, Calderwood is a 232 feet high concrete arch dam spanning 916 feet across The Narrows, a horseshoe-shaped gorge.  The powerhouse is located over a mile downstream from the dam with the water piped through the ridge that separates the two legs of the horseshoe.  The three turbine-generator sets can produce 140 megawatts (MW) of power.  Operations at TVA's Fontana Dam upstream dictate the operations at Calderwood, including when Calderwood needs to spill water.I have not yet found a clearly public access path to the base of the dam so these pictures are from behind the dam at the overlook on Calderwood Highway, US 129, also known as The Tail of the Dragon.


The mist rising below the dam is a sign of spilling or sluicing operations

Calderwood Reservoir

Cherokee Dam

Cherokee Dam on the Holston River is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).  The dam was built in 16 months and completed at the end of 1941.  The 175 feet high dam spans 6,760 feet including both the earthen sections and the concrete gravity section with the spillways and powerhouse.  The four generating units are capable of producing 148 MW.  Spilling operations have not been required at Cherokee this year.

No spilling or sluicing, but all four units are running

Looking downstream on the Holston River

Chilhowee Dam

Chilhowee Dam on the Little Tennessee River is owned and operated by Brookfield Smoky Mountain Hydropower LLC.   Located below Calderwood, Chilhowee is also operated in a run-of-the-river fashion dependent on operations at TVA's Fontana Dam upstream.  The 89 foot high dam contains three generators with a combined capacity of 48 MW.  The dam was placed in service in 1957 by a subsidiary of Alcoa, Inc.


Spilling excess water


The upstream face of Chilhowee Dam

Chilhowee Reservoir

Douglas Dam

Douglas Dam on the French Broad River is owned and operated by TVA.  Douglas was built during World War II and was completed in just 382 days or less than 13 months, setting a world record for projects of similar size.  The 201 feet high dam stretches 1,705 feet across the river.  Its four generating units have a capacity of 111 MW.

View from the visitor center

Reservoir and river

Upstream face of the dam

Douglas Reservoir

Downstream face of the dam

Spilling operations


Gates are used to regulate the amount of water released

View from the TN 338 highway bridge

High water touches the warning signs at the boat ramp

French Broad River downstream of the highway bridge

Norris Dam

Norris Dam on the Clinch River is owned and operated by TVA.  Norris was the first dam built by TVA and was placed in operation in 1936.  The concrete gravity dam is 265 feet high, 1,860 feet long and includes two generating units with a capacity of 110 MW.  Spilling operations were conducted at Norris twice earlier in 2013.  I've included a few pictures from sluicing operations in January and spilling operations in May.

Sluicing in January from below the dam

Sluicing in January from the west overlook

The reservoir was nearly full in January

Spilling in May from the west overlook

The reservoir at full summer pool elevation in early May

Spilling water at Norris Dam in May

Upstream face of the dam

Elevator tower and west overlook

Looking downstream from above the switchyard

Water leaks around the drum gates and flows down the spillways

Clinch River below the dam

Norris Reservoir

Water leaking around gates

Watauga Dam

Watauga Dam on the Watauga River is owned and operated by TVA.  Its construction was halted during World War II to free up resources for more critical projects.  The earthen dam was completed in 1948 with a height of 332 feet and a width of 925 feet.  The reservoir is the highest elevation of all of TVA's dams.  Two generating units with a combined capacity of 66 MW are located in a powerhouse downstream of the dam.  The area between the dam and the powerhouse is usually closed to visitors so I don't have any pictures of the downstream face of the dam.  However, the Appalachian Trail crosses the crest of the dam.

Sailboat on Watauga Reservoir

Appalachian Mountains from the visitor center

Upstream side of Watauga Dam

Powerhouse

Bridge over the Watauga RIver

Wilbur Dam

Located about three miles downstream of Watauga Dam, the 76 foot high Wilbur Dam spans 375 feet across the Watauga River.  This concrete gravity dam was completed in 1912 by the Watauga Power Company and was sold to TVA in 1945.  The four generating units in the powerhouse produce a combined 11 MW.

Wilbur Reservoir

Fishing above the dam

Spilling operations at Wilbur


Three of four spillways in operation


Watauga River downstream of Wilbur Dam

Obstructed view of spillways from downstream boat ramp

The TVA website is http://www.tva.gov.
The Brookfield website is http://www.smokymountainhydro.com/‎.

Eindelijk vakantie.

Hèhè, eindelijk hebben we vakantie. Heerlijk, zo lang naar uitgekeken.

Vanmorgen nog een lekkere lange wandeling gemaakt met Floris voordat we hem vanmiddag naar zijn opvangadres brengen.

Morgen vertrekken we richting het Sauerland en blijven we een week in dit appartement , daarna een nachtje thuis en dan vliegen we naar Londen voor 3 dagen.

Hieronder nog wat foto’s van de wandeling van vanmorgen.

 

Gr

Anthonie

Rev. Bernice King, Daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., to Appear at Special Program Aug. 22 "Covering Civil Rights"

Make Some Noise Students and the Civil Rights Movement Photo Credit: PR Newsire

Black Travel Bloggers Meetup to cover this historic event with special guest speaker Rev. Bernice King, please reserve your seat at CoveringCivilRights.eventbrite.com.

On Aug. 22, 2013, at 7 p.m., the Newseum, in partnership with the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), will host a free evening program, "Covering Civil Rights: On the Front Lines." The program will include a special appearance by Elder Bernice King, chief executive officer of The King Center and daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.  and Coretta Scott King. Rev. King will receive the NCNW's 2013 Leadership Award.

Moderated by Sirius XM radio host, Joe Madison, the event will also feature a discussion with journalist and author of "Shocking the Conscience: A Reporter's Account of the Civil Rights Movement," Simeon Booker, who was on the front lines of covering the civil rights story. The program is free and open to the public, but seats are limited and must be reserved at CoveringCivilRights.eventbrite.com.

The Newseum's exhibit, "Make Some Noise," will spotlight key figures in the student civil rights movement, including John Lewis, now a U.S. representative from Georgia, and Julian Bond, who later became chairman of the NAACP. Through the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, young activists took direct action to end segregation and break down racial barriers in voting rights, education and the workplace by organizing sit-ins, marches and voter registration drives.

The exhibit also will feature a section of the original F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where in 1960 four African-American college students launched the sit-in movement, and a bronze casting of the Birmingham, Ala., jail cell door behind which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. penned his famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail" in 1963.


In addition to "Make Some Noise," the Newseum will launch a three-year changing exhibit, "Civil Rights at 50," which will be updated each year to chronicle milestones in the civil rights movement from 1963, 1964 and 1965 through historic front pages, magazines and news images.

Many elements of the civil rights exhibit will be incorporated into the Newseum's Digital Classroom, the museum's online education center. Launching Aug. 30, 2013, this free resource will explore the civil rights movement through the lenses of historical connections, media literacy and civics and citizenship using videos, archival news footage and interviews. These standards-aligned lesson plans will help teachers enhance student engagement with Newseum content, their communities and their peers across the country.
More about all the Newseum's civil rights initiatives can be found at newseum.org/civilrights.

On Aug. 2, 2013, in time for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the Newseum will open "Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement," an exhibit that explores the new generation of student leaders in the early 1960s who fought segregation by exercising their First Amendment rights and making their voices heard.  




Jet-Setting with the Elite at Wholesale Pricing Just Got A Little Bit Easier



Have you ever wondered how the rich and famous travel so lavishly? Do you ever ask yourself; is there a way that I can travel like that on my budget? American Vacations International says, “YES”!!

Here’s how….we have spent many hours developing lots of relationships with hundreds of travel companies in the business. This unique business partnership and our companies desire to get Americans traveling has enabled us to offer deals at up to 70% off of retail pricing. These deals are available on everything from vacation packages to restaurant gift certificates.

American Vacations International also has daily and weekly deals designed for the last minute travelers as well. Some of the last minute deals include deals such as a four day three night cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for under $300 per person! Yes, that’s right, less than $300 per person.   
 

If we’ve got your attention, we would like to hear from you! Please do not hesitate to contact the team at American Vacations International for more information. We can be reached at americanvacationsinternational@gmail.com.
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