Southern Tennessee & Sewanee Creek

There are three nice lakes within short driving distance of Pulaski and Tracey City, TN so we opted for the smallest "Normandy" which has a very clean TVA campground on it's shores. As we learned, you'd better have you turf reserved before any holiday weekend at any of these popular spots, and this was no exception (look carefully, we over there on the right!).

Although the Memorial Day weekend had the park full, most folks were courteous and remarably quiet. The kids confined themselves to the swimming area, for the most part, while the adults, including us, just enjoyed the grounds including a large flock of Canada Geese near the lake.

By late Monday, the campground presented a totally different scene, with our end almost deserted - really nice! Like other towns in the area Pulaski has an old downtown square with the typical City Hall in the center. That's it, "small town USA". What a pleasant shift from the hustle, bustle and heavy traffic of our larger cities.



We really enjoyed the friendly nature and open hospitality of these folks here in southern TN. Oh, and check out the town mascots...


,,,,,and even small towns are known to compete with Texas on a few big things!

The area is also known for it's whiskey producers, especially Jack Daniels.


Although we rarely drink hard liquor these days, we just had to do the tour.



Our host and tourguide was a trip, filling the afternoon with unique stories and crafty jokes based on her almost twenty years here at Jack's.

A unique aspect of the factory is the location. They have their own clean, freshwater spring flowing right on the property - the start of every bottle of whiskey they produce. We even got to meet Jack himself near the spring, being the gentleman he is, he agreed to pose for a picture with us!




We were surprised to learn that you can purchase an entire barrel of Old No. 7, already bottled and shipped on a pallet direct to your RV or trailer. After a little discussion, Kim convinced me that the small cask pictured on the right was a better fit for the 29 ft AlpenLite. So, I gues the fifth will just have to do.




And in case you're wondering, we were not allowed to take any photos inside the factory. We couldn't quite figure that out. It's really not rocket science......so, I guess you'll just have to come see (and SMELL!) for yourself.

In addition to thoroughly enjoying southern Tennessee, there was some other "good news" in our quest for the Ball Hollow property. In doing more research on the area, we discovered Grant Miller's wonderful development at Sewanee Creek.

We spent most of the next day with Grant as our gracious host, touring Sewanee, and the entire community around it. The property has several nice creeks, and a wonderful sixty foot high waterfall!

In addition, there were panoramic views behind the community Amphitheater which is in the final stages of completion.


Grant received a high output DLP digital project for use at the theater while we were there.
Our favorite two lots were number 17 which overlooked the huge ravine bordering the backside of the development, and number 21, which has a rock "Indian House" located in the front, lending this area to be used as a cool patio off of one's porch!


Our visit included a special treat. Becky (Grant's wife) brought out some of her scrumptious homemade wheat bread, complete with fresh strawberry preserves made from their own garden - yummy!

For additional info, their website will provide some nice insight into what very well could be the community of the future......a green development in which the residents help one another in meeting the challenges of life that this new economy continues to present us.
http://www.sewaneecreek.com/index.php

Are We Ready to Settle? Maggie Valley? Not Just Yet.....

While in the area, we got the notion that it may be worthwhile to look at a few cabins, you know, maybe a summer cottage for us, friends and the family? Or perhaps just rental-investment property. Well, you just can't imagine the wild goose chase this has led us on over the past couple of weeks! Wow, did we go look - after about twenty places, some defying gravity at the top of strictly four-wheel-drive roads, what an adventure.

But I will say that Marilyn Eilert of Mountain Dream Realty in Waynesville gave it everything she had for several days! http://www.mountaindream.com/

We'll spare you the endless boredom of going through the entire list of places we visited and just leave you with a few pictures of our favorite of the entire bunch.....

This two bedroom cabin "Little Bear" was the third highest dwelling on the top of Buck Mountain at an elevation of roughly 3800 ft, overlooking Maggie Valley, wow what a place. Our truck barely fit in the small parking apron, impossible for more than a couple of small cars.
But looking arount the porch corner, one just knew the view was going to be very special.

Inside it was beautiful, nicely furnished. Kim was ready to "move in" at first glance.
And, the porch, the porch, the porch!!!!

It took your breath away just to walk out and gaze at that spectacular view!

But, in the end, several aspects of the place just wouldn't work for us. But, how about you? If so, just give Marilyn a call. After days of additional searching, nothing reached out and grabbed us, so we put the search off for another time.

We Meet Kristin and Travis at Clingman's Dome!

We drove over to Clingman's Dome today to meet Kim's daughter, Kristin and her fiance', Travis, who happened to be taking a few days holiday in Gatlinburg during spring break. We agreed to meet in the parking lot for the dome. Having to travel the longest distance, they were waiting when we got there, but soon were out of the car gazing into the trunk...where, you guessed it - the battery on the Saturn is located. Dead of course, 5 years old and having powered the radio and headlights for over a half hour (without the engine running). Oh well, a quick jump from the Dodge's heavy batteries and a charge and it's ready when we return!

So, now where were we?















Oh, yes, the hike to the top of Clingman's to enjoy those spectacular views. And as we started up the half-mile path, the stunning view back towards Fontana Lake (way in the distance) proved we had hit the mountain on one of its clearer days!
Up and up we go, but the cool weather and nice breeze make for less effort. We stop occasionally to admire the scenes to our left. Now you couldn't possibly tell these two are mother - daughter? (if not, get your eyes examined!)


Near the top we marvel at the amount of dead trees along the path, wondering what quirk of nature (or man) has caused all the destruction?



Perhaps the acid rain that the Smokies are known for???
What do you think?


We round a final bend and walah! There it is, the spaceship looking pinnacle that was erected fifty years ago on the highest point of the Appalachian Trail.
We spent about twenty minutes on the platform, enough time to enjoy the incredible views that span four states!
Our timing for the journey down was perfect, arriving back at the base just before a large neon-clad school group takes to the top!


We decided to drive back southward to the Smokey's Park entrance, where an old farm has been re-created by the Park Service as a museum of the past. The historic looking structure stood in elegant contrast to the beautiful green pasture behind. I enjoyed sitting by the freshly plowed garden, the smell of new dirt in the air!


Kristin found the likes of an old friend; Peepers - the rooster she had as a pet when she was a young girl. Great we got the chance to meet here in the mountains! Perhaps again next year?

AT Trail Days!

One of the most enjoyable parts of doing any hike on the Appalachian Trail is meeting a variety of interesting souls who are all out here with at least one thing in common...love of the trail!

Along with the hiking, the town of Damascus, VA sponsors a yearly event that brings together hundreds of hikers - especially large numbers of 'thru hikers' (hikers who hike the whole A.T. in one swoop). Vendors of specialized and lightweight hiking equipment, past hikers and writers, those just interested in the trail or hiking, and the folks who venture into this piece of American History.
Most are attracted to the numerous displays of gear, like the display of ultra lightweight tents and shelters. We spent the better part of two days wandering through the booths, watching demos, tasting meals and treats, etc.

And no festival would be complete without some good local music, and in Virginia that's bluegrass of course!



The highlight of the festival is the Hiker's Parade. It's amazing just how many folks line the main street of this small, sleepy community for this unique event.


Along with all the interesting folks we found a few other things that caught the eye.

The parade went on for quite some time with this year's thru hikers leading the parade. Following were the groups that had done thru hikes in years past, a reunion of sorts of old friends made on the trail.

Another highlight are the water fights. Yes, according to the townsfolk, this is an old tradition of the parade. A nice sampling of the squirt-gun action can be seen in this video clip on our YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbf2v-m9S74

Educational talks were available all weekend. Perhaps the most interesting was Gene Espy, who was the second person to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. His talk focused on the difficulties facing the hiker in the earlier years, and included many humorous tales of his adventure.

Hot Springs & Max Patch

Kim found a fabulous setting just outside of Hot Springs, Rocky Bluffs Campground. The solitude of the area coupled with the fresh colors of Spring were a delight! Our site overlooked an open hollow, with beautiful tent spots below. If you're ever here, this small out of the way park is a must stop.











We also took a morning hike along Spring Creek, which runs through one side of the campground----



The town of Hot Springs has a couple of attractions. First of all the Appalachian Trail goes right through the quaint old downtown, following Main Street through a row of shops, including a great outfitter that caters to through hikers on the trail. Check out their website for some great pix of the many hikers that vist this place every year. http://www.bluffmountain.com/

The other major attraction is a natural hot spring located here, the only such spring known in North Carolina and in much of the southeastern United States. Thus, this area has long since been a destination for those looking for therapeutic relief from their ailments. Native Americans were the first to discover the 100+ degree mineral waters, and European immigrants settled the area over 200 years ago. It is reported that people were visiting the springs by 1778 for the waters' reported healing properties.


Lucky for us, the Spring wasn't crowded, and we were able to reserve the most sought after jacuzzi (#5) for an hour's pleasure that afternoon. The bath, fed by the warm spring waters, overlooked the conjunction of Spring Creek & the French Broad River. What a great way to relax!


After the soothing jacuzzi, we had a terrific panini sandwich along with some great acoustic music at the Iron Horse Station, another nice surprise from this quaint community. http://www.theironhorsestation.com/

While in the area, we took a day to drive east on Hwy 209 and managed to find Max Patch. This unique hilltop has quite a history, as you can read here....
The view from the parking lot was quite impressive,

as was looking out from about midway up,
at the top one can clearly see what was the old airfield, stretching out towards the west, plenty of room to land an old barnstormer!
and, those beautiful spring colors were so apparent on the other side! as we start our descent to the truck, glancing westward again, we can see how the AT rounds the crest of the giant hill, and, in the distance, a nice view of those colors again with a few AT hikers just cresting the far edge....what a nice view to finish our visit to "the top of the world"!