I was thrilled already with the selection of plants in the garden and the interesting art, and then I saw it: a slow-motion wave of iridescent blue, a long train of green and gold feathers, and scratchy little feet.
Linville, North Carolina is an unincorporated community inside the Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was founded in the 1880s and known back then as the Clay or Porcelain town in Avery County. Linville is about 45 minutes southeast of Johnson City and an hour or so northeast of Asheville. The main…
Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville, Tennessee has more than 1,700 acres with endless recreational options to explore. The park also has an Olympic-sized pool, several picnic shelters, campgrounds, playgrounds, courts for volleyball, tennis, basketball, badminton and other sports and games, a golf course, and a restaurant onsite. My song for this entry is “Explore”…
Legends say the 12-ft tall monolith mysteriously appeared on the Indian Trail dividing two tribal territories; naturally shaped or perhaps carved to look like a dog. Weather, war, and vandalism have made it an unrecognizable fragment of what it once was.
Cummins Falls has been a popular swimming hole for locals for over a century, gaining most of its momentum among tourists in the last decade. I first learned about it in 2011 at a music festival in Cookeville, when some friends went hiking and found an easy way in. At that time it was not prohibited, but things have since changed.
Later that year, the land was purchased by the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation and it became the state park as we know it today.
Ozone Falls State Natural Area is located near the town of Crab Orchard in Cumberland County, Tennessee. It was officially established in the 1973 with just fourteen acres, but the land mass tripled in the following two decades. Visiting was a quick and easy stop off the highway en route from Knoxville to Crossville, and…
Just beyond the Henley Street Bridge in downtown Knoxville, you can visit one of many old Civil War forts in the area. Fort Dickerson is an extremely well-preserved earthen fort built in the early 1860s by Federals/Union soldiers to protect Knoxville from the Confederates. The fort was named after Captain Jonathan C. Dickerson who had…
Legends of the Native American Nunnehi spirits haunt the area, as countless battles took place between the Cherokee and Creek tribes on these ancient grounds between Blood Mountain and Slaughter Mountain.
We share a love for local breweries and craft beer so, just like our trip to Waynesville, checking out the town’s breweries was paramount. On subsequent trip(s), my friends and I stopped in Bryson City to take in some local culture, shop, and relax by the water.
Countless Overhill Cherokee towns are buried under water in East Tennessee. The history of this region and its native people is still full of mysteries and surprises even after decades of extensive archaeological projects. The modern town of Vonore is a historically and culturally-rich, prominent archaeological site just a few miles south of Historic Loudon and…
Cove Lake State Park is one of Tennessee’s 12 State Parks and it is located in Caryville, less than 30 miles north of Knoxville. The land may be ancient but the man-made Cove Lake is the result of the New Deal Caryville Dam Project that began back in the 1930s. Nearly 700 acres on the…
Fernweh 