Townsend, Tennessee is a mountain town roughly halfway between Maryville and Gatlinburg, with Highway 321/Lamar Alexander Parkway running through it. Townsend got its start in the 1920s as a hub for the railroad and lumber industries. It is called the “Peaceful Side of the Smokies” and is just a mile or so from an entrance…
A Natural Wonder Sedona is a place of mystical lore, a geographical vortex for healing energy, a haven for self-care and alternative medicine, a mecca for wine lovers, and a hub for artists. It is located between Flagstaff and Phoenix, just about an hour from Flagstaff and two hours from Phoenix. Within a reasonable driving…
Waynesville, North Carolina’s Cataloochee Valley has become a prime spot for elk viewing since 2011, after an experimental program reintroduced elk to this part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The program was led by the National Park Service, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and a few other partners. Twenty-five radio collared elk were brought in…
Desert Botanical Gardens, without question, is my favourite place near Phoenix, Arizona. The gardens span 140 acres in the Sonoran Desert with 55 acres currently under cultivation. More than 25,000 documented/monitored species are available to view in over 50,000 plant displays, representing 100 plant groups and over 4,200 individual taxa that make up its living collection. …
Sedona, Arizona is known for its natural beauty and the “soul” of the landscape, so it makes sense that a lovely Buddhist stupa would make a home there. Stupa, the Sanskrit word for heap, is a prominent and ancient type of sacred Buddhist architecture that predates Buddhism itself. These sepulchers are for burying spiritual artifacts,…
Grandfather Mountain is among the most rough and rugged mountains in Eastern USA and at 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it has the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My song for this entry is a heavy cover of Edvard Grieg’s classic “Hall of the Mountain King” by Apocalyptica: Daniel Boone…
Blowing Rock is a small town in northwestern North Carolina near the Tennessee border known as the “Crown of Blue Ridge” with around 1300 residents in its three square miles. The land that became the town of Blowing Rock first belonged to Cherokee and Catawba tribes, and when white settlers moved in, they used it…
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…
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…
High up on the mountain top, Tray Mountain in this case, is one of North Georgia’s most popular locales. Anna Ruby Falls are part of the Unicoi State Park in the Chattahoochee National Forest. My song for this entry is “High on a Mountain Top” by Loretta Lynn: The twin waterfalls mark the junction of…
I’ve heard stories about this place long before I visited. One friend described it as a rowdier Hooters with karaoke and camping
Fernweh 