Author: Easin' Along

The day after Helen and I returned from a wonderful (and wet) weekend camping trip with our church, we packed up again to spend a few days with some dear friends.  Readers have met these folks before, and they are friends we made when we moved into a new neighborhood upon our return to Knoxville. Our youngest son was born ten days after moving in, and we lived there for twenty-one years.  I cried when we moved out but left the neighborhood with great memories of great times with many great people.

Some of those neighbors moved on as well, but we stayed connected, primarily because six ladies in our group have spent a week together at the beach for forty years.  The husbands stayed home to babysit in the early years. Now, we gather for dinner to catch up. It’s been a sad two years, however. We lost two of the husbands to illness, and we miss them immeasurably.

One of the ladies in our group shares a lovely home with her sister in the Blair Branch community near the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. She graciously invited us all up for a time of fun, companionship, and a birthday celebration for one of our friends.  I promised (sort of) that I wouldn’t say who.

The Blair Branch community is adjacent to the famous Blackberry Farm, a four-star resort that draws well-heeled guests worldwide.  Anne, our hostess, enjoys the opportunity to visit Blackberry and bring her guests with her. She booked us in for a day to check it out, and we jumped at the chance.  The weather was great, and we needed the exercise.

Blackberry Farm is a unique resort, and the owners have worked hard to make it as complete a farm-to-table operation as possible. Extensive vegetable gardens supply many of the items found on the menu, and chickens, turkeys, and other game fowl provide fresh poultry for guests.

We visited the gardens and looked over the varieties of vegetables found there. Beets, cabbage, kale, and carrots filled the rows in one garden, as did zinnias and other flowers for the tables.  Paw-Paws grew in one corner of the field but were not yet ready for picking. It’s an impressive operation.

In addition to our garden walk, we visited the kennel to meet the new puppies born on the Farm.  These are not ordinary puppies but a specialized breed, the Logotto Romagnolo. As the name implies, Logotto Romagnolos originated in Italy and trained to hunt.  Because of their keen sense of smell, these animals eventually were used to search for truffles in the Italian hillsides. Blackberry is in the process of preparing some land to grow truffles for the resort and keep these pups busy.

We entered the kennel area and immediately had one of the dogs rush out to meet us. They are lively fuzzballs and cute as they come.  The trainer interrupted his session with one young pup to give us a bit of information on the breed and the operation of the kennel. He explained that the dogs are in high demand and sell for many thousands of dollars.  Once sold, the trainer accompanies the dog to its new owner, wherever that is.  He told us that he had delivered them all over America and to many foreign countries.  At this point, there is a waiting list for Blackberry Logotto Romagnolos extending out over six years.

After our information briefing, we visited the newest pups in the kennel.  Helen got to hold one, but he was a furry handful, and I couldn’t get either Helen or the puppy to remain still long enough to focus my camera.

After our afternoon on the Farm, we returned to Blair Branch to continue our time together. A roaring fire added much to the cozy atmosphere, and the conversation lingered long. We did much the same around the breakfast table the following day after Bloody Marys helped spice up the chatter. (Photos courtesy of the other Joe in the group.)

Oh, we finally got around to celebrating the birthday, but not before a mystery person stole a slice from the Red Velvet Cake that Anne prepared from scratch. We never discovered the culprit, but I did take a picture of the birthday person…the name remains withheld, but clues are everywhere.

In summary, everyone enjoyed a delightful time together, and the time for Easin’ Along came all too quickly.

Please join us next week.  Helen and I are taking you to Edisto Beach, SC. 

Helen and I often get asked if we have considered living full-time on the road in our RV. The truthful answer is, yes, we think about it, then quickly dismiss the idea. As lifelong Knoxvillians, we know how important it is to stay connected to our friends and family.  We love that we have the freedom to leave our home for three or four months at a time, but returning home can be just as sweet as our adventures on the road.

Another reason we feel the tug of home is because we love our church and the people who are a part of it. Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian has been our church home for well over thirty years, and we have no intention of moving away from it. Although we can view Sunday services online, it isn’t the same as joining our friends in the sanctuary.

One of the highlights of every year for us is the annual camping trip for church members in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Oneida, Tennessee, on the Cumberland Plateau. I have to admit to readers that Helen and I are usually the oldest campers in the group, and one aspect of the weekend that makes it so much for us is that we can be around many young adult members of the church and spend time with their children.  The campout for this year took place last weekend, and Helen and I arrived on Thursday afternoon to join a few others who couldn’t wait until Friday to begin the fun.

It is peak leaf season in the Tennessee hills, and we have received an abundance of rain this year, so the leaves have held fast to the trees a bit longer than usual, putting on a colorful show for all to enjoy. We drove to Big South Fork in anticipation of a bright display.  The display was there…but so was the rain–lots of it.

I parked Dora in campsite number one and set everything up in a misty rainfall. There are no hookups in the group campground, so I brought a generator for electricity, ensuring Helen had plenty of hot coffee available first thing on her damp Friday morning.  The generator fired up on the first pull (whew).

That evening, Jennifer and David, the campout organizers, prepared a gourmet Surf and Turf dinner for about 12 early attendees. In addition to delicious beef tenderloin filets, Jennifer sauteed fresh diver scallops and smothered them with a mixture of crumbled bacon and maple syrup. The word delicious doesn’t come close to describing the taste. After our meal, we retired to Dora and let the gentle rain lull us to sleep.

There was no letup in the rain on Friday, but the families drifted into the campground throughout the day. That evening, Jennifer and David served a meal of homemade potato soup, supplemented by a pot of homemade chili prepared in front of the fire by Richard.  Fortunately, there is a sizeable screened-in pavilion in the group campground, complete with a massive fireplace for everyone to gather around. After dinner, the children scrambled outside to play games in the dark, rain notwithstanding.

Saturday is usually a day for hiking during this event, and, in previous years, we have enjoyed fantastic hikes in Big South Fork in glorious fall weather.  The pictures above are a good illustration, but we missed out on this year.  Instead, smart-thinking parents brought several crafts and games for everyone to enjoy. Face-painting stations, beadwork tables, card games, and jigsaw puzzles, including three furnished by Helen, were included in the activities.  Except for a few rainy-day bike riders, the children remained busy all afternoon. It was fun to watch them entertain themselves without cell phones and Ipads.

The rain held up long enough to hold a worship service around a large bonfire on Sunday morning. We sang hymns accompanied by a skilled guitarist, and Mark, one of our pastors, led both a children’s service and one for the entire group. He did well. When the service ended, everyone huddled together for a group photograph behind a veil of smoke. With that, a wonderfully wet, woodsy weekend concluded.

The sun broke through less than an hour later.

Helen and I visited six National Parks on our most recent trip, including Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier. I’ve said it many times; our National Parks are the greatest gifts Americans have given to ourselves, and we were not disappointed this year.

After returning home and taking a few weeks to readjust, we were itching to return to the wide-open spaces. Fortunately, the most-visited National Park in the country is thirty miles from our front door, and Helen suggested we add the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to this year’s tour. I took the bait.

Peak leaf season is fast approaching in the Tennessee Valley, so we figured that we might have the opportunity for first-class leaf-peeping at the higher elevations. Campground reservations are a tough ticket during leaf season in the Smokies, but our chances might be better if we tried for a Monday instead of a weekend. We guessed right and obtained a great spot along the stream (the last one available) at our favorite campground in Cherokee, NC. In addition to securing a great campsite, the weather was perfect for camping, outdoor adventures, and picture-taking.

There are some excellent hiking trails on the eastern side of the National Park that don’t require hill-climbing. Helen and I always enjoy Deep Creek Trail in Deep Creek Campground near Bryson City, NC. The trail follows the creek and takes hikers to two Waterfalls. Tom’s Branch Falls is the higher of the two, and if the streams are full, the waterfall can put on quite a show. Indian Creek Falls is about a mile up the trail. It is a gentle waterfall but very scenic. Indian Creek Falls always has visitors around the base–or wading in the creek.

On day two of our visit, Helen wanted to hang out in Dora to do some cleaning after our four-month road trip and prepare for our annual church campout. I was just an obstacle to work around when Helen started cleaning, so I grabbed the camera and headed up the mountain to check the leaves out and take pictures. The destination was the overlook at Newfound Gap, an always scenic viewpoint that should be spectacular on this bluebird day.

As I drove past the Visitor’s Center at Oconoluftee, I could not see an empty parking space and had my first clue that the most-visited National Park would live up to its reputation on this day. Cars also lined the roads near the hiking trails, but I found one along the edge of the Oconoluftee River and stopped to take pictures of the stream. Water flowed gently around the rocks, and the falling leaves added just a touch of color to the scene. The hiking trail adjacent to the creek was very inviting, but I wanted to see what awaited me at the top of the mountain.

From the parking area along the creek, I drove steadily up Newfound Gap road to the parking lot at the overlook–a climb of about 3,000 feet. The colors along the road provided a hint as to what I would see at the top. The sky remained a stunning blue.

At Newfound Gap, I had to wait for a parking place to open, but the wait was worth it. We’ve had a substantial amount of rain this fall, and the leaves have clung to the trees a bit longer as a result. Color had begun to fill the leaves, but I guessed they were not yet at their peak. Nevertheless, there was color enough to satisfy this leaf-peeper, and I joined the crowd on the viewing platform and snapped away. What a treat!

After a while, I put the camera down and stood still while taking in the view and filling my lungs with fir and pine-scented air–something we don’t get to do every day, then drove slowly back down the mountain. You could say I was Easin’ Along.