Next on our itinerary was Tennessee, specifically the Knoxville area, where we had some relatives to catch up with. And while we were in the vicinity, of course, we had to gawk at the natural wonders in and around the Great Smoky Mountains.

Shortly after arriving at the home of Dennis’s brother Gene and sister-in-law Linda, Dennis headed to a nearby ENT doctor, where he’d arranged an appointment. Having had a sore throat for about three weeks, he was getting concerned — fueled by excessive fretting over such matters after losing his other brother to thyroid cancer a few years ago. But this turned out to be a rather minor infection, so he could breathe easier, as it were.

We spent the afternoon driving through the countryside with Gene and Linda. One place we popped in at was an Amish farm that sold produce to the public. And excellent produce it was too, including a section of (drumroll please) zephyr squash. We’ve seen this particular vegetable before, but never realized it was named after our son.

Then we headed into the hills to check out a number of scenic waterfalls/ cataracts. Several whitewater rafters were in the water, some of them doing some amazingly daring stunts. Some were taking a plunge in their kayaks down a drop of nearly ten feet. One or two of them actually manage to stay upright.

The next day, we again went on an excursion, bringing along our great-niece and great-nephew, Cameron and Ruby, encountering a few black bears along the way. Some of them were quite bold, and came up on the road where the vehicles had come to a standstill so their occupants could observe the ursine wanderers.

We later hiked around the Cade’s Cove area, which features a few historic pioneer buildings — and some later imitations. Among them are a couple of Nineteenth Century log cabins, one of which is about 200 years old.

Back at home, which in this case was the home of our nephew Jake and his wife Kellie (he’s a dentist with a practice in the area), we celebrated Jake’s birthday with a family gathering. And it was a good place to have a birthday gathering, because among other things he has a swimming pool. He also has two kids who are a lot of fun.

After leaving Knoxville, we continued with our westward ho trajectory, passing through Jackson, Memphis, and other Tennessee cities. In Crossville, we made a fuel stop at Buc-ee’s, a decidedly idiosyncratic chain of gas stations and shopping/ restaurant centers (mostly in Texas). It’s one of the rare fuel stops that actually make buying gas, and browsing in the store, a fun experience. Founded in 1982 in Texas, it began expanding into other states only in 2018.

We’ve spent a fair amount of time in these pages expressing nostalgia about nationwide landmarks that are no longer with us or have changed drastically since we first hit the road. But there are also points of interest, like Bucc-ee’s that are relatively new, and have been added to the landscape during that time. It’s a good reminder that sometimes, indeed quite often, change is an improvement.

Nightfall found us in the lower tip of Missouri, passing through on our way to our next layover: Arkansas.

6/22-25/2023