Girl Camper goes to Tennessee, Part 1

Faith and I went all the way to Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee, and guess what–the famous Falls were mostly dry.

That fact seemed of little consequence because of the beauty of the land. Even viewed from racing along the interstate highway, the green hills and mountains of Tennessee are awe inspiring. It truly is as the song says the “purple mountains majesty.” I found the fact awe inspiring that I drove and saw such views. Not that I had not seen it all a number of times in my youth, having traversed Tennessee many times. But with age comes the fabulous gift of appreciation for beauty, and the vision to know miracles when I see them–myself driving and pulling a camper being one of them. I can still at this moment see and feel in memory what I could not possibly capture with any photo taken with my meager abilities.

The women I met and learned from were also awe inspiring. There were thirty-two of us amazing women campers joined under the banner of the Girl Campers group. Some drove in with RVs, others with trailers, others car and tent camped. There is no right or wrong way. I enjoyed hiking and, mostly, sitting around chatting, and, blessedly, perfect weather with night temperatures down into the low sixties. After the relentless heat of the Gulf Coast this summer, such nights were heaven!

I met two ladies who are bee keepers and a woman knowledgeable about healing plants. Would that be a herbalist? I learned about plantain, what a miracle plant! And now I’m interested in growing medicinal herbs.

On the first day of my return journey home, I stopped to see the Lodge Cast Iron factory outlet store! It is a feast for the eyes, and a candy store for anyone who loves cooking with cast iron pans. I use iron pans almost exclusively for the bit of cooking that I do, and yes, I use them even on my glass-topped range. I still have my mother’s dutch oven, and who knows where she got it. Ironware is to pass along to the following generations.

The drive was easy from the interstate through the small town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee. The parking lot had RV parking! And even a grassy area to walk Faith, and a picnic table beneath a tree. If you are a Dolly Parton fan, you will recognize the song that inspired the heirloom pan. My heart did a dance at that, and at an iron pie pan!

When I came out of the store with my loot, I encountered an older couple (likely older that me) getting out of their RV parked next to my truck and trailer. They held hands, so sweet to see, and asked me if I’d had a good time. I said that I had, and that I had gone a little crazy and bought too much.

“Oh, you can’t have too many iron pans,” the woman said with a wide smile. And her man added, “I have over twenty-five.” That popped my eyes wide. Turned out they were from Montgomery, Alabama, which naturally explained their warm friendliness. “We come up here often,” the woman said as she waved goodbye.

Imagine people who get a kick out driving a day to visit a heritage cookware store and museum. Those are my people.

There was something else about them that sticks in memory. They held hands as a couple, but it also appeared that the man was helping the woman along, holding her up as much as guiding her. Neither were robust, the man slightly bent, the woman none too steady. But they did have robust smiles and robust intentions to enjoy something that delighted them. They were intent on loving and living to the fullest.

So, that picture and lesson stays with me, returning strongly as I write this, because the two days of driving home were hard on me. My body has said unequivocally this trip that it no longer can abide driving five and six hours pulling the camper. As I acknowledge this fact, I think of that couple. I will still go traveling and camping, but at a more leisurely pace and less distance. I won’t let what I can’t do stop me from doing what I can do–love and live to the fullest closer to home.

In my next post, I will tell of visiting the Confederate Memorial Park.

Blessings,