Monday, July 13, 2009

Jefferson City, Tennessee

Heiskell, Tennessee

Weather: low 70 degrees, high 84 degrees, mostly cloudy skies until late in the afternoon, then mostly clear

Yesterday's rain continued until well into the am hours before daylight. Today, a few sprinkles were all we saw. It's a good thing it didn't rain any more. This area is soaked. The RV park has a swimming pool that was overrun by the high water. The water looks like a bunch of hogs have been wallowing in it. The campground has a real job ahead of them cleaning up the water in the pool.

This is a picture of Cherokee Dam, holding back the waters of Cherokee Reservoir, a TVA lake near Jefferson City. The reservoir has a surface area of nearly 29,000 acres and a shoreline of nearly 400 miles.

After a late start this morning, we decided to take a drive to the east of Knoxville toward Jefferson City. As with most places we go, the destination was not the attraction so much as the journey was. We enjoy seeing new country and vistas, and today was no different. Our trip led us through open fields, hills, wooded areas, and even what many would call mountains. In the higher areas, the roads were up, down, twisting, around and around to the point that Carolyn said she couldn't take much more because her vertigo started acting up.

With getting turned around and not reading the map correctly, we eventually made it to our destination. It looks more and more like a GPS unit is in our future. Jefferson City is a town of about 7800 people, located in Jefferson County. The area was first named Mossy Creek back in 1788, and then renamed Jefferson City in 1901. There are several old houses in the town dating back to the 1800s. The downtown area seems to be withering on the vine, with most of the growth taking place east of town along Tennessee 11-E.

When we left Jefferson City, we drove west on 11-E toward Knoxville. It didn't take us long to realize that taking the interstate back to the RV would be the most direct and quickest way home. I stopped in New Market and bought diesel for $2.229 per gallon so the tank could be topped off in case we decide to move on tomorrow. We were home by 1500 hours and the rest of the day was spent taking it easy. We're still not sure when we'll leave here.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Jefferson City, Tennessee: From The Banks Of Mossy Creek

Not all who wander are lost.

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