2021 Northern Adventure Day 1 - Revised

We got a bit of a late start because my sister-in-law had to have some much-needed dental work done this morning.  With this abbreviated schedule, we got as far as Caryville, TN, northwest of Knoxville.  (Just a little north of Rocky Top, Tennessee.  )

As we wanted to avoid the North Atlanta Perimeter traffic and the westward angling of I-75 towards Chattanooga before it angles northeast between Chattanooga and Knoxville, we went northeast towards Greenville, SC on I-85 then on towards Asheville by way of I-26.  From there, I-40 west took us to Knoxville and the connection to I-75.

As we don't yet have a satisfactory way to cool the van at night, aside from an 18-inch "pedestal" fan, if Summer nighttime temps are in the mid-70s or more, it is hard to sleep.  So we sometimes have to get a motel.

[As a side note, when I doing geological fieldwork in grad school in West Texas and New Mexico, in my 20s, I was capable of taking an after-lunch siesta in my camper in 100-degree temps.  I won't say I went into a deep sleep, but I did manage to take a one or two-hour nap, as it was just too hot to do much work between 1 and 3 PM.]

Hampton Inn, the particular motel chosen by my wife overlooked Cove Lake State Park and in the morning light, it was quite pretty.

Figure 1 (Looking roughly NW over Cove Lake State Park, Caryville, TN.)

Figure 2 (Looking to the left of Figure 1.)

Figure 3 (After more of the fog and low-hanging clouds had "burned off", we had a better view of Cove Lake State Park.)

A few yards to the right Hampton Inn had installed three or four steel swings, suitable for allowing couples the opportunity to overlook the lake.

Tomorrow, the goal is to cover about 350 miles to get to the Lima, Ohio area, while still getting into the rhythm of traveling.  I have been this way before, 40 years ago when I went to Frankenmuth, MI to visit the two breweries there, Geyer Brothers and G. Heileman.  Along the way, I stopped to visit the now-demolished Hudepohl brewery in Cincinnati.

The local Caryville, TN geology is quite interesting and might be touched upon in a later post.  As we had a specific reason for getting to Traverse City, MI before Saturday, August 14, time did not allow for more photography in the Caryville area.