It was the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1973.  The infamous spillways in Louisiana were opened.  Millions fled the rising waters.  I covered the flood daily for WMC-TV in Memphis.  One day photographer Bernie Mintz and I went hunting for yet another flood story.  We drove into the state of Mississippi and off the main highways.  As we drove down one road the pavement disappeared into the flood.  Bernie stopped the car at the water's edge.  I opened the passenger-side door and, while looking at Bernie, I slipped my right leg out and touched my right shoe to the "ground."  I said out loud:  "Boy it feels slick and muddy here."  I then looked down, and, as Indiana Jones said once in a movie:  "Snakes.  Why does it have to be snakes!!!"
Under my foot, forced out of the flood, were hundreds of snakes.
I've had an indoor job ever since.

Sometimes you look for the little things in life to give it real meaning.  A few weeks ago I was spending nights in the hospital watching over my 92 year old father.  He suffers Alzheimer's, pneumonia, and several other problems.  He hasn't known who I am, or most other folks as well, for some time now. When he isn't in the hospital he's in an assisted living facility.
Twice in the three nights while I was with him in the hospital I glanced over at him and found that he had been watching me.  Apparently he had been studying me.  Suddenly, twice--two different nights--when he saw that I had discovered him looking at me and studying me he flashed his famous big grin and his patented wink.  For those quick moments I think he knew who I was. For those quick moments we had a form of real communication.  Those quick moments were worth all of the effort to be there.  Those quick moments will be treasured forever.

'Mater Cove 'n Mur-vul

There is something cathartic about growing vegetables. So we decided to plant 17 tomato plants (14 varieties)...16 in tubs and 1 in one of those hanging thingees. They plants were 6" tall when planted on Good Friday (we were always told to plant your garden on Good Friday). Now they are 9 feet tall and loaded with tomatoes...big ol' fat ones, smaller globe-like, and even cherry and grape size (the so-called choco-cherry are fantastic tasting...but, frankly, they all are).

With so many you can't eat them all just as "good 'ol slicers" so July 1st we cooked up and canned 36 jars of tomato relish. Talk about a feeling of accomplishment!!!!

Try it yourself. It's not too late to plant and be harvesting before the first frost (unless, of course, you live in International Falls or Duluth).

‘A secret little place’: Smokies’ Upper Tremont Road offers beauty, solitude

this was published 7/19/2011 in The Daily Times Maryville, TN.

‘A secret little place’: Smokies’ Upper Tremont Road offers beauty, solitude

By Dick Byrd   Daily Times Correspondent

Sssssshhhhhh. Don’t tell anybody about this story. It’s a secret among a few people who like solitude while fishing, or hiking, or viewing waterfalls, or photographing wildflowers, or enjoying the Smokies without the crowds. There is a place in Blount County that is smack in the middle of the most-visited national park in the entire nation, but it also out-of-the-way, hidden, and otherwise “away from it all.”  It’s called Upper Tremont Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Getting there is easy: Just drive through Townsend into the Park, turn right toward Cades Cove, then, a few hundred yards later, turn left at the sign for Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.
You will be on a 2-mile paved road following the Middle Prong of the Little River. This is known as “Lower” Tremont Road. It is pretty, serene, a very good location for fishing, and has the beginning of several popular hiking and horseback riding trails. It is also the location of the institute dedicated to outdoor environmental education.  But this story is about “Upper” Tremont road — beyond GSMIT — beyond the more popular spots, beyond the paved road.

Upper Tremont Road begins where the pavement ends. Upper Tremont Road begins where most of the visitors stop. Upper Tremont Road, to those who know it, is another world apart from the crowds, the timid tourists, those people afraid to venture beyond where the asphalt stops.  This is a gravel road. It still follows the Middle Prong. It still has lots of wildflowers. It still leads to what those who know consider a terrific trail head. It also has waterfalls, an extremely interesting history, and a way to “get away from it all” right here in Blount County.

The Tremont area was once a key logging area for the Little River Lumber Company of Col. Townsend fame. It was also the location of logging towns, a once-popular hotel, and even a Girl Scout camp. And before that part of it was known as Walker Valley, home to the pioneers now made famous in books and articles.

Driving to the end of the 3-mile gravel portion of Tremont Road takes you to a loop parking area. There are tree-shaded parking spaces around the loop. From there it’s just across the walking bridge to the Middle Prong Trail trail head. And from there you can connect with thousands of miles of trails: you can hike to Maine or Georgia on the Appalachian Trail or to the North Carolina coast on the Mountain To Sea Trail.  Or, you can just take a couple of hours enjoying the wildflowers, the streams, the trees, the wilderness, and the quiet solitude of The Great Smokies.

John Bays of Lenoir City knows Upper Tremont Road. He fishes there several times a month. Bays retired to this area of East Tennessee five years ago after searching the nation for a place to relocate. He likes being so close to the national park while also being able to “take to the lake” any time he wishes. When asked if he’d like more people to know about Upper Tremont Road, Bays said he’d like to keep it quiet but, then, agreed it’s probably too great to keep to himself.
He says the fishing is fine on Upper Tremont Road. He was asked if he catches rainbow trout and answered: “A few.”
And asked if he ever catches any of the native brook trout, he responded: “One small one.”  “One small one?” we replied.  “Small, small!” he retorted. You know how fishermen are about their favorite fishing spots.
Bays did admit the trees overhang the stream so much that it has a two-fold effect: it shades the stream keeping it a bit cooler, but it also catches your fishing line if you’re not careful. There goes a fisherman trying again to protect his favorite fishing hole.

Samantha Andersen also loves Upper Tremont Road. The Maryville insurance agent takes her two kids, ages 12 and 7, hiking at the end of the road several times a month during spring and summer.  “They absolutely love it,” Andersen said. “We always pack a picnic and we stop at a nice spot with big rocks in the water. They like to go out on the rocks in the water and we sit and have our lunch. And then they love to play in the water. There are really a lot of nice spots to do that.” “The great thing about the trail is it’s (not) Cades Cove so nobody knows about it,” she said, laughing. “I can’t believe you’re going to tell everybody. It’s beautiful, and it’s a great spot. You should share that with everybody that loves nature. My kids get so much from being out in nature. It’s amazing. They’re like different kids.”
So Upper Tremont Road, while being unnoticed by many, is also “that secret little place” to some. And it’s right here in Blount County ready for the finding, the fishing, the hiking, the picnicking, the flower looking, the leaf peeping, and the sightseeing. But, ssshhh, don’t tell anybody else. Let’s keep this place to ourselves.