SAVAGE GARDENS ROADTRIP

Thursday found Ron, our Dragons, and me on the road to “Savage Gardens” in Lake City, Tennessee.

Neither of us had ever been there, but a mutual friend of ours told Ron about it and gave us directions.

Savage Gardens is located in Lake City, Tennessee near Norris, as in Norris Dam. The gardens are privately owned, but the Dew family, generously opens their property in March, April, and May to the public. The gardens are located off I-75, exit 128 at Lake City. You then cross Hwy. 441 to Lovely Bluff Rd. Follow Lovely Bluff Rd. to where Savage Garden Road turns off to the right. Go up the hill to the first driveway on the left. Parking is in the driveway turnaround.

As we got out of our vehicle, we immediately heard turkeys gobbling. These turkeys, each named for a character on “The Beverly Hillbillies”, are the Dew’s watch dogs! As we left the property, we heard gobbling and a curious dragging sound getting closer to us. The turkeys came down to see who was in their backyard and the dragging is from their wings. They drag them to create a larger and scarier noise to protect them from would be enemies!

We first passed a shelter built against one of the large rocky outcrops, where visitors are invited to picnic if they so wish. There is running water, a BBQ grill, and tables and benches under the tin roofed lean-to.

We walked the backyard gardens and quickly discovered the natural beauty that flourishes there. The hundreds of wildflowers were planted “only by the hand of God”! We discussed names and points of interest with Ms. Dew (Inside joke of the day - her name is Morning and her husband’s is Mountain – Ha!)

The paths wind through, beside, and along large limestone outcrops which reminded me of ancient Aztec ruins! In all the cervices, cracks, and all along the tops were beautiful Purple Phacelia in full bloom. Other white beauties of flowers I’ve forgotten scream out to be admired!

Along the way I discovered a bumper crop of Little Brown Jugs, Wild Ginger, Trilliums of several varieties, Rue Anemones, and Wild Geraniums. We missed the Twinleaf blooms, but caught the hard green seed pods (not shown).

The trails were very small and you had to watch out for the young poison ivy shoots and tiny leaves where ticks were already gathering for the feast. However, Judy was the only one that carried one home with her!

Later we toured on over to Norris Dam, one of the first dams TVA built during the 1930s. You can see the large marina above the dam on Norris Lake, and the shallows below the dam where trout fishermen wade about almost every day, except those days when the dam is generating! However, on calmer days like this one, kayakers and people in canoes enjoy the peaceful waters.

Since we hadn’t eaten since early morning, we hopped on the Interstate and tooled on down to Turkey Creek below Knoxville. There we chose O’Charley’s and wet our lips with Yuengling drafts, swallowed some fresh rolls, and feasted on Pretzel-crusted Chicken, Salmon on a plank and Jambalaya Pasta!

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ROANE COUNTY TENNESSEE SPRING WALKS

We are blessed in East Tennessee with many wonderful state and national parks, greenways, and pocket wildernesses to walk in and enjoy the spring wildflowers. Closer to home, in Roane County, we are again blessed with city parks, river walks, and a great little county park.

We often walk the .6 mile circuit of Riverfront Park within the city of Harriman. This week the garden clubs’ flowers are bursting out meeting the warm sun and blue skies. I captured the tulips this week, one beautiful Saucer Magnolia, sometimes called Japanese or Chinese Magnolia, and some bright green grass optimistically beginning life in a crack on the side of an old concrete storm drain!

Today and Sunday, Judy and walked Roane County Park enjoying the 1+ mile paved path through tall hardwoods, blooming wildflowers, like these May Apples and Trillium, looking at the Harrison Bay backwater from the Tennessee River, listening to the birds sing, and the ducks quack, and watching the turtles line up on a log for sunbath from the fishing pier!

We are truly blessed in this area with miles of quiet nature trails, some just 3 miles from home, unless of course you want to count a stroll in our own backyard. If we would just do it more often, we might not be look like we do!

Then of course, there was today’s walk around mom’s yard looking at her spring flowers and appreciating them…right down to the yellow dandelions, which have blown over from her neighbor’s yard!

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