Sweetwater, Tennessee

The drive from Florence, Kentucky to Sweetwater, Tennessee was not too bad.  The Smoky Mountains were beautiful,  the fields are green and all along I-75, the Redbuds are in bloom.   Whenever I see Redbuds, I think of Gene Stratton Porter.  She was an Indiana writer from the early 1900's and I have a collection of her books.  She wrote fiction (Girl of the Limberlost, Laddie, Freckles, etc.) and nature studies.   She had an agreement with her publisher that for each fiction novel he published,  he had to also publish one of her nature studies like Moths of the Limberlost.   She was a self-trained naturalist and did most of  work with moths and birds.  I visited her home in Rome City, Indiana many times and when I drove down the drive in Spring,  it  was lined by beautiful Redbuds in bloom.   The two Redbuds on our farm came from there. 

Last night I stayed at a fairly crummy Econo-lodge.  Tonight I'm at a very nice Motel 6.  Very clean, room is big, microwave, fridge and cost is $63.  I was looking through my pictures and found this picture of my parents camp setup when they drove from Michigan to California in early 20's.  My sister Barbara was 2, Ada was 1 and mom was expecting my brother.   Just imagine what  it was like to cross the country back then and camp along the way- really impressive. 

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