Smokey Mountains, Soulard Farmers' Market & Peach-picking at Eckert’s Farm

Episode 10

Part 1  

Hi folks,

The degree of the awesomeness of Nature & surrendering oneself to it, increases in Arithmetic/Geometric proportion (Pl  apply the relevant one!)as our vacation is reaching culminating point! 22 July, saw us hit Route 64 first & then onto Route 75, i.e. St. Louis through Louisville, Kentucky-Nashville (Home of Country Music)-Tennessee on Gatlinburg. The 8 hour + drive was as enjoyable as ever, the countryside being totally green. Not just green, but so much of tall tree cover & progressively opening up to the mountainous region.

Smokey Mountains is a holiday resort, located at Gatlinburg. The resort where we stayed, is at a place called Hidden Mountain Resort, in Pigeon Forge. Having picked up our cottage keys at the Welcome Centre,(sp?), we followed the direction boards through some very steep roads. Very reminiscent of say Kasauli, Dagshai. 

We stayed at Cottage No. 4060, which had a Dolly Parton Theme. Each cottage has a theme & we were to live with Dolly Parton memorabilia. The well-known actress-singer, herself a  few restos/entertainment centers in town. After a hearty dinner of home-made Biryani, we hit the sack at around 2 am!

Next day, by 10, we were ready to paint the town in any colour! The town itself, is a typical holiday place, with shops , shops & more shops. Plenty of eating places, galleries, emporia. And plenty of parking lots. 

Our first stop was the Ripley’s  Aquarium. Quite like the usual ones, with a underwater walkway, where you could see the business ends of those sharks, at close quarters.

The other major attractions were the sky lift (2 seater) & the Ober Gatlinburg Tram (Cable car). Incidentally, a cable car in San Francisco is a tram(now extinct in Mumbai).

 Whereas, here, it was a huge 120 seater ropeway trolley. The skylift, is a short, but enjoyable ride on a open lift, which runs along the hill slope. So, in actuality, you are never more than 50’ from the ground. At the top, they have a small cafeteria with, yes, a gift shop. And of course, a beautiful panorama of the area.

An hour later, we had had lunch at a typical Italian Restt and were on our way to the Tram. This is a massive trolley, which takes you to the highest spot in town. It takes about 15 mins to get there. Huge supporting structures have been erected along the way, supporting the ropes of the trolley. The top area had a huge ice-skating rink, restos & the inevitable gift shops.

 

This area is home to about 1500 Black Bears. I was lucky to see 3! And  at regular intervals along the mountain roads, there are about 200 trails, ranging from 1.7 kms to 1790 kms(to Maine!). Hikers are advised to be properly kitted for the trek as well as adherence to timings, as the evenings  see the Bears emerging from their  dens. Before we left for the the famous  Clingman’s Dome, which is a huge structure built on the highest hill, we stopped at a trail source, took some snaps & went further in. We came across a lovely spot, where the mountain stream was in full flow.

                                 

The haze that you see in the photograph, is the mist formed by the swirling waters. The family really had a great time, romping in the ice-cold water. En route, we stopped at another viewpoint, beautifully sited & well maintained. This and being Indian Land, the area has it’s share of legends & folklore. At this point, we stood on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, denoted by a signboard.

And standing there, you realize why this is known as Smokey Mountains. During the growing season, the lush vegetation emits moisture & organic compounds, which, when combined, form a haze which is thickest on a calm, sunny humid day.

Strangely, although I heard a lot of birds, couldn’t lay my eyes on any one. At the Dome, I saw some birds that had a smallish crest, but being between the sun & I, it was difficult to make out. Probably they were a variety of Crested Tits or Finches. For a forest cover so huge, no raptors soaring.!(GD-what’s your take?) The next day, I spent about 30 mins playing cat & mouse with a male Cardinal, just outside our cabin. Although he did show himself completely, I couldn’t take him on camera! Back to the town, which by now, was fully decked up in lights, holiday makers were there in hundreds. It was like festival time!! We had other plans, so back to the cabin. This time, we decided to avail of the facilities of the Jacuzzi & the ping-pong table. So we had a wonderful time soaking in the tubs, with all jets on, playing TT(ping-pong) as they call it here; so did we, as kids)

After an early check out, where we could see the Office premises  flower shrubs in full bloom, we stopped at a nearby Apple Orchard, where everything was apple-related!

 Cider, juices, jams, crockery/cutlery with apple motifs. There were trees laden with fruit, just at the entrance. There were a lot of apples that had fallen off the trees on the ground, but untouched! I understand that the laws here dictate that once the fruit hits the ground, it gets contaminated by  the various micro-organisms!  This was corroborated at the Peach farm too!

En route, we had a short (?) stop at the City Convention Centre, where an exhibition-cum-sale of local products, eats to woodwork, to dried flower frames etc. The works!  And so, back home after another 8 hour drive, interrupted by a quick lunch at Denny’s, another popular chain.

The weather continues to be warm, though 34-36 C, is quite ok by Pune standards, but here, the intensity of the heat in unbearable at times. One explanation  is that due to near 0 pollution, the heat does not get dissipated. So, evening walks are actually night walks, as the time we get out is closer to 8:30pm!!

Part 2

Soulard Farmer’s Market

Once in a while, the weather Gods  show great mercy on us wretched mortals. Last Sunday, en route to Soulard,  in downtown St. Louis, we had torrential rains, that were more than a relief and by the time we reached Soulard, it had cooled down by a good 8 degrees &it was love.

This is a place where we have a market that sells everything grown by the local farmers, from eggs, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables & further down, sunglasses , keychains & trinkets! The local breads are really good, especially the sun-dried tomato bread. And of course, the all-American hot dog, washed down by a chilled glass of Budweiser!  Visiting Soulard is an experience in itself.

A typical old-fashioned structure, very much like our own  ‘Phule Mandai’ or ‘Shivaji Market’, but much, much, neater & cleaner, I dare say!! And at the end of each building, in the open space, you will find the odd Saxophonist or a 3 Man band, belting out foot-tapping medleys. The St. Louis Arch looms large over the area. The Arch, 600 feet of an engineering marvel, is the symbol of progress, the Westward expansion of the US.; St. Louis was the gateway to the West. It was from here, that people were urged to go forward, to explore what lay beyond, by President Thomas  Jefferson!  Then there is the Union Station, with its shops & restos, the university complex, the Busch stadium and some imposing buildings. A quick stopover at the Union Station for some last-minute shopping & it was time to say ‘bye.

Part 3.

Peach-picking at Eckert’s Farm

 A few miles into the countryside, actually in Illinois, we hit typical farmland country. The weather was  still lovely and we were treated to miles & miles of neatly planted corn fields, apple & peach orchards and lovely old fashioned barb buildings! After a bit of trial & error, we finally reached at the Eckert farm. One has to go through the huge shop, selling local produce, through another handicraft section, through a  greenhouse & suddenly we are in an open space, with a lovely green painted trolley, hitched to a tractor.

 This is the “Pick your own” wagon. Armed with a carton, we were driven over a typical, undulating country road, over newly planted orchards, a cemetry(!) till we reached ‘our’ orchard. Here, after an initial briefing,  we were ‘let loose’, so-to-say, in the Peach orchard.

We had decided that 4 peaches per person would be the limit, but thank God, we took just One box! Otherwise, there would be no end. Besides picking the peaches straight from the trees, we also ate the ones that were ready to eat. And of course, the peaches lying on the ground, were left  

alone, as per federal  laws!

When we returned to the store, our box weighed in at a whopping 11.50 pounds! (As I write this, some of the peaches have been stewed in sugar syrup+cinnamon & star anise  & we had them after lunch, complete with whipped cream! And some have found themselves in a peach cake!) We still have some left! To round off this wonderful trip, was a typical country style lunch. I shall skip the details! But it was a good change. And so, back home after a wonderful Sunday. Truly, God was in His heaven that day!

Well, hope you liked this one. Come this week-end & it's the Niagara Falls. Looking forward to a ride on the "Maid of the Mist". From there, 2 weeks for us to get back! So far, it's been great.

Till then, Cheers! Once more, 'Wish you were here'.TC

Ashok