SPRINGTIME IN TENNESSEE

It is so beautiful in Tennessee this time of year . . . and how exciting to finally find SPRING! The hills were covered with trees just starting to bud out and the flowering trees were covered with blossoms--pink, purple, and a few white and yellow. The grass was that lush spring green color and everywhere you looked was a feast for the eyes!

We took snacks to an orchard where Marilyn and some of her friends help out in exchange for apples, cherries, peaches and pears. The kids spent some time with sticks pulling out the webs of caterpillars that could cause damage to the crops later on.

There was just enough of a breeze for Peter to try and fly his kite. He has tons of energy, so the extra running for him was a good thing.

Grace got her kite entangled in an apple tree--I was happy to help her free it.

Who could have more fun in a Lowe's parking lot than the DeBry family????? Marilyn bought lumber to build a table for their backyard deck.

Grace, with a little help from me, mixed and baked a cake to celebrate Chris's birthday. Marilyn put the finishing touches on the delicious dessert which was gobbled up quickly.

Between the DeBry's and Blaine and Marianne's home we passed through the Cumberland Gap, Daniel Boone's old pioneer trail, and then stopped for some hiking at Mammoth Cave. It was really cold down in the cave, so we didn't go too far. But it was a refreshing hike.

We spent the night with Blaine and Marianne in Beaver Dam and had a wonderful visit and delicious meals with them. The next day we stopped at Hannibal, Missouri, on the Mississippi River and saw the Mark Twain river boat. It made us both hungry to watch the Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn movie again.

There was a tug boat just pulling away and out into the river. It was named "Sir Richard," so I took a photo of it. We had to cross the Mississippi over a draw bridge to get back to the Illinois side so we could continue up river to Nauvoo. The bridge was "drawn" as we got there and we had to wait for a big long barge to go under the bridge.

My favorite place in Nauvoo is the new temple and the statues of Joseph and Hyrum on horseback which represents their last ride from Nauvoo to Carthage. Such a beautiful setting. We were there in the late evening before sunset and it was so peaceful.

We left Nauvoo and headed back across the Mississippi, north to Iowa City, and then turned west on I-80 for our final two days of driving back to Idaho. We felt like we were on "the road that never ends."

There's no place like HOME!!!