When I Miss My Tennessee Home

October 2012

It had been six months since I had last seen the beautiful hills of Tennessee. Tears came to my eyes when Brad Paisley's song, Southern Comfort Zone, came on the radio as I was driving to the Great Smoky Mountains in October after spending several months in Montana. I was not born and raised in the Volunteer State, but I claim it as my own, just the same. I love my friends who are considered family, the sweeter than tea and slower than molasses accent, the hills, the food, the history, the music, and the friendliness of its residents. I hear ya', Brad; I miss my Tennessee home, too.

When your wheelhouse is the land of cotton,
The first time you leave it can be strange, it can be shocking
Not everybody drives a truck, not everybody drinks sweet tea
Not everybody owns a gun, wears a ball cap, boots and jeans
Not everybody goes to church or watches every NASCAR race
Not everybody knows the words to "Ring Of Fire" or "Amazing Grace"
Oh, Dixie Land,
I hope you understand
When I miss my Tennessee home
And I've been away way too long
I can't see this world unless I go
Outside my Southern Comfort Zone
I have walked the streets of Rome, I have been to foreign lands
I know what it's like to talk and have nobody understand
I have seen the Eiffel Tower lit up on a Paris night...
I know what it's like to be the only one like me,
To take a good hard look around and be a minority

And I miss my Tennessee home
I can see the ways that I grown
I can't see this world unless I go
Outside my Southern Comfort Zone
I miss your biscuits and your gravy
Fireflies dancing in the night...
I have since become a drifter
And I just can't wait to pack
Cause I know the road I leave on
It will always bring me back

I wish I was in Dixie Again
I miss my Tennessee Home
I've been away way too long
I can't see this world unless I go
Outside My Southern Comfort Zone
Look away, look away
I wish I was in Dixie, away, look away
~Braid Paisley

The river beside our campsite.

Dad, Nikki, and I took a hike Sunday afternoon.

Prior to this picture, Dad had managed to squirt water up his nose in an attempt to drink from his mountain man canteen. Never a dull moment when he's around, that's for sure. :)

The weather was absolutely perfect and the splendor of God's autumn masterpiece in the Smokies was lovely to behold!

I'm thankful to have a dad who taught me to love hiking, camping, fishing, and the wilderness.

I love autumn leaves! :)

It took us several minutes of begging in order to get Dad to throw a pile of leaves into the air for a picture. The picture that resulted looks like he is doing some sort of tribal leaf rain dance.

Nikki

We found this car (Model A or T, we think) in the woods off the trail. Nikki and I checked for copperheads and timber rattlesnakes before climbing inside.

Dad stopped at every tree we passed to inspect and expound upon the native plant species. I don't have a clue how he manages to remember all of the trivia and information he somehow seems to know at any given moment.

"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began...Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow, if I can." ~J.R.R. Tolkien