Soaring

Driving to Sanibel offers a new view of a thin (width of the road) slice of USA. This year, my second time driving this north-south route, I tired of the high-speed interstate in mid-Tennesse and found a parallel secondary road. It was nearly a parallel universe; few trucks (few vehicles at all, for that matter), much slower travel - and much more enjoyable.

Deciding to pause on a hilltop to make a long phone call., I turned onto a gravel driveway/road next to a large farmhouse. A gliderport (www.chilhowee.com) was off to my left, across an open field. While talking on the phone, I realized that I had landed in a "bluebird haven." Behind the farmhouse were about 10 bluebird houses attached to trees or on poles, and I counted at least ten brilliant blue birds in the field and on electric wires. We seldom see bluebirds in TC, so this was a real treat. If you set out to find this place, it is just off Rte 411, near Route 30 East (also near the Hiwassee River).

This fortuitous find was worth the extra hours that my "long-cut" added to the trip. I traveled the same route north two weeks later and confirmed the location.