Tennessee
If the only course I could ever play again was The Clayton’s, in Tennessee; I would count myself lucky.
The family was travel weary and lacked sleep. We had spent the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot just outside of Nashville. The manager was super nice and we found a shady spot to setup for the night. We were looking forward to hot coffee and breakfast in the morning, but the night brought out arguing couples, loud music and traffic. A good reminder that not all things are paid for with cash, some things you pay for with your sanity.
So rolling into a round of 18, we were half-heartedly excited. That changed once we hit hole one. The Claytons is well maintained with fake grass for tee pads (ironic!) and two baskets per hole. The front nine is in the woods and the back nine is in open grassy fields. The day was perfectly warm with overcast skies.
We met up with two local golfers on the back nine. They showed us around and we talked the importance of leagues and the wiseness of playing from the short tee when you only have 5 discs along.
The course was full of players of all levels and abilities, but the course flow kept us all from waiting at the tee.
Our next stop was the Great Smokey Mountains national park. I did not have the great smokies as a bucket list destination; it should have been. Many might know this park from the synchronous fireflies that put on a light show in late May. There is a lottery for entry and it sounds incredible.
The brilliance of the spring green is hard to describe. For my painter friends, you could start with a tube of sap green, but you would never quite be satisfied.
The weather made us work for our adventures. Rain and thunderstorms rocked our camper each night and soaked our bodies and everything we own. The rocky trails pushed our ankles to the limits, and the long and winding, one-way roads were sometimes frustrating. If you wanted to cause an hour long traffic jam, just yell bear!
Black bears are everywhere. One hiker rushed towards us on the trail, excited to share his story. It seems he and his wife came within 6 feet of a bear who was chasing down a squirrel and almost barreled into them. The presense of black bears adds an extra layer of excitement on hikes as well as late night trips to the bathroom.
As soaked through as we were this morning, it was with a heavy heart that we loaded up the happy camper for our next destination in South Carolina.
