The official Ocoee River Scenic Byway is yet another beautiful Appalachian Road.

We only had one complete day at the Parksvilles National Campground. We decided to start the day by driving down the Ocoee River Scenic Byway to Copperhill, right on the Tennessee-Georgia border. I had highlighted the town in my Tennessee Gazetteer, but I couldn’t remember why.

The Byway was a magnificent Appalachian road. It followed the Ocoee River, which we discovered was the site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater competition.

In Wausau, Wisconsin, a rocky stretch along a back-slough of the Wisconsin River is designed for whitewater meets. When a competition is scheduled, a dam upstream releases the appropriate amount of water to provide a rip-roaring flow over the rock ledges.

The Olympic whitewater area on the Ocoee River was that, times a zillion. The water was low when we visited, but I could easily envision the rapids when the upstream dam would open its gates to let it rip.

At the whitewater facility in Wausau, Wisconsin, I watched as a big backhoe rearranged big boulders to enhance the whitewater run. I could see that a similar thing had been done to this river run. I wonder if competitions are still held here?

At the southern end of the Byway, Copperhill looked foreboding as we approached. There must have been a copper mine or copper smelter nearby at one time. Old busted-up rusting industrial equipment lay strewn about. A big ugly slag heap greeted us just before town. But, the town itself was kind of cool. The downtown was old and industrial, however, somehow they made it work. We didn’t stop to take photos and I am kicking myself for not doing so. I should have at least stopped at the craft Brewhaus.

Scenes along the Byway.

At a wayside along the Byway, we came across this blanket. A lady lost her kittie. She was out looking for it and was asking for help. I spent about 15 minutes looking and calling out to no avail. It touched me how she set this all out. I wonder if she ever found her kittie?

About 25 miles up highway 68 was the tiny town, Tellico Plains, that I had read about. It promised to be a QT. Highway 68 was a lazy road. It wasn’t a spectacular scenic byway. It wasn’t a modern hightway. It was a hilly narrow rural lazy backroad - just the way I like my roads. The road drove through the heart of southern Tennessee. There were tons of country churches. There were plenty of beat up trailers. And there were some fine examples of stately southern homes.

Tellico Plains was way overhyped. The downtown consisted of a tiny open square that was little more than a slightly enlarged intersection. I counted three businesses downtown. The quaintest thing we saw was an Amish buggy slowly rolling past us. Well, that was a bust.

I had one last highlighted community to visit. Cleveland, a city of 45,000, turned out to be a college town. Lee University, a private “Christ-centered” school, according to their website, must be backed by big money. The expansive campus is occupied with brand-new good-looking buildings. Tuition, at $20,500 per year, is not outlandish for a private college. They must have a nice endowment stashed away.

I wondered if the school was named after Robert E. Lee, since a tall Confederate statute adorns an intersection next to the campus. It isn’t. It is named after a different Lee.

The rest of Cleveland is quite nice. It is blessed with some distinctive historic homes and buildings. The pace of the city was pure “laid-back”. There was little traffic, few pedestrians, no barking dogs, no lonesome train whistles….. Just a quiet little Mayberry-like small city.

We parked the van downtown and walked several miles of Cleveland, zigging and zagging. The warm Autumn sun made the afternoon walk a pleasant stroll. To top off the day, we found a $2.99 gas station.

There were some nice downtown buildings.

Christmas must be right around the corner.

A downtown furniture store took up the whole block. The furniture colection was an eclectic mix of modern and old world.

A window display from the furniture store.

Beautifully restored houses.

This house was built in 1866. It was repurposed as a library. A new library now serves the community, however, this house remains a repository for historical archives.

The current library has a detailed doll house display. My sister, Diane, loves these kinds of displays so I included a couple of photos for her.

The Daughters of the Confederacy found Cleveland.

Tennessee heavily markets these off-brand cigarettes for cheap. They are, after all, American Made.

Sunset over the Lake Ocoee Reservoir as we returned to camp.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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