Touring The Middle Tennessee Backroads

What do miniature golf, the Cherokee alphabet, country music, the atomic bomb, and the long-lost State of Franklin have in common? They were all born in East Tennessee, of course. Author Carolyn Sakowski drove over three thousand miles to update routes and directions for this second edition of Touring the East Tennessee Backroads. Though she didn't much care for filling her gas tank, she loved reacquainting herself with the region's rich history and unforgettable personalities. Readers of this popular guide will meet frontier legends Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston. They'll encounter a pair of future presidents-the hotheaded, gun-toting Andrew Jackson and the fugitive Andrew Johnson-at decidedly unpresidential moments in their lives. They'll witness where John Sevier assembled with the Overmountain Men during the American Revolution and where William Thomas's Cherokee legion fought in the Civil War. They'll see Rock City, visit sites on the Trail of Tears, and travel to the courthouse where Clarence Darrow battled William Jennings Bryan in the Scopes Monkey Trial. They'll enjoy the best East Tennessee has to offer, from its mountain passes and TVA dams to its historic homes, churches, and gravesites. The thirteen tours are amply illustrated with black-and-white photographs for the benefit of vacationers and armchair travelers alike. Book jacket.

Thirteen tours that wind their way among the region's best historic sites, including Dayton, the site of the Scopes Monkey Trial; Bristol, the birthplace of country music; Oak Ridge, the production site of atomic bombs; and Greeneville, the home of John Sevier, the first and only governor of the maverick State of Franklin.

Now in its fourth edition, Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads has long been the go-to guide for folks seeking the unspoiled landscape and little-known cultural attractions of Western North Carolina. This is a guide for those who want to travel the mountains of western North Carolina, who want to see the scenery but escape the crowds. The book's 21 tours cover the entire mountain region of western North Carolina and provide numerous opportunities for seeing unspoiled landscapes and pastoral scenes. But scenery is not the only focus. Once you're on the backroads, you might speculate about the history behind the old white clapboard farmhouse that dominates the valley ahead, or you might wonder about the rest of the story behind the two sentences on the historical marker at the side of the road. Touring the Western North Carolina Backroads fills in those details. Drawing from local histories and early travel writings, each tour is designed to be a journey through the history of the area. Tales of eccentric characters, folklore that has been passed down through the ages, and stories about Native Americans and early white settlers combine to present a perspective that makes the scenery come alive. This edition features updated directions, additional sites, new photographs, and nearby recreational opportunities. Use this guidebook to plan a day trip, weekend getaway, or cycling adventure.

East Tennessee travel guide to unique places. Back roads and bi-ways using mile posts listings. A great way to follow along the highways of East Tennessee.

A complete tour guide to the Volunteer State from the highlands of the Smoky Mountains to the banks of the Mississippi River. Tennessee is a state of endless diversity. It boasts breath-taking scenery, the homes of three presidents, and the birthplace of legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett. It is the birthplace of the blues and the home of the King of rock ‘n’ roll. It offers a wealth of opportunities for hiking, canoeing, fishing, and wildlife viewing in state and national parks, recreation areas, and forests. From mountain highroads to delta lands, this comprehensive guide invites you to the best of Tennessee’s bed and breakfasts, museums, historic sites, restaurants, antique shops, and such attractions as: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough The South’s favorite outlet shopping in Pigeon Forge Coker Creek, the site of Tennessee’s gold rush World-class whitewater rafting on the Obed and Ocoee Rivers The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area The Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Tennessee State Aquarium Civil War battlefields like Stones River and Shiloh The Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg The Natchez Trace Parkway Musical venues from the Grand Ole Opry to Beale Street The largest Middle Woodland Indian Mound in the southeast A half-mile-long reproduction of the Mississippi River Traveling Tennessee does more than get you where you want to go. It also educates you about the state’s heritage, excites you about its vacation possibilities, and entertains you with accounts of the authors’ own experiences.

The road less traveled is not in the best shape, and that's okay, because it leads to gold. Follow author Jerry Winnett on his photographic adventures across the state of Tennessee as he searches for abandoned roadside gold. No building is ever truly abandoned. People still frequent them and leave evidence of their passing, such as bottles of beer, graffiti, trash, furniture, and campfires. These treasures--old boats, empty houses, silent graves, and more--are all out there, just waiting to be explored and give up their ghosts. So, take a day and take a chance. Lose yourself in what was and discover the beauty in the forgotten.

Bicycling Tennessee is the best resource for road touring in Tennessee. This guide features nearly 2,000 miles of scenic, paved back roads. The routes cover varieties of terrain including the plains of West Tennessee, the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee and the mountains of East Tennessee. Rides include half-day to three-day trips. You’ll take paths once traveled by Native Americans, frontiersmen and Civil War heroes. You’ll see as many as 200 points of interest. The book introduction includes information about tour preparation, training and state cycling laws. Each chapter covers one route including a map, directions, terrain description, area history, places to stay and bicycle repair shops. An appendix features tourism and road cycling contacts throughout the state.

Looking beyond the Highway is an examination of road history and roadside attractions specific to the South. Focused in part on numerous aspects of thematerial culture landscape of the Dixie Highway, the essays consider the politics of roadbuilding, roadside entertainment, the buildings and businesses one might encounter along the road, and regional adaptations to the needs and desires of northern tourists. Following the Dixie Highway from southern Illinois to Florida with sidetrips down other southern roads, the essays cover a wide variety of subjects, many of which will resonate with anyone who has ever lived in or vacationed in the South: Harrison Mayes's “Get Right With God” signs; the park-and-pray craze of outdoor drive-in church services; the rise and demise of brick highways; the fierce political battle over the route of the Dixie Highway; beach music and the evolution of motel architecture in Myrtle Beach; Florida's early tourist towers; and the commercial development of Tennessee caves as tourist attractions. Covering a landscape that includes Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Indiana, Virginia, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, and Illinois, the anthology shows that there was and still is a distinctive southern culture and how roads have influenced that culture. As lively as they are diverse, thearticles provide a solid background for understanding roadside ephemera that have disappeared or are quickly disappearing. Ranging from the serious to the light-hearted and including descriptions of American road and roadside icons to kitsch, the book will appeal to anyone with an interest in road history and roadside architecture.