Day Two Hundred Eighty 2011

^{MUSEUM OF APPALACHIA FALL HOMECOMING  NORRIS, TENNESSEE}

Beautiful weather for day tripping to the mountains of East Tennessee to the Museum of Appalachia Fall Homecoming in Norris. Some of the trees are starting to show their true colors.

This man makes reproductions of Henry Ford’s first gasoline engine and sells them worldwide. He gave us a demonstration and said he’d answer any questions. I had no clue what to ask, but hubby Neil did.

We were looking around for John Boy Walton because it looks like he left the family Ford Model T parked here. Nothing fancy but it got you to where you wanted to go.

A heart-shaped basket of cotton.

We caught a glimpse of President Abraham Lincoln in his long coat and top hat striding toward the museum, passing all those Harley's parked there. I was hoping to meet up with him again so I could get a closer picture, but this is the last I saw of him today.

One of the gigantic haystacks on the property reaching up toward that awesome blue October sky. Felt like Summer, though. Hot!

Pretty good sized crowd there but we thought it was way down from last year. Economy related perhaps.

Rawwrr! He was a fearsome black bear in a former life. Now he’s just a bear skin rug and the topic of a book somebody wrote, hoping to sell here. He smiled for my camera.

Bluegrass, country and gospel music is probably the biggest draw to this annual event. Music lovers bring their chairs and camp out in front of the stages all day, tapping their toes to the thump of the bass fiddles.

Neil and I enjoyed yummy pork BBQ sandwiches with sides of baked beans and potato salad for lunch. The food here is pretty tasty and they have most anything you might hunger for.

I’m always drawn to the handcrafted wooden bowls but never buy one.

This man displayed apples he’d grown from heirloom seeds. I didn’t know there were so many different kinds. Most I’d never heard of.

This is a bubbling cauldron of lye soap in the making. Definitely not for sensitive skin. And it stinks.

We always say hi to the mules and pet them. He was on a break. His job is to walk in an endless circle as the grist mill he’s attached to grinds sugar cane into pulp to make sorghum.

Someone was selling honey and bees wax products that these busy little bees were in the process of producing. They never seem to rest.

I don’t know if this was a Peacock or a Peahen—most likely the female. Beautiful blue feathers.

This turkey—Tom or Hen, I’m not sure—apparently did not like sharing its space with the pretty Peacock/Hen—kept chasing it around the pen.

These huge wagon wheels are everywhere at the museum. There is a wheelwright shop there from horse and buggy/wagon days that shows how these were made. It’s pretty cool.

A little forgery going on here—I mean, forging. He always has these beautiful wrought iron pieces on display and for sell of course. This is a hot job on a hot day.

Brooms. Can’t have too many. The broom maker had some nice ones but I didn’t buy any.

I was pleasantly surprised to turn around and find Santa Claus standing there. I teased him that he was a little out of season right now. He said he always comes to this event, although how I missed him in the past I’ll never know. He drives down from Kentucky and hands out candy canes to the kids and spreads joy I’m sure. He made me feel joyful on this hot day. That snowy white beard is the real deal. What a cool guy!

A rare quiet moment on an empty path—but the party is just around the bend.

Chair caning is an art and a craft, something I’d love to learn how to do someday. Much patience is required, however.

Neil checks out the Mark Twain family cabin. It actually belonged to Samuel Clemens family and was moved here from somewhere around Livingston, Tennessee.

Gratuitous self portrait in the wavy distorted glass of an old mirror in the Mark Twain cabin.

The Mark Twain cabin has a cozy fireplace and a table I’d love to have for big family get togethers at my own house. The resourcefulness of this generation of Americans always amazes me. One word: survival.

Neil poses by the world’s largest “little brown jug”. It holds 750 gallons and was manufactured somewhere in New York.

I always love taking pictures of these road signs. The man who made them wanted to put them on the moon and each planet. He had the message right but was a bit of a kook it seems.

The funnel cake was tasty but really crispy. We were kicking ourselves for not getting the cobbler. And some homemade ice cream.

Greetings from the Museum of Appalachia fall homecoming—Neil and moi, self portrait.

Modern day outhouses. They were pretty clean actually. And this year, there was a long galvanized sink set up with running water and soap and paper towels so we could wash our hands. That was really nice.

The little log  cabin school house is a far cry from today’s air conditioned and brightly lit classrooms. You can see one of the outhouses to the right—it was for boys. The other one of course was for the girls.

Neil and I sat on the stone wall on the hill under the shade trees away from the crowd. This was our view. What a gorgeous day.

This is such a beautiful place. We always enjoy the homecoming. I highly recommend attending—it is usually the first weekend every October. Here is a link to their website:  http://www.museumofappalachia.org/

It was bumper to bumper traffic coming into Knoxville. I'm glad we were heading in the opposite direction. Big game here Saturday. Go Vols! Beat those Dawgs!!