A Day Trip Into The Foothills

I’ve been so disappointed at missing our RV trips this year and the recent cancellation of our six week long Colorado trip has me a little depressed.  I’ve considered some short local RV trips, but in the end, we decided to just try some day trips via the car beginning with this one.

Bev wanted to go to a Mennonite Farm Market but rather than our normal Englewood Market we decided to go further south to the Delano Community Market as part of the day trip loop – Delano is a small community south of Etowah, TN.

Bev loaded up at the market and suggested they may have had more produce in their larger building than Englewood and they definitely had lots of Peachs and Cream sweet corn (our favorite).  In addition to the normal items she bought two bags of the cucumbers we like and some dill for turning them into pickles.Since we passing right by it, we made a quick stop at Savannah Oaks Winery wher Bev and Cindy each picked up a bottle of wine.

From the winery, we drove up beside the Hiawassee River on Powerhouse Rd and got some good shots beginning with these two from an overlook.

Then this one down by the river.

Further along we got a big chuckle as these folks tried to get their rubber boat unstuck from the rocks.  They were still there when we drove on.

And finally we caught this woman doing a little fly fishing but we didn’t hang around to see if she caught any.

Then it was on to Tellico Plains, TN for lunch at the Iron Works Grille where we could eat outside at well spaced tables and have the dogs with us.  The restaurant sits on the banks of the Tellico River.

Our first exposure to this building was when it was a high-end restaurant called Bistro By The River but it is now more of a sandwich and burger place with some plate lunches and it caters to more of the bikers (Harley Store is directly across the road).

We began with the meal with some delicious homemade pork rinds, then Cindy had a Chicken Caesar Salad ($9), Bev had the Pulled Pork Sandwich with fries ($7), and I had the Steak & Cheese Sandwich with a side Caesar Salad ($11).  My sandwich and salad were both pretty good, Bev said her sandwich was just okay and the fries would have been very good had they been hot, and Cindy said her salad was just aduquate.  All-in-all about what I expected and definitely tourist food – I might eat there again if in the area but wouldn’t make a trip down there unless I ordered catfish and squash casserole based on Big Daddy Dave’s recommendation.

From the grille, we drove up to the Indian Boundary Campground to see if we could catch our neighbors at their site – they were camping there with one of their kids but were gone when we stopped by.

From the campground, we took the scenic drive down the gravel Citico Creek Rd which I had wanted to re-drive for several years – this time to check road condition and potential picnic locations for our RV Club.  The road was in pretty good shape and the stream flow was low but it’s always a pretty drive.

We all enjoyed the nice relaxing day with the total trip taking 6½ hours and I’m now looking forward to our next one.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

7/13/20 event date