Cold Weather Fun in Music City
What better way is there to enjoy the fall foliage than to get lost in it, literally. Corn mazes are the most colorful and entertaining way to enjoy the autumn colors.
Blount Countys Maple Lane Farms has a very tricky 10 acre maze to stumble through that comes complete with “knowledge-testing hint cards” to help get you through the maze.
Each year the corn is cut into a different maze “crop circle” style and it becomes conveinietly haunted during the month of October. Owned by the Bob Schmidt Family of Greenback TN, the farm is located at the East end of the State and has shared its maze each fall for more than 20 years. For more information you can call (865) 856-3511.
The Valley Home Farm in Wartrace has a corn maze and a pick your own pumpkin patch. It is a 350-acre, 5-generation family farm owned by Nancy Edwards and Bobby Potts. The huge, white farmhouse is an 1835 Greek Revival home and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been featured on HG-TV’s “Our Place”. The farm is open 6 weeks in the spring for strawberries and 6 weeks in the fall for pumpkins, mums and tours. The tours are a rich mixture of family history and hands on fall fun with the pick your own pumpkin patch and petting zoo. For more information call (931) 389-6470.
Fall is a great time for camping. Crisp air and brilliant, vibrant colors dot our state and make for great early morning coffee talk. Camping at the Cross-eyed Cricket in Lenoir City, TN. You and your family can choose and cur your own tree. There are hundreds of White and Scotch Pines, Blue Spruce and Douglas Firs. They provide the saws. Just bring your family and make your choice.
If you like the idea of a cozy fall weekend tucked away with the ones you love but prefer the indoors, try one of the many Bed and Breakfasts in the state.
The Falls Mills Bed and Breakfast in Belvidere is a 1895 log cabin, fully furnished with all the comforts of home. The first floor has a queen size sleeper sofa, fireplace, Dish Network TV, and a VCR with a collection of movies.
The kitchen is fully stocked. The second floor loft has a queen bed, a single bed, and the bathroom with a small shower. The cabin has electric heat and air.
Built in 1873 as a cotton and woolen factory, the mill was later converted for use as a cotton gin, then as a woodworking shop. Today the water wheel powers millstones that grind cornmeal, flour, and grits.
If driving is your thing its easy to find the best routes for fall foliage grandeur. Call the Tennessee’s “Fall Color Forecast” line at 1-800-697-4200. And if you just want to sit home and enjoy the states finest from your living room chair check out the web cams that offer the spactacular views of autumn.
The Great Smoky Mountains web cams are
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/webcams/parks/grsmcam/grsmcam.cfm which gives you the 80 miles view from atop Look Rock and http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/webcams/parks/grsmpkcam/grsmpkcam.cfm shows the view from Purchase Knob.
No matter what venue you choose your sure to enjoy the beauty of the season.
