We had to get the oil changed in the truck today so we thought the day was going to be miserable. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case. The guys at the oil change joint zipped through the work and we were soon on our way for some aimless wandering. We ate at the only chain restaurant we trust, Bojangles, and had good food. We stopped in at a liquor store because we will soon be in even more hillbillyish country near the town of Rocky Top and we don’t know if they have liquor there. We stopped in at a gorgeous state park called Panther Creek and scoped out the adjacent lake. Our tour took us by beautiful old mansions and hillbilly hollers filled with junk, mostly old broken-down automobiles. We drove in the most circuitous maze of roads I have ever traversed but Peggy ultimately got us home. The countryside was beautiful all the way.
On one narrow, single-lane back road, we spotted a pileated woodpecker. This type of woodpecker looks a lot like a pterodactyl except smaller. They are red and black and white and magnificent. This is the second time we have spotted a pileated in four years of hanging out in the woods.
There’s a few pictures. Click here