I’ve been in Tennessee a while now and never really thought about the state’s name. I assumed it was Native American, but figured it might mean “Lots of Rocks” or “Hilly on one end, flat on the other”.
I was on a All Who Wander wander the other day in the Jeep. I have two Gaia maps open, one via Apple Car Play and the other on my iPad. Saw an unimproved road (my favorite kind) in Cherokee National Forest next to the Little Tennessee River. I could tell it was a dead end on a peninsula into the river, so, of course, I took it. Just to see. Whatever. (Honestly, Scout told me to turn, but if I tell you that, then you think I’m the guy who just left the soup on the stove and forgot about it). That’s why it’s called a Wander. I’ve found a lot of neat stuff off the beaten path.
You can see the peninsula and road in the center. That’s the Little Tennessee River, also known as Tellico Lake because of the dam just downstream. The road ends at Jones Cemetery, so I went to see that. Some of these old cemeteries are interesting.
If you’re wondering where in the big scheme of things in TN this is, pretty much south of Knoxville, a smidge to the west. Find the Little TN River where 411 crosses it, then look right along the river until you find the peninsula.
