Take Me Home, Country Road

A visit to the far northeastern corner of Tennessee in the fall of 2021 provided an exquisite opportunity to photograph the Appalachian Mountains in their resplendent fall colors.

On one day, we drove from Jonesburough to Elizabethton and then followed Highway 91 northeast to Shady Valley. All along this highly scenic drive were “country roads” leading off to private homes, cabins and ranches, with rolled haybales, scenic barns and an abundance of Tennessee forests approaching peak fall colors. As we explored off the main highway, we found this one road, framed in a canopy of tall trees displaying prime color, that led up to a private residence. We could not help but think of lyrics from the song popularized by John Denver, “Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong.” This may not have been West Virginia, but if we had kept driving another hour, we would have been in that state. The single lane road, drawing the eye upward into the distance, lined with the falling autumn leaves and the overhanging trees was just too inviting to resist. We at least had to drive up the road and see the home nestled against the edge of the forest, but not wishing to intrude too much on the homestead, we quickly departed leaving them to the privacy of their country home, at the end of a splendid country road. Though nice to visit, I guess this was one place we did not belong.