Leisa un Sun 07 Mar 2010, 12:11 pm
Ooooooh.... just thinking bout the entire area (not just the Smokies) makes me happy, happy, happy! lol
I found this link,Pam. with some interesting geological stuff.
And I'm sure you could find a ton more info.
All I know is that I begin to feel 'giddy' every time we reach the foothills & begin the ascent. But I honestly
don't know if it's due to the minerals underground or if it's just mountains, period. I remember a very similar feeling the one time I went through the Rockies (when I was just 17).
We thought we wanted to live near Cherokee becuz both my husband & I have Cherokee blood & we'd been 'drawn' there. What we found though is that unless we had jobs lined up or a whole lot of money, we wouldn't be able to afford living there very long. As a matter of fact, most of the 'affordable' properties were on land that went straight up! Fun to visit, but not real practical for farming or even for getting out in the snow.
So we ended up here.
On land that was once Cherokee/Chickasaw (before they were driven to Oklahoma... Trail of Tears?.. and before the creation of the NC Reservation) & still prolly watched over by Elders.
Oh and fwiw... Paris, TN which is just 20 miles from me, was once again ranked #5 on the Best Place to Retire list.
I reckon you could say that while my roots are planted in West Tanasi, my branches stretch 400 miles over to East Tanasi & yes, Melinda... in to beautiful North Carolina.