Photos From Loudon County Tennessee

It’s time to take a break from our ‘travelogue’ of our trip to Nebraska which was back around the first part of September…

The following photos were all taken in Loudon County Tennessee… Sometimes we just have to ask ourselves, “Why travel when we live in such a beautiful area of the country?!”  We really appreciate where we live when we return home...

This is a view as framed by Laurie...from a hilltop looking East over Tellico Lake toward the Smoky Mountains.  Fall season was almost upon us.

This second view of the Smoky Mountains and Tellico Lake was taken by Laurie from another hill right around the corner from our home in the woods.

Tellico Lake is a reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1979 upon the completion of Tellico Dam.  The dam impounds the Little Tennessee River and the lower Tellico River.  The lake has approximately 16,000 acres of surface area with roughly 357 miles of shoreline.  This lake was the last major reservoir created by the TVA. 

This little buck was just browsing through our neighborhood building up his strength for his upcoming rutting season.  About 3 weeks ago, we had a herd of 8 or 9 young bucks pass through our yard… We’d never seen a herd of bucks before.

Laurie captured this scene... Crossing guard on duty!  Apparently this doe and her fawn have taken on the responsibility of ensuring that our local ‘rafter’ of Turkey safely crosses the road. (A group of Turkeys is not called a flock) The wild turkey is one of the largest birds in North America. An adult male can grow up to 4 feet long from his beak to his tail.  In spite of its large size and rather awkward appearance, the wild turkey is a powerful flier, reaching speeds of up to 55 mph over short distances. 

Well…I had to throw in one photo of the ‘beast’ that allows us to live with him and serve his every need.  We like his little pink rat nose and rat whiskers… He was in Laurie's lap for this photo.

This ‘little’ 151 foot yacht, the “Freedom” was docked at the marina in Lenoir City on Fort Loudon Lake.  This is the largest yacht we’ve seen on our lakes in the 5 + years that we’ve lived here.  The owner was apparently in the area for the Tennessee Volunteers vs. the Alabama Tide football game…and unfortunately for us “Vols” fans, the “Tide” did roll!

Tellico Lake and the adjoining Fort Loudoun Lake are above the last set of locks on the Tennessee River.  These 2 lakes are at the head of navigation for the river.  In the distance to the right of “Freedom” you can see the bridge over the Ft. Loudoun Dam as well as a line of barges headed downriver waiting at the lock.    

This is another view of “Freedom”.  From my research, I believe that she was originally the “Bella Bri”.  This tri-deck yacht was built in 2008 by Northern Marine in Anacortes Washington.  In 2012, she was sold and her name was changed to “Freedom”.  She has 5 master staterooms and operates with a crew of up to 12… The asking price in 2012 was $21,500,000!  For a video tour of this yacht, just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R85_mVksKAE.

I’m guessing that “Freedom”, which is based out of Ft. Lauderdale Florida, came around the tip of Florida and up that state’s west coast to Mobile Alabama.  From there, she would have come up the Tombigbee River to the Tenn-Tom Waterway (canal) and then into the Tennessee River near the Mississippi-Alabama-Tennessee border.  One of the crew members told Laurie that the trip took about 15 or 16 days.  Knoxville…and Loudon County can also be reached via water and a series of locks from Nashville, Pittsburgh, the Great Lakes, New Orleans, Omaha and Minneapolis-St. Paul.  To learn more about the Tenn-Tom Waterway, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee%E2%80%93Tombigbee_Waterway.

Laurie took this photo of a foggy early fall morning from our front yard.  As you can see, our home is surrounded by forest!

This is a photo I took of one of the holes at the Toqua Golf Course in Tellico Village, a former Cooper Development in Loudon County.  There are 3 18-hole golf courses in Tellico Village and the cost for playing these beautiful courses is very reasonable…even if you aren’t a resident!  To learn more about Tellico Village’s golf courses, just go to http://www.tellicovillagegolf.com/. 

This particular view of Tellico Lake and some of the homes in Tellico Village is from another hole on the Toqua Golf Course.  

Tellico Village is not a gated community and it’s not a retirement village per se.  The ‘Village’ stretches along roughly 9 miles of shoreline, occupies about 5,000 acres and has a population of between 7,000 and 7,500.  Homes cost anywhere from roughly $200,000 to $2,000,000 or more.  There are about 3,500 homes in Tellico Village with lots available for another 2,500 or so… To learn more about the “Village” and to check out a sampling of the homes and lots for sale, just go to http://tellicovillage.org/ and http://www.lakeside-realty.net/communities/tellico-village/.

That’s about it for now… It will be back to Nebraska for my next posting!  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave