We drove up highway 411 in Georgia and passed into Tennessee. There were so many fascinating sights along the way. Perhaps the most intriguing was a Creole restaurant in a cement building on the side of the highway. I've been around long enough to know that you would either have the absolute best meal of your life at a place like that, or one so offensive you'd pay and run out the door. We also passed a house with a mannequin standing up in the front lawn, a scarf painted onto her head, her frozen arm waving at the traffic. Fascinating.
We turned off 411 onto 30 and were greeted by a yellow sign with a black horse and buggy on it. I knew there was an Amish community nearby, as its members come to our family farm in the summer to pick their blueberries, but seeing this sign was a treat, and as we curved through the mountains, I began to realize what dangerous territory this was for the Amish.
I had already written that the road leading into Reliance was like a snake, and let me tell you, it was even twistier and turnier than I could have imagined. We wove around the mountain, through thick, dense woods, and alongside the broad Hiawassee River. That river has agency, and as it was a dreary, windy day, it was rolling around quite rapidly. There was power in that water.
We passed a sign that read, "Reliance, Unincorporated", and the house in my photograph appeared immediately on the right. I won't reenact the moment for you, but let's just say my enthusiasm was clear. We drove on to get the whole picture before we began to explore, and so passed the Union Baptist Church and drove into an park that offered a boat launch, picnic tables, and a rental store closed for the season. As we turned in, a beautiful dog with coarse, black and white hair began to run alongside our car and then pulled away once we were in the park. He would turn out to be our guide of sorts.
Stretching above the park is a railroad track on a bridge. It comes out of the forest and crosses over the river before running alongside the mountain. On this day, the parking lot was empty and we saw not a soul, so we stood enjoying the natural beauty around us, and I walked to the launch and dipped my hands in the water since this river plays such a central role in my novel. It felt right to commune with it for at least a moment.
Our attention was caught by the sound of a pickup truck and someone hollering at the dog who was still racing around the park entrance. A woman got out of the truck, lifted the dog in, and made her way to where Jennie and I stood. She pulled up to Jennie and I arrived in time to hear her: "I hope this dog didn't give y'all no trouble." We assured her that he was fine and with a smile she pulled away.
Next, we visited the Union Baptist Church, built in 1899 (picture on Insta @meganprewittkoon). We were captivated by the foundation, which is composed of stacks of rocks that lift the building away from the ground. I imagine it was to prevent flooding since the church is perched at the river's edge. The building has a rich history as a church, a Masonic Lodge, and now a community center. The doors are absolutely beautiful, and were absolutely locked on this day, so we peered in the windows to see the pews, an antique settee, and what looked like an old piano/organ. The sconces on the walls held antique lamps. Behind the church were some old bridge trestles (We later discovered they were from the original bridge to cross the river. The trestles were all over the town, often used as gates or fencing.) as well as a lemon tree that had long, massive briars growing around the center of the plant, which produced a round, citrusy fruit that looked unlike any lemon I'd ever seen.
We visited the Webb Bros store next (photo on Insta). Unfortunately, it was closed, but inside I could see historic artifacts, Reliance t-shirts, and outdoor gear for rent. The store served as a general store/post office/library in the past, and said it would reopen in March. All the more reason to return!
At this point we crossed the river on the new (1992) bridge and stopped off at Flip Flop Burgers, the only business we'd seen open thus far.
Read on in Part II
No comments:
Post a Comment