We moved to Tennessee during the pandemic. When we started down this path three years ago, Covid-19 was still just a twinkle in a bat’s eye. As our house listing date neared in the spring of 2020, news of the virus started growing as rapidly as its transmission rate. Selling our house in the midst of so much uncertainty and rampant unemployment was harrowing – we were so scared to hope as we passed each milestone in the process. Pulling up in our moving truck was both triumphant and surreal. A month later, it still hasn’t sunk in that it’s truly over. But we’re here, and we’re safe.
When we arrived, most of the city (and the nation) was shut down in quarantine. This obviously included the national and state parks that had wooed and eventually convinced us to move to East Tennessee. We explored a few city parks and trails with Wyatt in the first few weeks, with the Smokies always in the distance, beautiful and untouchable.
Phased reopening began last week, with the Smokies opening several roads (and thus trails) for hiking again. We jumped at the chance to reconnect with the mountains and found a simple one to start with. After trying to make it to a particular hike and getting foiled by a closed road, we used Alltrails to find something accessible and landed on Twin Creeks Trail via the Noah “Bud” Ogle House loop.
Please enjoy a few images from our magical Sunday! Being in nature refilled us in a lot of ways, and we can’t wait to go back out next weekend. We are feeling a lot of gratitude to have put down new roots somewhere so beautiful, for our friends and family, and for our health. Stay safe, friends.
They’re all large enough for prints or backgrounds, so feel free to save any you like. No need to credit me, but if you want to, that’s always appreciated.
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