Storybook Trails in state parks worth a trip

By Mike Steely My wife and I were pleasantly surprised to find a “Storybook Trail” at the Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park recently and last week we drove to Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg and discovered another one in that park. There are now 17 Tennessee...

Forgotten Forts in our region

By Mike Steely Our region has seen a multitude of military forts built here and there, from early settlement through the Civil War. Some have been restored, like Fort Southwest Point in Kingston and Fort Loudoun near Vonore, but some have been all but forgotten....

President Andrew Johnson in the news again

By Mike Steely The name of Andrew Johnson has popped up in local and national news recently. Locally it’s the historic Andrew Johnson Building which was recently sold to BNA Associates for $6 million. That controversial sale finally concluded after years of...

Ever visit a waterfall inside a city?

By Mike Steely Ever visit a beautiful waterfall located inside a city? Noccalula Falls Park is in Gadsden, Alabama, just a few minutes off Interstate 59 and about an hour and a half south of Chattanooga. The city park’s 250 acres features a 90-foot waterfall, an...

Readers respond to ‘What do you collect?’

By Mike Steely In a recent story in The Focus I mentioned that my wife and I collect political and promotional buttons and cups from places we’ve visited, and other things like postcards and business cards. The article drew some response when it appeared. Kathy Turpin...