Family histories can be confusing

Family histories can be confusing More Than A Day Away by Mike Steely I recently had a question from a reader, Fallin McCoy, about a mystery in his family history. McCoy was referring to a column I wrote about Rocky Top, Tennessee, which had been known as Lake City...

Visiting Hot Springs, North Carolina

Visiting Hot Springs, North Carolina A Day Away by Mike Steely I’ll bet you didn’t know that the French Broad River, which joins the Holston River in Knoxville to become the Tennessee River, gets some of its water from a very strange source. In the mountains of North...

Revisiting Bridal Veil Falls

A Day Away by Mike Steely A little more than two hours from Knoxville is a huge number of waterfalls, especially near Franklin, North Carolina. My wife and I went in search of some of the falls recently. Near Highlands, N.C., east of Franklin, there’s a waterfall...

Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline were close friends

Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline were close friends A Day Away by Mike Steely Camden, Tenn., is west of Nashville on Highway 70 and 641. The small town is in Benton County and has about 4,000 residents. Unfortunately, its claim to fame is the engraved rock where famed...

Visiting the Quillen VA Center in Johnson City

Visiting the Quillen VA Center in Johnson City A Day Away by Mike Steely As most military veterans know, the most local VA medical services in Knoxville are at the W. C. Tallent Outpatient Clinic near West Towne Mall. There are related veteran-care health offices in...

Visiting Monterey

Visiting Monterey A Day Away by Mike Steely Every small town in our region has its own attractions or special features. One of them, just off Interstate 40 on the Cumberland Plateau, has more things they you probably expect. As you top the mountain headed west from...