If you have listened to talk radio within the last two weeks or so, then you have probably heard a commercial for lakefront real estate available on the Tennnessee side of the Smoky Mountains. Among the other virtues of the area, we are told, is that it’s a half hour away from Knoxville.
The ad gave out a phone number and a URL. And, because yours truly wears the hat of the CofCC News and Activites editor for the Citizens Informer, and that East Tennessee is on my roll call, I checked out the URL just for kicks.
Turns out it’s not the Smoky Mountains. Yes, it’s in East Tennessee, and a half hour from Knoxville. But it’s not a half hour EAST of Knoxville, it’s a half hour WEST of Knoxville. More specifically, a tad south of Rockwood, Tennessee, in rural Roane County.
And the lake is not exactly a lake, it’s a lake-like body of water that is a result of TVA dams both downstream and upstream on the Tennessee River.
Because it’s west of Knoxville, you’re not way too near the Smoky Mountains, and you certainly wouldn’t see them looking out your window if you buy property there. They are in a ridge called the Crab Orchard Mountains, hills that are scenic enough on their own, but nowhere near as dramatic as the Smokies. Knoxville is in a valley that is surrounded by the Crab Orchards to the west and the Smokies to the East.
Interstate 40, for several miles near Rockwood, is carved on the side of a Crab Orchard mountain. The westbound lanes are higher up than the eastbound ones, but going either way, during winter when there are no leaves on the tree, you’re situated high above Rockwood, and can see the whole town as if you were flying by it on a small low-altitude airplane. (Unfortunately, the Wal-Mart sticks out like a sore thumb.) If you travel eastbound on 40, that section starts immediately once you enter the Eastern time zone, crossing from Cumberland County to Roane County.
Just in case you were considering taking this ad up on its offer, caveat emptor.
