State Parks near Knoxville

By Mike Steely I think I’ve written that my wife and I have visited almost all the state parks in Tennessee, from Reelfoot Lake in the northwest corner to Roan Mountain State Park in the northwest corner. Just as soon as we think we’ve visited them all along comes a...

Cumberland Gap: Gateway to the War

By Mike Steely With the upcoming remembrance of 150 years since the end of the American Civil War being held in Knoxville a little known fact is the importance of Cumberland Gap in that struggle. The historic pass played two important roles in the history of the...

Looking for James Agee and Alex Haley

By Mike Steely steelym@knoxfocus.com Ever been surprised by something you didn’t expect but it made you happy to find it? So, I’m watching one of my favorite movies, “The African Queen,” and at the end I watched the credits and saw that Knoxville’s James Agee wrote...

More Knox County Curiosities

By Mike Steely Steelym@knoxfocus.com Here and there around our county are places where you’ll find curious things, places and some things that simply are interesting and odd. You can travel from one end to the other, north, south, east and west and run across places...