Glider trips soar as weekend entertainment
- Ocoee Mist Farm Llama Hikes
Hike Cherokee National Forest and let Ocoee Mist llamas carry your gear. Custom-designed hikes. Lunch and llamas provided. Easy to moderate level hike. Fall through spring. All ages and groups welcome.
Info: 423-338-6818 or 888-541-9583 - Ocoee Outdoors
Guided rafting on America's Olympic River, the Ocoee.
Info: 423-338-2438 or 800-533-7767 - Nancy Ward Gravesite
The grave site of the "Beloved Woman of the Cherokee" and of her son, "Five Killer" is located just south of Benton on the Ocoee River.
Info: 423-338-5961 - Nancy Ward Museum
Located in the Polk County Historical and Genealogical facility, the Nancy Ward Room has a video on her life, artifacts and Cherokee research resources.
Info: 423-338-1005 - Fort Marr Blockhouse
Constructed around 1814, the blockhouse is the last visible remains of the camps where the Cherokee were confined prior to removal. Relocated in 1965 beside U.S. Hwy. 411 in Benton. Originally located 15 mi. south of the site where it now stands.
Info: 423-263-0050
I discovered years ago that the road trip from Knoxville to Atlanta is about the journey, not the destination. That's why I travel U.S. Highway 411, even though it takes about an hour longer than the interstate. The gain in peace and scenery makes up for the loss in speed.
The back road ribbons through farmland and mountains. I usually spy a pink elephant yard statue around Greenback and sometimes a Mennonite horse and buggy around Delano.
One of the 411 wonders that has often caught my eye is the Chilhowee Gliderport north of Benton. One recent hot, humid Sunday afternoon, I had the chance to indulge my fantasy and take a glider ride.
Engineless gliders - also known as sailplanes - float like birds on the wing. "No helmet, no headphones, it's just you and the wind," says Linwood "Steve" Stevenson, a retired airline pilot from Knoxville who gives rides and instruction at Chilhowee Gliderport.
Adds owner/operator Sarah Kelly: "Soaring birds use the same type of air we use. A lot of times on the thermals there will be hawks, eagles and black vultures. It's always a special day when I see a bald eagle from the glider."
At 29, Kelly has logged 3,300 hours of total flight time. She has flown for 16 years and figures she became the youngest commercial gliderport operator when she took over the Polk County business in 2004.
I trust her experience and skill as we board the little red Schweizer 2-33A sailplane, with me snugly buckled into the front passenger seat and Kelly at the controls in the seat behind me. She asks me to shoo away the butterfly that has alighted on my arm before we close the hatch.
Then the towplane pulls us down the runway and up into the air.
"This is the best!" I exclaim. The Cherokee National Forest unfolds below us as Kelly releases the rope connecting our craft to the towplane. We soar on our own, hugging the ridgeline that makes this area special for flying. The "ridge lift" when the wind strikes the mountain provides an upward force to help gliders - and birds - stay airborne.
Hovering around 3,000 to 4,000 feet in the air, I have a view from the glider that also provides a glimpse of the Ocoee and Hiwassee rivers. The scenery and the experience are breathtaking. We pass over what may be old, V-shaped Native American fishing traps of piled stone in the water below. Around the bend, Mennonite farms create patchwork designs that are a joy to behold.
While charming from the ground, the views along 411 prove even better from overhead.
Chilhowee Gliderport is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekends, weather permitting, and by appointment on weekdays. Kelly suggests making a reservation, although walk-ins are welcome.
Glider rides cost $99 for 20 minutes and $139 for 30 minutes. Flight instruction also is available. Kelly estimates that 25 pilots visit Chilhowee every year to add a glider rating to their pilot certificate, along with several students who solo and some others who complete their initial training on site. For information, call 423-506-9015 or visit www.chilhowee.com.
Ronda Robinson is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.
[Published in Knoxville News Sentinel, June 28, 2009]