No phone picture taken from the backseat while heading to go boating on Norris Lake north of Knoxville can really convey the beauty.

However, winding through those woods and hills, seeing old barns with fresh hay stacked for the cows grazing along the road, following fences around the bend, driving through the dense shadows and into warm golden sunshine – conveyed to me the quietly incredible Tennessee that breaks the bustle of the East Coast and uplifts the sturdy endurance of the Midwest.

Oh, Knoxville, you might be my new favorite thing.