Rutledge Falls TN

I have been accused, by my husband and son, of having a case of OCD as it pertains to the cleanliness of my house and the condition of my gardens!  Of course, I completely disagree with this unsolicited diagnoses, though it appears to have some ( a very small "some") merit.  Apparently, it is the amount of time I spend on these activities that is the true issue here.  According to the men  in my life I don't spend enough time having FUN.  I usually respond to this accusation with the my standby response of  "Gardening IS fun to me" and "A clean and orderly home makes me happy".  Here's the thing, when I stop to really think about it...they are RIGHT!!  Oh, I'd never let them in on that tidbit of information, as the gloating would be more than I could bear.  Instead, I made a promise this Summer, a promise to them and to myself.   I promised that I would spend less time obsessing over the house and gardens and more time having fun.  Fun is subjective, of course.  It means different things to different people.  To me it means spending more time experiencing new things, reconnecting with enjoyable things not done in awhile, and allowing some things to go undone.  With that promise in mind, I put aside the garden and housework this past weekend, packed up a picnic lunch, grabbed my husband and headed to-

Rutledge Falls

A mere 20 minutes from home, Rutledge Falls is THE swimming hole of choice for locals.  Privately owned, the family has chosen to leave this area open to the public. 

The falls give way to shallow rock areas perfect for setting out a picnic, wading or sunning.

Never overly crowded and free of charge, generations of local children have spent their summers herel

It was peaceful, cool, romantic and FUN!  I think I'm going to like this Promise!  Next on the list, Tubing down the Elk River.