Inspiration from the past…

We have been taking advantage of the many wonderful places to visit here in the Smoky Mountains while the children are out of school.

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We drove down to Cherokee Friday to visit the Mountain Farm Museum and Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Can’t you just imagine what life was like for the early settlers here?

Talk about sustainability– these people knew exactly what that was…a lot of hard work.

Music was such an important part of life here in the mountains, not only as entertainment, but also for worship. These old pump organs can give you a pretty good workout too!

I cannot imagine how much work it was just to put together a meal. Despite hard times and a lack of money, I think these settlers ate better than we do as they grew most if not all of their food, including meat. 

I have a pitcher just like this brown and cream one and the little brown crock.

The park service keeps a little garden growing.

Oh, and two of our growing little ones…

These were the tamest chickens I have ever seen–including the roosters! Maybe we can send our crazy, mean rooster here for some training:-) They also have pigs, but they were sleeping, and I could not get near enough for a photo. I could sure smell them though:-) 

Since this farm is by a river, you know where the kids wanted to be! 

After walking around the farm, we went up the road to Mingus Mill.

We also enjoyed experimenting with the settings on the camera. Now I just want to take water photos.

We had a great little afternoon outing with the children and really enjoyed just exploring what is basically in our own back yard. And it was free…you just can’t beat that.

What I find so fascinating is these early settlers, along with the Cherokee here, knew and practiced what so many are looking to find these days…sustainability, green living, local food, repurposing, recycling, reusing. If we would just look back… 

Thanks for stopping by:-)

Anita

I’ll be joining:

The Scoop

Inspire Me Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesdays

17 Comments

  1. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
    July 15, 2013 / 3:29 pm

    Oh what a fabulous outing and tour. I love seeing our history. Those log cabines were quite large and amazing how they made them just splitting logs. The mill is so interesting too. Your water pictures are gorgeous, you did a great job. Thanks so much for joining Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

  2. Pinky at Designs by Pinky
    July 15, 2013 / 8:28 pm

    What a wonderful family outing. Your children are just beautiful, but they sure come from beautiful GENES! Thanks for taking us along. I love the Smoky mountains. You are so right about the people then doing and living how we are trying to live now. XO, Pinky

  3. Betty
    July 15, 2013 / 9:56 pm

    That is a trip that Hubby and I use to go on all the time. We loved looking at the old buildings and farms. Especially old grist mills.

  4. Confessions of a Plate Addict
    July 15, 2013 / 11:31 pm

    Love this post! I grew up nearby so you have brought back some sweet memories! Thanks so much for sharing at The Scoop!…hugs…Debbie

  5. linda
    July 16, 2013 / 12:02 am

    I love that old house! I ca imagine living there today! Thank ou for the visual tour.

  6. FABBY'S LIVING
    July 16, 2013 / 2:08 am

    How beautiful! This brings you to the simple past and it's so warming and sweet. I love old homes and farms like this…there are some around here too. Thanks so much for sharing. Big hugs,
    FABBY

  7. Carlene @ Organized Clutter
    July 16, 2013 / 2:14 pm

    Lots of hard work and few frills back in those days. Thanks for sharing.

  8. Susan
    July 16, 2013 / 2:57 pm

    I can't tell you how many times I've been here!! Such wonderful memories from trips when I was growing up, as a young woman, a trip with my mother and grandmother and now my husband. We LOVE It here!! Your pictures are gorgeous! It's been 6 years since I was there and I think I need to plan another trip SOON!!

  9. Debbie
    July 16, 2013 / 6:26 pm

    Wonderful post! That's exactly the kind of place we love to visit. My girls like to say that they have seen every log cabin east of the Mississippi. There is so much to learn from these place, and the beauty is just the gravy on the taters. I loved what you said at the end, too. So very true.

  10. Pamela
    July 16, 2013 / 11:38 pm

    What an amazing place. I know my boys would love visiting there too.

  11. Pamela Gordon
    July 17, 2013 / 12:34 am

    I really enjoyed this post Anita. I love history and old properties like this that show how life used to be. It was a very hard life for these early settlers. The photo of the water falling is so pretty. How did you do that?? Your children are sweet and it's great that they are learning from history. Enjoy the summer days. Pamela

    • Anita Diaz
      July 17, 2013 / 12:49 am

      Thanks Pamela so much:-) I dropped the shutter speed as slow as it would go and even without a tripod, I was able to not get blurring.

  12. Unknown
    July 17, 2013 / 1:16 am

    What a beautiful post – and what over the top gorgeous images – thanks so much for sharing!!!
    We're dying of the heat here in Montreal – those water photos look so great 🙂
    XOXO

  13. Liz @ Quirky Vistas
    July 17, 2013 / 12:18 pm

    What a fun place. Reminds me of places I traveled to as a kid! Thanks for sharing your wonderful photographs.
    Liz

  14. Wild Oak Designs
    July 17, 2013 / 4:18 pm

    What a great trip! You have some wonderful pictures! Thank you for sharing and reminding all of us, what our ancestors had to do just to eat and live!
    Nancy
    wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

  15. AnnMarie aka Vintage Junkie aka NaNa
    July 19, 2013 / 12:20 am

    What a beautiful post and wonderful trip you took! I would love to visit there! Love your blog also! Visiting from The Scoop and following you via GFC and Pinterest!

  16. Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home
    July 29, 2013 / 8:39 pm

    We love touring places like these and the NC mountains is one of our favorite destinations! Really enjoyed the tour…
    Blessings,
    Cindy