Linden, TN. Between 2-Great Rivers! Part 2 of 3-Articles

**Fishing in jet propelled shallow water river boats with the Mayor Wess Ward, and Sheriff Nick Weems of Linden, and Perry County, two men that knew where the lum-lunkers lurked, was a blast!!**

**Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems, took time to show me the action on the Buffalo River!!**

American Press Travel News-July 4th, Eastern, TN.– “Bob and Barb On the Road Again.” Part 2 of our adventure in Linden, TN.–when we met Michael Dumont and his wife, Kathy, we knew were in a special place. Not to over dramatize our visit, but we felt more confident that in Linden, we could relax and experience a bit of the historical aspects of this region, east of Memphis and about two hours west of Nashville.

Michael took us for a tour of Perry County area. A fabulous rural area, rife with fabulous water, valley and mountain vistas as well as all manner of wildlife! We visited and drove along the Tennessee River, to the Mousetail Landing state Park, with RV facilities including 5 different levels of fitness trails, and views that are sensational. We toured the Lindens riverside nature of the Buffalo River, and Michael introduced us to a new Bed and Breakfast, he had completely rehabbed close to the TN. River, in a nearby, small hamlet of Clifton, “Tennessee’s best preserved river landing town.”

**Yours truly, enjoyed the bassin’ on the Buffalo River.**

In Clifton, we visited the T.S. Stribling Home & Museum. Thomas Sigismund Stribling was the first Pulitzer prize winning author of 14-novels, plays and short stories in Tennessee. A great stopover and visit during our stay, and well worth visiting. The museum is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Go: www.cityofclifton.com or call (931) 676-3370 for tours information. Lots to marvel at.

**Great country cooking in Linden! Real Southern cooking at 1991 prices.**

**The Commodore Hotel is framed from the past into the future!**

**Next door to the Hotel Commodore, you can find Buffalo River Artisans. Mellissa Goodwin teaches Barb how to create a neat piece of art. Great hands-on for young and old!!!**

The town of Linden in Perry County, Tennessee 1819-2019 had this nice hotel building, but according to Michael Dumont, “the town had seen better days.” The hotel was basically shuttered and needed everything! But getting to know him and his wife Kathy, I saw what they saw, and felt that with their drive and entrepreneurship, that they certainly made a huge difference in bringing a large spurt for economic revival to this town and county. They went to work with enthusiastic support from several towns folk in bringing back a huge measure of curbside appeal to Linden. They pushed getting rid of all the crisscrossing powerlines, that opened up the towns look, and feel that it wasn’t a hodge-podge anymore, of neglect. Like many towns, the rural roads were once the main roads, but as in this case for Linden, when I-40, the east-west interstate cutting through the state, was completed, traffic on the once, main route, 100 decreased to mainly local traffic and businesses soon to be gone, on Main Street. So the businesses, and well-kept stately buildings became just old, non maintained, and almost all abandoned. from the car dealership, vehicle repair shops and retail stores, and the bus stations that once serviced travelers from Memphis to Nashville, virtually ended. Sufficient to say when the Dumonts came to Linden in 2007, the little town showed 14 vacant storefronts. Michael says now there are no vacant stores. Perry Chamber of Commerce lists that in 2009, unemployment was 28.9-percent. Today, its between 2-3-percent. and now Linden is not a pass-through, according to Mitchell Rhodes, Chairman of the Perry County Chamber of Commerce, Linden is a destination with a proper hotel again, restaurants and the “Bloomin Arts Festival along with music, music, music! Go: Commodorehotellinden.com and call (931) 589-3224 for a visit. Note* next post will detail many more amenities and businesses in and around the town of Linden!!

Fishing Burns Calories

American Press Travel News–March 10th,-Bob and Barb “On The Road Again.” Probably have not thought about this, but fishing does burn calories. If standing on shore and casting for two hours how about 470-calories “gone?” Fly fishing as you walk in a stream, how about 670-calories an hour. In a boat, not moving around much but jigging on the bottom, about 500-calories Bank fishing, sitting on your butt after a cast of bottom baits. About 360-calories for two hours.

When your fishing, your moving, thinking, bending, casting, walking to your location and if your hooking up with scaled or unscaled critters, your burning calories.

Of course hunting and other sports burn more calories, just as brisk walking does too, but it turns out just about anything you do out in the outdoors on a sustained minute by minute basis, burns that fuel you have stored.

So, its Sunday today and I’m heading out behind my home to our bass pond for some fly fishing activity. Or maybe casting with my new/old reel I bought at a yard sale yesterday to try it out. Its not that I don’t have about 90-reels, its just I love to sell duplicate reels and gear on ebay, so I can buy more gear at yard sales-boy do I have a two car garage that just hasn’t seen a car in ages!!

Bob’s Reverie At The Farm

**Barb loves to fish when she has an edge and doesn’t have the whole day to hopefully hook a neighbor with shoulders enough for us to spar with!**

APtravelnews-May 16th-Crossville, TN.—Goose Holler’ Farm—Bob’s reverie at the farm–I Woke up this morning to chirps from at least a dozen birds: Blue, red, black, gray, mottled, white, yellow, striped black and gray. Their songs and calls were sweet, some raucous, some sounding playful and a few staccato as in three different kinds of woodpeckers including a bright red headed one with a real attitude that come to our feeders and the older trees with lots of dead wood near the fence-line of Goose Holler Farm.

Today was especially auspicious, as the deer with and without antlers and testicles were feeding along a weed whacker line I made near the pond (the pond brings many varieties of ducks and geese over the year to rest and feed) to keep our paths from growing wild and hiding some other unsavory visitors. These serpent critters such as water moccasins come looking for a red- eared, or blue-gilled sunfish, or a bass fish dish alongside the weedy shallows, along with some other potentially poisonous water snakes that we all prefer not to tread on, or brush by, by accident. Sure, I have more squirrels and chipmunks per acre than probably anywhere in our area, as I have at least 150 trees per acre on our ten acre little farmstead, but until they get into our attic, I don’t shoot at them with anything more powerful than a stinging B-B gun to keep them from clearing the bird feeders within an hour or less.

The trees are mostly big trees of nut and flower, oaks, black walnut, maples and almond, the billions of leaves- each one slightly different than the other, keep us shaded and cool in the summer. Together with the blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry bushes and a sundry, seed bushes, not to mention our grown fresh veggies and herbs, we have a fine cornucopia. I guess that in the great profusion of wild plants, it would take a true horticulturist to be able to name them all. I love waking and spending my day writing, looking out and on our land and up-keeping and gardening here.

I guess the reason for this post is I really feel blessed to wake up to nature, and the honeysuckle, roses, peonies and lilac bushes blended a sweet natural aroma to a day full of promise that anyone could enjoy if they gave their I phone, laptop and TV a rest for a day or, two a week!

David in the Netherlands

**Yes, felt like and was treated like a King!**

AmericanPressTravelNews 3/4/18–Correspondent, David, my son is in the Netherlands-Guess he’s there to go ice fishing! He’s an adventurer-chip off his old dad! Today he wrote the following piece about his stay at Hotel Van ORANJE in Noordwijk aan Zee Netherlands. Well dad, this was a great find while, just 15 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam. Going to the beach in minus 2- degrees would seem not to be such a good idea in the U.S., but when you can take advantage of great, 5 -star hotel with 6 incredible restaurants, why not.

Traveling alone, I still felt like a star at this place. I was even given a personalized note telling me to enjoy my Dutch Royal Stay, and it was certainly that for 140 Euros. I enjoyed the facilities indoor pools, saunas, steam rooms, and a gym setup for an athlete. I certainly enjoyed a great dinner at the Restaurant Dutch. After my hot shower, I just asked for 4-course dinner, and sat back. Ah, the food was delivered and explained in great detail by the chefs protege. While biting down on an assortment of “great eats” I watched as table- side meals were being prepared for couples in suits and dresses, out for dates, and usual Saturday Dutch dinner revel in their special night out. I was just off the plane and thought the place was casual dress. Turned out to be no problema! Once my sumptuous dinner was complete, I strolled around and looked at the beautiful Rembrandt art, statues, and other gorgeously decorated restaurants on site. You can go horseback riding, windsurfing, hiking and just about any sport including golfing here.

After talking with some of the staff, and of course, while the summer is warmer, it just didn’t matter how cold it was- you still enjoy this beautiful Hotel! Dad, I swear me and all guests around me are truly treated like kings and Queens. I learned that Europe (or at least this incredible slice of heaven in the Netherlands) had it all over too many watered down, and bleached out other resort hotels I’ve visited in the U.S. and around the world in my travels. And my room;it was fantastically comfortable!! Address is: Koningin Wilhelmina Blvd 20 2202 GV Noordwijk, Netherlands tel. 3171 367 6869