Fall Outing for Apples ….

What a beautiful day in September for a nice drive to the mountains.  The destination was to be Crow Mountain Orchards and when I was asked John Crumly about how to get there, he could not remember as the last time they went to Crow Mountain was quite a while ago and Billie Crumly was always the navigator wherever they went.  So many jokes are made about females not being able to read a map or know anything about direction but for this Crumly family it was the female that was always giving the directions.  When Daddy and I were talking we discovered that he travels by landmarks and “the lay of the land” rather than knowing the road names.  I thought that Crow Mountain would have been north and sure enough it was.  I went to the trusty “Google” and found Crow Mountain Orchards.  I called the number was shown and asked if they had “Mutsu” apples and sure enough they had the variety in question.  Now, I tell you, I don’t have a clue when mother and daddy first discovered this “Mutsu” variety of apple but that is the one that they had used and searched for during my memory.  In years while in Georgia they would travel to Ellijay, Georgia, to buy apples and even in early years once they had moved to the Windy Knoll.  But as age seems to make traveling more difficult they sought out a closer destination and that became Crow Mountain Orchards.  As I mentioned the internet, I have to once again, hear mother saying of Google, “How does it know all that?”  But to my pleasure, it knew not only the phone number but at the click of the mouse gave me directions to the orchards.  After finding the directions it also indicated that it would take just over an hour from the Windy Knoll.

You have heard in the past that this household starts early.  John Crumly is normally up by 6:00 a.m.  and today he did not even have to fix his customary bowl of cereal.  I had done my daughterly duty and scooted down to Krispy Kreme to get him a dozen doughnuts.  I also got a dozen for Brad hoping that his taste for sweets would soon return.  Now, when I took those two dozen doughnuts from the lady in the drive thru, and felt that they were HOT.  I just could not resist opening the box and using a napkin to gather up a doughnut to eat while I was driving.  Let me tell you, that was the best doughnut.  I had not had lunch and it was so hot it didn’t even want to hold shape and was almost burning my finger.  The second one that I reached for while I was driving even broke apart and I just could not leave a damage doughnut in the box for Brad.  I am thoughtful like that, so I finished that second doughnut.  Did I say my Daddy likes sweets?  Well, I guess I am my daddy’s daughter.

But we were on the way to Crow Mountain.  We journey to highway 35 and turned to go down the mountain. It is a very nice four lane highway with little traffic in the area as we were going down the mountain.  You talk about breath-taking view.  I am not sure I have ever be across the Tennessee River but I was totally awed by the expanse of the Tennessee River and how it has carved out its path between the two mountains.  There was simply no place for me to stop and take a picture but I found this on the internet.   It does show the nice new bridge that we crossed going to Crow Mountain and we returned across the old bridge.  Daddy said the locals did not want them to tear down the old bridge and it is a nice old bridge.  We just don’t build things like in the past and that is to be expected but it seems we also have learned that the past is also a treasure.

So we continued on and there was one of those signs which let you know there are going to be some curves in the road ahead.   Well yes, this is exactly what we were seeing.  Many curves and thought for sure as we kept motoring, now up the mountain, that I would run the battery down blowing the horn at my own tail lights.  Met one lady in a pickup truck while going around a switchback curve, as my sweetie calls them, and almost had to hold my breath.  Seems the wind is blowing more here than I remember it blowing at home in Acworth, GA.  Daddy even asked as we started to leave the Windy Knoll, if I had a jacket to wear and he already had high lightweight jacket on.  I got my windbreaker out of the car and put it in his car but thought to myself, as warm as I am, I just don’t think I will need a jacket.  He is always much cooler than I am.  I remember mother talking that when I was coming she would tell daddy that he would have to cut the heat down or he would burn Donna up.

Along the way we saw some of the cornfields where the corn had dried and it was ready for harvesting and again I could not find a place on this little two-lane road to pull over without someone immediately following me and make a picture.  Even the dried corn in the field is a pretty sight.  I did stop at a church and make a picture of a combine (I think that is what it is called) and it is parked in a cornfield which has already been harvested.     We were talking about the equipment and Daddy said its cost was probably over $100k.  Again I went to google for help and found some used ones for sale and one 2002 had a starting bid of $53k.  Farming is not an inexpensive occupation, in case you wanted to know.

As we made our way we finally saw the sign that pointed the way to the desired orchards.  How pretty the apples are hanging full on the trees.     Then look at the big crate full of red apples. Yum! Yum!  Daddy, of course, is searching out the Mutsu and finds just what he was looking for.  They are certainly not inexpensive but I have read in this blog many times that the Crumlys likes expensive food.  So what, as long as the bills are paid, why not eat what they wish.  I can just imagine mother making an apple cake and Daddy and I have talked about her candy apples.  Not what one usually thinks of candied apples!    Mother would peal the apples, cut them in half and core them.  In a pot mix two times as much sugar as water, add a few drops red (or color of your choice) food coloring and put apples in one layer at a time (turning once) and cook until they fork tender.  After all the apples are cooked, boil the sweetened water until it begins to thicken and pour over the fruit.  Enjoy!  No picture of these so you can send me a copy of yours when you try this recipe.

We each got a free cup of apple cider.  Yum!  That was enough for each of us.  Then we had a taste of an apple we had never heard of called “Pippin.”  Wish you could have seen our faces.  Tart does not really describe it well enough.  I ate two bites of one slice and threw the remainder away.  Daddy ate his in its entirety but would not taste anything else after that one did him in.  I saw another that I thought looked nice called “JonathanGold” and I tried it.  I liked it and thought it had a nice sweet/tart taste and ended up buying a small bag of these.  Once we had completed the apple shopping and paying our bill it was time to start back down the mountain.  Driving down the snakelike road was more difficult on the drive down and I even put the car in 2^nd gear to hold it back a little.  I did notice that the gas mileage was much better on the way down.  Well, DUH!  Never had to give it gas as I could coast the entire way down.

So we made it down and it was getting time for lunch.  Daddy had eaten the two doughnuts earlier in the morning but yours truly had nothing at all and I was getting ready for something in my tummy.  I did not take time to set the MapQuest on the way back, as I was sure I would recognize the way.  Well, neigh not so.  We took a different way back and daddy said he thought they came through a larger city when they had come before.  Oh well, we had a pleasant drive and then we found some highway numbers that I recognized and on South we traveled.  I saw an area that looked to have some restaurants and again I was off in a different direction and found one of Dad’s favorites, Western Sizzlin.  Look at this plate full of food.  One would think I had never had a meal in the past week.   We both commented that we had eaten too much.  I told Dad that we would stop and wash the car and we drove the dusty car through.  Dirt roads do make for lots of dust.  We also vacuumed it quite well.  I think cars should be washed every couple of months whether they need it or not.  We made it home and daddy commented that the day was about over.  I said, “Why Daddy, we are just getting started, it is only 1:15 p.m.”

Curvy roads, apple orchards, dusty roads, overeating are just some of the benefits of country living.