Judy Baker on Places of Impact – Yellow Creek, Tennessee

When I thought about the Places of Impact on my life, I thought about my trips to Hawaii, the islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten, and also Mexico, Scotland, London, and then I decided it was not some exotic island or country, but right here in America. My place of impact is Tennessee - Yellow Creek, Tennessee to be exact.

Yellow Creek is located approximately seventy-five miles west of Nashville. My grandparents had a farm in Yellow Creek and I spent much of my youth running around the farm exploring the woods, swinging on the front porch swing while the summer rains poured down on the tin roof of the old farmhouse, and skinny-dipping in the creek on hot humid days. One of my favorite memories is walking through the quiet, snow-covered woods, looking for the perfect Christmas tree.  

Once you’ve grown up and moved on and made a life that journeyed away from where you grew up – can you ever go back without some kind of impact? It was there in that old dilapidated farmhouse that I was inspired by my grandmother's memories to write a story, hence, A Yellow Creek Novel, Secret Past. I love Yellow Creek and could visualize the farmhouse built anew. Please take a look at this video on my site http://anna_sugg.coffeecup.com, and slip into the past.  

It had been thirty years since I had stepped foot on the Adkins farmland in Yellow Creek. This area is not exotic like many of the places I mentioned, but it is an area of beautiful pastoral fields surrounded by luscious green wilderness that contain creeks, rivers and waterfalls. I love Tennessee with its variety of natural beauty. To check out the state’s beauty go to http://wnpt.org/productions/btn/. For more on Judy’s other novels visit http://judybaker.coffeecup.com.