Americana Graffiti

With doctor's orders to take it easy for a few more weeks, we extended our stay at Fall Creek Falls to the maximum allowable span of 28-days.  The park staff ensured us that they would work with us considering the circumstances; but we wanted to try to push through this period if we could.

Sparta Drive-In: A taste of original Americana

While the convalescence phase proceeded—and life returned to normality at glacial speed—we found that the local camp store had much to be desired with regards to replenishing our supplies.  The town of Sparta lies 40-minutes northwest of Fall Creek Falls, and it was the easiest place to shop without navigating a goat trail; but you have to cross the ominously named Calfkiller River.

Sparta is a quaint little town—not to big, and not too small—and is named after an obscure village of ancient Greece.  When we first arrived in the area, we took Buddy in to see the local vet.  The trip to the vet would set the stage for how we viewed this town, as it was a mixture of small-urban & rural.  The facility itself was very rural, located a few miles out of town on a side road that you could easily miss—twice.  In the waiting area of the vet clinic were a couple of well-dressed women who were picking-up their standard poodles.  While we waited, a vet tech told her co-worker that she needed to make a run to a farm to pick-up a dog that was sick.  Later—while we were in the exam room—there was hot commotion about whether they wanted to examine the bovine in the barn out back, or perform the exam while it’s still in the trailer.  This place catered to the spectrum that defined Sparta.

Although there is a Walmart, there is also a thriving owner-operator grocery store that is reminiscent of days-gone-by.  The isles are a bit narrower, and the gourmet items are sparse; but the owner “Tom” knows all his customers by their names as he greets them amongst the isles.  He and his brother have been running this store since forever; and the clientele are fiercely loyal to his continued personalized service.

The Dodge dealership was full of friendly folks who worked Hank in for routine maintenance, and didn’t clean us out doing so.  They were also quick to point out some of their favorite places to eat in town; and offered to network me with a local historian who could give me a tour of the tri-county area…for free.

Deb at the UPS depot was a gem; helping me navigate the (new to me) system of shipping items back to our basecamp in Virginia using my newly-created UPS account.  She further networked me with the local propane company so I could keep our furnace and stove working.  And speaking of the propane company…the ladies who work the office are spirited, witty, and know how to sling a 40# cylinder into the back of a pick-up.

The local pharmacy was very clutch in their service & professionalism.  Kristy's pain medication was from another county, her insurance from another region, and our physical address...well...was a moving target.  Although this would normally launch red flags, the staff quickly made sense of our predicament and squared us away.

Across the street from the pharmacy is a gourmet coffee shop that puts that Seattle brand to shame; and around the corner is an "outdoors store" that caters to both outdoor activities—hunting & fishing.  You won't find any high-end, Everest-tested apparel in this store, but you will find a self-service bait machine out front.  If you find yourself in a fishing-bind at 3am, you can pull up and throw a couple of quarters in this Coke-machine-look-alike and get a package of nightcrawlers.  Bet you can't find THAT in a big city.

The town of Sparta does have that small town charm, and when I asked local folks if they would live anywhere else, they all said “NO.”  It is the hometown of bluegrass legend Lester Flatt, as well as the Lester Flatt Memorial Bluegrass Day held annually in Liberty Square.  Sparta also has an operational drive-in movie theater that is open seasonally.  These rare entertainment venues are disappearing from the American landscape, but the locals provide enough support to keep this piece of Americana thriving.

Panorama of the Sparta Drive-In

Although we only spend about a month in the area, the warm & welcoming residents provided me with a respectable rolodex of who's who in Sparta.  The best description I can give this town is "it's what every small town should strive to be."


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