The relaxed way to go down the hill…
That just looks cold…
Anyone got a shovel?
On a mission…
The bad thing about sledding down hill is you gotta walk back up it…
Wreck!
The tumble…
Get outta the way; there’s another car coming…
Didn’t make it…
As winter drags hopelessly along and with cold temps (and snow?) on the horizon, it might help to think warm thoughts. It won’t be long until spring—and then summer—is upon us…shellcrackers will be nesting, smallmouth will be spawning, flatheads will be lurking the weedbeds…
This is a spectacular photo sent by Steven Seven. The photo is of Steve’s granddaughters (Raven and Journey) posing in front of a humongous ice cone at the base of Yahoo Falls yesterday. Yahoo Falls—in the Big South Fork NRRA—is a 113-ft. waterfall with a lot of history behind it. The sheer size of this ice cone—formed slowly since temperatures dropped below freezing—is simply amazing.
Welcome to the frozen tundra of East Tennessee.
Another year-end post…My favorite photos taken during the course of the year.
A bicyclist in the Big South Fork NRRA pushes his bike beneath an icy rock overhang as single-digit temperatures put the northern Cumberland Plateau in the deep freeze on Jan. 17.
Our 2-3″ snow pales in comparison to the dumping Mother Nature put on the Mid-Atlantic this weekend (up to 30″ in some areas), but here are a few photos anyway…
A manger scene at a Verdun Road residence, Oneida.
A creative snowman at the Barnes residence on Leatherwood Road, West Oneida.
Brimstone area
Old Walker Cemetery at Indian Fork.
A farm in Indian Fork country.
A view out my front door.
Another shot at the ponderosa.
Yeah, as a matter of fact I WAS born in a barn.
It was another beautiful fall morning atop the Cumberland Plateau. A dense fog rose out of the valleys at daybreak, but the sun burned through by 10 a.m., revealing the last of the fall colors that are still hanging on (until tomorrow’s wind storm, anyway).
The woods at daybreak this morning looked, well, a little Halloweenish. It was regular Hounds of the Baskervilles weather out there . . .
Arriving at East Rim Overlook was like arriving at the end of the world. You could see nothing but fog. You could hear the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River rumbling 500 ft. below; you just couldn’t see it . . .
Strange things began to emerge from the fog as the morning wore on . . .
Eventually, the fog began to lift, and the autumn woods began to come into focus . . .
It wouldn’t be Halloween without some webs, would it?
The drive was beautiful once the fog burned off . . .
And, to round off this mess of photos, a couple of pictures from other folks. The first comes from my mother, who captured this picture of a rainbow against the backdrop of the Smokies’ foothills, and the second from Brandon, who grabbed a shot on Baker Highway at the Scott-Campbell Co. line.
Calm before the storm?
A few weeks ago, state Sen. Ken Yager contacted me to say that he had been reading our “Explore” series featuring out-of-the-way places in the Big South Fork NRRA and would like to familiarize himself some with the park and its history. Yager, a Harriman Republican, was elected last November to represent the 12th Senatorial District, which includes Scott, Fentress and Morgan counties in Big South Fork country.
Part of the job of weekly newspapers is community service. And our community is better served if more folks know about this “gem of the Cumberlands” that is the Big South Fork. So, Republican or Democrat, I’m always ready to hit the trails of BSF country to promote this place we call home.
Here are a few photos from along the way.
Mike Slaven and Sen. Yager study the bluff wall high above the trail to Twin Arches:
They’re checking out this unique honeycombed feature in the sandstone bluff line:
Beneath the South Arch of Twin Arches:
The Twin Arches are underrated in one respect. They’re well-noted as a geological feature, but the view from the top is spectacular. This shot looks east. We’re standing just inside the Scott-Fentress county line. The mountains in the background are the Cumberland Mountains near the Scott-Campbell county line.
Overlooking the Parch Corn Creek valley:
A shot of fall:
Jerry Lay makes sure we don’t get lost:
This is by far the most spectacular overlook in the Big South Fork park. It’s one of my favorite places on earth: Angel Falls Overlook. Access is by Leatherwood Ford, hiking along the river and climbing to the top of the gorge. But a much shorter route is via the Grand Gap Loop Trail. Brace yourself for a cliche: Pictures don’t do this place justice. Many Scott Countians have never been there, and that’s too bad.
“If we were standing down there, we’d look about this tall.” This is NOT a Photoshopped photo. Jerry and Mike are standing on the edge of the rock, 600 ft. above the Big South Fork River. With the lack of perspective in a 2-dimensional photo, it looks surreal.
The contrast of an evergreen and a tree shedding its leaves:
I’m not sure why I took this shot. But I’ll include it anyway:
Two generations of whitetails:
Today was what fall in East Tennessee is all about: A cold, frosty morning with a beautiful, sunny afternoon.
One of the good things about living 15 minutes from the nearest Walmart (the horror!) is being able to be from my house to the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area within about 90 seconds. I headed down there this evening just before sunset.
The leaves on the south end of Scott County are near their peak, while the colors around here, on the north end, are getting cranked up good.
Ignore my daughter’s homeless outfit, please.
