Cooper's Rock State Forest, West Virginia

We left Ashland and headed to Cooper's Rock State Forest in West Virginia. After we set up camp and ate, we hiked out to the reservoir loop trail. After that we went out to Cooper's Rock for the sunset.

Saturday we got up and hiked out to Raven's Rock for a view of the gorge. We then went over to the Henry Clay Iron Furnace parking area and hiked to the furnace and on to Rock City doing an out and back.

After lunch we headed to Valley Falls SP and checked it out. Beautiful small park. We drove on to Tygart SP and all they had was really a large lake.

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Ashland Ohio

We left Sunday after church heading to Ohio. We stopped in Lexington overnight at the Kentucky Horse Park campground. This is a very nice and clean campground next to the Kentucky Horse Stadium. Mainly we just walked around the campground that evening and the next morning.

We got into Ashland on Monday. We missed Valerie at work so we visited the Calvery Bapist Church and then drove out to the Findley SP where we were going to stay until Friday morning. We hiked the Story Book trail after we got set up and then met Valerie for dinner at Fiesta Charra.

Tuesday morning we got up and hiked the trails around the lake at the SP. It was some muddy walking, but pretty area to explore. After that we headed to Ashland and went to the Ashland County Historical Society. We toured the museum, the house next door, and then went to the childrens home where they have a insect collection that is just amazing.  We walked around Downtown looking at the old buildings and artwork. We met Valerie for super at Ohio Fire.

Wednesday we explored the Mohican SP which is really pretty. We hiked the Lyons Falls trail to both falls and the dam. We ate lunch down by the covered bridge then drove up to the overlook of Clear Fork Gorge. From there we hiked down to the swinging bridge and back. We drove to the Wolf Creek Grist Mill and toured the buildings. We came back and walked the Audubon Wetlands Preserve in Ashland. We picked up Valerie for a hamburger cookout at the trailer and went to Wednesday night service. That night we enjoyed a campfire.

Thursday we did lunch with Valerie at Pizza Hut, walked around Freer Field, and then had Frozen Custard at Whit's. We said our goodbyes to Valerie as we were heading out the next day.

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Prentice Cooper Mullen's Cove Loop TTA

 

Sara Pollard led 4 backpackers on a one-night trip on the Mullens Cove loop in the Prentice Cooper State Forest. It was cold with temperatures dropping in the 20’s at night. We camped at the Hemlock Branch campsite with a nice creek nearby. Plenty of firewood to stay warm. Beautiful views of the Tennessee River. The pink sign was from a previous event on the trail and Craig got to show off his beard. We hiked in counterclockwise and after setting up camp we took a short hike to the Ransom Hollow overlook. On the way out Tuesday morning the Mullens Cove Overlook was closed for some reason. The backpackers were Jim Barritt, Jean Breuer, Craig McBride, Lora McBride and Sara Pollard.

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Gooch Creek Arch

Today we hiked to 78'x45' Gooch Creek Arch just out of Laurel Snow Pocket Wilderness with the Chattanooga Hiking Club and TTA. It was a beautiful hiking day and we met more friends! It was a 10.5 mile hike with the crossing of Laurel branch twice.

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Nashville

 

Melanie had an ARON conference in Nashville so plans were made and we headed to Middle Tennessee. Marjorie flew in Friday afternoon so we picked her up at the airport and headed to the big city. With time to kill, we started day one of many days walking the city. After getting a layout of the city we checked into our Condo and then started at the Yee Haw Brewing Company listening to live music. Then we met our cousin Faith at the Bar Louie to watch her perform. Melanie came in at midnight.

Saturday while Melanie was in conference we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman, and Broadway. The tour of the Ryman was really cool. Built as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, the Mother Church then held the Grand Ole Opry. Craig shared memories of his Grandpa sitting here all day listening to the performers and eating Goo Goo Clusters. Afterwards, we met Faith where she was auditioning at Tootsies. They were impressed and hired her and her band! The talent in Nashville is impressive! ARON had a 75th anniversary party which we attended. Later we ended the day on Broadway.

Sunday we did the riverwalk with Marjorie and saw the Capital building and the other government buildings around the Hill. We met Melanie for a BBQ lunch, and then we took Marjorie to the airport. From there we went to Warner Park and hiked the 2.5 mile Warner Woods trail. Lots of wildflowers were blooming. Bloodroot was covering one whole hillside. We came back to meetup with Melanie and went to dinner with Faith.

Monday Lora and I explored the old churchs; the architecture is amazing; the old Union Station with it's impressive lobby, and government offices (the Courthouse is only 2 years old and there was no tour available. We took a tour of the Capital building  where hopefully business was being conducted, and Fort Nashborough. We had dinner at The Stillery which had awesome food! That night we went for a gathering of ARON at the Nashville Underground. Lot's of dancing.

Tuesday we met up with the Nashville Chapter TTA for breakfast. Then we headed over to the Parthenon to check it out. We met Melanie for lunch and to view the conference center. We met up with Faith at the TailGate Brewery Headquarters and then did dinner at Blanco Cocina & Cantina which was great food. Afterwards we walked and danced Broadway. 

Wednesday we got up at 4am and took Melanie to the airport. Then we headed over to Radnor Lake SP  to hike with the Nashville Chapter of TTA. We got there before the gate opened, still dark, took a nap, waited and watched lots of hikers show up but none of them were our group. Finally asked one hiker about the trailhead and she said we were at the wrong one. The other trailhead was just across the lake but you couldn't reach it from where we were, we had to drive 13 minutes away to the Visitor Center. We got there 3 minutes late but our friends were still in the parking lot. Wildflowers are blooming here also, lots of Toothwort, and some Dutchmans Breeches. We saw deer, turtles, eagles, cormorants, ducks, and turkeys. After their scheduled hike, we stayed and hiked the Lake Trail. 

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Big Soddy Creek Gulf and CT

Today's hike started at Big Soddy Creek Gorge. When you cross the bridge we turned right and climbed the switchbacks to the Cumberland Trail and went North. We followed the Gorge to the end and climbed up to the top before turning around and back tracking. We saw wildflowers, lizzards, and water falls. 25' Lasley Falls and 17' Kai Falls.

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Black Mountain TTA

We had 9 hikers to hike the Black Mountain section of the Cumberland Trail. We met at 8:30 am CT at the Black/Brady Mountain trailhead on Highway 68. We explored Windlass Cave and then a back country campsite with what would have been a nice view, but it was too foggy to see into Grassy Cove. It stayed cloudy all day and we weren't able to see much from the overlooks. We enjoyed an early lunch at the South Overlook.  We explored old homesteads and a spring house. After hiking the short loop at the top of Black Mountain we made our way back down to the trailhead on Highway 68. 

The hike distance totaled almost 9 miles and we finished in 5 hours. Hikers were: Jim Barritt, Jay Brain, Jean Breuer, Craig McBride, Lora McBride, Sheila Miller, Thai Alan Ng, Sara Pollard and Jane Reyling. 

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