Wednesday Hike - Rugby

Wednesday hike with Plateau chapter. I drove to Cracker Barrel to find only Harry and Harold there. Where was the big hiking group? Just when we decided we were it, along came Bill and then Pat. We loaded into Howard's SUV and to the trails we went. 

Rugby was our first stop, the Gentleman's Swimming Hole, and Meeting of the Waters loop. It's a very pretty trail, we didn't swim, but the water looked very inviting. The Meeting of the Waters is where the two creeks, the Clear Fork and the White Oak merge and become the South Fork, which as it picks up the streams and creeks on its way down into the gorge becomes the gorgeous Class IV and V Big South Fork River .

On to our next hike; only we found an interesting store first: R.M. Brooks GEN MDSE. It used to be the Rugby Post Office. There are a few antiques and a nice lady that runs the place and she makes really good sandwiches. We had lunch here. They also have bikes for rent and a campground. There is a trailhead here for Brewster Bridge. We drove a little further on 52 to find what Bill wanted to show us. The new bridge and the old bridge where the trail from the store comes to. The road to the old bridge has places you could launch a canoe. Pretty. We also saw a large buck standing by the guardrail. He was beautiful!

On to our next hike: Colditz Cove SNA. We saw 2 pretty waterfalls and Pat found lots of wildflowers and identified them for us. 

We had to stop for ice cream at the General Store in Clarkrange. Turtle tracks in a cone Yumm!

Thanks Plateau for a great day!

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Lily Dale Campout

Another great time at Dale Hollow lake. Dad, Mom, Marco, Natalie, Mitsi, and the girls join us for a weekend at the lake. Actually it turned out that we joined them at the lake as they started Friday. Lora and I brought the canoes and met them at the campground. It just happened to be an ungodly high temperature weekend. We spent all the time in the water.

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Mitchell Creek - Dale Hollow Lake

Lora and I headed to Dale Hollow Lake for a couple of days. We put the canoe in at Mitchell Creek Marina, which is one of the nicest on the lake. The owners were very friendly too.

After getting the canoe loaded, we headed down Carter creek going in and out of all the inlets. We saw lots of water fowl and one big turtle. There were ripe blackberries just waiting for Craig to spot them. We managed to save some for our oatmeal for breakfast the next morning. We only saw a couple of boats out today. After exploring Carter creek we headed over to our campsite on Mitchell Creek, campsite #1. It is just across the creek from the Marina.

We set up camp, gathered firewood, did a short hike, and did some swimming. And waited for one LOUD motorboat to run out of fuel. That night we got to listen to three different types of owls. Lots of stars. We scared a doe on our hike.

The next morning we packed up, loaded the canoe and as we scooted the canoe into the water Lora screamed and danced with Mickey Mouse as he scurried out from under the canoe and all around her feet before running off into the bushes. After getting our pacemakers restarted, we explored all of Mitchell Creek. We were blessed with two different streams with cascades, two American Eagles, five Otters, a deer, and many water birds.

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Watt's Bar Lake

Lora and I went to Watts Bar dam and put the boat in. We explored the inlet by the boat ramp and then crossed the river and explored the inlets on the other side. We went as far as Lowe Branch. Lot's of fun.

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