East Coast Trip - New Jersey and Pennsylvania

October 5th. Sunday morning we headed South into New Jersey. Traffic was horrendous and it was 86 degrees. We didn’t find anything good here until we got to Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold Township. Pretty place where we are going to stay for a couple of nights.

Monday was Historic Philadelphia and Valley Forge day. Of course the government was shut down and some places were closed because it wasn’t the weekend. At the visitor center we asked the lady where to have a good pizza. She corrected us and said Philly Stake. Then she told us where to go. So we saw the Presidents House Site, the Liberty Bell through the window, Independence Hall from outside, the tomb of the unknown soldier of the American Revolution, and lots of old buildings. We had our Philly Steak at Jim’s Steaks. Saw Old St. Mary’s church, Benjamin’s Graveyard, Arch Street Meeting House, Betsy Ross House, and did a tour of the Philadelphia US Mint. Lots of walking. From there we headed over to Valley Forge and did the driving loop. A few short hikes to see things and then had Pizza at Salvatore’s Trattoria and Pizzeria in King of Prussia. It made for a long but good day.

Tuesday after a campground hike, we headed South and West. Hwy 9 and 70 are nice driving. We crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge and then followed 273 through Newark. We crossed through Maryland, back into Pennsylvania, and camped at Codorus SP.

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East Coast Trip - New York

Friday the 3rd we drove from Connecticut into New York. We set up camp at Winding Hills Park in Orange County. After setting up we headed to Minnewaska SP Preserve Sam’s Point Area. We hiked to Sam’s Point and on to the Ice Caves which is a really cool hike climbing through rocks. Afterwords we headed back to camp for the night.

Back to Minnewaska SP Preserve on Saturday. We hiked around Lake Minnewaska then to 65’ Awosting Falls. We hiked the beautiful Mossy Glen trail and Blueberry Picker trail to Upper Awosting to the visitor center. Really nice place to hike. Shopping and back to campground. 

Sunday morning we headed South into New Jersey. Traffic was horrendous and it was 86 degrees. We didn’t find anything good here until we got to Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold Township. Pretty place where we are going to stay for a couple of nights.

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East Coast Trip - Connecticut

Thursday the 2nd we headed South from Chepachet Rhode Island into Connecticut taking Hwy 49 South to Hwy 1 and driving along the Long Island Sound. We stopped in Mystic for lunch and walked around the town looking at ships along the river. We continued on Hwy 1 and stopped in Clinton for the night at Riverdale Farm Campsites. 

Friday we traveled Northwest through Bristol. We had lunch in Danbury and did some shopping. From there we drove to New York.

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East Coast Trip - Rhode Island

Monday the 29th we headed South from Scarborough Maine. We visited Kennebunkport just to see it before we left Maine. We went through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and into Rhode Island. We camped at Holiday Acres campground. This is a very large campground including a good size lake.

Tuesday we went to Mowry Conservation area and hiked the trails there. A very pretty area. Across the road is Mowry Commons mangaged by Revive the Roots. They had trails, community gardens, and a green house area. From there we went to Blackstone Gorge which sounds a lot prettier that it was. Basically water flowing over a dam and a trail along the river. We hiked down to the confluence and then back. We ate lunch at the dam. From there we headed over to the Monastery which is now a library. I wish we could have seen it before the fire. A beautiful building. We hiked the trail behind it to see the Monk's Quarry where there is still quarry rocks piled up that weren't used. We stopped by the Wrights Dairy Farm and Bakery for a snack before heading back. Had to relax for a while in the sun after a tough day like that.

Today started off with a trip back into Massachusetts. We went to Plimoth Patuxet to learn about Pilgrims. A very interesting place to see! After some clam chowder at the Cabby Shack we explored the Grist Mill, the ever so small Plymouth Rock, and the Mayflower II. We caught a few more sights in town as we walked back to the car. We headed to Cape Cod after that to check it out. Saw a bunch of houses that old Captains lived in and walked the pier on Gray's Beach. We had dinner at Father's Kitchen and Taphouse and then headed home.  

Thursday we headed South and into Connecticut. We drove down 49 to Hwy 1.

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East Coast Trip - Maine

We left Vermont on Tuesday September 16. Had lunch in Lancaster, NH and drove into Maine. We got a campsite at Cupsuptic Lake near Rangeley. It's a nice little campground, very clean, and on the lake. After driving through two country's and four states advertizing moose on the road signs, we finally saw two just down the road from the campground. It took us doing an evening drive. Since today is Lora's birthday and she always wanted to go to Maine, here we are. There is also a beach on the lake so I scored extra points.

Wednesday we got up and drove through Rangeley to the Cascade Stream Gorge.  A short hike through a rocky gorge with waterfalls. From there we drove South to a rest area and Smalls Falls. There is the main fall plus more as you hike up the creek. On the way back we stopped on the AT crossing and put our feet on the Appalachian trail. From there we stopped and picked up some groceries a then headed East to Quill Hill. It is a privately owned mountain that you can drive up and enjoy a wonderful view of the area. After that we headed back to the camper to drop off food and then headed to Bald Mountain and hike to top of that. There is a firetower on top with wonderful views. Enough for one day we came back for dinner and did some laundry.

Thursday we hiked around campground and then headed to Milo to meet up with Lora’s cousin. Having a little extra time on our hands, we stopped at the public beach in Dover for a couple of hours. We headed on to Michael’s place and had a good evening of catching up. He spoiled us with Lobster and then a big dinner later on.

Friday Michael took us to Borestone Mountain for a little hiking. Beautiful views all around. He even served us strawberry shortcake on the summit and then he spoiled us with milkshakes to recover from the hike.

Saturday the 20th we head North to Easton to see another cousin of Lora's. Christy took us around her town and showed us the cabin where they vacation as much as they can. She also introduced us to the Whoopie Pie which is the yankee Moon Pie. We stayed in her driveway.

Sunday after a wonderful breakfast, we headed Southwest to Millinocket and stayed at Wilderness Edge campground.  After setting up camp we headed to Baxter State Park to see about hiking Mt. Katahdin. They said that we could be on standby if we showed up at 5:30 in the morning and at 7 if there is any room in the parking area they would let us in. A simple no would have done. We hiked Trout Mountain and climbed the 80' tall tower at the top. What a view!

Monday we did not get up at 5:30. We drove to Bait Hole and hiked the Bait Hole Loop and North Twin Dam loop. Easy hike and very beautiful along the water. Made a trip into town for supplies and saw a 864 pound moose getting checked in on the first day of hunting season. After lunch we drove to see the ice caves. We were warned not to take the Golden road because it was too rough. We took Old State road instead. What a mess that was at 5mph. The trail was interesting as was the cave, but the view was awesome from the top. After talking with people on the trail we took the Golden road back and it was a whole lot better.

Tuesday we headed for the coast. We took Hwy 6 over to Hwy 1 and drove down to Trenton. Of course the lighthouses along the way were closed or being worked on. We camped at Wild Acadia campground. 

Wednesday we headed to Acadia NP. We drove the loop road and climbed Bee Hive mountain and Bubbles mountain. We hiked around Jordan Pond and had a snack at the lodge. Then we toured Bar Harbor and had dinner there at Geddy's.

Thursday the 25th we headed to Schoodic to check it out. We did the loop drive and stopped to hike Schoodic Head and Anvil. Many views of the ocean. We ate lunch at the Wharf in Winter Harbor. The rain settled in and later we headed to Bass Harbor to see the lighthouse. We drove the West Coast on the way back to camp. We got to see a seal, some deer, and turkeys.

Friday we headed South. First stop was Fort Knox SHS and Penobscot narrows observatory. We went up the bridge tower, 447 feet, to the observatory. Beautiful views. Then we toured the Fort Knox fort which was pretty cool. We ate lunch there. Then we visited Rockport to see the Lime Kilns, the Vulcan Steam Engine, and Andre the Seal. Next stop was Rockland where we hiked the 7/8 mile Breakwater to the lighthouse. Lot's of people hiking today. Then we stopped at the Marshall Point Lighthouse and museum, which closed as soon as we got there. We spent the night at Pemaquid Point campground near Bristol Maine.

Saturday we drove to Pemaquid Point lighthouse first thing. Got there just before they opened and looked around. After they opened we did the museum. After that we drove to the Maine Maritime Museum to check that out. It was awsome! We learned how to build ships, took the cruse on the river, got to see seals and an Eagle, and got to see the navy ships being built next door. We pretty much spent all day there. We drove on to Scarborough and camped at the Sun Outdoors campground. After setting up we headed to Ken's Place for some seafood. 

Sunday we got up and drove to Portland Head Light Fort Williams Park. We saw a couple of schooners when we arrived. Then we saw the Goddard Mansion, Battery Erasmus Keyes, and of course the lighthouse. From there we went to Bug Light Park to see the lighthouse and the main Portland harbor. Lot's of different kinds of boats. Our last stop was Cascade Falls which has a couple of short trails and the cascade.

Monday we headed South. We visited Kennebunkport just to see it before we left Maine. We went through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and into Rhode Island. We camped at Holiday Acres campground.

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East Coast Trip - Vermont, New Hampshire,

We left the Adirondacks on Monday September 15th and headed East. We drove across the bridge in Chimney Point into Vermont. Vermont didn’t have any signs including welcome and speed. We had to check the Rand McNally to see if we entered the state. GPS gave us the speed limit. We stopped for lunch in Bristol and camped in St Johnsbury at the Moose River campground. Nice little campground on the river which was kinda dry due to lack of rain.

Tuesday, Lora’s birthday, I got up early and took the Jeep in for a squeaky brake. Of course they found a couple of ball joints that needed to be replaced. After I returned, we headed on into New Hampshire. We stopped in Lancaster for lunch and an ATM withdrawal. From there we drove to Rangeley Maine and camped at Cupsuptic Lake campground.

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East Coast Trip - New York

Friday September 12 we found a campground in the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake. We walked our campground checking out the lake and a couple of raccoons then headed Southwest into the USA. No problems on the border crossing. We stopped for lunch in Canton and drove on to Little Wolf Campground which is a city park on Little Wolf Pond. We enjoyed an evening relaxing lakeside and reading.

Saturday was hiking day. We hiked Mt. Arab and climbed the fire tower. Saw a few folks on this hike. The views were wonderful. From there we drove to Tooley Pond Road and hiked to the following waterfalls: Basford, Sinclair, Twin, Rainbow, and Copper Rock. All were beautiful and we only saw one other couple. From there we drove back through Tupper Lake and hiked Panther Mountain for some more views. Tired from that we came home and had dinner. Total of about 5.8 miles but mountain climbing in this area is straight up.

Sunday we climbed Haystack Mountain. 6.6 miles round trip and the first 2.2 weren't bad. The rest was straight up. Beautiful views from the top, but kicked our butts. After that hike we checked out the Lake Placid area and looked for moose. We headed back at dark to the camper. Another great day. We saw deer and grouse. 

Monday we headed out for Vermont. We stopped in Port Henry for a break. What a wonderful little town to walk around. Lot's of old buildings and a view of the bridge going to Vermont.

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East Coast Trip - Canada

Tuesday September 9th we left my Brother's in Lowell MI and headed to Canada. No problem crossing the border and we camped at Lake Whittaker Conservation Area in Harrietsville. We walked the campground and some trails while we were there. Even caught a sunset over the lake. We got up the next morning, walked the campground and then headed East. Awful traffic in Tronto which made for an all day drive to Charleston Lake Provincial Park.

Thursday we got up and drove to Mallorytown Landing of the Thousand Islands National Park. There weren't any trails there so we drove to Landons Bay and hiked the Donevan trail with the overlook trails. It made a nice morning hike with lots to see. After that we drove West on Hwy 2 and into Kingston. We found a place to park and then hit the streets. We walked to the St. Mary's Cathedral which of course was under renovation, we walked to the waterfront to take in the sights, then we drove down to see Murney Tower and the Penitentiary. On the way back to camp we stopped at Grass Creek Beach for a little relaxation. Then we headed back to camp and dinner.

Friday we found a campground in the Adirondack's and headed to New York.

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East Coast Trip - Michigan

Plan A was Virginia and then up the East Coast to Maine. Plan B was Virginia, Southern Michigan, Northern Michigan and on to Maine. Actual plan was straight up to Northern Michigan. My Uncles health was failing fast and we needed to be with my Aunt as he passed on into heaven. Mission accomplished!

We left on August 20 and drove up to Kiser Lake SP in St Paris, OH for the night. Nice little campground on the lake. Clean and the camphost were very friendly. We only walked the campground so didn't see the rest of the park. The next morning we headed North to Elk Lake to stay with my Aunt and Uncle. My Uncle passed on the 28th and we stayed on getting my Aunt ready for life on her own. 

On September 4th, we headed South to my brothers in Lowell Michigan stopping at Newaygo SP for a hike along the lake in between. Pretty park with a couple of campgrounds. Arrived at my brothers for a good visit. 

Friday we headed to P.J. Hoffmaster SP and North Ottawa Dunes for some hiking. We hiked the dunes and along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful day with some high winds. Big waves on the lake made for some beautiful scenery. We might have had some ice cream afterwards to rebuild our strength.

Saturday we visited Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. 158 acres of art and gardens. Amazing place to visit and have lunch. 

Sunday we headed to Fallasburg Park in Lowell Michigan. We hiked the trails, crossed the bridges, and saw the wildlife. It was a beautiful day and we covered around four and half miles of trail. Luckily Kathy had brownie's and ice-cream waiting for us so that we could recover.

Monday we hiked at Muskegon SP. We hiked five miles through the dunes and seeing all the things that the park offered. Another great day.

Tuesday morning we were off to Canada.

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McGill Creek on the Cumberland Trail

We took advantage of the weather and hiked in August in the high 60's to McGill Falls on the Cumberland Trail. It was still hot due to humidity so we took a swim at the falls to cool down.

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Cumberland Trail Hall Road Trailhead

Jennifer and I met at the trailhead on Hall Road. The parking lot is good but the dirt road getting to it, not so good. There is no sign anywhere on the main road or this dirt road about the CT. We took our time, me nursing a sore back. But that helped us enjoy all the blooms and fungi.  Flame azalea, Mountain laurel, and Rhododendren were all blooming along with Magnolias. There was a magnolia that had fallen in the forest and we got a close up look at the blooms. These trees grow so tall that you usually don't see the blooms unless you are looking up.

This is from the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy: In the upper watershed, the hike from the Hall Road access point to Barker Camp Road consists of 10 miles of trail that runs along North Chickamauga Creek above the Cain Creek Confluence. This section passes the legendary Helican Blue Hole.

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Savage Gulf

Today Lora and I hiked at Savage Gulf. We hiked the Day Loop trail and three miles on the South Rim trail. Yesterday when we were at my parents home in Maryville we heard the Cicada's and today the woods were full of them. Made for a loud hike. We saw lots of flowers and the water was up for the waterfall. When we left you could see the Cicada's in the road that had been hit.

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Lexington Virginia

Day 20

We drove to Natural Bridge SP and hiked the Natural Bridge trail including cascades, cave, and waterfall. We saw a couple of water snakes on the rock walls. Then we drove to the visitor center in Historic Lexington. From there we walked the town seeing the historic buildings, Washington Lee University, and Virginia Military Institute. We walked to the cemetery where Stonewall Jackson was buried. When we got back we did a little river time and later enjoyed a campfire. 

Day 21

We drove back to Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol VA for our last night of camping. 

Day 22 

We arrived back at our house after a wonderful trip!

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New Market Virginia

Day 19

With time on our hands we took the scenic drive across the mountains between West Virginia and Virginia. We ended up at the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. They were having an reinactment which was really cool. We visited with Surgen, cooks, blacksmith, fired cannons, troops shooting, and the museum. We made it to the Swedish Lilac campground in Vesuvius for the night. It's a really beautiful campground along the river. After visiting with the owners we went down to the river for a swim. 

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Winchester Virginia

Day 17

Drove to Winchester Virginia and camped at Candy Hill campground. Relaxed at the pool, walked campground, and read at campground. Nice to relax

Day 18

Drove to Luray to find Lora's history. We found the house, the monument, and the old meeting house that her great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was involved in. The rock house is now a B@B thats on the James River. After that we went downtown to the visitor center, Singing tower, Little white house, and the Shenandoah Heritage Village. Then we drove back to Winchester. We saw Confederate Statue, Blues Brothers at the Historic Taylor Hotel, Fort Louden where we just missed an reinactment event but a guy showed us all the stuff he found in a dig on the fort property. We saw Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters, Library and had icecream at Red fox Creamery. 

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Washing DC day two

Day 16

We had trouble with the Metro machine. Took VFE which did not stop at the Arlington cemetery so went to L'Enfant station. We went to the Archive building to see the paperwork. Declaration, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and more. Then we went to the Smithsonian of Natural History followed by the Smithsonian of US History which had the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry. After that we did the tour of the Ford Theater which included the house where Lincoln died. Really cool tour. Our last stop was Arlington Cemetery. We got there late and visited JFK Memorial and tomb. Finally we made it to the tomb of the unknown soldier where we watched the sentinel march. He stopped and faced us yelling THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER IS NOW CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC! RETURN TO THE VISITOR'S CENTER NOW! So away we went sadly.

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Washington DC

Day 14 and 15

It rained during the night and still sprinkling as we packed up to head West. We drove in the rain to Pohick Bay Regional Park just South of DC. It was too rainy to tour Mt. Vernon and they were doing work on the inside of his home. We got laundry done with short walks in between rain.

Wednesday was our first Washington DC day. We drove to VRE and missed tram. We took a bus to Springfield and caught tram there. We did a monument day seeing all the monuments by walking too far. The Washington monument was closed of course but after a little excitment we got a tour of the capital building. We had of course removed pocket knives, but we got busted for a pair of sissors in the first aid kit. Lora was trying to tell the security where the sissors were and he kept telling her DO NOT TOUCH THE BAG everytime she pointed. She was then excorted out of the building to the trash can to throw them away. While she was gone, someone walked by smelling like pot and all the agents got excited. I got accused of having pot in the backpack. He told me twice to go outside and throw the pot away. I kept telling them that I didn't have any. Anyway we finally got our tour in! 

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Delaware- Magnolia and Dover

Day 13

We drove to Magnolia where I used to live to find our old house. We found the house and then went into town. After that we drove to Dover AFB to see the aviation museum which was closed. One gate was open so we walked through the desplayed aircraft. A guy drove up and let us know that we were not supposed to be there. My bad! We drove on to Dover and visited the First State National Historical Park also known as the Green. We walked to see all of the historic buildings and then toured the Capitol Building. Then we went to see the John Dickinson Plantation which was closed. We walked the grounds here as well. Then we went to St. Jones Reserve and hiked the boardwalk trail.

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Delaware

Day 12

Drove up the coast of Delaware. We stopped to see Fenwick Island Lighhouse and buildings on Finwick Island. Then we stopped to see Discoversea Shipwreck Museum upstairs of Sea Shell City. It has an amazing collection of shipwreak items. We next stopped at Indian River Life Saving Station Museum in Delaware Seashore SP. After that we headed to Killens Pond SP for the first of two nights. Had pizza at Poliseno's.

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Assateague Island National Seashore

Day 11

We drove to Snow Hill and over to Furnace Town to check it out. They were having a Furnace Fairies and Gnomes Festival. Had a lot of old buildings and it was the sight of an Iron Furnance. From there we headed back to Snow Hill and had lunch at Byrd City Park. They have an island there that they keep goats on. It's a beautiful park. Then we headed to Assateague Island National Seashore to see the wild horses and deer. We hiked the trails and boardwalks.

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Chesapeake Bay

Day 10

We got up and drove across the 17 mile two tunnel Chesapeake Bay bridge. We stopped at the visitor center and walked to the Big Gun and overlook. We then drove to Eastville and toured the historic courthouse, court building, and debtors prison. After that we drove to Machipongo and visited the Barrier Island Center, an old poor house that is now  museum. They had a gas powered iron and a twisted chimney. We drove on to Pocomoke River SP to stay the next two nights. We hiked the trails and river area.

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Kittyhawk

 

Day 9

We got up and headed to Kittyhawk. We toured the Wright Brothers Museum and ground including the monuments. Really cool! Then we went to the beach to check it out. Afterwards we headed back to Virginia Beach and checked out the Military Aviation Museum. We got to watch them deploy an old Mililtary plane, unfolding the wings and flying for us. An amazing amount of aircraft in one place. We made it back to the beach for sunset.

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Norfolk Virginia

Day 8

We relaxed on the beach after our morning walk. After lunch we headed to the Norfolk waterfront. We toured the USS Wisconsin and then the Maritime Discovery Center. Afterwards we walked down to the Waterside District to see the ships. We saw the American Rover sailing ship, an aircraft carrier, a paddle boat, a tug, and another navy ship. This was our ship day. After supper we went back to the beach for the sunset when they started doing helicopter training over our heads.We saw the Blackhawk, the Chinook, and the Iroquois. 

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Historic Williamsburg Virginia

Day 7

Lynelle took Melanie and family to airport while Lora and I headed out for Historic Williamsburg Virginia. We spent the day walking the streets, looking in musuems, and enjoying the history. After we wore ourselves out, we drove to First Landing SP in Virginia Beach for the first of three nights. We walked the beach and then headed back to the beach after dinner for the sunset. There were kayaks, barges, and cargo ships going by.

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Historic Yorktown VA

Day Six:

Today we loaded up and headed to Historic Yorktown Virginia. We enjoyed the musuem at the welcome center, which had the original George Washington Tent used in battle. We then walked downtown Yorktown and along the river seeing history. We saw the Yorktown Victory Monument, Cornwallis Cave, and Watermen's musuem. We had lunch at the Yorktown Pub and icecream at the parlor on the river. We walked the Historic Main St on the way back. Mom and dad came over for dinner and then we headed over to their house and hung the chandelier.

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Richmond Day 3

Day Five,

We met Nate and Perry for lunch at Bottoms Up Pizza. After lunch we walked along the Hazall and Kanawha canals. We saw the flood walls with gates and the tour boats that go along the canal. We split up after that. Lynelle and Jim took Lora and I to see the Historic Polegreen Church. Dinner at Lynelle's.

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Richmond Day 2

Day 4

We took mom and dad to Cold Harbor Battlefield visitor center and walked the loop. After lunch we went to Maymont Park to see the Maymont mansion, buildings, and gardens. That was a must see! From there we walked to the Robins Nature Center to see animals. From there we stopped by Hollywood Cemetery and saw the graves of Jefferson Davis, James Monroe, and John Tyler. We went back to Lynelle's for dinner with mom and dad.

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Richmond

Day Three:

We met Jim down in Richmond on the James River. After lunch we left Jim and walked across both bridges. We did half of the trip around Belle Isle enjoying the view and some rock hopping. Got to see some wildlife as well. When we got  back across the river we toured the American Civil War Museum on Tredegar St. Lot's of local history. That evening we met Nate and Perry at Triple Crossing Brewery for dinner. We ended the day back at their house visiting.

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Virginia Coast Trip

We started out with a trip to see my parents in Virginia where my daughter and grandchildren would also be. We planned a six day visit with an open ended trip afterwards. We ended up traveling 22 days going through Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington DC. It was a great trip all the way around and we saw many a thing!

Day One:

We left home and drove to Bristol Virginia where we stayed at Sugar Hollow Park for the night. We had stayed here before. It's a beautiful campground at a good price right off Hwy 81. We got in early enough for a walkabout before dinner and one to follow.

Day Two:

We got up and headed Monticello which I had done as a child and Lora had never been. We toured the house with an impressive guide and then toured the grounds on our own. We caught the Jefferson talk which was very cool. This guy knew his history! We headed out and made it to Mechanicsville in time for dinner which was prepared by mom. We took dad and mom home to see how they decorated and then went back to Lynelle's. Melanie and family flew in with her usual hour late arrival and I picked them up at the airport at 12:30pm. A late night for us, but regular time for them.

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Washmorgan Hollow TTA

 Mark led a group of 17 hikers from 6 TTA chapters at Washmorgan Hollow Preserve area. The wildflowers were spectacular. This area is a 73 acre natural area in Jackson County and is owned by the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee. The narrow winding ridges are separated by steep slopes that drop between 200 and 300 feet to the bottom of the hollow.  A waterfall is at the end of head of the hollow. It flows out of Washmorgan Hollow into Roaring River just below where the confluence  where Spring Creek enters Roaring River. There are large sycamore trees along the stream. The State Natural site says a large population of Synandra grows here in the spring. We didn't see that but did see so many other wildflowers. It was such a beautiful area and watching everyone find the different wildflowers was so fun. After this hike Mark took us to a privately owned area to hike the family farm. We saw 3 waterfalls and so many more wildflowers. Thanks to Mark for the great day of hiking with so many TTA friends and family. 

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Piney River - Cumberland trail

Lora and I went to the Piney River Segment of the Cumberland trail checking out wildflowers. It was a beautiful day to be out. We hiked out to the suspension bridge and back.

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Roaring Creek Segment of the Cumberland Trail

Lora and I headed down to the Roaring Creek segment of the Cumberland Trail. We just hiked along the creek checking out the flowers. We followed the roadbed to the end and headed back before the rain set in.

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Old Stone Fort/Short Springs SNA

Joan and Will led 21 hikers on the trails at Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, Started out cold with everyone bundled up, well a except for one brave hiker wearing shorts, (not Craig) The wildflowers were showing their beauty today, the Virginia Bluebells are aways a treat to see.  The Duck River had flooded the area where the bluebells were and they were a little rough looking. But still beautiful. They grow where the Duck and Little Duck River come together.  

After this hike, I went to Short Springs SNA to see what was blooming on the Wildflower Loop. There were beauties everywhere! A really vibrant dark pink Spiderwort amongst all the dark purples. The loop was full of blooms, especially the red and white trilliums. Also found Jacobs Ladder. 

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Rock Island SP

We headed over to Rock Island Sate Park for the day. We parked at the Great Falls overlook and hiked up to the Collins River Nature trail. We ate lunch on a bench overlooking the Collins river. After we returned to the car we drove over and hiked the Bluff trail. We checked out the picnic area #2 overlook before we left.

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North Chicamauga Creek SP

Today was the first time back at North Chick since they made it a State Park. Basically they put up signs and took away parking that they were already short of. The flowers were out and the weather was hot. 

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Prater and Wheeler Farms

 

Lora and I decided to hike when it was too hot. To early in the Spring to be in the 80's. We went to the Wheeler Farm and then hiked Prater Farm. We got to see some turkeys that we didn't get pictures of. I got a quick swim in to cool off.

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Wildflower Hike

Today we went to Leggett Road Lower trailhead and hiked in to see how the wildflowers were doing. Beautiful day and lots of butterflies.

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Fall Creek Falls Upper Loop trail

Today we headed over to Fall Creek Falls to check out progress on the Upper Loop trail. We started at the bridge on 284 at Cane Creek. There is still some trees down on this section. They have done some work on the backcountry campground including new outhouses which needed to be done. We stopped at the missing swinging bridge over Cane Creek where they are working on putting a new one in. Slow progress, but it is progress.

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Hinch Mt. Segment TTA Backpack

 

Murfreesboro TTA led a hike on the Hinch Mt. Segment of the Cumberland trail. We parked at the Head of the Sequatchie and shuttled 10 backpackers to Stinging Fork Falls to start the hike. This was a 16 mile backpack. This is a physically demanding hike through beautiful mountains. There are creeks, waterfalls, and different ecosystems. We got to see a large Great Horned owl which flew down right beside us on the trail and then landed in a tree. We camped along Soak Creek where the weather dropped down into the 20's. 

Hikers were Cynthia Skidmore, Kathy Stutts, Sara Pollard, Wendy Fish, Tammy Hendrick, Curt Thomas, Cindy Strang, Jean Breuer, and Craig and Lora McBride.

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Laurel Falls Icicle Hike

What started as a short hike along the creek ended up a hike to Laurel Falls. The icicle were amazing to see on the cool day.

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Fall Creek Falls

Lora and I did some exploring today. Back in October while hiking the Paw paw trail we came across a guy working on clearing trees. He told us that they were clearing the Upper and Lower loop trails and hoped to have it open by December. 

We found the new trailhead for the Lower loop trail across from the old school house. It is blazed but not signed. It goes to the Paw paw trail and is signed to head North where it is signed again, but a closed sign is still there. Lots of trees down in that area. Going back to the School house we found a red blazed trail out back and took it. It connects to the old Upper Loop trail and it is cleared. We hiked it to the Rockhouse Creek where the bridge is out. It is laying just down stream. We are assuming that the trail is most likely cleared all the way through, but we will have do some more investigating. 

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Hall Road Section of the North Chickamauga Creek

Today’s hike on the CT. Starting at the Hall Road trailhead which is on Old Anderson road. We hiked 3 miles in on the South end of the N. Chickamauga creek segment. We saw a salamander, a deer, and six hikers. Beautiful day to be out.

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Lost Creek to Virgin Falls TTA

Joint hike Murfreesboro and Plateau TTA chapters, led by Sheila and Sara. 15 hikers hiked several uphill climbs to the beautiful Virgin Falls. Rylander Cascades had a great water flow. I saw leaves of hepatica and violets and Little Brown Jug getting excited about the warm weather. All the streams had water from the recent rain. Virgin Falls was beautiful today. Several of us hiked up to the top where the water flows out of a cave, and then climbed down the rocks to the trail heading back. Hikers from Murfreesboro: Joe, Jay, Sara, Tony, Craig, Lora. 

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Chickamauga Battlefield TTA

Dave led 21 hikers from Scenic City on a 4.5 mile hike. The east loop from the Visitor Center parking lot was an easy hike, very little elevation change. We hiked across the main road and followed the Yellow Trail south to the site of Jay's Mill at Brotherton Road, passed many war monuments. We made our way to the headquarters of General Bragg, who let the Confederate Army to victory in this battle. Then the Red Trail back to the Visitor Center. It was a beatiful day, visiting with some long time friends. After the hike a group of us enjoyed lunch at Parkway Restaurant. 

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Soddy Gorge to Hwy 111

 

Today's hike started at Big Soddy Creek Gorge on Back Valley Road in Soddy. We took the Jim Adams' trail and Board Camp Creek trail to the Cumberland trail and headed North to Hwy 111. We met Jim and Ruth on the way in on Jim Adams' trail. It was a beautiful day for hiking and we only saw four people on the CT. Board Camp Creek Gorge is always beautiful and hiking along the Creek the whole way. There was some ice on the trail which was challenging along the rock walls. On our way back we saw two does crossing the trail.

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Mowbray Pike Trailhead CT

Found the new parking lot on Mowbray Mountain Road for this segment of the Soddy Creek Gorge South. Saw huge boulders where the climbers play. Lots of rock walls and small stream crossings. One bridge crossing over the biggest creek. The overlook at Indian Rockhouse was pretty and we went thru the Little Stone Door. Hiked into the area where the coal mining was done. Crossed the strip mine trench, up to Clemmons Point, then back out. On the way out we got to see an armadillo off the side of the trail. The climbers were all around the boulders, as we hiked back thru. 

Hiked about 8 miles.

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White Oak Mountain TTA

 

I met up with the Scenic City TTA at the Southern Adventist University in Collegedade. They have a well maintained trrail system. We hiked the Big Red Loop, on the wooded ridge. My GPS led me to the overflow parking, so I drove around a little and found the trailhead but the parking lot was full. There are restrooms at the trailhead. It started out cold and frosty, everyone in hats and gloves. We warmed up climbing the ridge side. 21 hikers. We started to smell the sweet aroma emanating from the Little Debbie factory. We also encountered pretty beech trees and frozen fungi. We got a good workout with approximately five miles of switch backs and ups and downs. At the end of the hike Carl offered us homemade toffee, delicious. 

I stopped to take pictures of the carved stone sculpture of Elijah and Elisha, called Passing the Mantle.

Thank you to Julie for leading the hike.

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Chilly Chili Hike

The Marietta Poteet’s 25th annual and last Chilly Chili Hike. There were 44 people who hiked and about 65 people for chili.  We met at the Sewanee Gates at the Shakerag trailhead and hiked Shakerag Hollow on the Sewanee Perimeter trail and returned on the Beckwith Point trail. The hike was about 3.5 miles. After the hike we went to Marietta's home in Clifftops to enjoy chili and all the fixins. We also had a champagne toast for Jim Poteet, Marietta's husband who passed away last summer and organized the first chili hike. There were hikers from several chapters - Highland Rim, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Sumner Trails, Scenic City, and Columbia Franklin. Hikers from our Murfreesboro chapter were Jay Brain, Anna Lina Buckley, Joe Campbell, Lora McBride, Sara Pollard, Georganne Ross, Lynn Rosser, Tim Rosser, Martina Terrazas and her son Eduardo.

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