Our Gatlinburg Adventure (COMPLETE!) *** Conclusion added 10-07-06 *** About This Page:

[GoofyMom]

Yoiks! I'm glad Jay's reflexes were sharp - I'll bet your hearts were beating like crazy!

Joshua is a pretty good photographer! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Christie!! Great pictures, Joshua is adorable!!! Can't wait for more!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img] Joshua on the picture-taking!!!!

[christiejay]

[ QUOTE ]
Joshua is a pretty good photographer! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

He was VERY excited about having the camera to take on the trip. In fact, a little too excited, as he was wanting to take pictures of absolutely everything! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] Needless to say, we didn't get "his" camera out at every stop. Lots of his pictures were almost duplicates of what Jay took, so I've only picked a few of Joshua's to put in the TR.

[christiejay]

We drove a little bit further and stopped at one of the 3 main stops along the Trace, Jeff Busby at milepost 193. This stop has a gas station (the only one directly on the Trace), camp store, free campground, picnic area, trails and an observation area on top of Little Mountain - elevation 603 feet - soon we would be over 6000 feet higher than that! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We decided to gas up as soon as we got there. We only needed a few gallons, but felt it would be better to gas up here where we were stopping anyway than to try to find a gas station tonight when we arrived in Nashville. The gas pumps here don't take credit cards, so Jay had to go inside to pay. He was wearing one of his WDW shirts, and when he came back to the truck he was telling me that the cashier inside told him that a boy had died the day before on "that new roller coaster down there" [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] . I had heard about the RNR death, and now it looked like somebody had died on EE as well. But as it turned out I guess it was just a case of somebody not being familiar with WDW, but just repeating something they thought they understood but really didn't [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] .

Since it was not quite lunch time, we had planned to walk the trail first so we drove in that direction. But once we passed the picnic area and campground entrance, there was a gate across the road. I was confused, so I told Jay to turn around in front of the gate so I could try to read the sign that was posted on it. I didn't get out of the truck, so all I could read was the bold print at the top of the page which said something about cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] I was really stumped by this, as the place we were at was so far north of our home that I didn't think it had gotten that much damage. Plus, it had been 10 months since Katrina's "visit" to Mississippi, and surely they could have cleaned up in that time frame. However, realizing that this is federal land and that they have to compete with other National Parks for funding, I guess they just weren't able to hire any tree crews, plus all of the tree crews pretty much had their hands full for quite some time. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] So since we couldn't walk the trail here, we just circled back around to the picnic area to have our lunch. We used the restroom first, then I grabbed the pre-prepared lunch bag from under my seat, as well as the small cooler that had our drinks in it, and we found a picnic table. We were the only ones here today and it was very peaceful. Jay and Joshua spent most of their time watching the ants try to carry a piece of turkey back to their anthill. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]




Joshua took this one of us leaving the picnic area. He kept saying "let me get y'alls picture ... say cheese ... okay, got it!

Feeling much better after our meal (and being able to get out of the truck), we loaded up again and headed north. Since not being able to walk the trail here, we were back on schedule! Our next stop was at Bynum Mounds, milepost 232, one of several Indian mound sites located along the Trace. We had stopped here back in ‘04, but I didn't have my camera out that day, so I wanted to stop again so I could take some pictures.






At the pavilion there is a button you can push and a booming voice tells you about the site - what it was used for, what the people were like, the excavation. So we listened to the voice and looked at the drawings here before walking around to the Mounds.




Jay thought it would be nice for Joshua to stand on top of one of the mounds for a picture, but it just looks like he is on a little hill.


It was so hot this day and even being out of the truck for just a few minutes, it was like we had not even been running the A/C at all. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Since we ended up spending quite a few minutes at the Bynum Mounds site even though I thought it would be quick, and because I keep overestimating how far we can drive at only 50 mph, we were a little bit behind our schedule again. I had wanted to get a picture at the Black Belt Overlook, but decided I'd do that next time, and instead we stopped at the Chickasaw Village Site, just outside Tupelo, milepost 261. When we arrived, there was another couple looking at the actual village site, so we headed for the trail first.




This trail was pretty nice - you might be able to make out one of the signs in the pictures above. All along the trail were these signs, written in the voice of a young Chickasaw boy, explaining about the trees and plants you saw in the area and what they were used for. It was very interesting - if we stop here again maybe I will take the time to take some notes. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

The trail got confusing at the end, as it joined up with a portion of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail and had no signs to tell you which way to go. But because I had my book about the Trace, I had read that the nature trail took you back to the parking lot, so we headed that direction. I wonder how many people have gone the other way, not knowing where they were heading? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Back at the village site, it appeared that the other couple had gone on the trail, so we went to look at the exhibits. The speaker button didn't work at this pavilion, which greatly disappointed Joshua who kept trying to push it. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]




The concrete curbs on the ground are outlining where the buildings would have been to give you an idea of their size. There was a winter house, summer house, and a fort. We walked around each of them before heading back to the truck.

Next up: A Definite Must-Stop for Trace Travelers

[lauren-roxy]

Another great update Christie!!! Love the pictures!!! Can't wait to read more!!!

[Meggera]

I love the pictures and am enjoying your tr. Can't wait for more!!

Laura

[Grammy Grumpy]

Great TR! I would love to do the Natchez Trace someday, thanks for sharing the info!

[luvnwdwgal]

Thanks for another great update! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Just catching up Christie [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Great updates and pictures [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[christiejay]

We skipped past the Old Town Overlook (I'll get a picture next time! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] ), and stopped at the Tupelo Visitor Center. This is the headquarters for the Trace, and they have really done a nice job with this facility. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] It is small, but has a lot of stuff inside.




On the floor is a black line which represents the Trace. Along the line are circles. When you stand on one, it triggers a light to come on, which shines on the floor in front of you a silhouette of the name of that place on the map. Pretty cool.


All along the wall are pictures to look at and buttons to push to learn about the history of the Trace. Joshua especially liked the main display panel - each button you pushed would play a different video. Unfortunately each video was so long we didn't have time to do very many of them. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]


This was my favorite - a beautiful mural depicting lots of things to be seen along the Trace, and some of its history. The arched bridge at the bottom left is almost at the end of the Trace, crossing Highway 96 just below Nashville.

There was a small gift shop here and we picked out a couple of items: a trail tag for Jay's hiking stick, of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail. It was kind of cheating to buy it, since we only walked a few steps of the trail, but we went ahead and got it anyway. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We also got a medallion commemorating the completion of the Parkway in 2005.


I'm not sure what this expression is all about ...

Joshua took these next 3 pictures - tilt your head for proper viewing: [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]








Upon loading up in the truck, I pulled out another one of my handy snack bags and passed around a light snack for each of us to eat while on the road, as well as a drink from the small cooler.

Because we had been moving along so leisurely at these last two stops, we had to skip over four short trails as well as another overlook point to try to make up some time. Somewhere along this section of the drive Joshua fell asleep, and I was glad for a little bit of quiet. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] We stopped for some more Indian mound pictures. First up was the Pharr Mounds site, milepost 286, which consisted of numerous mounds spread out over a field. Jay took some pictures to stitch together into a panoramic shot, but the mounds appear so small in the pictures that I decided not to post them. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Trust me, they're much more impressive in person! We threw away our snack bag and continued our drive. Next was the Bear Creek Mound site, milepost 308. I got out and walked over to it - I walked all around, then climbed up to the top - no easy feat, as the sides were very steep and not smooth at all. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] Jay stayed in the truck since Joshua was still asleep, and took these pictures:




If you look closely you can see me walking up.


Then he zoomed in to get this lovely [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] shot of me coming back down.

Right past the Bear Creek Mound site, we crossed into Alabama. I had really wanted to walk the trail to the Freedom Hills Overlook again, since I didn't get a picture of the scenery back in ‘04, but Joshua was still asleep so we kept driving to our next stop a few miles up the road, Buzzard Roost Spring, milepost 320, putting us right back on schedule. When we arrived in the parking lot I woke Joshua up and we got out. There was a sign saying:



but we went the other way first to see the exhibit about Colbert's Stand, an inn that used to be on this site. Joshua took a picture of the picture:



Then we went down the trail to the spring.




This is where the spring comes out. It was nice and cool down here - it was slightly below the level of the road and the cool water really had a chance to cool off the air as well. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Before leaving the spring area, a man came down there by himself and just looked around. He had a strange odor about him - maybe drugs? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] We finished our short walk back to the truck and noticed that nobody was in the vehicle with him. Strange. There was also another older man stopped here by himself, but he didn't look or act strange so I assumed he was just resting from his drive. Back when the Trace was wilderness, travelers on foot and on horse were routinely attacked by Indians and by bands of raiders, so sometimes I think of that and get a little nervous while on all these trails. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

We drove a little further to Colbert Ferry, milepost 327 to use the restroom and have a snack. In ‘04 we had our snack at the entrance to this area since it was so convenient, but in reading my Trace book I wanted to try the picnic area it mentioned by the river which was "expansive". So we drove that direction, and [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] wow! it was very nice. There's a huge picnic area as well as a large parking area with a boat ramp. This site is on the Tennessee River which has been dammed to create Pickwick Lake and is obviously very popular with local fishermen. However we were the only people at the picnic area, so we grabbed our next snack bag and the small cooler of drinks and headed over to pick out a picnic table.






I love this view of the water and the bridge.

After eating, we were enjoying this area so much, we decided to walk down to the water for a few minutes before heading back to the truck. The shore was full of small shells, and Joshua picked out a few to bring home. Then Jay showed Joshua how to skip a rock on the water, although Joshua's ended up going straight to the bottom! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] I walked along the shore for a few minutes, then we headed back to the truck for the next leg of our journey.

Next up: You Didn't Bring Your Camera? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Christie!! Joshua takes some great pictures, mine always seem to have a finger in it!! Can't wait for more!!

[christiejay]

Because we had been so impressed with the picnic area and spent quite a bit of time there, we had to skip over the next trail to make up some time, and shortly crossed into Tennessee. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] We were only about 10 minutes behind now, so I thought we'd have time to do one more trail today and we stopped at Sweetwater Branch, milepost 363. There was a family here having a picnic supper, and we said hello to them on our way to the steps leading down to the trail. I can't really remember what the signs were about on this trail - I think they were simply telling you about the trees and plants that grew in this area. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] While looking at the water, we heard some kind of animal on the other bank. It had made a very strange sound, not really a howl or a bark, but it was definitely an animal. We heard it run off, but couldn't see it as the grass was too high and too thick. Something else to make me nervous while in the woods! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] At least this trail didn't cross over to the other side of the water! For some reason Jay didn't take his camera on this trail [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] so I don't have any pictures of what we saw. I took a few pictures, but since our scanner isn't hooked up I can't share them with you. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/sorry.gif[/img] This trail followed the course of the little branch for a little ways, then ended. I was disappointed that this trail didn't loop around like so many of the others did. The end of the trail was a very picturesque site, though. Someone had lined up rocks across the branch and it was almost like a little dam for the water to pour over, and the sunlight streaming in between the trees was very pretty. After admiring the view for a few minutes we turned around and walked back to the truck.

Since this trail took longer than I had thought it would, we also had to pass on driving a portion of the Old Trace. We had done this in ‘04, however, so I was okay with not doing it today. It was just very scenic and I had wanted to do it if time allowed. But even though we were a little behind schedule, there were 2 stops I definitely wanted to make, because there was a picture I wanted to get and couldn't remember which stop it was at. Of course I guessed wrong, and it wasn't the first stop: Napier Mine, milepost 381. This is an open pit that had been worked over a century ago for ore. But the park service has allowed the trees and bushes to grow up and now you can't even see the pit. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] This was definitely not the photo op I had been looking for. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img]

Next stop: Metal Ford, milepost 382. This was what I had remembered! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] This stop is on the Buffalo River and was the site of Steele's Iron Works which produced pig iron in the 1800's. The rock cliffs/walls here are a sight to see and they stretch up so high it makes a kind of sheltered area. You could tell people come here to swim often - somebody had taken an old set of bicycle handbars and tied them to a tree branch on a small island in the middle of the river, to swing from and jump into the water. I didn't think the water was deep enough to make such a thing safe. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]





Because of my trusty Trace book, I knew that if you walked the trail you would come to the site of an old millrace, which channeled part of the river to power the Iron Works. We easily found the start of the trail, which started out by following the riverbank. Soon we came upon this sign:


It explained that this stop (Metal Ford) got its name because when people forded the river, the stones on the bottom were as smooth as metal.


And here is the place on the river that was depicted on the sign pictured above.





At the turn-around point of the trail was the place where the millrace had been constructed to divert the water, and the trail continued along the channel of the millrace. Obviously during periods of heavy rainfall water still comes through this channel, or at least just simply makes it muddy, as Jay had to put away his camera and help me help Joshua through the muddy patches. By the way, I was the only one wearing hiking shoes, so I didn't care if there was mud. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] There wasn't too much, though, and pretty soon we were back at the truck, loading up to go eat supper.

Our supper stop was very close, Meriwether Lewis, milepost 385. It is so named because he is buried here. If we had arrived a little earlier, we could have gone inside the exhibit building (log cabin) but it was getting late and we were hungry so we kept going. This is another of the 3 main stops on the Trace, and in addition to Lewis' gravesite area, it also has a free campground, trails and a picnic area. You have to drive about a mile in to get to the picnic area, and we stopped at the restroom first, then walked over to the lone picnic table. There are a lot of picnic tables and grills down the bank by the river, but I figured we would just end up taking too much time if we got distracted by the water. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] I had taken Joshua down there in ‘04 while Jay napped, and it is very beautiful down there. Maybe next time we'll get here a little earlier in the day and can visit. Instead, we ate our supper near the truck - unfortunately we were joined by bugs that kept flying around, so we ate quickly and got back on the road.

Again reading from my Trace book, I saw where the next picnic area had a table next to a "gentle" waterfall, and I was curious about that. So I had Jay pull over when we arrived so that I could see for myself - English Camp Branch, milepost 386. Sure enough, the picnic table was by a (small) waterfall, although it was more of water pouring over rocks than a straight waterfall drop. It would make a nice stop for a meal, however. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] I tried to take a picture but I could tell the waterfall would be too small in the picture and you wouldn't be able to appreciate it.

We drove a little further, and there was a place I really wanted to stop at, and Jay thought there would still be enough daylight for one more quick stop - Fall Hollow, milepost 391. My book said that it is an easy, paved walk to a nice waterfall, and a rough trail leads to even more waterfalls - I was intrigued. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]




The first portion of the trail crossed over this area where the water was simply sliding over the rocks.

Right around the corner was where the trail ended. You could hear the waterfall, but really couldn't see it due to all the vegetation. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] But down below you could make out a bridge. We decided to check it out, and proceeded past the sign that said CAUTION! Unimproved Trail Only Past This Point! At first the trail was very easy - gravel, but level. It soon became very steep, however, and I had to hold very tight to Joshua so he wouldn't slip on the rocks. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] It took a few minutes to get to the bottom, but it really wasn't that far - just steep. But a view from the bottom of the waterfall was definitely worth it!


It was getting dark since it was 8:00, plus we were under cover of the trees, so the picture didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but it still gives you a pretty good idea of the scene.

On our way down the hill, we had noticed that the trail appeared to loop around, so we went that direction to see what was there. After a short, level walk we came to another bridge and another waterfall. It was made up of many small trickles of water coming down the rock face of the hill - if you've been to Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg, it is similar to the Place of a Thousand Drips at the end of that tour road. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] Unfortunately, it was too dark on this portion of the trail and Jay's picture didn't turn out. Next, we had quite a challenge getting back up the hill. This end of the trail seemed even more rocky and more steep than the part where we had come down. But after a few minutes we were at the top and back on level ground once more. Even though we were about 45 minutes behind schedule now, we were very happy that we made the time to stop here, and would definitely do it again. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Christie [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] What great places you're stopping at [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Christie!! I'm really enjoying your pictures!! What a trooper Joshua is to keep up on those trails!! Can't wait for more!!!

[Meggera]

Great update! Joshua is so cute in the pictures.

Laura