Spring Castle

Linking up with Chrisy at Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting with Nature.

On Monday we took a ride to one of the Tenneessee state parks - Rock Island State Park -  to check out the waterfalls and explore the trails.  Truthfully, we had a three day weekend and it rained for the first two days, so I had a little bit of cabin fever and went in search of something to do outside.  You can see that post here.  

One of the things that I found beautiful on that trip were these stairs.

I know they're manmade.  But they were built with materials that come from the earth, so they are rustic and appropriate and nature is claiming them back.  I love the way the moss has grown on them and the ivy climbs up the sides.  When I went to climb the stairs, I found them to be extremely uneven, but all of the stones were well-grounded.  

The stairs lead up to a spring house which was built in the 1890's.  The spring house is more of a spring castle, made of stone, and totally at home at the edge of the woods.  I think it's adorable.  You can't really see in this picture, but the stairs are to the right of the castle.

Back in the day, a spring house was built over a water source and used for refrigeration.  The constantly running, cool water would keep the house at a steady temperature, thus keeping food fresh.  In this case, the spring house was used for the workers at the cotton mill across the street.

A beautiful, peaceful place.  With a building built by man, but with a deep respect for the natural environment.

The Calming Nature of Rushing Water

Jim and I went and explored one of Tennessee's State Parks - Rock Island State Park.  We've been talking about how we should be getting out and exploring the state parks.  Tennessee does such a great job of maintaining and staffing them.  Quite a few have camp sites and/or cabins for rent, but for now we're just looking for a fun way to spend the day.  So on Monday we decided to check out Rock Island State Park, it's about a 1-1/2 hour drive from us.  We entered through the main entrance and found the Visitors Center, but of course drove by so we could explore a little bit.  We found the campgrounds and the cabins, but felt like we were missing the hiking trails.  So (you know when all else fails - ask for directions) we went back to the Visitors Center and found the map and took a few brochures.  You have to actually exit the main entrance to get to the gorge, falls and walking trails we were looking for.

A short way away we found the gorge.  There were numerous small falls and a couple of good sized falls.

Next to th was an old, abandoned cotton mill building.  Great Falls Cotton Mill.  According to the park ranger, down in the water is the turbine that ran the mill.  It ended up under water during the flood of 1902 and is too heavy to lift out of it.  I, of course, asked if we could go into the mill building.  He said no, the floor is unsafe and they don't allow anyone in there.  He encouraged us to go take a walk by it, and to be sure to go across the street from the mill and see the fresh water spring  and the spring house, or spring castle.


He also told us how to get to the trails by the falls, and said if we had to choose one, the Downstream Trail was the way to go.  It's a little under two miles and definitely worth the time and effort.



Much of the interior of the cotton mill was made of wood.  Not only the floors and walls, but the turbine shaft as well.  With machinery and oil, fire is always a danger so they made sure to always have a supply of water nearby.   Their spring was directly across the street.  The spring house was used to store and refrigerate food.

This house definitely looks like a castle and I expected to see Rapunzel looking out the window at any moment.

We found our way to the falls.  Amazing!  Beautiful!  Wow!

The further went, the more we thought - Wow!

 The trail was marked at 1.8 miles - it was a 1.8 miles you worked for.  The trail was a path through the woods, some of it washed out on the edges, wet, rocky, mossy rocks, tree stumps.  Some steps had been built in the really steep sections, but for the most part it was a more-pristine trail through the woods.  Most of the trail was above water level - some of it pretty high.  Every once in a while you'd get a peek through the trees to a view like this

 The end of the trail looped around (not back to the beginning but more like a lollipop) and at the every end it brought you down to the water.  We walked out on the rocks a little way and could see the bend in the river.

I feel like the pictures don't do it justice - but they seldom do.  It was beautiful and I'm so glad we went!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

58 Years ago today, they said 'I do'.

Here they are on their 25th anniversary 

And here, on their 50th

We took advantage of having most of the family at their 50th and got this family picture

and one with just them and their kids

Nice picture, huh?

Admittedly, this is how we usually look.....

 Happy Anniversary - We Love You!!

Why You Still Gotta Be So Mean?

Say what you will (and some of you will) I like Taylor Swift.  She has a specific target audience that she plays to - and she does it well.  She's a marketing machine and has a great sense of what her fan base wants and how to sell it to them.  She writes song about breakups for teenyboppers.   She's not writing for the 30 somethings of the world.  Teenage girl songs.  Hello...target audience -- the ones with the most disposable income.

So now she releases this song 'Shake It Off" (27 million+ - yup, 27 million - views on You Tube).   It's about how people are going to do what they're going to do - players are gonna play, haters are gonna hate.  She says she has this music in her head that she has to write and sing, and she makes up her 'moves' as she goes along.  You know, moves like moving from country to pop.

She's not a teenage girl anymore, and that shows.  She's certainly grown up - both physically and talentwise.  And she sings this song and dances (and okay, she twerks....badly!) and talks about how not everyone does everything well.  And even if you don't think she sings and dances well, it's 'in' her and she going to do it.  She showcases both fabulously talented people, and people who are, well, not so talented.  Not everyone does everything well and she includes herself in this.  Saying that we only see the best of what she does.  The things she doesn't do well are cut out of the videos.  She's saying she's not perfect, we only see what they want us to see - and she's right.

You go girl!!  

I think you do it well.  I think you have talent, and heart, and a real gift for seeing the reality of life.  People are mean (you wrote that too, right?) and jealous and will always try to tear you down.  Listen to the music of your heart.  It hasn't steered you wrong yet.

Haters gonna hate.  Let them.  Your parents obviously raised you well and taught you that what is in your heart is stronger than the barbs thrown at you.  Sticks and stones baby.  Believe it.  Shake it off and follow your heart.

Be Happy Where You Are in Life

Don't be content to stay there, always strive to be better, but be happy with wherever you are.

Words of wisdom from Kenny Rogers Mom - and boy is she spot on.  He shared that today among the many stories he told.  He grew up in the projects, but had no idea they were poor.  They were happy, and everyone he knew had holes in the knees of their jeans too, so he didn't feel any different from anyone else.  Until he went to school and found out not everyone lived that way.  The 'rich kids' made fun of him.  

That wasn't really what shaped his life, it was his love of singing that drove him to be a performer.  He went to a Ray Charles concert with his sister when he was a young teenager - he said not only did everyone applaud every song he sang, but they clapped for everything he said.  And he thought that kind of adoration from the fans was what he wanted.

He's never done drugs, never drank alcohol.  He's lived a clean, sober, fulfilling life.  And he still does.  At 75 years old he has twin boys who are 10.  He hopes to live long enough to instill his mothers' wisdom into his boys.  He is charming, well-spoken and loves the audience.

I would have loved to hear him sing today, but he didn't do that.  It was still great to sit and listen to the stories.  From the Bobby Doyle Three, to the New Christy Minstrels, to The First Edition - which then changed to Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - to his many solo and duet records, he's got some great stories.  

He is truly a gentleman and a performer and I count myself among the fortunate to have been able to see him today.

Happy Birthday Nan!!

I know I'm a day early, but we were pretty excited about Nan's birthday gift this year.  Take a look....

I recently had all of our home movies transferred to DVD and found a couple hours worth of video from the bogs.  This was A LOT of fun to make and even funner to watch.  Hope you all enjoy!

Walking The Walk

What a great experience yesterday.  Jim and I 

walked with a couple hundred other kindred spirits to support cancer survivors.

Survivorville was held at the Opryland Hotel and the walk was on the grounds of the hotel.  We walked around on the surface roads all around the hotel, following the trail of little orange cones - and the people in front of us.

There were women, men and children of all ages.  Cancer knows no socioeconomic boundaries and neither does support.  There was lots of storytelling, lots of laughter and many, many smiles.  It wasn't exactly one of those ultra-competitive races.  We feel like we've already won!! 

There were winners

After we finished, we had to go inside the convention center to get the goodie bags.  We cold have gone inside and taken the  escalator, but instead we chose the stairs

because this is how we really felt.  (And by the way, this song was performed by a band named Survivor.  Quite appropriate!!)

We got medals for finishing the walk!  They have the Survivorville symbol - the cancer ribbon with all the colors.

It was such an uplifting, inspirational time.  Thanks to all of you for your love and support!!