Fairfield Glade and Crossville Hiking for the Day--Obed River Park and Cascade Trail

 

Old daffodils bloom along the Obed River Trail.  Sat. March 7, 2026

Fairfield Glade and Crossville Hiking for  the Day

Obed River Park and Cascade Trail 

Sat. March 7, 2026

  

   A couple of hikes I'd been wanting to do were in Cumberland County.  One was the newly constructed Cascade Trail in Fairfield Glade.   Another was the Obed River Trail in Crossville.   I saw some promotional photos from The Rocking Horse Antique Gallery also in Crossville.  I decided since Kenny had to work Saturday it would be an opportune time to make these short hikes and do some antique shopping.    Gas prices being what they are it would save time and money to do it all while in the area.

         I hit up Fairfield Glade and the Cascade Trail first.   The day was shaping up to be beautiful. 

It was sunny with a few clouds, a nice breeze and very warm.   I pulled up to the trailhead for Cascade Trail around 10:15 a.m.  The parking lot is not huge, but I made the fourth car there so not bad.  

I had confidence hiking here since the trails in Fairfield Glade are well marked.  It is a lollipop hike.

What I did not know was it appears a section of the Cumberland Trail is also connected to it.

  I hiked it clockwise which took me downhill by the cascade first.  The forest is mainly hemlock and so pretty.    The cascade is right by the trail and while not real large is very scenic. I had planned to hike it when it had at least some water coming over it.   The rain the day before had it flowing nicely.

above: info kiosk with map at the trail's start. 

Above: section of trail near the beginning

Below: bench along the trail right at the Cascade

Below: small scenic cascade 

     I will say this about the Cascade Trail.  It was well constructed. The cascade was pretty.  The rest of it was a bit lack luster.  I would hike it again in a different season. Say Autumn for Fall colors or Winter for snow.  It was a bit of a let down.  The prettiest part was the section along Daddy's Creek.    It was not real hard .  I ran into a few nice ladies and their dogs. It is only the third Fairfield Glade trail I've hiked and of all of them so far it is my least favorite.   Definitely not worth a special trip for this alone.  

I enjoy the trail system here because it is well made and I feel safe hiking solo here.  

Below: a small side cascade barely flowing.

Below: logs fallen across the creek below the cascade

Below: Lower part of the creek below the small falls.

Below: another view of the stream

Below: the first creek crossing was well made! 

Above: Looking downstream on Daddy's Creek
Below: Looking upstream on Daddy's Creek

Below: stream flowing on down the hill to empty into Daddy's Creek

Below: One wildflower I saw today.  A halbeard leaf yellow violet

Below is a short video clip of the cascade.

        Rocking Horse Antiques

  Once I'd had enough of Cascade Trail I made it back to my jeep.  I looked up how far Rocking Horse Antiques were from me?  It was just a few miles. It was closest so I did that next.   I ate a sandwich in the jeep on the way though I wasn't very hungry.  Chestnut Hill Road took me right to the antique shop.
It had been years since I checked this place out.  I was really looking forward to it.  I went in and found the place neat as a pin, easy to get around in.  No shopping baskets, but the lady at the counter was making rounds to put things up front for you if your hands got full.   It was rather busy today, but just enough to make it fun.  I took a leisurely look around.  I found their social media post on Facebook was quite up to date and accurate. I found lots of Spring decoration to purchase.  I got rid of a lot of very dated, dingy stuff for Spring and had yet to replace any of it.   I came home with a Spring wreath, a bunny rabbit, a pillar candle that is on a timer, and lots more.  

Below are some photos of my favorite parts of the store. 

Below is a video clip showing the store: I have already thought of four more things I'd like to get from there so I will be back and soon!  I'm changing some things up in our bedroom. I am also working on kids Easter baskets so I need to go back within the week.   I am posting their Facebook Page here. It is very accurate and up to date.  It was helpful for me.  If you want to shop there head west on Interstate 40 West and turn off at the Peavine Road exit.  Exit #322.  Turn LEFT and go less than 1/4 mile south on Peavine Road.  Then turn LEFT onto Chestnut Hill Road.  Rocking Horse Antique Gallery is 1/4 mile down Chestnut Hill Road on the LEFT. It is a green sheet metal building with a large parking lot.  

Obed River Park Hike

The last thing I'd wanted to do was hike the Obed River Trail in Crossville.  I found it with no problems, but I got a scare.  Heading toward it there is a barricade where the SR 70 bridge is out for repair.  A second barricade is right at the bridge which is under construction.  I initially thought I'd have to find another route to reach the trail or give up hiking it today.  Not to have worried since the turn into the park is there before the bridge.   I knew nothing about this trail so I went to the last parking area at the back of the park.  I started my hike there.  It is paved and I had printed a map of it.  You can Click the link in the heading above and it has a map and directions.  I want to return and hike it in Summer to see what grows in the savannah.  

    

        I hiked it counter clockwise and it is easy and quite pretty.  I had blue skies, perfect temperatures, and nice scenery in a park on a trail where I felt safe.  I was hiking solo, but I saw other people playing ball, walking dogs, and doing healthy, wholesome activities.  I came to the first thing that caught my eye. It was clumps of bright yellow daffodils in the sage brush and briars!  I turned aside and carefully picked my way over to them.  They were glorious! 

Above and below: beautiful old daffodils planted by someone in the past.  They have spread and done very well. 

  I also enjoyed a surprise historic marker indicating the Tennessee Central railroad came through here in the past. The section of the trail I was on was part of the old railbed.  It crossed the Obed River straight ahead.  I followed the contours of the trail and began to head down toward the river.

I soon came to a second historical marker.  

Below: Historic marker tells the story of the G.E. Harrison/J. Ridley Mitchell Dam. 

above and below the trail heads toward the river here.

Below: I am approaching the old dam along the Obed River Trail.  Nice bench for resting.

Below: First look at the dam. It impounded the Obed River forming a 100 acre lake. It was around 20 feet deep at its deepest point. It was constructed in 1930 and by 1932 was completely collapsed and the lake was no more.  A common theme from that era and earlier was constructing smaller dams like this one by simply building the dam on the earth and back filling it and bracing the ends. The soil here is sandy and since they didn't bother boring down to bedrock and anchoring it with rebar or steel the force of the water soon began undermining the structure.  By 1932 it blew out altogether.  You can stand by the ruins and see what I'm talking about. The bank is eroding badly. 

Below:  looking through the dam from below it. 

above: the beautiful Obed River looking downstream from the dam. Personally I'm glad it is a wild river again minus the dam and the lake. 


Below: Spring beauties near the dam.  They were abundant along the trail, but were the only flowers blooming aside from daffodils. 

Below: historical marker for the old dam. 

Below is a short video clip of the old dam ruins. 

Below: the only bridge on this entire trail.  It bridges a side stream that empties into the Obed River. I'm nearing the end of my hike at this point.

The remaining photos below are various spots along the river.  It was very pretty.  It is really clear and I saw very little trash in or around it. I also did not see any life in it, but maybe I missed it. 

All in all I enjoyed this hike very much. It was something I had long wanted to experience. I still need to return in Summer to see the late season wildflowers in the savannah.  I'll get to see it in a new way then.   It was nice to see families having picnics and kids playing. People walking their dogs and enjoying the day.  I love Crossville.  One of my great, great grandfathers was Hector Crosson which is a Gaelic form of "Cross".   He was a strong man of renown and was a black smith. His wife was Nancy Ship Croson.  I hiked back to my jeep along the main road to finish my loop. I hiked about 1.5 miles on this one.  

         I was done hiking for the day so I loaded up to head home.

Driving along I-40 East I began to have a flash of intuition that I needed to get off the interstate.  Instead of taking it back to Pellissippi I opted to exit at Lenoir City.   I drove through Lenoir City and stopped to take a break at Beall's Outlet.  I was in there shopping for a blouse for Easter and a new swim suit when my phone rang.  It was Kenny telling me to get off the Interstate since there was a wreck and traffic was backed up for miles.  He was sitting there in it!  He was on his way home from work. I was grinning ear to ear.   I dodged that bullet.  I got a heckuva deal on a new bathing suit and a couple blouses. 

  It was a good day.  Not the most exciting, but I certainly enjoyed it.  

     

        

T--Ma's Cussin' Place --Funny Story

T--Ma's Cussin' Place --Funny Story

  My daughter Crystal married Mike and Teresa Lindsey's eldest son Adam in 2007 or so. 

Teresa  came to be named "T-ma" by the first grandchild, Averie.    It suited her well. 

We lost Teresa to lymphoma in 2015.   She is sadly missed, but when we had her she was 

something else awhile.  She was a teaching aide who specialized in reading and learning disabilities.

She traveled to various schools all over Blount and Sevier counties helping kids with learning problems.  She was so funny and so great with kids.  She couldn't talk about what she did, but one day she did share a funny story with us. I'm very thankful she did because it showcased her skill in coping with some of the worst behavior in children.   We didn't ever know this youngster's name, but only the problems and how they were overcome.

 

     One of the behaviors this little boy had was mainly a very foul mouth.  He'd not been properly parented so it seemed and just used the worst sort of language in school. Lots of cursing.  It was distressing to the school and the other children.

     Teresa  came up with a strategy to break him of the habit. She got all the teachers on board to make sure it was done consistently.   She fixed him a "Cussin' Place".  It was under a table in a private room.  It had a trash can down there. Before he was allowed to go for any special classes like music or art, recess or even lunch he had to visit his Cussin' Place.  

    Teresa would have him go in there and spit all the bad words out in the trash can before he could move on to lunch or wherever.   He'd get under there and say a few bad words and spit them in the trash can.  He'd say to Teresa he was done.  She'd say "Oh no. I doubt that.  The way you've been cussin' I'm sure there's a few more." She'd make him go back to spit out the rest. 

He'd insist he was done. She'd make him spit out some more bad words.   Finally he'd be allowed to move on to lunch or special activities.  

     Each day he grew more and more tired of his cussin' place.  He grew to resent having to visit it before doing more desirable activities.   The strategy worked as she held his feet to the fire making him spit out those curse words before doing anything around his fellow students. Finally he wore it out and decided the cussing had to stop because he dreaded having to get under the table to spit out those dirty words.    If I live to be a hundred I'll never forget that lesson and how funny it was!

     She was so great with our grandkids. If they had ugly attitudes or said inappropriate things she'd make them spit out there bad behavior in the trash can.   How it worked! 

above: T-ma with her niece Chloe. 

       Below: Teresa holds baby Michael

above Teresas surrounded by family.  

 

Snow Days 2026

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Gabe & Mia Koogler

Adam, Crystal, Michael and Tessa Lindsey

Michael's girlfriend Olivia and her sister Emma

Grandmother Ruth Lindsey

Brooke and Rowan Nix

Jason Ledbetter

Papa Mike Lindsey

    Kenny and I were born and raised in Virginia. We lived there until twenty-four years ago.   

We were accustomed to snow and plenty of it.  Bitterly cold temperatures, snow and ice that lay on the ground most years until you had Mud Season in March.   East Tennessee and the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains has much less predictable weather.  We have had Februarys that were False Spring and 70 degrees.   We have had sub zero Winters. One thing we have far less of is snow. Especially not significant amounts of it.  Most of the time you get a few inches and by 3 pm that same day it is melting or gone.   We finally got 8 to 10 inches of snow and the just right temperatures to have it stick around a couple days.  We went to Ace Hardware in Townsend and purchased four tobaggan sleds.  We brought our sliding saucers we've had since Jared & Crystal were little. We went over to the farm in Townsend to go sledding as the Whole Fam Damily!  

above and below:  Out front of Ace Hardware in Townsend. They had the best deal on sleds!! 

     Kenny finally broke out his solo stove I bought him two Christmases back.  He built a fire at the top of the hill.  We parked at the bottom.  The snow was dry and powdery which is very unusual for our area.  

Below: The first morning of snow from our front lawn. Our house looks cozy. 

      The first day we just mainly went up and down the hill on foot.  A few trips were made up and down with Jason's side by side, but we all got plenty of exercise.  The farm is extremely hilly and a great place for sledding.  The only obstacle was Papa's Quonset Hut at the base of the hill. 

We managed to avoid hitting it the entire time!  Michael managed to pull off the most crazy and daring ride of the day by going down the front yard, crossing the road, and ending up in the pond not once, but twice!  

       I wore it out.   I think Adam and I made more trips up and down that hill than anyone else.

I had the most crazy wreck of the day. Tessa wanted someone to go down the hill with her on the sliding saucers.  No takers, so Nanny said okay. I'll go.   We went down together, but somewhere along the ride I spun out and headed to the left minus my hat and my saucer. I rolled bodily across the snow six or seven times.  You could see the imprint the next day where I carved my own path.  It was hilarious.   I had snow caked in my hair.  I stood by the fire at the hilltop warming up and felt a chunk of snow slide down my back and the crack of my behind!  Now THAT's what I call a wreck! 

Below: Olivia and Crystal in the distance.  The solo stove is fired up.  

   

Below: First day of sledding.  

Below: my glove finger in the corner of the frame... sorry.  Quonset hut and up way in the distance Grandmother's house. That is the hill we came down.  

Below: just looking at the tree line during the snow storm. Day 1

Below: Day 2 of sledding. It had stopped snowing and was clear and cold.  You can see the mountains in the distance. 

Below: Looking out over Townsend. Grandmother's house in the right corner.  

Below: Day 2 Michael Rowan and Brooke.  Our RZR. We brought it day 2.   By now I was sporting a bite shaped bruise on my right wrist, my back was bruised and my left hip.  

Below: Day 2... Brooke and Emma and Mia and Papaw Kenny

Below: Crystal Mia Tessa and Gabe and Papaw Kenny

The first day we went sledding until it got to be supper time.  We went into Grandmothers after we dried off and shed our boots and coats.  We had taco soup and was it ever good!   It was great to see one another and fellowship.    

          We had a couple memorable days for certain.

 Below is a video clip of sledding.