Cumberland Gal: Look Rock and Goldmine Road Exploring

Daisy Fleabane blooming at the Look Rock Campground

Look Rock Campground and Goldmine Road Exploring

Dana & Kenny Koogler

Saturday May 5, 2018

We decided to stick around close to home to do some snooping and get some exercise.

We'd taken Gabriel up to the Look Rock Campground which sits closed and un-used.

We went through the week and it was the perfect place to push him in Carsie. We had us

a little picnic lunch. We liked it so much we went back Saturday. It was so hot down where

we live, and up in the Foothills it was much cooler. We were intrigued by the campground

sitting there. Such a nice facility. Someone told us they are considering reopening it.

It would be good if they could, but if they don't we can still enjoy using it for quiet walks.

We have discovered several neat things off Foothills Parkway in recent years.

There are a couple waterfalls that seldom get visited because they are so out of the way.

We have also found some pretty wildflowers. One never knows what you'll find prowling around. It's like the lottery... you have to play to win! You just never know!

We pulled down to Goldmine Trail and walked down as far as the junction with

Cooper Road Trail. We rested then turned around and climbed back up the hill. Kenny wanted some uphill to challenge him a tad more and strengthen his foot and leg.

We always like this trail in Spring. It is pretty and quiet. It also has nice Spring wildflowers along the way. We saw lots of pink lady slipper orchids. We also saw lots of Catesby's Trilliums.

Catesbys trillium

Old shed and a lone pink lady slipper on the way down to the park boundary.

Cluster of three pink ladies. One is deformed!

Goldmine Road Trail

Wild columbine was blooming right where we parked!

Pair of white form Catesbys trilliums. They like the same sort of piney woods that lady slippers prefer.

Dogwoods were in peak bloom today!

We saw some pinxter azalea blooming in the woods.

Kenny ahead of me on the Goldmine Trail. Great to see him back up and about.

Once we got back to the jeep after Goldmine Trail we pondered what to get into next?

I had been studying the topo map of the area. I wanted to drive up to Lake in the Sky and Top of the World Estates. We pulled up there to the chapel. It is a quaint structure and really fits the area. The lake looked very pretty today. We noticed a group of people in the distance having some sort of gathering. They were laughing and having fun.

Above: Top of the World Chapel with the Lake in the Sky behind it.

This is a fully functioning church with regular services.

Large cluster of Cinnamon Ferns blooming outside Top of the World Chapel.

We walked around and took in the scenery. We then got in the jeep and headed back the way we'd come. We saw some flame azalea in the forest.

On the drive to the chapel I just KNEW we'd passed a road sign for Tower view Road. We went back slowly but did not see it. We turned round and gave it one more try. This time we found it. We turned and followed it out. It went through a residential area. What an oddity this place is. You see just anything and everything. One house will be neat as a pin and you can tell it is being lived in day to day or kept up. The next will be standing empty and abandoned. We finally saw the "tower" and it was an old water tank that sits out of commission high on the mountain top. We saw empty homes in all sorts of condition. Rotting down. Burned down. New but unfinished. New and unlived in.

Some real professional work and some jack legg rigged up structures. The views from the mountain side were astonishing.

This view from the top of the world estates is nice. Look at the red oak buds!

Above is a closer view of the fuzzy new red oak leaves budding out.

Here is the most unobstructed view we got from that side of the mountain.

In the woods near the mountain top I saw lots of American lily of the valley. It is not the first time seeing it for me, but the first time finding it blooming in my own county!

Abandoned camper

Ramshackle A frame left to rot.

We drove slowly along and were amazed at the empty homes and structures. A pattern began to appear. The houses that were being lived in daily had wells! The ones that were empty did not seem to. It seems these folks had water at one time, but now they don't. It was clear that the water tower supply system had gone belly up. I learned later that the Look Rock Campground had a septic system problem and water problem. It would be expensive to repair so who knows what will happen. Today we saw a whole lot of "It seemed like a good idea at the time" sitting decaying on the slopes of that mountain.

We headed back toward Look Rock Campground to continue our walk. We parked and strolled the A loop. We then walked out toward the picnic area which I had never clapped eyes on in my life before today. It was really pretty and quiet. I sincerely hope they are able to get this open again. It seems a little sad sitting there not being used at all. The air was cool and fresh. It was great weather for walking. We had partial views of the mountains through the trees. There is a trail that runs all the way from the campground to the Look Rock Tower.

This view was from the Look Rock Picnic area

We did not see a lot of types of flowers near the picnic area, but we did see one massive cluster of

purple wild geraniums!

Back at the jeep we were preparing to go. Another fellow pulled up in a jeep. He got out and we greeted him. He was very nice. He lived in Townsend and was named Terry. He uses the campground and picnic area to walk. He was also having back problems. Kenny commiserated with him, but told him how well he'd gotten along with surgery. He urged him not to mess around with it long. Don't let yourself suffer. Now days back surgery is more often a cure and complete recovery.

We parted ways with Terry and went on to see what else we could get up to. I had seen a photo of Gods Office in the vicinity of Butterfly Gap. I believed it was a place folks could go and visit. You know like a chapel in the woods or something? We went down off the mountain via Butterfly Gap Road. It was a lifetime ago since we'd driven that route. It is very, very pretty. The forest was mostly just green, but a little bit of flame azalea could be spotted. We did find God's Office, but

God is exclusive. He had a no trespassing sign up. So I had to get a photo from the road.

God's Office viewed from Butterfly Gap Road.

We continued down the mountain through some of the most remote parts of our county. It is rural in the extreme. We finally came down to Butterfly Gap Creek and the little roadside cascade. Across the creek sits another example of someone's big idea. It is a crumbling old house sitting amidst the river cane.

Very pretty small cascade on Butterfly Gap Creek

Above and below is a rotting down shack across the stream situated by butterfly gap falls. The foot bridge used to cross over to it is missing the first several slats. I joked I wanted to make it my new Bigfoot Investigator office since the rent would be low and if anyone came to file a report they'd have to turn around or wade the creek.