Great Spangled Frittilary Butterfly on New York Ironweed at Ballplay Falls
Ballplay Falls in August
Kenny & Dana Koogler
Saturday August 25, 2018
(The photos in this gallery are from multiple trips. Current start with
frame 119)
frame 119)
Kenny
got to come home from Nashville this weekend after all. I was
thrilled to have him
home.
We were both tired so we slept in Saturday. You really
appreciate this privilege when
you don't get to do it often. We
wanted to get out and do something fun, but neither of us
wanted to go anywhere with a long drive. I
was indecisive so he suggested we go visit
Ballplay Falls. It had been years since he was there. We
had long discussed the possibility of
trying to find the upper falls. We decided to do this today. We
drove down there and stopped
off at Subway to pick up some lunch to take along. It was a
beautiful morning in late
August. The skies were clear and the day was not quite as hot as it
has been.
Kenny could not recall exactly how to get to Ballplay Falls, but I have it down now sowe made it there easily. I will include directions at the bottom of this blog entry. It can bea bit confusing for anyone unfamiliar with the area. We pulled up to the old house wherewe park. A white pickup truck with Monroe County plates was parked out front of the house.Parked facing it as if the person maybe lived there. I won't get into it on this blog, but I hada rough evening on Friday with someone yelling at me. I didn't think my nerves could take anymore of that. I wondered if we'd best leave? Kenny said no just hang on. He went up to the door and knocked. He said we'd just ask. No one came to the door. The drivers side window was down on the truck. We sat in the jeep and thought it over. I said we had always parked here and walked to the falls without any trouble. He said he thought we should just go, so that is what we did. We chanced it. The falls is on national forest land, but you have to park and walk from what is now private property.
Above: Beautiful Summer wildflowers were one of the first things I saw as we got out of the jeep.
We walked behind the house through the yard and entered the woods where there is an opening in the weeds. It heads up to an old logging grade that takes you all the way to the falls.
Paul Gamble had long ago shown me a photo he took of an upper falls. It was beyond the falls of Ballplay Creek. It was not a huge falls, but pretty and would easily have been worth the additional walk to see. I put a waypoint on the creek where I believe they might be. We took the GPS with us today to try to help locate them. Paul was not 100% sure where the falls were to the point he could tell me how to find them. He had given me all the info he could recollect at the time. He also told me that were he to go back to try to see them again he'd stay with the old logging grade and then leave it and come down the bluff to the upper falls. I had studied
the topography and felt it was a logical plan. Probably much easier than creek walking to try to find it. I had done my share of creek walking here. It is pretty, but it can be tricky too!
Above: a very over exposed shot of one of my favorite homesteads. I have a much better photo I took of this framed on my kitchen wall.
The trail to the falls is not maintained and in rough shape, but it does look like someone is keeping the grass cut on the lawn at the house. Someone is also keeping cows on the farm there. The trail is weedy and overgrown in spots. It has a massive downed tree you have to go under. It has a narrow spot where the entire trail is trying to slide off the side of the hill. I hate to say it, but it looks like one of those spots where a big rain is going to finally cause a landslide.
The trail is fairly straight forward. Only one turn to make to reach the main falls. At the point where the trail rounds the natural curve of the ridge you bear right. I noticed here that it appears someone has been going down over the point toward the creek. I see a definite path there now. I don't know if it is a person or animals. Looks to be people. Hang onto that tidbit of info because its going to be on the quiz. :-)
We kept going and soon came to an intersection where you can either keep going or turn down to the left. The left turn here is toward the main falls. We kept going to try to find this so called upper falls. The logging road is easy to follow for the most part. It does have a few spots where you briefly go around fallen trees or brushy spots. You pick it back up again immediately past those. We may have hiked 0.2 miles further past the turn. The road became harder to follow or even see. The GPS was indicating the falls was to our left and the stream.
We decided to leave the logging road and work our way toward the creek. We followed a drainage down. It got so overgrown toward the creek it was like a wall of rhodo. I could see off in the distance the roads continuation. Kenny and I both had that feeling we were screwing up. We went back to where we left the logging road to think on this. He went ahead and I waited on him. He was gone a couple minutes and then turned back. He said the road continued and was easy to follow but it just kept going round the contours of the mountain. He came to a side stream but never saw or heard anything that indicated a falls.
We sat down and ate our lunch on a log. We cooled off and thought on this. It was hot and humid. Neither of us felt like fooling with this any further on such a hot day. Once we were done eating we walked back to the intersection and followed it down to the main falls. Once you get to the stream at the bottom of the ridge you have to work your way through a snarl of
rhododendron and fallen trees to reach the base of Ballplay Falls. It has two drops. You can't get a good look at the upper one from the lower one. There is no vantage point currently that affords a clear view of the upper falls period.
Above: looking down from the top of the falls.
Ballplay creek above the main falls
Grassy clumps of island and cardinal flower below the falls.
Ballplay Falls front on.. tall joe pye weed is growing up there!
Mossy rocks of Ballplay Falls. I am standing to the far right.
We crawled down through the rhodo and in and out of the logs to reach the bottom. Down the slippery slope.. literally. The rock leading to the base is sloped and very slick! It is worse than ever as there is a log jutting out where you have to be a contortionist to get round it without falling. Once we were at the base I was pleased to see there was enough water on the falls today to make it really worth the visit. I have never been here before in August. It was quite nice. The falls was mossy and green. The water glittered with minerals and the rocks of various colors shone in the creek bed. Below the falls tussocks of grass and cardinal flower waved. I waded around in the water getting video footage with the Go Pro and taking lots of photos. Kenny sat down to rest and cool off. The water felt great. We enjoyed a nice visit at the falls soaking up the beauty of it.
Finally we packed it up and climbed out of there. We were supposed to do some things with
Crystal and Adam and the grandkids so we did not tarry as long as usual. It was an easy hike back to the jeep. It is mostly downhill or level from here. This is a pretty Spring wildflower hike. Not a lot of flowers along the trail in Summer, but did see a cranefly orchid and some rattlesnake orchids. We also saw lots of cardinal flower, greenheaded cone flowers, joe pye weed, new york ironweed and Summer butterflies.
Once back at the house we noticed the truck that had been there was gone. I am betting someone was up the other part of the creek fishing. Whatever the case they did not bother us and vice versa. I walked out into the field to take pictures of the New York Ironweed field.
I was also pleased to get some nice butterfly shots. I looked on the ground and saw it littered with pawpaws! I glanced up and the tree in front of the jeep was full of pawpaws! I ate one and enjoyed the squishy banana custard taste. I managed not to get electrocuted by the cow fence today!
Above: Great spangled frittilary on joe pye weed
Above: great spangled frittilary on new york ironweed
Above: pawpaws growing in the tree in the yard!
Field of New York Ironweed and cows!
Swallowtail on New York Ironweed
Above: a very over exposed shot of one of my favorite homesteads. I have a much better photo I took of this framed on my kitchen wall.
The trail to the falls is not maintained and in rough shape, but it does look like someone is keeping the grass cut on the lawn at the house. Someone is also keeping cows on the farm there. The trail is weedy and overgrown in spots. It has a massive downed tree you have to go under. It has a narrow spot where the entire trail is trying to slide off the side of the hill. I hate to say it, but it looks like one of those spots where a big rain is going to finally cause a landslide.
The trail is fairly straight forward. Only one turn to make to reach the main falls. At the point where the trail rounds the natural curve of the ridge you bear right. I noticed here that it appears someone has been going down over the point toward the creek. I see a definite path there now. I don't know if it is a person or animals. Looks to be people. Hang onto that tidbit of info because its going to be on the quiz. :-)
We kept going and soon came to an intersection where you can either keep going or turn down to the left. The left turn here is toward the main falls. We kept going to try to find this so called upper falls. The logging road is easy to follow for the most part. It does have a few spots where you briefly go around fallen trees or brushy spots. You pick it back up again immediately past those. We may have hiked 0.2 miles further past the turn. The road became harder to follow or even see. The GPS was indicating the falls was to our left and the stream.
We decided to leave the logging road and work our way toward the creek. We followed a drainage down. It got so overgrown toward the creek it was like a wall of rhodo. I could see off in the distance the roads continuation. Kenny and I both had that feeling we were screwing up. We went back to where we left the logging road to think on this. He went ahead and I waited on him. He was gone a couple minutes and then turned back. He said the road continued and was easy to follow but it just kept going round the contours of the mountain. He came to a side stream but never saw or heard anything that indicated a falls.
We sat down and ate our lunch on a log. We cooled off and thought on this. It was hot and humid. Neither of us felt like fooling with this any further on such a hot day. Once we were done eating we walked back to the intersection and followed it down to the main falls. Once you get to the stream at the bottom of the ridge you have to work your way through a snarl of
rhododendron and fallen trees to reach the base of Ballplay Falls. It has two drops. You can't get a good look at the upper one from the lower one. There is no vantage point currently that affords a clear view of the upper falls period.
Mossy rocks of Ballplay Falls. I am standing to the far right.
We crawled down through the rhodo and in and out of the logs to reach the bottom. Down the slippery slope.. literally. The rock leading to the base is sloped and very slick! It is worse than ever as there is a log jutting out where you have to be a contortionist to get round it without falling. Once we were at the base I was pleased to see there was enough water on the falls today to make it really worth the visit. I have never been here before in August. It was quite nice. The falls was mossy and green. The water glittered with minerals and the rocks of various colors shone in the creek bed. Below the falls tussocks of grass and cardinal flower waved. I waded around in the water getting video footage with the Go Pro and taking lots of photos. Kenny sat down to rest and cool off. The water felt great. We enjoyed a nice visit at the falls soaking up the beauty of it.
Finally we packed it up and climbed out of there. We were supposed to do some things with
Crystal and Adam and the grandkids so we did not tarry as long as usual. It was an easy hike back to the jeep. It is mostly downhill or level from here. This is a pretty Spring wildflower hike. Not a lot of flowers along the trail in Summer, but did see a cranefly orchid and some rattlesnake orchids. We also saw lots of cardinal flower, greenheaded cone flowers, joe pye weed, new york ironweed and Summer butterflies.
Once back at the house we noticed the truck that had been there was gone. I am betting someone was up the other part of the creek fishing. Whatever the case they did not bother us and vice versa. I walked out into the field to take pictures of the New York Ironweed field.
I was also pleased to get some nice butterfly shots. I looked on the ground and saw it littered with pawpaws! I glanced up and the tree in front of the jeep was full of pawpaws! I ate one and enjoyed the squishy banana custard taste. I managed not to get electrocuted by the cow fence today!
Some sort of metal bracket or handle
Below is a short, pretty video of Ballplay Falls from today.
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