Daylilies were everywhere this month!
Mountain Glen RV Park Camping Trip Part 1
Big Sink & Rock Island
Dana & Kenny Koogler
Thursday June 13 - Sunday June 16, 2019
We planned a long weekend get away out in the Cumberland Plateau. We fooled around until Tuesday evening to try to book reservations. The original plan was to stay at Fall Creek Falls State Park. We did not particularly have anything on the main park campus we wished to see or do, but it was a convenient location for camping. Unknown to us was the fact that Bonnaroo, Cave Fest, and a motorcycle rally were all in the area at once. We had a tough time booking reservations anywhere. We were almost at the point of changing plans and staying somewhere else, when I decided to give it one last try. I sat down at the computer and checked Google maps again. Mountain Glen RV Park and Campground popped up. I tried to book with them and found they had spots open for the dates we wanted. Not only that it looked very nice! Great pricing, free wi fi, tv reception, and only seven miles from Fall Creek Falls State Park. We were very relieved because we really wanted to visit our beloved plateau.
We packed up and headed out Thursday morning. The campground's website gave perfect directions to reach them. We arrived early, but they let us check in ahead of time. We had not told them we would be arriving with a trailer hauling the RZR. The fellow let us use an unoccupied campsite next to us for the weekend free of charge because he didn't have anyone coming in to that site at the time. We were blown away at the loveliness of the area and the campground itself.
It was right in the heart of Amish country! They live there off the grid with their horse and buggies and immaculate homesteads. They have beautiful fields full of healthy crops of vegetables. You see them going to work in their community on bikes. Healthy, fresh faced little kids riding bikes. The natural beauty of the area itself located up on Baker Mountain is exquisite. The added charm of stepping back in time thanks the the wholesome Amish community makes it all the more appealing.
Our camper on the site
Mountain Glen RV Park and Campground turned out to be a gem. It is clean as a pin in every regard. It was like spending a four day weekend in Mayberry. Hard to imagine the world's problems being real when you are in such a place. The world's problems could be solved if everyone would step back into this realm. Live more simply and sustainably. We got set up and
ate some lunch early so we could go riding. We decided to enjoy this bluebird day by taking a ride on the RZR through Big Sink in Van Buren County. We had never visited it in Summer so we were curious what it would be like. I figured it would take about three or four hours tops.
The weather today was cool. It never got above seventy degrees all day. The day was sunny with big puffy clouds. A constant breeze was blowing. All the rain had the air clear and pollen free.
We were in the Britches Winter, and enjoying it to the full. It is the last of the five little Winter's of Tennessee.
Above and below some shots of the campground itself. It is very spacious.
We packed up and headed out Thursday morning. The campground's website gave perfect directions to reach them. We arrived early, but they let us check in ahead of time. We had not told them we would be arriving with a trailer hauling the RZR. The fellow let us use an unoccupied campsite next to us for the weekend free of charge because he didn't have anyone coming in to that site at the time. We were blown away at the loveliness of the area and the campground itself.
It was right in the heart of Amish country! They live there off the grid with their horse and buggies and immaculate homesteads. They have beautiful fields full of healthy crops of vegetables. You see them going to work in their community on bikes. Healthy, fresh faced little kids riding bikes. The natural beauty of the area itself located up on Baker Mountain is exquisite. The added charm of stepping back in time thanks the the wholesome Amish community makes it all the more appealing.
Mountain Glen RV Park and Campground turned out to be a gem. It is clean as a pin in every regard. It was like spending a four day weekend in Mayberry. Hard to imagine the world's problems being real when you are in such a place. The world's problems could be solved if everyone would step back into this realm. Live more simply and sustainably. We got set up and
ate some lunch early so we could go riding. We decided to enjoy this bluebird day by taking a ride on the RZR through Big Sink in Van Buren County. We had never visited it in Summer so we were curious what it would be like. I figured it would take about three or four hours tops.
The weather today was cool. It never got above seventy degrees all day. The day was sunny with big puffy clouds. A constant breeze was blowing. All the rain had the air clear and pollen free.
We were in the Britches Winter, and enjoying it to the full. It is the last of the five little Winter's of Tennessee.
We headed off toward Mooneyham with the RZR in tow. We parked on a side road that leads into the Big Bottom Unit Wildlife Management Area's plateau level access. Big Bottom's other access point is down in the river bottom lands of the Caney Fork River. The trail to see Big Sink can be reached either way, but for us would be a tad shorter from the upper end. The area surrounding this entrance is pretty, but isolated and the roads lined with many houses that stand abandoned.
I have always wondered what exactly helped lead to this phenomena. Little did I know that on Saturday we'd be learning yet another facet in that complex problem. I will be writing up and publishing directions how to reach this area to ride. I will also provide info on what the legal requirements are to ride here and keep you in the clear with the TWRA.
Above: Looking back the gravel road toward Mooneyham and Hwy 285 on a clear day
Above: our rig in the parking spot
We turned onto a side road across from Dodson Road and parked here. We drove back to a wide spot on the right and unloaded. The daylilies were thick growing along the ditches. Deep pink poufs of Japanese spirea decorated the edges of fields and roadsides. Big creamy white splotches of elderberry blossom grew along the roads. The pine plantation out here shushed in the constant breeze. I felt like I was living a dream it was so perfect. We got going in the direction of Big Sink and the trail that leads into the box canyon sinkhole. We passed lots of tiny clusters of pink mini momos. Sensitive Briar is the real name of them. They fold their leaves when touched and have tiny spur shaped thorns on them decorated by the most delicate pink pompom flowers. I had never seen so many growing in one area! The pink blossoms are tipped with yellowish green mist. I had not noticed this previously.
Below: Sign across from where we parked that outlines the terms of use.
Ditch lilies
Japanese spirea
Creamy white elderberry flowers
Close up of mini momos
Above: a close up of the rivulets of water going over Little Sink Falls
Above: un-retouched image of Little Sink Falls in all its green glory
Snapshot above of the massive boulder at the edge of the falls
Above: Looking out from under the rock beside Little Sink Falls
We did not linger too long at the back of the sinkhole. We also did not dare crawl in any caves today. The entryways for the ones we know about are tight and we did not want to roll up on any snakes. You could not even see the entrance to the mouse hole cave for the vegetation.
Area near the back of Big Sink the trail such as it is.. is the open area. Very rocky.
The trail at the back is a Buck Coward rated trail. It is very rough and rugged and difficult.
It presents a tough challenge to get up part of it. I call this area in my mind the palisades. All around you, but especially to the right are huge rock structures. To the left is a drainage that at times runs with water. We need to check it out next time we are there and the water is flowing. It has some photo potential. We emerged up top today and made our turns to head back to the truck.
We popped out a very short distance from where we parked closing our loop ride today.
Other wildflowers seen today were along the road and in the fields. Orange butterfly weed, colic root, and purple phlox. We loaded up and went trucking back to the campground.
We had a nice dinner of broiled salmon, au gratin potatoes and french style greenbeans.
We slept like rocks since Kenny had fixed the bed. No more trouble with rolling downhill for him.
He discovered the bed support was bowing in the middle and braced it after our Standing Stone trip.
above and below Colic Root
Above: purple phlox
above: orange butterfly weed
I have always wondered what exactly helped lead to this phenomena. Little did I know that on Saturday we'd be learning yet another facet in that complex problem. I will be writing up and publishing directions how to reach this area to ride. I will also provide info on what the legal requirements are to ride here and keep you in the clear with the TWRA.
Above: our rig in the parking spot
We turned onto a side road across from Dodson Road and parked here. We drove back to a wide spot on the right and unloaded. The daylilies were thick growing along the ditches. Deep pink poufs of Japanese spirea decorated the edges of fields and roadsides. Big creamy white splotches of elderberry blossom grew along the roads. The pine plantation out here shushed in the constant breeze. I felt like I was living a dream it was so perfect. We got going in the direction of Big Sink and the trail that leads into the box canyon sinkhole. We passed lots of tiny clusters of pink mini momos. Sensitive Briar is the real name of them. They fold their leaves when touched and have tiny spur shaped thorns on them decorated by the most delicate pink pompom flowers. I had never seen so many growing in one area! The pink blossoms are tipped with yellowish green mist. I had not noticed this previously.
Below: Sign across from where we parked that outlines the terms of use.
Above: We saw sensitive brier in great patches along the trails.
We wondered if we'd be able to recognize the turns we needed to take to reach our goal. We did make it down toward river level and finally came to an intersection where things looked somewhat familiar. We were passing through a thicket full of saplings that were about as big around as my thumb. I knew we'd seen these on the way before, but we were not sure. We ended up at the bottom facing the mouth of Big Sink which is shaped like a box canyon. Open on one end, but closed and squared off on the other. You can start up it from the mouth of the sink, but the trail dwindles and disappears. In order to reach the back parts of it you have go higher and run along the slopes of it until you finally are able to come back down to sink floor level at the point where Moore Branch and Little Sink Branch come together at what I call Little Sink Falls. It is not on Little Sink Branch, but it is just below where it enters the larger stream.
We had to double back and go up and around to access the correct trail. Once on it we quickly recalled passing a rusted out hulk of a vehicle on the right. On our way here we passed the first of two shacks in the area. The first one is up on plateau level near Black Pond.
Above: Shack #1
We came out at Little Sink Falls. I had not expected much of today's trip. I figured things would not be running great water wise. I also did not expect to see a lot of Summer wildflowers. The falls was running, but it gets down to a mossy green trickle. It was still beautiful and we were happy to see it.
The boulders around it are interesting and mossy too. The place was a deep green jungle!
Above: You can see the RZR tiny in the back of the photo as it sits along Moore Branch. It is parked just before the point where Little Sink Branch joins it.
Above: Small amount of water on Little Sink Branch
We walked down the creek bed and past the boulder to get a closer look at the falls.
I had not been sure first that I wanted to even bother with it. I was glad I took the time. It was still pretty in its own right. The mossy greenness of it and the cool mist off the falls along with the many colored pebbles in front of it were very nice. Below is a video of the falls.
We got back in the RZR and continued up the trail. We soon passed the second shack.
There is something very odd about running into a structure this size within a giant sinkhole. By the way.. I refer to this sinkhole as Big Sink 123' because there are several in the state listed on the database. This one has an average depth of 123 feet. It has points along it where it is deeper, but it is shallower in other spots. I asked Chuck Sutherland how he selected the data to go with for marking depth on these? He said the simple answer was that he picked the point along the rim of each sinkhole where the water would flow out were it a bowl. The low edge of each one and went with that. So you can be standing in a sink with one edge 123 feet and the other sides 265 feet deep. I hope that helps understand the jargon and how it fits.
Shack #2 sits in the middle of the sink right beside the trail. No way to miss it. If you look on Cal Topo it is shown as a tiny black square. Just past this is another chimney pile that is very mossy.
Several piles of rocks are lying round that are from where this area was cleared for farm fields in the past.
Above: Crumbling chimney pile is all that is left of another dwelling in Big Sink.
We went along toward the back where a trail leads up and out to plateau level. We came to a badly blown down tree, but thankfully were able to get round it. We had to go up over the bank at another point and once around here realized we were at the end. We stopped and walked over to the pretty area at the back. We heard water running. Big Sink Falls runs year round too! It gets down to a tiny trickle, but at least we know it runs all the time. It was still neat looking with all its carved out rock. Water flows from the bank directly out of the ground, falls and re-enters the ground at a swallet. While here we heard the sound of another vehicle, but instead of coming up toward where we were the sound fizzled out and went away. We never did see another rider all day.
Below: Big Sink Falls
Below is a very short clip of Big Sink Falls
We did not linger too long at the back of the sinkhole. We also did not dare crawl in any caves today. The entryways for the ones we know about are tight and we did not want to roll up on any snakes. You could not even see the entrance to the mouse hole cave for the vegetation.
The trail at the back is a Buck Coward rated trail. It is very rough and rugged and difficult.
It presents a tough challenge to get up part of it. I call this area in my mind the palisades. All around you, but especially to the right are huge rock structures. To the left is a drainage that at times runs with water. We need to check it out next time we are there and the water is flowing. It has some photo potential. We emerged up top today and made our turns to head back to the truck.
We popped out a very short distance from where we parked closing our loop ride today.
Other wildflowers seen today were along the road and in the fields. Orange butterfly weed, colic root, and purple phlox. We loaded up and went trucking back to the campground.
We had a nice dinner of broiled salmon, au gratin potatoes and french style greenbeans.
We slept like rocks since Kenny had fixed the bed. No more trouble with rolling downhill for him.
He discovered the bed support was bowing in the middle and braced it after our Standing Stone trip.
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