First Ride New Four Seater RZR--Gobey to Brimstone

Goldenrod at Elizabeth Church

 First Ride New Four Seater RZR--Gobey to Brimstone 

Sat. Sept. 24, 2022

Kenny, Dana & Gabe Koogler 

Trip Pix are HERE 

Waterfall on Mill Creek waypoints are 

36.25568 -84.47766

  We have been taking our grandson four wheeling since he was tiny.   He had gotten way too big to go in the two seater with us.  Having two little kids now and one being too small to walk very far, but too heavy to tote everywhere was really keeping us anchored at home. 

We had talked and talked about needing to get a four seater side by side.  Kenny finally pulled the trigger and just found one and bought it from a guy in Staunton, Kentucky.   

Below is a photo of the new machine all loaded up today.  

  We had a weekend with just Gabriel. Mia was in Michigan with their other grandma.  She thus far hates four wheeling and the machine and everything about it.   I think the machine is too loud and scary to her.    Gabe had been asking to go out to Gobey so we loaded up and headed for Morgan County.  Kenny pointed out several things we had not done yet and areas we had never explored at Gobey.

It didn't take much to convince me we should go.   It was our first day that felt like Fall.   We woke to much cooler temperatures and overcast skies.  It had rained the night before making everything less dusty which was good.   We got a pretty early start.  Kenny decided to park at Elizabeth Baptist Church.  

   While he unloaded the machine Gabe "helped" him.   I walked around the little white church with its copper roof.   I was enjoying the sight of the pretty Fall flowers in the fields around the grounds.  I walked the length of a drainage ditch behind the church and what I saw was amazing.   It was a total riot of color and texture.  Tall wands of weedy late season wildflowers bloomed like a wall along that ditch!  

       

    Below is  photo of me looking back from the end where I finished my walk. 

Below: goldenrod wands in the foreground

Below is a close up of New York Ironweed's fuzzy purple blooms which are visible in the background of the upper photo.

Above -- lots of black eyed susies in the ditch flower garden

Below: Pennsylvania smartweed little pink clumps were plentiful.

   I continued walking along carefully studying the vegetation for each new thing. Something pink and white caught my eye.  I initially believed it was biennial gaura which is lovely.   I walked toward it to find myself wrong and confused.  Instead of gaura I found something I'd never seen before.  It looked like something in the lobelia family, but pink and white?  It had the form of cardinal flower, but was such an odd color pattern.  It was a delight to find.  I don't know what it is about Gobey that tends to make such interesting wildflower variations, but I do enjoying find them!  I also wondered if this was some new phenomena where cardinal flower aged to pink/white?  Turns out that is not the case. 

Below:  My new to me discovery... Lobelia cardinalis var. alba.

Apparently Cardinal flower can come in a white form or a hybrid pink and white form.  I found the later.   Nearby was the typical red cardinal flower. 

    

Below is the typical bold red form of cardinal flower.  I did not see any pure white ones.  I shall try to return again in Summer and examine this spot more carefully if I get the chance.  There were plenty of red cardinal flowers about which were aging, but they were still bright red and not pink/white.

Above: Joe Pye Weed was around, but not much of it. 

Above: Sundrops pretty yellow faces

Above: Lots and lots of turtleheads growing in the damp ditch

Above:  I saw loads of spotted jewelweed in the ditch and elsewhere through the day.  I love how the blooms deepen their color to red late in the season.

  

It wasn't long until I had made my way all round the church and back to where I started.  Perfect timing.  Kenny and Gabe had the machine all unloaded and ready to go.  We piled in and buckled up. Helmet on Gabe and off we went!

     Gabriel wanted to see his waterfall we found that he got to add to the database and name.  We obliged him, but it was barely running from the lack of adequate rain fall.  We stopped where he could hear it, but not see it from the road.  We offered him the option to bushwhack down there to see it up close. He astutely decided it really wasn't worth it since it was piddly today.   He remembered that up the road Atlas Falls dries up to nothing or almost nothing in hot weather.  Smart youngster.   He said let's keep going and see something else.  

 

      On we went.  Our objective today was to explore the western side of Gobey which I had never ventured toward.  Kenny found that he had also never been. He went riding with his friends who tended to go to the same spots over and over.  Not as much about the exploring as we are.   There is the catch as regards exploring.

You may 1. not find what you're looking for 2. you may find it and be disappointed that it isn't so great or 3. It may be found, but is inaccessible due to private land or 4. you may find it and be thrilled! You may exceed all expectations.  It is a crap shoot, but like the Lotto...  you have to play to win! 

The times we have found pretty spots that exceeded expectations more than make up for the disappointments.   We've learned to keep a sense of humor too about mess ups.   We spent one entire day of riding in Fentress County ...doing trail maintenance and clearing instead of actually getting anywhere.   We had planned on spending the night in Jamestown. We came prepared for it. At day's end we found we were wiped out.  We just wanted to go the hell home and sleep in our own beds.  We pulled up to the one of the many springs in Jamestown to find the word FUCK! spray painted on the outside of the building with a big exclamation point.  I shook my head and agreed "No kidding man. It's been one of them days." and pointed to the graffiti.  Kenny and I both lost it.  Laughing until we couldn't make a sound.    Learn to laugh or lose your mind. 

            We motored on out Gobey Road and took the sharp left hand turn up the mountain.  We had been up here before, but taken a wrong turn going right or east. We encountered a dead end.    Today we went north and west.   The trail went ever onward.   Kenny was running Google Earth and had tracks on there to show him where we were and where we needed to go. He had loaded it on his cell phone prior to getting out of service.    All was going great.  We were seeing new to us territory.  Partial views of the surrounding mountains.  Loads of late Summer/early Fall wildflowers lined the trail.  

    

Above: goldenrod and thistles

Above: partial view to the south 

above: goldenrod and pink smartweed! 

Above: wands of goldenrod drooping toward the trail

Below: Unbelievably I found a second unusual flower in the sea of yellow goldenrod.  I found a shade that was paler than butter.  In the midst of all that green headed coneflower, goldenrod, and pale jewelweed... I saw the palest shade jewelweed comes in.  It was only one or two plants that produced this ultra light yellow color.  I found that the blooms on these tend to be larger in size, more open, and fewer blooms per plant! 

Above and below: Impatiens pallida in its palest form. 

Above: Virginia creeper vine turning red/orange for Fall

        

    We came to a three way intersection and Kenny proceeded down the middle one turning us almost straight north again.   It started off pretty normal, but deteriorated and held true to the map tracks assessment of RED meaning difficult. 

We were on a knife edge at one point where you can see from one side of the ridge to the other easily.  Next we came to the big blow out.  The trail had washed away and been repaired.  In order to proceed it was time to cross the Bridge of Sketch.

Kenny asked me and Gabe to please exit the vehicle.  We got out as asked and once I put Gabe in a safe place I handed him the camera and asked him to shoot video while I spotted Kenny.   Gabe is only six, but he did a fine job!

        

Below is the washout and the improvised bridge to fix it.  Below this was a long tumble down the mountain.  

The outer edge is a pipe. The rest are logs cut to repair the hole.  

Above: Kenny made it!  It was not as tough as it looked, but he does better if he is not risking our life and limb. Only himself.  He focuses better. Plus it helps to have a spotter.  I have many times spotted or hung off one side of the machine to help weight it in that direction while spotting.  Horse Rock which is now closed for good... was the worst incident of that.  That is up in Pickett. 

    Below is a video of Kenny making it across the gully.

  Once we got that little bit of excitement over we mosied onward toward a spot marked on the map tracks as Old abandoned dam and waterfall on there.  

One thing we saw on the way was where some power lines had been sheared off by wind and downed trees. They were no longer needed since the buildings and mechanisms they supplied power to were not in use.   They just left them. It was weird finding old power poles and insulators hanging up in the trees along with broken poles.   We turned down a short spur path that curved down toward the sound of water. 

     We got out and could see what the 'waterfall" was.  It was almost bone dry, but it would be a pretty little spot if we'd had more rain.  The dam was indeed there.  It was no longer functioning.  There was also an abandoned building and a power pole that someone tried to chop down unsuccessfully. 

     I later found photos just by chance of a pond near Long Creek in Robbinsville, NC. The photos made me sure that this pond served a similar purpose and had the same mechanics to it.   I'm including those here along with a video to illustrate what this little dam would have been like back in the day.

Above: someone tried to chop down this power pole

Above: abandoned shed near the dam

Above: Stream above the dam had a little water in it. I think this is Mill Creek

Above: this little waterfall is poorly. 

Above and below: Gabriel hamming it up. I love this beautiful boy. He is so much fun.  <3

above: the new four seater machine

Above: the gate box for the dam

Above: not a lot of water coming down the stream

Above: spillway of the dam

Above: the gate for the dam to open and close it

Above: Looking back at the old dam

Above: You can see how long the dam was and how far it extended outward to pond the creek up. 

 

above and below: this pond in Robbinsville, NC in the backwoods is still functional and holds water. I don't know its original purpose.  You can see it is set up just like the one abandoned at Gobey.  

   We sat here at the dam and ate our lunches and refueled.  We were having so much fun it was already one o'clock and we did not even realize we'd yet to eat lunch.   We all felt better once we ate so we set off again.

Below is a video of the old dam 

    

   The ride down along this trail toward Brimstone was glorious.  I could not believe we'd never come over here in all this time.  We were really missing out. Gobey is far bigger than I knew!  We have only scratched the surface.  The ride today was along Lone Mountain Road and boy was it pretty!  A hemlock forest that has Mill Creek flowing along on our left.   The road was absolutely festooned with walls of great blue lobelia, bold red-orange spotted jewelweed, cardinal flower and turtleheads.  All those gorgeous late Summer wildflowers. It was spectacular.  I did not see anymore odd shades of cardinal flower or other oddities in the botanical sense.  

       I had wanted to locate the waterfall on Mill Creek.  On the way Mike Smiddy had marked a 'nice area" that we pulled over to see. It was just that!  A pretty campsite and a good place to pull over to enjoy the scenery along Mill Creek.  

Again, the water was low, but the interesting rock features and the general setting more than made up for it. Moss coated everything!

Above: a little water in Mill Creek

Below: mossy creek banks

Above: Gabe mugging for the camera

Below: pretty forest scene around the campsite

  Today the cool temperatures, fresh air, sunshine mixed with overcast, the breeze, the leaves falling down from time to time... it couldn't have been anymore perfect start to Autumn.   We were enjoying it.  It was still kinda cool thinking that we need not get too caught up in the Fall thing since we had an upcoming week's vacation to Panama City Beach.  I did not allow myself to put out pumpkin scented candles or any of the usual stuff since I was in beach mode. I love swimming and the beach almost as much as I love the mountains so I was not quite ready for Summer and swimming to end.

       We moved onward and shortly came to a roadside waterfall. It was indeed the waterfall on Mill Creek I had hoped to find.  Despite the low water it was a very pretty spot and worthy stop.  Gabe and Kenny found a way to the base and began throwing rocks.   They are both little boys.  I marked the waypoints for the waterfall and submitted it to Tennessee Landforms.   I don't turn in waterfalls that are wet weather anymore, but this one legitimately runs year round.

  It would be a pretty and interesting drive with tons of good scenery. Reachable by passenger car from Brimstone community. I have included the waypoint for it and embedded a google map of this at the end of the trip report. 

Below is a shot of the blue hole of water and the falls with the copper leaves floating.

     

Below is another shot of the waterfall once I made my way down to the base.  It involved climbing over a pile of old logs and a debris pile. It is such a pretty spot.

     Below is a photo of Kenny and Gabe and their rock throwing. You can see the ripples from where the rock went in.

        

Below is a video of the little waterfall on Mill Creek

       

Below is a photo of Great Blue Lobelia which was thick along Lone Mountain Road. I don't believe I've ever seen more of this anywhere.  It was definitely the flower of the hour.

    Once we'd had our fill of the waterfall we continued toward the Brimstone community.  I had never been to this area. Neither had Kenny.  Gabe and I had been scanning the map of the area for interesting things to hunt up.  This smart young fellow at age 6 saw a block on Cal Topo and when we switched it to satellite view I asked him "What is that?"  He responded "I think it is an abandoned building?"  It was indeed an old structure.  He was as keen as a briar to locate that in real time.  We did find it or thought we did..... It just tickled me that he has getting the bug for map reading and taking interest in exploring.  I want him to learn to love it!

    Below is an old bridge abutment that used to cross Mill Creek. It is around Lone Mountain Church

Below: we also saw a few abandoned houses.  The one below is only one of several. I failed to get photos of every one.

Below is a photo of what we believed was the abandoned building Gabe identified. Turns out it is just an old barn that may still be in use. It was in fair shape. I later realized it was not the same one. That means we'll have to try try again!

  We wanted to find the old Brimstone railroad tracks and sidings.  We knew nothing of the area and those were not on the map tracks. About the time we got to the building shown above Kenny made a mistake.  He hit one wrong button and lost his google earth imaging and maps.  We had no cell signal here so despite his attempts to boot it back up it wasn't happening.  Thank the Good Lord for Orex maps app.  It will run without any phone signal.  He brought that up and used it the remainder of the day to get us out of there and back to the truck. 

     We were all growing tired and still had to get back out of this holler and to the truck and home.   We decided to head back toward a spot where a trail lead down to Brimstone Creek at a bridge.  We'd go down there a little and eat a snack and start heading toward the truck.  

     The trail we followed along the stream just kept going and veered away from the water.   We decided to turn around.  We went back to a spot near the bridge. The scenery was amazing.  I was very glad we took time to visit this spot.

Above: Brimstone Creek near the Joe Griffith Memorial bridge.   The stream is like amber glass and the red leaves of Autumn are just beginning to appear.  It was pure beauty and quiet tranquility.  

Below is a short video of this spot

   We loaded up and began the ride back to the truck at Elizabeth Church.  We made a loop ride today coming back on a slightly different trail. We got to see some more pretty scenery we'd never been through before.  It was an easier, quicker way back to the church that avoided having to go over that washout a second time today.   The flowers weren't as thick along here or the scenery quite as grand, but it was still nice. The air smelled of the coming Fall.

Gabe rode up front and I took the back seat. We switched out today a couple times.

The sun streaming in on my face and shoulders was so warm.  Being strapped into the back seat securely and the smooth ride of the new machine was great. Between the smooth ride, the cool breeze and the warm sun I could have taken a nap. 

I didn't because I did not want to miss the scenery.   We did get a few more partial views off the mountains.   We encountered few others today. One of those persons was a man we met as we were working our way off the mountain.  Gobey has not lived up to the reputation I heard about it years ago.  I'd say it is not a place to be trifled with, but in all it has been pretty and we've had no trouble with anything or anyone.   

      Back at the truck we loaded up and headed to Oliver Springs. We stopped in there to Food City for some grocery items.  I like this store.  It is always very nice and the staff is courteous and helpful.    They don't judge us for coming in wearing muddy boots and such.  They are used to the four wheeling community.

     It was a fantastic day. We were all tired and dirty and glad to be home. It was wonderful being able to get out with our little man again. Gabe had the time of his life.  He enjoys exploring about as much as we do.

     Below: a final view off the mountains.. you can glimpse a little color in there!

  Notes to Self & Things to Go Back For:

We need to return to this area in Winter or Spring to catch Mill Creek Falls with more water.  We also want to go when the snakes are asleep so we can crawl down the bank to the old railroad tracks.  The trail down along Brimstone Creek ends and that is Goodman's Siding.  Just below this are the former railroad tracks. It is also where the old abandoned house should be... the real one.. not the one we THOUGHT we'd found.    Also need to go back during Spring for I believe this area of Gobey and Brimstone should have some real potential for lots of Spring wildflowers!  

  I was going to add directions to the waterfall on Mill Creek, but decided against it.  It is a very remote area and although it can be reached by passenger car coming in from the north it's unlikely that anyone would want to do that. 

I have posted the waypoint at the top of the trip report here.  It sits by Lone Mountain Road here 36.25568 -84.47766