above: Pair of tiger lilies at Sharon's house

Back to Woo Hoo Holler to Beat the Heat

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Sharon McGee

July 12- 14, 2024

Temperatures in the high nineties and high humidity were causing me to either want to stay inside in the AC or outdoors in the pool. I was also going through a bad spell with depression and anxiety with no apparent cause. I needed my best buddy and a change of scenery. Kenny had a short day on Friday so we packed up and fled Blount County for the Cumberland Plateau. Sharon was expecting us.

It was healing to get some hugs and conversate with her. We also spent time in the beautiful river.

I was finally cleared to swim in natural bodies of water. My surgeon had been concerned about infection in my knee incision. It was all healed up tightly and I was good to go.

We stopped at Wal-Mart in Jamestown to pick up a few items. We got a deal on two Star Spangled July 4th Inner Tubes with glitter inside them! LOL.... I'll always be a magpie attracted to shiny things!

We spent time in the beautiful jade green East Fork Obey River on the beach at Sharon's place.

It is a little slice of Heaven on earth. We took a ride over to Glen Obey Spring to wade in the creek.

We found that whoever owns that property has posted it heavily! We stayed clear, but did take a moment to pull down to the big swimming hole on the East Fork River. Water levels were adequate, but low due to less rainfall.

Below is a photo looking upstream. Low water! Last Summer in August this was covered all the way across side to side and up to my knees!

The water was far warmer than I had expected at Sharon's. It was not bad to get in, but I'm also not a good one to ask. I got a new diving mask, snorkel and swim fins at Wal-Mart also! I didn't try them out until Saturday evening. I am an expert at hitting the Fool Button.

Below: a photo of Kenny sitting on the beach. It takes him awhile to get in the water. He's a cat. He doesn't like water very much.

Below; looking up the river taken with the Go Pro 10 in its waterproof case. don't be fooled! The info on their website says these cams are water proof to a depth of 30 feet. Don't believe it! I have read too many reviews from folks who got snookered and ruined the device. I use a water proof case always.

The camera alone isn't water proof down to 3 feet much less 30 feet!

Below: Looking across the river at the bluff line upstream a little bit. Hazy because of the waterproof case.

Below: Looking up the slope toward Sharon's cabin. It is a beautiful place she has put a lot into.

We all went down to the river. Walking down that gravel road wasn't bad until I got to near the last part. It is so steep and slippery. It is like trying to walk on marbles for me. I managed to stay upright and did just fine. I had to take my time.

The East Fork River is beautiful and strange. It is a karst river undercut by a cave system for about five miles of it. It had dried up to holes of water the further up you went toward Wilder. Walking down "Baby Butt Lane" I looked out through the trees and saw a young man. It was Tate, the neighbor's teenage son. He was down there fishing and catching minnows for bait. He is also friends with Sharon and a good youngster.

It felt great to me to get in the river and swim around. It felt great to drift along in the Star Spangled Inner Tubes! We had great conversation and fellowship. I have loved the water since I was very small. I learned to swim in the ocean. I lived next to South River in Virginia and swam in it wherever we could find a deep enough hole of water. We had an above ground pool as a kid and later an in ground pool on the farm. We are talking about moving and building another home. If we do this one non negotiable is an in ground saltwater pool! Everyone in this family loves the water, but no one more than me! I was relieved when we moved to Tennessee that my own kids finally learned to swim in the river. They had not been exposed to that much if at all as kids. The water smelled good and made my skin feel soft.

I have found that being separated from the elements like water, earth, fresh air, trees, wildflowers, nature in general has been more of a strain on me than I'd expected. It was necessary for my knee surgery and recovery, but it is part of who I am. Next time I get this done I have to have a couple things different. One is let my family pile up around me a LOT more. Two is to find ways to get out to nature. Three is to get back to my church faster. I need all of those things to make me whole.

I could feel my soul soaring and soaking up the beauty of the scenery. The exercise was great for me. Swimming is excellent for your joints and muscles. The forest was deep and leafy green.

The evening sun was golden over the beach and the river. The edge of the woods were dotted with deep purple phlox and American germander.

Below is a photo of the purple phlox

Below: Kenny on the beach, but Odie the dog has joined him. He likes to swim too and runs like "Crazy Dog!"

Below is a video shot with the Go Pro underwater and above it. I called it Scuba Steve Jackass Edition because I am having a fit of laughter that I can't get stopped. Laughter really is good medicine.

Back at the house once it got dark and we were ready for bed. We said our good nights and hit the sack. I'd been having a lot of trouble sleeping. I have never had a bad nights sleep at Sharon's house. This was a blessing!

Saturday

Saturday our plans were to get a later start. Kenny took a look at Sharon's side by side and we helped her drop it off for a repair at Ricky Roysden's shop out at Glenobey.

Below is a photo of Ricky by Sharon's side by side. He is a very nice man. It was good to see him.

Next we headed up the road toward the Kentucky line. We had to swing by Wal-mart for a few supplies to make a rubbing of the Fiddler's Rock. The carvings on it are getting hard to make out due to time, erosion, and moss overgrowth. We didn't want to spend a fortune on stuff to do this with. We bought a toilet brush. bah ha! a roll of brown paper, and a box of kindergarten, fat crayons.

We got there and found it without any trouble this time. Thankfully the forest was open enough we didn't have to be on the alert 100% of the time for snakes. The path was clear enough and the surroundings were to where we could see anything approaching. It didn't stop me from looking around pretty keenly off and on. The toilet brush worked, but was less than stellar at scrubbing off stubborn moss. We didn't want anything too harsh as to harm the stone. It took awhile to get all the rubbings done, but Sharon did most of it. I did part and Kenny did part. It was very cool! It revealed details that were hard to spot. It turned out to be worth doing and very satisfying to actually do something we had spoken of about a year ago. Mercifully we were in the shade so it helped us tolerate today's hot humid conditions. Even so when we got done I was ready to leave and go to the water!

Below: my beautiful best friend Sharon holding the bag so so speak. We knew it would make a hilarious picture standing by the road with a toilet brush, roll of wrapping paper, and kindergarten crayons. You have to admit if you saw this driving by you'd wonder what in the world was going on!?

Above: Doing rubbings on one of the letters or dates.

Below: one of the rubbings rolled up and finished.
Below: The hardest and best was the fiddler.

Below: Sharon is working some details near the fiddler's head. You can see he was so large we had to use three separate sheets of paper positioned just so.

Below: a view of the finished product with no one in the photo for a little clearer view.

Below is a video of the rubbing process.

I I wanted to drive out to Hemlock Grove Picnic area which was not really "close" but it was certainly closer than making a special trip back. They obliged me by going along with my wants. On the way we encountered a good sized rattlesnake crossing the road. We got some photos and video. By the end of this encounter he was buzzing. Looking at the video of it I realize now it had probably recently eaten. It had a lump in its middle like digesting a rodent or small animal.

Below: timber rattlesnake crossing the road.

Below is another closer view of him. It shows the lump in its body. It also was about the time it started buzzing. I was not actually that close, but was zoomed in.

Below is a short video of the rattlesnake encounter.

We drove the rest of the way out to Hemlock Grove Picnic Area which is pretty and worth a stop. The gravel roads were incredibly dusty from the recent drought conditions. Parts of Rock Creek had NO water in them. Like some other areas it dries up to holes of water. Just before the picnic grounds we started seeing water.. It was remote but very crowded with families. There are bathrooms here, but only two stalls and there was a line. Folks were using it as a changing room as well as restroom.

Above and below: views of the shallow creek "swimming hole" in Rock Creek at Hemlock Grove Picnic Area.

We did not tarry long here. It was nice and I'd come back, but we were growing hungry for lunch. We planned to go by the former Baccara's restaurant in Jamestown which is now Billybob's Bone Yard. It is a western style barbecue joint. We made it back there and it was an odd time. I'm guessing it was around 2:30 pm so the place was not busy. Lunch rush was over and so we had a very nice late lunch/early supper.

I could still see the spots and recall where we'd eaten dinner at Baccara's in the past. It was clean and bright and updated fully. The place has a very contemporary horse country vibe now. Perfect for the area! The food was good and I was glad we went. Once we finished eating we headed home to do the only thing that interested me. Swim! I was in need of the river once more.

We changed clothes and went down to the river and spent a couple hours down there swimming, exploring upstream and relaxing. Sharon's property is LONG! We never got to the end of it. It was hard and a little spooky at some spots in the river trying to get up there. Lots of holes way too deep to touch bottom. Downed trees along the edges. I managed to put a scuff on my right knee ( non surgical knee) but it was nothing serious. I was as careful as I could be. It was exciting and good for me!

I did not photos or video of this much because all I had with me was my inner tube.

It was exhausting, but refreshing at the same time. I spent so much time in the river with my head under water that I ended up with a case of Swimmer's ear in my right ear canal. It was the first time since I was about 13 years old I've had that. I used to keep it! I need to get some ear putty and use it regularly.

Back at the house we sat on the porch and talked in the cooling evening until it was pitch black.

None of us was real interested in eating supper because of the huge, late lunch. Finally we turned in and I again slept like I was comatose. It was very healing.

Sunday

Sunday morning we got up and this was our day we planned to head home. We weren't ready so we went on a ride up the river for awhile. We saw lots of pretty scenery and wildflowers of Summer.

We explored the boiling spring that helps keep the river below this filled with water. Above the second crossing it was mostly dry river bed.

Below are photos of Sharon's back deck balcony. She always has pretty herbs and flowers. I took my coffee out there this morning.

Below: one Summer flower was Savory

Below: another flower was some sort of St. John's wort

Above and below: Great Wooly Mullein plant in bloom

Above and below: Sabatia angularis aka Rose Pinks. These were everywhere!

Below: Swift Ford the first river crossing with the swimming hole and the rope. It was far too shallow today to risk the rope swing.

Above is a photo of the boiling spring on the East Fork River. It was clear, very cold and beautiful.

We wandered around exploring a little. I found the remnant of an old wooden structure I call a bridge, but it may have been used for another purpose. Below is the video of the spring and the bridge.

We learned that the reason it remains there after all these many years is that it is anchored to the river bedrock by iron bars! This means those iron bars must be deep and strong for the floods on this river was away massive trees and debris mats. Twenty to thirty foot flood tides at times. It is one capricious river for sure. You never know what you'll find it like. We finally got done exploring and headed back to the house. We packed up and said our good byes. I did not want to leave. I thought I'd cry. I went home and on Monday saw the acupuncturist for the first time. It helped remove the anxiety I'd been suffering and I was healed of it. I was quite grateful. I went back to the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday and he shared that he'd been through something similar post op in his own body. He is Asian American. He sent me back to the acupuncturist the next day to continue treatment. The second visit helped relieve the insomnia in large part.