We were looking after our grandkids while their parents were on an anniversary trip. One of the things we did was take the boat out on Tellico Lake for the first time. We've never had this pontoon on Tellico.
I was looking forward to seeing the Toqua area and getting some photos of the big railroad bridge.
Mike & Renaee Lindsey told us Dockside Grille was very good so we decided to take the kids swimming and then out to eat.
Above and below: views of the mountains around Tellico Lake. It is one of the prettiest lakes in the state to me.
Below: Olivia is watching Kenny closely.
Photos above are when we put in at Toqua boat launch. The skies were very dramatic!
above: Capn' Papaw at the helm
Below: Tessa is looking hard at something
Below: Michael our grandson and his girlfriend Olivia Tipton. They are a cute couple!
Below: Those mountains and open water looking across Lake Tellico.....
above and below: a speedy boat that was really sharply colored!
Below: Tessa Michael and Olivia swimming in a cove along the lake
Below: Tessa has turned her life jacket into a diaper and using it to help her keep her feet above the mud!
Below: mimosa blooms perfuming the evening air.
Below: my unobstructed view of the railroad bridge at long last!
above: good look at the railroad bridge. I have seen trains cross this and would love to get a video and photos of it, but they mainly run during the midday during factor hours of operation.
above: pulling up to Dockside Grill for supper. It was our first time there and we loved it!
above: Olivia is like "really?!" Michael is sipping his drink. Dockside Grill
above: Pulling into the marina
above: the green water of the lake and the green trees near Dockside Grill
Below: passing Tellico Blockhouse on the way to Dockside Grill
Below: Tessa in her red bathing suit looking like the Girl from Ipanema
Below: my emotional support water jug... with my God Bless the Freaks sticker. There is no doubt I'm a child of the Vietnam War era?
We had a fun ride despite the fact that I could not swim. Surgical incisions and water do not mix especially in rivers or lakes. I also am finding that normal activities exhaust me. I know my strength will return. Updated to Add: by the time of this typing July 2, 2026 I am better. I am no longer having to take 2 and 3 hour naps mid afternoon!
Friday April 3, 2026 we went on date night to see John Cowan Trio at the Laurel Theater. I had long wanted to see him in person. I got to fulfill that wish this night! Kenny and I had great seats and enjoyed a wonderful performance in a fairly packed house. It was every bit as good as I hoped.
Below: iris bloom on the front lawn of the theater.
above and below: the John Cowan Trio starting Left to right Luke Bulla, John Cowan and Ethan Ballinger
above: John Cowan
above: Luke Bulla tunes up
above: Ethan Ballinger warming up.
Below is a short video clip of the John Cowan Trio playing Wheel Hoss and joined by 15 year old Jacob Thomas, a bluegrass mandolin picker from Kingston TN!
Another great song they performed that I had never heard before was Sometimes Strangest Dream written by Hal Ketchum and Rivers Rutherford . The video is a short clip of it, but click this link for the full song.
My deepest wish was to hear John Cowan sing "Tomorrow Morning" which is one of my favorite songs.
They did perform it and it was every bit as lovely as I hoped. John has a strong voice of unusual clarity and a pure tone. Below is a video of the performance. It is the only one of the night I recorded completely.
It was a great weekend for us with romance, a fun date to a concert, rest, a change of pace from the home remodel and getting outside to experience nature on Saturday.
Gobey Wildflowers on Saturday
I had not originally planned to go visit the Gobey trilliums at all, but I had a change of heart. I had a strong pull from whatever leads me. I knew better than to ignore it. Kenny was more than happy to agree. We headed out to Morgan County and the scenery was pretty as ever. I first thought I might be too early, but upon parking and heading into the woods I saw that all the flowers I hoped to see were indeed bloomed out. I spent time checking out the hybrid patch and then moved on to see another spot further out the road. I again was happy to have come for I saw stuff that was totally new to me for this area. I will be using the material collected on these trips to write a comprehensive Hybrid Trilliums 2026 so I won't delve too deeply into this trip. Just an overview.
Above: patch of hybrid trilliums of red, cream, and a couple different shades of pink!
Below: white trillium aged pink with a little extra material there.
Below: a patch of normal Great White Trilliums with purple phlox.
Below: hillsides covered in white trilliums! We had been out this road once many years ago in a different season. It was a treasure trove of wildflowers today!
Below: sweet betsy trilliums
above: one of the prettiest and oddest finds of the day was a true mutant "Quadrillium:
It has four leaves, four petals, four sepals, and instead of the normal six anthers it has eight!
I will keep an eye on this feller going forward, but I already know from a previous encounter that next season it may not present this way! It may go back to its normal form.
above: little brown jugs on a bank.
One of the prettiest things we encountered today that was new to us was the Greasy Creek Baptizing Place. I grew up a Baptist and was baptized by immersion.
Below: Greasy Creek Baptism Place sign
Below: the actual hole of water on Greasy Creek
One of the last places we checked out was the old Highway 27 bridge. I wanted to glance up and down the river to see if there was anything blooming there which would make it worth a closer look? While the bridge is cool and the stream was pretty the snarl of weeds and trees revealed no Spring wildflowers worth investigating. I couldn't see nary a one!
above: Kenny walks the old bridge
Below: looking downstream on the bridge
Below: upstream view from the old bridge is prettier and you can see the new bridge as well.
It was a fun day and I'll tell you more about it soon. I love this area. It is a place where we just keep discovering history and natural beauty and no crowds! We saw plenty of people four wheeling today, but never encountered any where we were trying to check stuff out.
Barum Creek Falls & Ball Play Falls with Jon Boy, Paul & Amanda
Sat. March 14, 2026
I took a notion I wanted to revisit Barum Creek Falls and take Kenny to see it.
It is a special place full of history. I figured it was a good time since we'd had rain.
I thought while we were in the area we'd also visit Ballplay Falls and Presley Falls.
I mentioned it to my friend Paul Gamble and asked if he'd like to join us? He said sure so we formed a plan to meet at Ingles in Madisonville Saturday morning. I felt like Hannibal on The A Team "I Love it when a plan comes together!" It really did come together wonderfully. I got to spend time with my hubby, Paul, Amanda, and got to meet John Boy! Years ago I saw a funny picture Paul posted on Facebook of a log truck in a ditch on a mountain. What I did not know was the REST of the story. Jon Boy was driving that log truck and the brakes went out. Paul says "He was tryin' to kill me!" ( so I Jumped out)
Below is a photo of the truck and the predicament. Paul took this photo.
We all headed down the road to Tellico Plains. We met Jon Boy at the service station there in town. We all went out the Rafter Road to Mudhole. We parked and got out to go see the falls and Alonzo Akins old house. I noticed a rocked in spring along the roadside near where we parked. I had not paid attention to this on a previous visit. Turns out it was the spring for the home of Ernest Veal. I think he was Alonzo's brother-in-law. His house was by the spring and it burned down in the early 90s. Poor Ernest died on account of the fire. This was related to me by Jon Boy. What a terrible way to die!
Below: Rocked in spring at Ernest Veal's old place
Above: Kenny and Paul talking and Amanda coming back across the road.
Left to right Jon Boy Lyn, Paul Gamble, Kenny Koogler
Above: Amanda across the road taking pictures. Men standing around chatting.
above: the Mud Hole Community Center. Population 13. Jon Boy says this used to be the school.
above: rue anemone blooms by Ernest's old rock spring
above: sweet betsy trillium growing on the bank near the house. Lots of these today!
Above: Alonzo Akins old house. It is a quaint and was well constructed dwelling. Ravaged by time and weather.
Above: looking out toward the stream side in the front room
Below: Looking out the door and window.
Above: This was his bed frame. I did not notice it before when I was here.
Below: Stream flows by right outside the house.
above: Kitchen table and counters.
Below: lovely old quince bush in bloom by the house
Above: the spring pipe that supplied the water for the home. It was piped to a 55 gallon drum under the house.
Above: Looking at the house from the corner. The kitchen is inside that window
Above: Looking at these rocks in the creek bed. It looks like a bath tub. I wondered if it was naturally formed or if Alonzo did something to it to manipulate it into a tub?
Above: House sits just above the cascades
above: You can barely see the old house in the top left corner. The road went by on the far side of the house and continued down the stream about where I am standing.
Below is a video of the house and the falls. It shows better the position of the house in relation to the creek. It sits at the head of the falls.
I really am glad Kenny got to see this special place while it still stands. I learned too that it is not the greatest Spring wildflower location. Lots of Sweet Betsy trilliums, but not much else. I learned more of the history today from Jon Boy and Paul. Alonzo built the place originally thinking he was going to rent it out, but ended up staying there himself. I did not realize the road was re-routed from one side of his house to the other! I am not going to get into a ton of history again, but for those interested here is the link to the original visit that contained a far more detailed account.
Below is a photo of Alonzo Akins from Amanda Gamble
Below is a photo of Clarissa "Clarsa" Akins holding a team of horses from Amanda Gamble
Below: This is a photo I found of the Veal's family. Clarissa is the front row second from left standing by their mother Florence Veals who is holding a baby. I have found half dozen spellings of Clarissa in various photos and publications. The one I think is most country is Clersy.
Back where I am from folks had given names and nicknames. Possum, Shine, Buck Sheep, Shoe String, Biddy, Kink , Fick, Shorty, etc. I had a grand uncle who was named Ulysses Brooks, but everyone called him Uncle Uly (Yoo-Lee) My nicknames were Honeybug and Gladys Earl.
We concluded our visit to Barum Creek Falls and Alonzo's old place. Jon Boy had things to do so he said his good byes and moved on. We wound through the countryside finally arriving on the old Buck Highway and heading to Ballplay Falls. I noticed several things had changed back that road. The old Bivens place where we saw the blazer stuck in the creek? It is gone! Razed, cleaned up and there is a nice camper there now and a better way into the lot! Jon Boy told me he thought Steve Bivens who lived there had passed on so perhaps that is correct.
We stopped by the old Oscar Young house to find the entire front porch was ripping off and sagging down. In order to get a decent photo of it or go inside you have to go round to the back now. It is quite rotten. We carefully visited and got a few photos while there is still something there to see. It was a pretty place at one time. A stream flows past it on one side joining into Ballplay Creek. It has a nice front and back lawn. Old daffodils bloom in the yard. There is a shed to the left of the house that is completely overgrow with ivy.
Above a vision of Applachian Springtime at Ballplay. Across from the Oscar Young home.
above and below: two different views of the barn across from the house.
Below: front view of the old house with Paul in the far right. It is in rough shape. Looks like the whole house is shifting now that that porch has fallen in.
Below: spring beauties blooming in the lawn
Below: blue violets in the lawn
Below: sweet betsy trillium at the Oscar Young house
above: the old road continues on back of the home. I've never followed it to see where it leads. Perhaps in the future I will take time to do so.
Below: the pretty stream flows along through the back yard
Below: Rear of the Oscar Young house. It is in slightly better shape. where the roof is missing the floor inside is very rotten. Kenny walks through the back yard.
Below: Looking out the back door
Below: Amanda taking photos in the room I think used to be the kitchen. The little cubby hole there is a spot for storage. The fire place round here is stone.
Below: on the opposite wall in the next room... maybe the living room the fire place was newer, floor was less soggy and it is brick.
Below: side view of the front porch which has fallen in. You can see the fuse box for electricity at the top left of the photo. I looked up to see who Oscar Young is. I can only find one reference to one in that area. He is a nice looking guy who I can only find photos of on Facebook . I find mentions of him only in the Advocate & Democrat in the court section. You know the who got charged with what and sentenced to what. If he was this Oscar Young he may have been a squatter in this old house.
We visited the Oscar Young home and barn a bit then moved on to visit the Bertha and Gibb Williams place and Ballplay Falls. I had thought we'd make it to Presley Falls today as well. I was not prepared!
Now visiting Ballplay Falls is like this. The falls lies on National Forest public land. The only reasonable access to it crosses private property. I was given permission by the owner to visit just as Paul and Amanda were. The bridge got blown out in Winter of 2020 and has never been repaired nor do I think it will be. It requires fording the stream to reach the trail which is not readily apparent from the start of the hike. I donned my water shoes and was across quickly. The rest of our group took different tactics to cross. I offered Amanda my water shoes, but she turned me down. Once we got across we took some photos of the old, beautiful home of Bertha and Gibb Williams. They were Ronnie's grandparents I think. Paul found a photo of them and sent it to me. I'm going to get it printed and put it with the print I have of the house in my kitchen. They were good people. Thank you Paul.
Below: Gibb and Bertha Williams in front of their house. I made a painting of the house and it hangs in my downstairs den. If I ever paint another I'll have to put them in it now that I know what they look like. The current one is sealed and can't be added to. I see someone sitting on the porch, but I can't tell who it is. This photo was shared with me by Paul Gamble.
above: front view of the house
Edited to Add : March 30, 2026-- I painted a picture of the old home place and put it above my bed in our camper. I painted it as if the barn was still standing.
Below: Cross vine clinging to the side of the barn.
Below: far right detail is Bertha's forsythia bush
Below: Ballplay Creek flowing by the house. The large pipes in the distance were the bridge.
Below: looking upstream on Ballplay Creek
Below: where I forded the stream.It is beautifully clear.
Below: the old barn finally tumbled down.
Below: side view of the porch and front of house. Steps are getting in rough shape, but this place is beautiful still.
Below: Bertha's forsythia bush in bloom at the side of the home
above and below: two views of the rear of the house. Looks like the back section was an add on.
Once we finally had everyone across the stream and photos taken we hit the trail and started the steady uphill climb to the ridge line. Paul had told me the simplest way to locate and visit Presley Falls is to hike the trail up to the sharp right hand bend where it levels off. Leave the trail there and climb down the finger ridge to the left all the way to the stream. Presley Falls enters at the bottom of a tributary stream and dumps into Ballplay Creek at the bottom of all this. I have visited it once before via a Winter time creek crawl. Extremely difficult but was so beautiful I still dream about it and the memory of it is vivid. We saw a few scattered Spring wildflowers. Not much out yet.
One bit of good news is that the many downed trees across the unmaintained trail are still there, but the worst one is so rotten it has collapsed making it easier to get by.
We arrived at the bend and discussed what to do next? I asked if we should go on down to Presley Falls first? Kenny said "NO! Because if we do we will be so wiped out from the chore we won't want to do anything else." So on we hiked to Ballplay Falls. I hated to admit it, but I knew he was right.
He is suffering with his knees now as I once was. In addition though his feet bother him from neuropathy stemming from old back surgeries and loss of the nerve signal. There is nothing for that.
We hiked along and it was nice to be on a level, easy trail for a bit. We could hear Ballplay Falls roar below and soon could see it! It was flowing stronger than I've ever seen it. The forest here is pine woods and smells so nice. It didn't take long until we got down to the top of the falls. Paul had shared a gnarly experience he had reaching the base the last go round. He lost a pair of hiking poles down there somewhere. He was of the opinion there was no longer a way to the base. He and Amanda checked out the top part of the falls, but decided to hang back while Kenny and I attempted to reach the base. Paul had a broken hip which he has recovered from nicely, but he and Amanda have been here so many times I get why neither of them was willing to fight their way to the bottom.
Above: Ballplay Falls from the base.
Above: lower cascades on the falls
Below: The falls from further downstream.
Kenny and I headed into the brush and found the narrow, faint track that takes you to the base. It is covered in downed trees which you have to work over and under. The one super significant good thing is that the final downed tree rotted and is out of the way. It was treacherous. Trying to come back UP through it was horrible in the past. That's how Paul got discombobulated on his climb back out and lost his hiking poles. I get it. It happened to me one time. I had spent so much time down there eating, taking pictures and playing in the creek that when it came time to leave I could not easily reverse course. I made it out, but not without a short ride on the struggle bus!
The falls was beautiful today as always. I shot video here, but only a short clip with my phone from the top. I shot a 90 second video from the base. Unfortunately my computer reformatted the video to a type that rendered the video useless. I tried multiple fixes with no luck so I will include the short clip from the top and my favorite full video from a previous trip.
We enjoyed Paul and Amanda's company tremendously. I loved meeting Jon Boy at last. We hiked back out and we were all tired and the day had grown rather hot. We opted to skip Presley Falls. I will go back for that and possibly focus on ONLY that. Going down that ridge and climbing back up is going to be a bitch. Having visited by plowing up the creek I know it isn't any better. Perhaps on a future trip I'll go down the ridge to the falls, then just from there work my way downstream to the house. It is beautiful and will get me another glimpse of that special spot.
We made it back to the vehicles after another tricky creek crossing. We said our good byes and I got a hug. We spoke of finally getting us all over to Scona and Tallassee Creek Falls. I hope that dream comes true this year. I love my friends and they have been through a lot the past couple years.
Below is a video of the top of the falls from my phone 2026 visit
And below finally is a video from a past visit that was particularly good. My favorite.
This is the entire falls from top to bottom. The music is "Tomorrow Morning" by John Cowan. We are going to see him in concert next week! It will be a dream come true! He's a favorite. I hope he will play this song for me.
