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.
I decided it was time to visit one of my favorite waterfalls of all time so I headed down to old familiar territory in Monroe County. I did things differently this time. I planned a different route to get there. I have grown familiar enough with the area I believed I could get there via the Ballplay Road in Madisonville. I figured it would be different scenery and a pretty drive. It would also be a little quicker. I wanted to keep a look out for additional scenery to photograph. I wanted to make a stop by the Ballplay Spring which I had not done before.
I enjoyed the drive and the varied scenery. It was a faster route to the falls for me coming from Walland. I saw lots of places and abandoned houses I wanted to photograph. Some I was able to get and some I did not. The problem with doing this when you are the one driving is you are upon a place before you can figure where to pull over safely to park. I did not want to cause a fender bender or hold up traffic. The up side is that I made mental notes on the locations and possible parking spots nearby for the future.
Above: The Ballplay Spring is at the intersection of Ballplay Road with Ballplay School Road. It sits right by the roadside near some picnic tables and what used to be a commercial business. Maybe a store? It is right round the corner from the Ballplay Fire Department. The water is good and cold,clean and fresh.
My first stop was Ballplay Spring. I found it easily, but the down side was I arrived at the same time a gentleman had his litter pick up crew there. I talked with him a little bit. Super nice man. He has not lived in the area very long. They were getting ready to take a snack break so they made use of the picnic tables there at the roadside and were getting water at the spring and what have you. I did get a couple photos. I did not tarry since they were there first. Long about here I began to have my doubts over chosing this course. Would I be able to find it after all?
The first time you drive a given way it always seems longer and more convoluted because it is unfamiliar. I drove perhaps another mile and was back in familiar territory and knew that I was going exactly the right way and that it was a good choice.
I kept my speed nice and slow and steady as I grew closer and closer to the place where you park to go to the falls. It is a residential area and a narrow, winding country road. I saw lots of people out walking on this nice day. One lady was walking her dog. Another man fixing to go somewhere with a weedeater. I don't ever want to rile these people up or be disrespectful by coming flying in here. I also wanted to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings.
Above: pretty green bridge over Ballplay Creek. I actually took this photo on Saturday, but I'm adding it here to show how pretty the scenery is just driving in toward the parking place to go to the falls.
Soon I arrived at the old Williams place and parked. I hoped today I'd run into Mr. Giles, the owner. I brought him and his family some gifts for being so sweet and kind. I hoped to get to talk with him. I had a good day, but did not see him at all. I had the place to myself and that was okay too.
Just like Courtney said... the bridge was still out. I came prepared and donned my water shoes to ford the creek. It was easy and not terribly cold when you are only in it a minute or so. I sat down on the front steps to put my boots back on.
Below: The old Williams place and Ballplay Creek and the blown out bridge
Every visit that poor old barn sags a little more.
Below: I believe Amanda and Paul said this is the Harman Ray Williams homestead. This is my favorite old house anywhere. It is such a neat little place. I have one of my photos of it blown up to 11 x 14 size framed and on my kitchen wall.
I debated leaving the gifts for Mr. Giles and family on the front porch, but with no way to tell when he'd be round I decided against it.
I continued on with my hike once I got my boots back on. I hiked back past the house and toward the trail. I hadn't gone far when I began to see the first wildflowers of the season! Trout lilies! Hepaticas. A few star chickweed blooms, trilliums were out of the ground, but in tight bud with a ways to go yet. I was delighted to see them and spent as much time as I wanted taking pictures.
I even took the time to put on my macro lens and use my mini pod for better shots.
White flowers are hard to photograph especially in sun. The pretty green moss, ferns waking up. The smell of the damp earth and leaves under those beautiful blue skies was exactly what I needed today. I enjoyed the sight of the forest and the smell of pine needles all around me.
Above: pine needles under foot in what I like to call a "Red Riding Hood Forest".
Below: The path to the falls is unmaintained and unofficial. Lots of blow downs to maneuver around. This one has been here around a year.
Above: partial views from the path to the falls. soooo pretty! loving that sunshine.
It wasn't long until I arrived at the brink of the waterfall. I stopped and took time to make some video here. It was real nice. It is a tall falls and hard to see all in one shot from the base. I have found a way to see the upper levels safely, but I have thus far been too lazy to struggle to the spot to make use of it. I almost forgot. I did go down the slope off trail to try to find a place to see the entire thing from above. It is not possible to get a clear view of the whole thing.
Below is a video of the falls from more angles than I've ever included. I spent considerable time on this. My frozen feet are the witness!
Above: obligatory brink of the falls shot.
It is worth mentioning here that I had explicit directions recently updated including photos for Ballplay Falls and had them on my blog in at least two places. If you googled Ballplay Falls Directions it was the first and ONLY thing to come up related to the subject. I have removed them. It is public property .. meaning the falls sits in the Cherokee National Forest, but the only decent way to reach it for now is across private property which is not mine. I have permission go visit. Several people I know have permission, but I do not have the right to give permission since it isn't mine. Additionally I am seeing lots of damage and over visitation since the corona virus hit. People taking to the woods are not all good stewards of the places they visit. I don't want to spoil one of my favorite places on earth. Also I care about Mr. Giles and his opinion of me. He is a great fellow and I don't want to abuse his good graces.
Below: a shot of a pair of trout lilies from today.
The trail is not maintained and many of the people who ask where something is ..... I find once they find out what is involved to get there........ they are no longer interested in going. In order to get to the base of this falls from the way I went you have to go down through a slippery jumble of downed trees. It is not that bad, but you have to remember who you're asking. I came out of the woods filthy dirty and wet. Wiped my nose on my sleeve and went on to the grocery store just ... like... that. Last of all........ I've encountered people who are so trifling they don't even want to lift a finger to type in a few words to do a google search for the directions. So guess what? Directions are gone and ain't coming back!
Work hard for it just like I did. That'll lairn ye to get an attitude with mamaw hyere. I admire the pluck of Courtney and her friends who took off trying to find it. They have spirit and while they did not quite make it to the falls... they show initiative and motivation. Two things I admire greatly.
Below is a couple shot of the log jam you have to go over, under and around.
And that isn't the worst of it. The worst of it I could not take photos because I was wallering on my belly under a log. It was root hog or die!
I finally arrived at the base of the falls and since I was solo today I used extra care in getting down to the bottom. I avoided the sloping, snotty slick rock and went further out to the left and worked my way back toward the falls.
The falls was surely gushing today and I was glad to be here. Such a pretty setting. Below are my three favorite shots of it today. I waded the creek to the far side. I got out in the middle of the stream. I stayed back to avoid the spray. Despite all my equipment and efforts today I still don't think these are my best pictures, but I had a good time just the same. The bad part about a sunny day is the harsh light. I think I need to purchase a slightly stronger neutral density filter to help compensate for the bright light.
Below the stream flows ever onward. I located a couple cascades that "might" be where Courtney & Co ended up, but I am not sure. I put a waypoint on it. This may be what Paul Gamble calls Presley Falls. I also found a side path down off the bluff that may lead much closer to it without having to come up the creek.
Kenny says he will go with me to try it at some point. I don't want to do that one solo.
Ballplay Creek flows on down the mountain.
Above: an isolation shot of the cascades below the falls. You can see grasses growing in the stream where it dries up some in Summertime.
I sat down and ate lunch. I took loads of photos. I explored. I just wallowed in the setting and the leisure time. I think I spent longer at the falls today than I ever have before. I needed a day like today. I am reclaiming my life a little bit at a time. Trying to strike a balance between family and my own identity. Finally I tore myself away and moved on. I had another spot I wanted to hunt up a waterfall down near Tellico Plains. I thought today would be the day I'd find it. I had a good feeling about it. I spent a little time on the way out photographing trout lilies that had opened since I arrived. Below is one such.
Sunbeams and trout lily in bloom.
I went down to the creek level and walked up the stream. I was going to try to make myself go up the creek. I went 0.16 miles upstream and that was enough for me. It is not easy and I was already cold and wet from being in the creek a fair amount at the falls. I did get a few photos of that area upstream. Mostly I had my camera put away because I did not want to fall in and ruin it in the water.
Below are a couple shots of Ballplay Creek up from the house
Low cascade up Ballplay Creek
Above: The stroll up Ballplay Creek isn't easy, but it is pretty. It is a large watershed with several streams merging into one to form the main creek.
I spent a little time strolling round the yard and grounds taking photos of the place from different spots. One day this is liable not to be here anymore or no longer accessible. I just wanted to enjoy it and document it as it is now.
Below is a shot looking at the back of the house. The porch wraps around the side.
Below is something funny I spotted today. A pot sitting outside on the porch.
It looks identical to one we had at home when I was a kid. It was what we put table scraps in. We called it the slop pot. Valerie Graham... you need to see this!
Slop pot on the porch. No kidding.
Below is a photo of an assortment of things they've put up on the wall of the house.
I liked the collection of skulls, pots, axe head, metal link, and horse shoes and such. I was told years ago by a frenemy........ that the people back here would shoot you. That person may be out here indeed, but all the folks I've encountered have been fine people. Maybe that's just how she got greeted. What's coming at you is coming from you.
I finally sat down on the front steps again and changed into my water shoes again. One final time for today. I quickly made my way back to my jeep on the far side of the stream. I tossed my gear in the vehicle and rolled out toward Tellico Plains. It continued to be a pretty drive and I kept seeing spots I wanted to photograph. Lots of mental notes.
I was heading toward Rafter Road and the ghost town of Mudhole to try to locate Barum Creek Falls and the old Alonzo Akins homeplace. It is a spot I'd seen my friends Paul and Amanda photograph. It had captivated my imagination. I wanted to figure it out myself. I believed today would be the day. I turned onto Rafter Road and went out to the old Mudhole Community Center shown below.
Now I had studied the map extensively and found a spot I thought I could park to get access to the creek. A drive on the first part of the Rafter Road will have you drawing up your sphincter. It is crumbling like SR 85 in Overton County out at Wilder. The ground is soft and giving way. Part of Rafter Road is by a sheer drop off the mountainside. The road is rimmed by orange cones, police tape, and is literally propped up with telephone poles to keep it from going on down the mountain into the gorge. I stayed well over to the edge. I prayed I'd not meet anyone here. I learned to drive in the mountains as a kid, but I did not like this spot. I wish I'd taken pictures of it. I should have. So driving here and seeing that had me convinced that it was a long way down to Barum Creek. I would need to find a point of access that would be a gradual descent. I turned around and went back to a side road I'd seen. I pulled over and parked and got out.
I saw I was not in anyone's way. I had room to turn around when I got ready to leave. I snapped a few photos of daffodils I saw and set off down an old lane nearby. It was a good way down, but very soft, muddy and squishy.
Daffodils at an abandoned house site. The house has been razed.
Below is a look at my way down.. the old lane and a few old pipes covered in fuzzy green moss.
The ground on this lane was very soft and swampy. A small stream ran down one side of it.
I continued down to where I came to a field. Along its edge flowed Barum Creek. I had found it. I did find manmade structures here, but not a house. Just two wood platforms that looked like someone's former big idea. A spot for camping or a shed or some such.
Above and below: platform on each side of the stream.
Above: Beautiful sparkling Barum Creek.
I did find the stream. I found a way down to it, but alas today I did not find the falls. I walked downstream and quickly could see and recognize exactly where I was. Barum Creek becomes a swamp as it gets closer to Smoky Run and that is what I was starting to see. I knew I was too far downstream. Had to be. Between me and the upper reaches lay lots of kudzu. I had a drive home yet and a grocery store stop to make. I figured it was time to hang it up for the day.
I trudged back up the hill a tiny bit discouraged that I did not find the falls and old house, but I felt like I was getting closer! I went grocery shopping with sticks and leaves all up in my wig. I had a hole in the seat of my pants. I had mud and soaking wet jeans up to my knees. Muddy boots. I waded up into Food City like that and figured I probably looked too scary for anyone to say word one to me.
I went home tired and happy. It was a great day under the sun. Later I put my photos on social media and to my delight.... my buddy Paul told me I was within 100 yards of the house and falls. I knew what I was going to be doing Saturday!
I couldn't have been any more tickled. It is always fun when an adventure gives rise to the NEXT ADVENTURE!
Below is one final video from today. It is a short clip from Ballplay Creek itself.
I wanted to go see the Kentucky lady slippers, but did not want to go by myself. Kenny graciously agreed to go with me. He'd been working in that area for a week or more. I hated to ask him to drive clear back up the road on a Saturday, but he assured me it did not bother him. I drove it many times solo when we were staying in Burnside, Kentucky for his work. It is a beautiful drive up the road to Huntsville and beyond. We love this area for hiking, exploring off trail, and four wheeling. You can't go four wheeling in Big South Fork except on about two short trails, but Brimstone is nearby and there are lots of old mining roads to explore.
Our grandson's birthday is coming up and we needed to go ahead and get him a bike. His man thing he wanted for his fourth birthday was a Spiderman bike. We decided on the way home we'd go by the Clinton Wal-Mart and pick one up. Gabe was born June 7th. He is going to be a big brother in the late Fall. He is going to be the world's sweetest big brother. He prays for this little baby already!
I tried to round up other stuff to do in the area besides wildflowers.
The only reasonable thing I could think of was that I had wanted to photograph the abandoned rail bridge over New River.
We went to see flowers. They were beautiful.
Below are several views of Kentucky Lady Slippers. They are native orchids. They are rare. I don't give out locations for things like this.
Other sights we saw today
Above: Lyre leaf sage
Above: lush ferns
Multiflora rose... an invasive species, but it sure smells wonderful
Canada violet
golden ragwort
Pretty green forest and an un-named small stream
We took a break and went for lunch and continued our day. Kenny took me down to where he'd been working to show me what he'd been doing.
He likes what he does as a crane operator. He had set a new cell phone tower so you can thank all the world's crane operators and crews for being able to make your phone calls out in the boonies or wherever you are!
Someone capable has to set those monsters and maintain them.
He took me by to photograph the New River abandoned rail bridge.
This was part of the old rail line that came from Brimstone to bring out coal and logs from the hollers. There was an incline at Dean and along Roach Creek. Several of the hollers had lines through them coming down to join the main line that ran from there all the way to Huntsville at least. I am still learning about it. Now I want very much to go back to Brimstone and Dean and photograph what is left of these places.
I really like New River so I told Kenny to pull down to the access for New River and I got out and waded into the river to get a better photo of the bridge.
Looking out at the beautiful green waters of the New River
Under the highway bridge
Above: Looking downstream in the New River
Above: I'm standing out in the river taking this photo of the bridge. I was up to the hem of my shorts.
Now for some funny stuff that went on today that tickled us.
We pulled down to the river to find two men and a jeep. They had a trailer hitched to the back of the jeep. It was about seven feet long. They had managed to load a log onto the trailer. It was fifteen feet long. They were friends. They found the log while they were paddling the New River. They saw it the first time twenty feet up in a tree. It was hung from some flood event. It was either a foot log bridge or a sitting bench that had washed away from its original spot.
They noticed on a subsequent trip or two that it was no longer high in the trees, but was gone. One of them was building a house in Lexington, Ky. and wanted the log for a mantle. He kept looking for it and located it in a jumble of downed trees and logs in the river. They worked for an hour to free it. It took another hour to float it to the boat ramp. The friend lived about fifteen minutes from this spot in Oneida. He was the prosecutor for Fentress County. They were struggling with it so we did what little we could to help them. Kenny put his engineering skills to good use. He suggested a plan to them to help position it better on the trailer.
Long story short we attached floats to the log with bungee cords and they backed the trailer and log into the river. It floated and they were able to use a rope to drag it up onto the trailer a bit more. It popped one of the inner tubes!
It must have weighed a thousand pounds being water logged! They were real nice fellows and we had a good laugh at this project. I told Kenny "Look here! We've finally met a pair more crazier than we are!". To which we all laughed.
Once the man told me he was a prosecutor for Fentress County I blessed him.
You know he has a hard job. I laughed and asked if he remembered the man who drove through the courthouse several years ago? He sure did. He prosecuted him. He is now in the looney bin. They couldn't take it to trial because he was certifiably insane. He was an honest to God tin foil hat wearing crazy. I figured he was either in the nut house or Guantanamo Bay. They charged him with domestic terrorism, but when you are crazy .. it won't stick!
Seeing as how they only had to go a few miles up the road.. I am betting they made it. The log would still drag the road, but it was well secured.
We parted company and putzed around a little longer. Kenny saw a side road that headed in the direction of the river and the old rail bridge. He took my jeep four wheeling down through there. We were enclosed by weeds and brush.
The mud was thick. We rounded a bend and ran upon a white pickup truck sitting there. It was not impossible to go around it, but I did not want to proceed.
The antenna on the truck was going boinnnnng! I figured we'd run upon someone and were ruining their moment. Kenny turned around and got us out of there.
Paul Gamble.. Amanda... I thought about you.. Lewis and Clark!
We're the Pottawatomie County love patrol. 😆😆😆😆
We still had to face Wal-Mart so we pushed onward back toward Clinton.
We found the bike we wanted. Kenny got to raise Hell outside the store with a couple of other men who were protesting the fact Wal-Mart was making everyone enter and exit the store through one aperture. If you are supposed to social distance this is NOT the way to do it!
We had a typical crazy day in Kooglerville. Scott county is awesome.
above: a very unusual hybrid trillium. 
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
