Falls on ice

It is not too terribly common in Middle Tennessee for cold spells to last very long. For the temperatures to remain, not only below freezing, but in the 10's and 20's for several continuous weeks is nearly unheard of. I knew by the ice flows that formed and persisted along all the rock cuts along the interstate on my daily commute that my favorite waterfalls were freezing.

When a Saturday arrived, with a dusting of snow the night before, we bundled into warm layers for the day's 19 degree high, donned hiking boots to manage the ice and climbed into the car. Some of Tennessee's best waterfalls are located in Fall Creek Falls State Park. Just behind the visitors center lies the Cascades.When we climbed down the last few steps to the rock slab which, in summer months is a jumping of point for swimmers, we were rewarded with the site of an icy wonderland. The water had frozen into a milky white flow stone, with a steady stream of water still passing down over the rocks, and continuing down stream for the trip over Cane Creek Falls.

We quickly headed to the overlook for Cane Creek Falls. We Grinned like giddy children from ear to ear to look down on this 85 foot drop and it's plunge pool. The very large pool was completely covered over in a solid and smooth layer of ice, iced with the recent snow. There is a quick but not easy trail to the base of the falls, know affectionately as the "cable trail" due to the steel cable which helps the adventurous down to the bottom. We made our way carefully down, minding the ice that covered the rocks in places, me fascinated by my freezing gloves sticking to the steel cable, which robbed me of bits of material with every fresh handhold. At the bottom, we were greeted by an amazing overhang of blue and white ice at the fall's edge. The wall behind the falls feathered with icicles. Some tree branches overhanging the falls were encrusted with ice as well, an effect of the freezing mist given off by the still flowing water. It was everything we hoped for, and who knows if the weather will grace us with such amazing sites again this year. There is another small waterfall, which flows in just to the left of Cane Creek Falls, where the water lands and splashed on rocks, rather than into the plunge pool. With the freezing weather, this had formed a giant mound of ice, easily six feet tall, and ten feet in diameter. This was a totally unexpected formation, and if not for the water actively splashing down over it, and the long daggers of ice hanging above, I would very much have climbed all over it.

A quick drive or a pleasant hike away was the main event, Fall Creek Falls itself. Reputedly the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi, the Fall's falling water, feathered by the air in its long fall had sprayed the canyon walls, trees and rocks at its base with a halo of white, contrasting sharply with the dark water directly under the falls, where the water moved to quickly to freeze.
We hurried down the trail from the overlook to the base of the falls, anticipating wonder. As we rounded the last curve and pushed aside a ice encrusted branch, we entered the halo ring, delighted to find that the artificial snow being generated by the fall's mist had layered a foot deep, with a hard crusted surface we could walk on. Fall Creek Falls also has a companion falls, and as with Cane Creek, this one had formed a large stalagmite of ice. The falling misty ice had also clung to every plant within the ring, turning twigs into snowy branches, and reeds into thick white fun noodles, protruding from the snowy earth like some strange white play-doh hair.

Lewis, Natchez, Avaleen, and some very good Junk.

In mid July we took a little trip down to the area of Tennessee that is south of Nashville. This is one part of the state I haven't been to much, aside from once making a brief visit to the Natchez Trace Pkwy. And this visit too, began with a stretch of the Trace, and a piece of history that was new to me.

You might not immediately recognize the name Merriweather Lewis, but if I told you he took an expedition with William Clark, you might guess who he is. Well, after returning from that famous trip, Lewis became Governor of the Louisiana Territory. Business brought him along the Natchez Trace. While there is some controversy as to what brought his life to an end near Hohenwald, TN, it is generally accepted as a suicide. Merriweather Lewis died and was buried right here in Tennessee.

We made another stop along the Trace to take a short walk to see fall hollow. This aptly name little spot is a small hollow/holler/gully which two small streams pour into creating several small but pretty waterfalls.

In this area also is the Amber Falls Winery. This winery has a broad selection of wines. We tasted the sweet and semi-sweet, and were not disappointed by any we tried. We picked up a couple bottles, and then headed to Linden, and the Avaleen Springs Bed and Breakfast. The first thing we saw when we pulled up were orange tabby cats everywhere.
After the owner greeted us and showed us the cabin and the dinning/social area with books, movies and boardgames in the guesthaus, we were left alone to explore the properties 30 acres with trails leading past friendly fish in a beaver pond, small waterfalls, and little statues tucked in every corner.

For diner, we headed into Hohenwald to eat at the Junkyard Dog Steakhouse, whose quirky atmosphere and good food make it an unusual find for such a small town. The walls are hung heavy with decorations, ranging from old school sports pictures, to mardi gras beads and masques, to western items. The steaks were perfect, tender and juicy.

After returning full to the Bed and Breakfast, we spent the twilight relaxing in adirondack chairs, a cat in each lap, and a glass of wine as we watched bats dart overhead in the darkening sky. In addition to the relaxing atmosphere outside, the inside of the cabin impressed as well, with a cedar latter that could be used to climb to a loft, and a massive tub that, combined with the jets and the provided bubble bath made enough foam to fill my tub at home a few times over.

Overall, I was very impressed with this little corner of my home state. It's one area I hope to visit again soon, maybe to watch the leaves change, and have a good steak. Coincidentally, Hohenwald is also home of the Elephant Sanctuary

The secret of the woods

Just south of Raglan New Zealand, off of Kawhia Road, and unassuming little parking lot is the gateway for an easy and beautiful trail that leads through a lush native podocarp forest to a picturesque waterfall, known as Bridal Veil falls.

The mostly level trail leads through a forest of tall trees, covered in a variety of epiphyts. The ground is a collage of fern, moss, and mouldering logs. The trail loosely follows a muddy brook to the edge of the fall's rim. A neatly fenced overlook lets you peer at the falls from the sideA short spur leads to the left for a closer look at the top of the falls. The main trail leads to the right, through a small cut in the earth, and then down again through the forest to the base of the falls.

Bridal Veil Falls itself is a picture perfect beauty. The water falls in a high and narrow stream, into a small basin below. The walls around the falls are basalt, blackened with water. Well worth the short hike for both the plant life and the falls.

Eh Boo Boo?

After leaving Pictograph Cave, we finally arrived at the North Entrance to Yellowstone, located at the edge of a small town called Gardiner.A large stone gate guards the entrance. Once inside the park, we drove to the first major stop, Mammoth Springs. As we turned into the area, we noticed a nice green median between the lanes with two lifelike statues of elk, except they weren't statues at all, they were just very, very still real elk. Immediately to the right was the rest of the small herd. resting on the green grass in the shade of some trees, and in the company of picnic tables. There was a male with a rack larger than I've seen on elk elsewhere, and a calf ambling about.

Beyond the elk stood Mammoth Springs. It is essentially a large mass of calcite deposits from the water which seeps continually over them. It creates complex patterns of travertine ridges holding shallow pools of steaming water. There are no real geysers in this area, just this massive rock created by the spring. We explored the face of the springs by a short trail, then returned to the car for a drive around a loop to explore the upper terraces area. Having become thoroughly familiar with a landscape that is echoed throughout the park, of dead standing trees, yellow and pure white stone, and steaming water, we continued south into the park.

As we continued south we passed several lesser geological features, including the Roaring Mountain, a belching and gurgling hole in a hillside, our fist acquaintance with a fumarole. Swinging right towards Madison, we came to the Artist's Paint Pots. Paint pots are my favorite thing about active areas like Yellowstone. Acidic vats of liquid rock that plop and gurgle, I could watch them for hours, but we didn't have that kind of time. Back in the car we headed to the Fountain Paint pot Trail. It also features a fumarole that opened during a not too long ago earthquake, and several geysers. The land is alive here. All along the roads are small geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles. The smell isn't pleasant, but it's not as bad as you might think.

After the paint pots, we took the Fire hole Lake drive, and stopped to view Fire hole Falls. As we passed Great Fountain Geyser, one of the somewhat predictable, and large geysers, we saw that it might erupt soon, so we decided to stop and wait for it. This geyser erupts only twice a day (on average) and we were lucky to only have to wait 20 minutes for it. Old Faithful is by far NOT the largest geyser in the park, and this one far outstrips it. It sends up huge amounts of water, spreads massive clouds of sulfur smelling steam into the crowd. It died down somewhat after about 20 minutes, and we took that as our cue to move on. It was late afternoon at this point, but we still had a lot on our plate.

Our next stop was the Midway Geyser Basin. This consists primarily of two large features. The first is Excelsior Geyser. Though now it is mostly a hot spring, there was a time when it erupted hugely. It is the size of maybe a fishing pond, and is a rocky Mediterranean coastline in miniature. The edges are steep, dark and craggy, the water a perfect blue. The other feature is the more famous Grand Prismatic Spring, the perfect example of a hot spring, clear blue at the center, surrounded by rings of vivid color, ending with a broad red outer ring. The colors define regions where different bacteria thrive in the range of water temperatures, and lend their color to the rocks.

As we were heading back to the car, from the Grand Prismatic Spring, we approached the wooden bridge that crosses the trout filled stream between the springs and the parking lot. As we neared the bridge we noticed, a bird of prey flying towards the stream. It's distinctive black and white markings gave it away as an Osprey, the first we had ever seen. Suddenly the bird bent his wings, and was momentarily motionless over the water, almost beyond believability. Then, the spell was broken and he dived down to the stream, shearing the top of the water with his talons, but he came up empty handed. He then circled a little farther down stream, and repeated the show, this time disappearing behind the trees as he dropped. When he rose, he gripped a trout, its head in one claw, it's tail in the other, the body of the fish making a bright shining U in the afternoon sun. I was hoping he would land nearby to eat, but he instead flew far away, out of sight over a nearby hill.

At this point, we were loosing light fast, but we still wanted to see one more thing: Mystic Falls, off the Upper Geyser Basin Loop. This loop has several smaller geysers, though we didn't have the time to pause and look at them, as we headed towards the back of the loop, and the spur that led to the falls. The area was beautiful. a stream to our left, and across the stream, an area of high canopy forest, with grassy undergrowth, then a steep wall. to our right was another steep rise, forming a narrow valley. We were at this point power hiking. I was totally out of breath due to the altitude, but we pushed on, anxious to get to the falls, and back out before dark, in this, prime grizzly country. Fortunately, the trail was not too long, perhaps a mile, or less, and we finally reached the falls. a broad rush of water dropping probably 30 or 40 feet, from one level of the valley floor to another. We went only far enough to overlook the falls, then headed quickly back to the car. Finally, done with our activities for the day, we were ready to head for the Old Faithful Inn

Virgin Falls

South of Highway 70, halfway between Sparta and Crossville TN is the Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness, a protected region of forest in logging country. Here is a trail which, at four miles long ( eight round trip) provides a challenging and beautiful day of hiking, or a more leisurely overnight hike. The trail begins by winding smoothly across a region of flat forest floor, picking up and following along a small brook, which is surrounded by ferns in summer. The trail weaves in and among rhododendrons, which replace the ferns as the brook gathers water and becomes a small stream. After crossing this brook, the trail departs it and begins a moderate down slope, your footsteps cushioned by the spongy humus held together by the web-like roots of the rhododendrons. This leads into a drier forest area, with several fallen trees, before reaching another stream and crossing it, possibly assisted by a cable strung there

Turning left, the first of the camp sites is immediately ahead. The trail continues to follow the water downstream. Not much farther along the trail you come to the picturesque Big Branch Falls. After Big Branch Falls, you will pass a split where you can head to the right to visit a lookout. I have personally never followed this route, but this option will reconnect to the trail further on. The stream continues to go down the valley, while the trail remains level along one side of it. This area is characterized by the classic Tennessee limestone cliffs, and depending on the season, different wildflowers and plants can be seen in this area including trillium, sorrel, and even yellow lady slippers.

Continuing on you come to the Big Laurel Falls, which falls over a rock ledge, and disappears into the sandy ground. Behind the falls is a very large rock house. The scale of this falls is often lost in photographs, as the boulders, falls and trees fail to provide a point of reference for the size. The trail descends rather steeply at this point, so that you may explore the area behind the falls, and there is evidence of camping in the area beyond the falls, though whether this is a designated camping location I am not sure.

To continue the trail, you will once again be following along the edge of this valley, then crossing over a ridge and heading towards Virgin Falls. In this area the trail will split, with the right hand split being a longer trek, but in my opinion travels through a more beautiful section of the trail and has the added bonus of passing by Sheep Cave Falls, a unique feature which you can explore, at your own risk. From here you will cross over another ridge, at which point the falls should become audible. The trail will then come to the campground, and from there you can easily reach the falls, only a few dozen feet away.

The falls are fairly high, but the most interesting characteristic is the way the stream comes out of the ground, falls over the waterfall, and immediately goes back underground again. While the falls is beautiful and impressive from the flat camping area immediately in front of it, do not forget to walk around the far side and up to the top. Along the was you will see jack in the pulpit growing among the rocks, and at the top, wild iris may be in bloom. The easy climb is worth it for the clean cold air emanating from the cave the water emerges from. This is also a great place to fill up on water.

For those wanting to camp, it is probably better to skip Sheep Cave Falls in favor of the shorter hike in, and take that route on the return trip, so you have something new to see that day, and since you will likely have more time on the second day to explore. For those doing the hike in a single day, I recommend the opposite, mostly because it's better to build up to Virgin Falls.

East Glacier, Uml Pishkun, & Mint Dinner

After spending the entire previous day along the Going to the Sun Road and exploring some of the relatively crowded trails there, we were excited to spend the first part of this day on the eastern side of Glacier, which is far less touristy.

Early in the morning, we headed up to Many Glacier to hike the trail to Apikuni Falls. Along the way we paused under a tree, which made a squirrel very angry. He came down to a low branch to scream and chatter at us. When we looked around we saw shells of many nuts, and realized we stopped to rest in what was probably his favorite picnic spot. As we moved up the side of the mountain we broke out of the trees onto a rocky slope, where there were Pikas among the rocks. Pikas are like tiny chipmunk/rabbits. They are incredibly cute, but difficult to photograph, especially when you don't have a good zoom. We wound our way around some mounds of broken rock, before coming into view of the falls, which was tall and narrow. There was another Little Dipper in the stream at the base, and we stayed a while to watch him play, before starting the trip down to the car. Once in the car we headed south to Two Medicine, and made the very short walk to Running Eagle Falls. This was a smallish waterfall, with the water rushing out from underground. We spent a long time trying to identify a colorful bird there, but could never agree on what it was. We left when others finally arrived, and made our way to our next destination: Ulm Pishkun, a real live buffalo jump.

We arrived at Ulm Pishkun in the afternoon, a little to late to spend any time at the visitor's center, which looked like it had been recently updated. The visitors center is below the cliff, so we then drove around to the top. The top of the cliff is heavily populated by a prairie dog village. We walked out into it and just sat for a while, taking some pictures and watching the babies play, while the adults barked at us. We then walked to the edge of the cliffs and read the interpretive signs there. According to the signs, the hunt went a little something like this: One lucky young Indian dawned a buffalo skin, and prepared to lead the herd. The rest of the group would harass the buffalo, and drive them towards the cliff. At some point the lucky Indian would get to run briefly in front of the herd, and jump off the cliff, onto a small ledge just below. The buffalo, with a poor ability to gauge distance or see well, would plummet over the edge to their deaths, while people below would finish off wounded survivors. It is just a cliff in the middle of a broad plain. It is surrounded by wheat fields, and there are enormous white windmills in the distance.

From Ulm Pishkun we headed towards Billings, where we would be visiting the pictograph caves the next day. Along the way we arrived in a sleepy little town called Lewiston. It had a nice shaded main street, and a nice courthouse. The only restaurant we saw in town was just off the main drag, emblazoned by a large neon sign: The Mint bar & grill. From the outside, it looked more like a bar than a restaurant, but we were starving, so we parked and went inside. Inside was a fine dining atmosphere that was totally unexpected. We had a wonderful dinner. I had steak with cream sauce and new potatoes, and Jake had duck. We left, full and happy, and as we were driving out of town, I noticed some deer by a hay bail. I was happy to see them and pointed them out. As we continued to drive, and it grew darker, we saw more and more of them along the road. We saw so many we lost count. I turned my head away from the glare of the headlights and looked out into the fields, and saw many, many more. I saw more deer that night than all previous deer seen in my life. At one point we came to a little town, and there were deer in people's front yards. A dear even ambled across the street, at the only intersection with a stop light, and actually stopped to look at us as if we were the intruders.

When we were finally to exhausted to drive any more, seeing deer in every rock, tree, and sign near the road, we pulled over to sleep. When we turned off the headlights we saw something they had been hiding from us. Stretched across the sky was a bright swath of stars such as I had never seen before, except in pictures. It was the Milky Way. We do not have that kind of darkness here in Tennessee. To make a perfect moment even more so, a shooting star chose that moment to blaze across the sky. This was the end of the 4Th day.

Glacier National Peace Park

We left for Glacier after our visit to Craters of the Moon. Somewhere south of Flathead Lake, the road narrowed to a two lane highway that was under construction. Despite the remote location, there was a long line of traffic, and progress was slow. It was at this point that I realized I had to go to the bathroom, which was made more urgent by the in-progress road, which had many sections of bumpy gravel. After trying to hold out for half an hour I spotted an office building complex in the night, and I was more than willing to go behind it to relieve myself. Unfortunately, there were some active lawn sprinklers to dodge, and in the wet grass I twisted my ankle, but it was worth it. Later on, we saw fire blazing up in the mountains, like rivulet of lava on the mountain's side. We finally arrived at the southern edge of Flathead Lake, where we stopped for the night.

We woke up early on the third day, and drove north along Flathead Lake, entering the park around 8:00 am at West Glacier. Here we turned our tires onto the Going to the Sun Road, the only road that runs through the park, and an engineering feat of its time. Our first stop was at the Avalanche Lake/Trail of Cedars trail. Half of the Trail of Cedars loop was closed, but we were able to access the Avalanche Lake trail at the back of the loop. Because we were up early, this trail wasn't too busy (it is one of the most popular trails in the park) and was pretty peaceful. The forest is cool and dark, and the sunlight coming through the trees made the whole place something out of a fairy tale. There were squirrels and chipmunks everywhere, and spider webs strung between the trees. The trail follows a perfectly clear stream to the lake. We were running a little bit behind due to my injured ankle, and we made a decision to stop short of actually reaching Avalanche Lake to make sure that we could stay on track for all the other trails we had planned to hike that day. After leaving that trail we headed to Logan Pass visitors center to hike the Hidden Lake Trail. When we arrived, the parking lot was very full, and it took us some time to find a parking spot, which required us to use all the people stalking skills we learned from tying to park on campus in college. Once we were parked, we took a little walk through the gift shop, and then headed out the back, taking a boardwalk up the hill.

The hill was steeper than it looked, but it was a beautiful, sound of music kind of place. There were little streams trickling down from the mountain, surround by beautiful, thick beds of flowers. As we reached the top of this rise, some evergreen trees came into view. We saw some ptarmigans nestled against some rocks, taking very good advantage of their summer brown feathers to blend in almost completely. Just a little ways further up we saw our first mountain goats, a mother with her baby. From that point on, along the trail we saw a few here and there resting in the shade. Finally, we reached the crest of the rise, and could see the Hidden Lake below. It was the most beautiful deep blue. The photographs we have do not even come close to doing it justice. While we were enthralled with the lake, squirrels were moving in. We caught them in the act of trying to chew into some one's backpack that they had foolishly left on the ground. While there is a trail leading down to the lake, it looked very long and steep, and we had miles to go… so we turned back for the car, and the next trail, but there was one more surprise for us. From around the bend ahead, and just a little higher up the mountain, came a small herd of big horn sheep. It was 3 females being herded by a male, who chased down one stray and forced her back with the group by giving her a love tap in the rear with his thick skull. They weren't interested in hanging around though, and were quickly out of sight. We passed back by the mother goat and her baby, the mother having left her baby far behind as she headed for the tree line, the baby followed, bleating plaintively. The trip down was a lot easier than the trip up.

We arrived back in the parking lot, which was filling up with the classic red convertible sedans which do driving tours along the famous Going to the Sun road. Greeting new arrivals was a big brown bear. Despite the crowd of people hugging him, and getting their photos taken with him, we were able to get a shot of the only bear we saw here.

After the hike to see hidden lake, we had a lineup of several waterfalls. The first trail took us to St. Mary Falls, actually passing a snake along the way. The falls are beautiful, having carved out its own bowl into the rock. Continuing beyond this is Virginia Falls. Along the way there we encountered a fat toad, right in the middle of the path, who lazily walked his way off into the mossy undergrowth. We reached the falls and found them to be very narrow and high. We then returned back along the trail, and once again the fat toad was in our path. He lazily walked himself out of the way again, and we were free to return to the car, excited as much to have seen 2 reptiles on this trail, which we saw no where else in the park, as we were to have seen the falls. From there it was just a skip to the parking lot for access to Baring falls and Sunrift Gorge. The stream flows through sunrift gorge, a deep and narrow passage way, then curves under the road and over the falls. The trail winds out and back, bringing us finally to the foot of the falls. We spent a significant amount of time resting, and watching an American dipper at the base of this rather small but picturesque fall. The dipper is a small, finch sized bird, which stands on rocks in the rushing stream, and dives into the water, hunting for food. While standing on the rocks, he continually does deep knee bends, bobbing up and down. He was a plain grey/brown color, but provided great entertainment.

After returning to the car, we were finally done hiking for the day, having covered over 9 miles. We then continued east along the going to the sun road, coming into St. Mary, where a forest fire had raged just weeks before. Vast stands of trees were reduced to nothing but blackened posts, but the grass was already spring up green among the wasteland. We stopped briefly to investigate a restaurant, but, though we hadn't eaten much but a few rolls and some nuts all day, we just weren't interested in their menu, or their prices. So we headed on to the tiny town of Babb. Babb consists of a hotel, general store, and cheap diner, all owned by the same people. It also has a dinner club steakhouse, which looked rather frightful: concrete and no windows. We had reservations at the hotel, so we checked in, then quickly decided to head a few miles north over the border to see what food could be had in Carway in Alberta. We had to stop in at the border station, and answer some questions about our intentions, and then we were free to drive on. Once in town, we discovered that there was nothing to eat, as every single restaurant was closed; it was Sunday. We returned dejectedly to Babb, and decided to risk the diner club, which we had been told had good steak, despite its frightening appearance.

Let this be a reminder to never judge a book by its cover. Just inside the entrance was an old fashioned bar, with lots of dark wood, and plush red upholstered swivel bar seats (with back and arm rest). Beyond the bar was a grand spiral staircase, all of wood, winding around the trunk of a tree. Seated at our table above, I couldn't help but admire the huge sculpture that hung out over the room below. It depicted a herd of buffalo being run off a cliff, and appeared to be made of stone. We ordered our somewhat expensive steaks, but were rewarded with some of the largest, and best cuts I've ever had. I had a NY strip that hung off the edges of my plate. The steaks were fantastic and so huge I could only eat half of mine, and I was starving.

Full and happy, we got our left overs to go, hoping for a microwave in the hotel room, which we had not actually been into yet. When we got to the hotel, we didn't find a microwave, but we were too tired to care, and fell into bed.

Land of Potato

We landed late on a Friday night in August of 2006, and drove towards Hagerman, Idaho. After a narrow miss with a family of raccoons in the road, we arrived at a cute little hotel, still some way out of town. We settled down for the night, ready for the next day's adventures.

In the morning, we visited Hagerman, taking a self guided auto tour, we stopped by a marsh early in the morning, and watched ducks skim through the tall reeds. We followed a road, viewing boulders from a massive prehistoric flood, crossed a lake with White Pelicans floating on it, and slowly wound up into the hills, to find a portion of the Oregon Trail. It was apparent as a wagon wide ditch that wound its way up beside the road. We walked around on the top of one hill, with interpretive signs, and got stuck with lots of tumbleweed.

We headed back into town, to the museum, a small little building, more fitting to a state, rather than national park. They have a full skeleton of the horse which shares its name with the town and the park. They also have quite a few other fossils, and the ranger there was very friendly and informative. After that we went to eat a good ole country breakfast at a little restaurant there. Then, we went across the street and bought some munchies for the duration of our road trip, and then headed out towards our next destination: City of Rocks.

At this point, we were well ahead of schedule, so we felt obliged to stop at a few detours along the way. One being Malad Gorge, the other being Shoshone falls. Malad gorge was, you guessed it, a gorge. Pretty, deep, with a rushing river in the bottom. Shoshone Falls is a broad falls, like Niagara, but much smaller. The water was low, it being late August, but it was still beautiful, and created 2 rainbows in its mist. Finally, we headed to City of Rocks. This place blows away any of the other places we've been with similar names. These aren't boulders; these are towering spires of rock, a true rock climber's dream. This area also was along a pioneer trail west, and there is a rock near the entrance to the park, where you can still read the names of early settlers who marked the rock with axle grease. There is another, similar park, down the road that is run by the state called Castle Rocks State Park, and while I was interested, it was just starting to rain and it was getting dark, so we opted to head for the camp grounds of Craters of the Moon NP. Along the way, we enjoyed one of the many beautiful sunsets that we saw almost every day of this trip, and puzzled over the strange, disjoint sections of fence, which we finally decided must be to prevent snow from drifting too much across the road. Finally, after nightfall, we entered the park, and pulled into one of the few remaining campsites. We pulled out the blankets, laid back the seats and went to sleep.

Short Springs

On the 30th of March, while the weather was cool

and overcast, we made our first visit to the Short Springs Natural Area. The trail is easy, and divided into several segments and loops which allows the hiker to easily to the entire trail, or gain access to just a few sections. On this occasion we hiked almost everything. Beginning the trail by heading left, we quickly reached the branching off point for the one section of the trail we did not do. Instead, we headed straight, which led us to a beautiful stream flowing through the forest. The area was cool and wet, and on some nearby rocks were were fascinated to find 5 separate types of moss growing intermingled in a small area. Moving on, we soon rejoined the main trail and beyond that reached the sudden descent of the trail at the falls.

In the perfectly flat bottomed area below was the short flower trail. As we worked our way down to that trail, we stopped to photograph some of the many flowers which were in bloom. When we finally reached the bottom we paused to identify a still blooming blood wart, when a gentleman who had been photographing introduced himself. Now, I am sorry to say I have already forgotten his name, but I have not forgotten that he told us he had worked on this wildflower book. He immediately established himself as our guide, and took us all around the trail, and off of it, to show us various trillium, Virginia blue bell, trout Lilly, blood wart, anemone, and many more. There really is a great deal of wonderful flowers to see here, even if you don't have your own personal guide.

Finally we bid our goodbyes, and we turned ourselves in the direction of the sound of falling water. Just around a bend in the creek, and across a few stones was the falls. Returning to the trail, we explored among the wild flowers some more, and discovered a tiny snail, on a stump newly gnawed by a beaver. Continuing on the trail we soon reached the point where it turned and looped back to the parking lot, but we decided to push further, along the back loop. Unfortunately, the falls at the end of this trail turned out to be completely dry despite the recent rain fall. The remainder of the walk back was less notable than the journey out, especially since the trees have not yet begun to have leaves. Remarkably, we saw no animals in the area, save some roosting vultures. All in all, it is a very nice trail, with interesting water features and flowers, all along an easy path.

Yosemite in brief

The way into Yosemite is almost familiar, a landscape shown to us so many times in movies and episodes of the Simpsons. There are tall evergreen trees and log lodges, with bears carved by chainsaw from the trunks of trees. But before this familiar, and expected landscape, there where the fields of wheat grass, the rocky outcroppings of hills, the odd tree. A terrain I associate more with the great plains and places like Wyoming than California. Finally arriving at the park, We entered from the south, but were saddened to find that all the snow in the park had not been cleared, and we wouldn't be able to reach Glacier Point, and also would not be able to drive Tioga road, through the main portion of the park, allowing us quicker, more scenic access to Lake Tahoe in the evening. However, this was more than made up for by what lay ahead.

After passing a turnoff, that would have taken us to Glacier Point if it were open, we passed through a tunnel, and parked at the overlook on the other side. And there before me lay a valley. Half Dome, clearly visible to the back, bridal veil falls throwing off mist well above the treetops, and sadly, a thick haze of smog. To which our own car, I'm sure, contributed. Still, it's an awe inspiring view.

Continuing down into the valley, we finally came to the parking lot for bridal veil falls. Keep in mind, this was in May, and the flow was very strong with the runoff of melting snow. The parking lot was partially flooded, and as we set out on the trails to the fall, we were enshrouded in a misty rain, the famed veil itself. the paved path was wet, and as we progressed, flooded to ankle height with fairly fast moving, icy water. We realized at this point, that the view we had had of the falls from the overlook was really the only one possible, because at this point, we were sort of in the falls. Suddenly, all the people wearing raincoats in the parking lot on this clear and sunny day, made sense. No photos where to be had, as 10 feet away was a solid white, from the fine grains of rain, that were rapidly soaking us to the bone, so, back we headed to the car, ready to travel into the valley itself. Once on the valley floor, we parked the car, and headed off along a trail through the meadow that occupies much of the flat bottom of the valley. Here the sight of woodpeckers and stellar jays were common place.

We headed across the meadow, to the trail leading to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. Unfortunately, because I am insane, and determined to see a little of ALL the world has to offer, I hadn't given us time to hike the trail to the upper. The path to the lower falls is wheel chair accessible, and wide, to accommodate all the visitors received here. The falls themselves are huge, seeing as how they come rushing over the very top of this glacially carved, steep walled canyon. The people here spoke a myriad of languages. Truly, the world comes to see this place.

Finally, we had seen all that I had really wanted to see, that could be seen, that we had time to see. So we headed to the visitors center, to learn a little about the founding of the park, and about John Muir, who lived for a time on the banks of the stream, just down from the Yosemite Falls. We checked the book shelves for the Audubon guide book for California, once again coming up empty handed, though we had checked most parks since we had started our trip. We hoped on the buses that transfer the loads of tourists, of all nationalities, about the canyon floor, and just road it for a full circuit, then back to our car. We left the park through the northern Oak Flat Entrance, so we missed both the supposedly beautiful Tioga Road, and also the El Portal entrance to the park, which angles directly towards the coast. But we weren't headed back to the coast, not yet. That evening's destination was Lake Tahoe.

CA:06 From Deserts to Mountains

After spending all of our fourth day in the hot and dry deserts of California, our fifth day, spent mostly at King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks came as a cool relief.

Our first stop upon arrival in Sequoia was to pick up tickets for the cave tour. Then, it was a mad dash to visit the General Sherman Tree. The Sherman Tree is the largest living tree. It is not the tallest, nor the widest, but its overall mass is larger than any other single living organism. Over the winter, it had lost its second largest branch, had crashed through the fence surrounding the tree, and made quite an impression on the asphalt pathway around the tree. This branch had a diameter of about 5 feet. Its the size of a tree itself. No apparent attempts to remove it had been made at the time of our visit.

After seeing the tree, it was time for out cave tour. You must first drive to the location, then hike a short distance down to the entrance of the cave, first crossing over and then hiking to the foot of a beautiful waterfall. The gate which prevents unauthorized entry to the cave is in the shape of a web with a spider at the center, giving it the appearance of a superhero's (or villain's) secret lair. The cave is made of marble, which means that it is created the same way as a limestone cave, since it is simply compressed limestone. The most impressive feature is where the water is flowing through the cave, and you can see the smoothed surface of the marble beneath the water.

It was then time to take the touristy loop drive and drive through a (fallen) sequoia tree. They don't make tunnels through the trees anymore, in appreciation of the trees' rarity and age. We also stopped to view a tree bridge, which was wide enough to have accommodated our car, if we had still been allowed to drive on it.

The trees here are huge. Not so much due to their height, though they are quite tall, but the trunks are incredibly thick, as the above examples might demonstrate. The trunks of the adult trees are at least 10 feet wide. On the trail down to the General Sherman, they have a courtyard that is the size and shape of a cross section of the tree. It has a base diameter of about 27 feet. The tree is over 250 feet tall.

After Sequoia, we headed out for a nice drive into Kings Canyon. On the way out of Sequoia, I managed to spot a black bear very close to a visitor's center. This one was a good bit further away than the one I had seen in the Smokey Mountains, but with my binoculars, I was able to see him well. I got out onto the shoulder of the road, while Jake parked the car at the visitor's center across the street. Of course, our presence soon attracted a crowd, and a park ranger telling everyone to park their cars, and not to stand in the street. Meanwhile, the bear was standing in a small clearing up the hill, rolling over logs and rocks, looking for bugs to eat. He finally wandered off into the woods, and we were back in the car.

Kings canyon was beautiful, but other than to say it was a really deep canyon full of evergreens, with a rushing river cutting its way through the bottom, I don't know what I can say about it. There were a couple of nice waterfalls along the way, and a little country store which had what it claimed was the worlds oldest gravity gas pump, which we took a picture of. The drive in, and then back out again, took considerable time. Thus ended our day. The next day's goal was a big one for the American Road Tripper, and, as we found out, many other people from all over the world: Yosemite.

CA 06: A day at the Beach and more

In 2006 we took a week to explore the southern 2/3 of California. We began in San Francisco, and worked out way south through LA to San Diego, then headed inland to the deserts and mountains as we worked our way north again, finally returning to San Francisco.

After our arrival in San Francisco and driving south out of town the previous night, we woke up ready for our first day in California. Having been born in LA, but moving away at the age of only 1, I was excited to get to know my home state.

We first went to Point Lobos, which has one of only two natural stands of Monterrey Cypress, the other being just across from the point. We were early arrivals and weighted in line for the gates to open, because I had heard the point could become very crowded later in the day. After entering, we parked and headed straight for a trail through the cypress. We immediately saw some quail in one of the trees, along with spectacular views from the cliffs. With our binoculars, we could just make out the sea lions out on their rock, but we could hear them easily. We walked leisurely along the trail that would through the grass beneath the trees. In a cove on the back part of the trail we saw two harbor seals basking on a rock, and a sea otter sleeping in the kelp beds.

After finishing the cypress trail, we walked down the sea lion path, which leads closer to the shore. There we saw more harbor seals including some babies. We saw another sea otter, this one swimming in the crashing waves near the rocky shore, and we got a closer view of the sea lions. There were also some nesting sea gulls, Brandts cormorant, and some brown pelicans to be seen.

After this we proceeded on to a series of beautiful waterfalls and beaches along highway 1. We saw Pfeiffer falls first, which is down a path through a beautiful stand of redwoods. There at the falls was a Stellar Jay being fed by excited children. I had never before realized that jays and crows were closely related, but this bird makes that connection. It moves and behaves like a crow, but has the comb and striking colors of a jay.

We then proceeded to Pfeiffer beach, which, despite being billed as a favorite beach in the area, has a narrow, windy, and poorly paved road leading down to it. But indeed it was an awesome beach. It is a sand beach, which is C shaped around two rock arches, which almost touch, forming an M. The water rushes in through the arches throwing up spray. While we were there we saw some interesting animals. In the rocks among the left side arch we found sea squirts, crabs, and a starfish. There were also some interesting people on the beach. 2 youngish girls in bathing suits screaming whenever they dared to touch their toes to the cold water, surfers protected from the cold by their wet suits, and a couple of naked children, running about. I always heard California was more free.

Following that we went to Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP (I know! Who are these Pfeiffer people?), which has a beautiful waterfall that pours onto the beach. However, you can not actually get down to the falls, but you do get a great view. Here we saw some ground squirrels and a couple more Stellar Jays, as well as a some interesting purple wildflowers. All of the vegetation here is strange, from the trees, to the flowers, even some of the grasses.

From there it was on to Jade Cove. True to its name, there is jade to be found here, and what's more, it's legal to collect. So collect we did, at our own risk. Jake found a pocket of rocks higher up away from the water, but I, after cautiously setting down the backpack, climbed down the rocks right level with the breaking waves. My goal was a small pool of smaller rocks, polished by the crashing waves. I had observed carefully before hand, and was certain none of the waves were coming in that far. After I had collected half a dozen really good specimens, Jake decided to join me. The water apparently liked him more that it liked me. Until he came down, I had only one wave come in far enough to send a wash of water around my feet. As soon as I was joined, however, by him, the waves began to surround my ankles. I was wearing carpi's, so this was OK. Jake, however, was wearing pants. Then a good one came in, with an even bigger one behind it. I, using my fantastic rock climbing abilities, learned in college climbing a wall with mostly 2x4 squares screwed onto it, latched Velcro like, horizontally to the rock behind me. My husband having taken the same class, but, unfortunately, lacking my cat like reflexes, was suddenly up to his knees in water. After that we returned to higher ground to search for rocks.

After the cove, we headed to salmon falls. This waterfall is really fantastic. The photos really cant do justice to its size and beauty. It is nestled down in a small green valley among large some boulders.

Finally, having completed our busy day outdoors, we were ready for something fancy. So we went to Hearst Mansion, where we had tickets for the evening tour. This is a house built when rich people knew what to do with their money. The house is ornate, but the rooms are mostly small and friendly. The best part of the tour was the many costumed people about the house, chatting, playing pool, reading in the library, etc., which is done for the evening tour only. If only my pictures had come out better. Unfortunately, the outdoor pool, which appears in Spartacus, had been drained due to a leak, but, on the upshot, as our guide pointed out, its a unique shot. The indoor pool was really incredible, but didn't photograph that well at all, being even more dimly lit than the rest of the house.

Thus concluded our first of many days of great adventure in California. For more, stay tuned.

The Fiery Gizzard

One weekend in the spring of 2006 my husband and I took upon ourselves the task of hiking the Fiery Gizzard, a trail in the South Cumberland Recreation Area of Tennessee. The trail provides a 17 mile trail through varying terrain. We parked a car at each end, and, beginning at the Grundy Forest end, took an overnight hike. The trail in April was warm and pleasant, without the oppressive heat and humidity that comes May through August. We walked along the sunlit trail, frequently following a stream, as willow snow drifted lazily through the air. We discovered on this hike the need for boots in the future as we crossed large sections of pumpkin sized rocks, which resulted in sore soles and aching ankles. Crossing one such section, we startles an owl from a branch but were unable to make out what kind it was as it flew off into the forest. The rocks also put on a show, with formations called the Fruit Bowl, and Chimney Rock. Along the way we also spotted snakes and deer, and a myriad of wild flowers in bloom. Finally after a slow and lazy day of hiking, we made the steep ascent to the ridge line and pitched our tent at Raven Point. Not long after pitching our tent and putting some canned chili to heat on the camp stove (no fires are allowed in the campsite) we had a visitor. A black and white hunting dog came into camp to investigate, and demand that he be scratched. Our friend stayed with us even after we had gone to bed, curling up outside the tent door. When we awoke late in the night, due to nothing more than the shear brightness of a full moon in a dark sky, we found our friend had left us.

In the morning, we had the greater part of the trail still before us, but this section was much easier, as it was not riddled with boulder fields. This section winds primarily along the top of the ridge, across farmland the through the woods. A farmhouse is actually quite close to the Raven Point campsite, which is probably where our dog friend came from. Other than a jogger early in the morning, we had the trail mostly to ourselves. There are many overlooks and some beautiful waterfalls. The only difficult section of this trail is when it drops to cross a gorge with a small stream and tall trees in it, then steeply rises to the ridge top again. Beyond this gorge we began to run into the weekend crowds visiting Foster Falls. Finally, we had reached the other end of our journey.

This hike is well worth it, though it would be significantly easier if hiked in the opposite direction. The Fiery Gizzard is a popular trail, both in TN and the US in general. It is covers a variety of terrain, and gives a good idea of what middle Tennessee is like. Beautiful in the spring, it is also popular as a fall, and even winter trail. A+

Forks and Honey

8:54 AM - Honey Creek Loop, Big South Fork River, TN

I first decided to visit this trail because of its mention in Hiking Tennessee by Kelley Roark, and it is definitely a new favorite of mine. The loop is 5.6 miles long, but it is bisected by a road, with parking lots at the top and the bottom of the loop. We started at the top of the loop, which is located at an overlook of the Big South Fork River. From there we left towards the Indian Rock House loop. First we descended 3 steep steel ladders, taking us much closer to the river. Technically, this is part of the inner loop, so we had to turn left to take the main trail a little beyond this point, just before a small cascade falling over the cliff face. The trail then turns almost immediately away from the river, to follow Honey Creek.

The creek ranges from 5-10 feet wide, and cascades over, under, and through the boulders which lay in its path. The water is blue-green, but is clear where the water is less than a foot deep. The path closely follows the creek, occasionally crossing it, and once, forcing us to walk up it, thought a narrow gorge. The path, like the creek, also goes over and under the boulders, several times leading us through small tunnels, where even I had to stoop a little.

The Indian Rock houses were caves in the face of the cliff by the creek. The first one we came to was the most fantastic. The entrance to this one was not level with the ground. First you have to climb a wooden ladder up about 10ft, into the opening. It is very large inside, and has a more sheltered area where the cave winds back to the right. There were about 3 more rock houses that the trail takes you to after that, all of them level with the ground, some larger, but none of which are quite as interesting as the first. The trail then winds up onto the ridge top, then finally cuts back to the creek and down. Along this segment there are 3 notable waterfalls.

Honey Creek Falls requires the hiker to take a very short spur trail, which is entirely worth it. The water falls about 15ft, into a deep blue green pool, with cliff walls surrounding it in a semicircle.

Boulder House Falls consists of 2 huge boulders (about 15, maybe 20ft) making an upside down V. at the back of the V, the water cascades about 5 feet to the "floor" of the house, which is a flat, solid rock, and spreads out to be only an inch or so deep inside the house.

Ice Castle Falls is the tallest of the three. It is a narrow stream of water falling over the cliff ledge.

After this, the trail begins its ascent to the parking lot at the lower end of the loop, and winds its way through what used to be a pine forest. The Pine trees are now all dead where they stand, because of this, and especially because many of them are quite tall, walking this portion on a windy day could be dangerous, as the trees could fall at any time, and indeed, we were continually crawling over and under trees that had fallen across the trail. The upshot to this was that we did see a Pileated Woodpecker which is about the size of a crow with a distinctive red comb on its head. I had never seen one of these before, so that was exciting for me. Finally we reached the bottom parking lot, and used the connecting road to get back to our car, rather than complete the loop, because it was starting to get dark, since we had started fairly late.

Some other bonus features: The lower part of the trail around the creek is otherworldly, surrounded by rhododendrons, mossy rocks, and ferns; The rock is sandstone, not the limestone which is so typical in TN, providing some unexpected color; the water is very cold, causing much of the trail to feel air-conditioned... very nice. A+

Fall Creek Falls

Tennessee, thanks to it's soft limestone, Mountains in the east, and many creeks and streams, has quite a few waterfalls. Some of the falls are small, some are large, but there are few places in the state as nice as Fall Creek Falls State park.

This park has several falls. The main one is Fall Creek Falls, for which the park is named. It is created by a stream falling 250 feet into a boulder strewn bowl. There is a view point overlooking the falls, and a trail leads off to the left and winds down to the base of the falls. From the base of the falls, you can follow the creek to it's connection with a larger stream, and following this upstream, you will eventually reach Piney Falls. from there, you can climb out with the aid of a steel cable (the cable trail) and you will find yourself at the Nature Center parking lot, and Piney falls overlook. The Visitors Center is quaint, but not spectacular. There are restrooms here as well. Piney Falls is not as high as fall creek falls, and is a good deal wider. It falls into a large deep pool which some people swim in, and the water stays very very cold year round.

Behind the visitors center, you can choose to go down to the Cascade falls, or use a suspension bridge to cross above the top of the falls. The cascades are usually a great place to swim. The nature of the falls creates several natural slides, deep pools and shelves. If water is especially high swimming could be dangerous, as it is only a short distance to the drop of Piney Falls. If you choose to cross the suspension bridge, you can continue to follow the trail that ultimately leads around, crossing fall creek above the falls, and returns you to the fall creek overlook. In this manner, you can hike and see the best parts of the the park, but both areas are accessible by car as well. There are other trails in the park, but this route is by far my favorite.

The park offers the best of what Tennessee parks have to offer. Limestone cliffs deciduous forests, beautiful streams, waterfalls, groves of mountain laurel, quiet, and wildlife viewing opportunities. It is rare for a visitor to not see a few deer, turkeys, and red tailed hawks while at the park. There is also a lake and bike trails in the park. This is one of the natural highlights of the state, and it is well known and loved by the hiking locals. I give this location an A.