Meanwhile, they have wasted no time in moving right over to work on the old bridge that goes right over the dam and the lock.



This is the view of the old bridge from the upstream side.






For the pixel peepers out there, they'll probably see there are a few smudges on some of the photos. They are right. Its from raindrops on my lens. I did not bring a rain coat because "I was only going to be a minute" We're now getting some of the Hurricane Harvey weather here in Tennessee. So I ended up running/walking really fast all the way back to the car.
That's all for this time!

It’s been almost a year since I’ve updated you on the bridge progress across the Tennessee River! Well I stopped by on a rainy afternoon when noone was working because it was just too wet. But they have been making progress! One day I’m going to come by and see those cranes placing the decking! And then one day I’m going to drive across this bridge!!

 

 

 

 

 

Whigg Meadow is is on the Tennessee North Carolina line accessed by the mud gap trail, Benton MacKaye trail or a long winding forest road.

Some people were  there seriously picking berries but I just ate all the berries I picked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stone Door is this big chunk of rock that kinda got separated from the rest of the rock and now is this sort of crack in the rock that you can climb down through. Why don’t I just show you the pictures? It’ll be easier than me trying to explain it.

 

 

I think it’s located in Grundy county TN. It’s up on the Cumberland Plateau and you have to drive up and up and up to get there.

 

 

The trail starts out paved

 

 

and is almost wide enough to drive on.

 

 

A third of the way in it changes to dirt/sand, still a well maintained trail.

 

 

Then you’re walking along and can tell you’re almost to the view

 

 

and there’s a crack in the rock and it’s separated right about where I’m standing! Except there’s this piece of rock I’m on that’s bridging across.

 

 

I went out on the edge to try to see but I didn’t want to get too close because it was waaaay down there.

 

 

 

 

 

From the bottom looking up.

 

 

part way back up.

 

 

looking straight up.

 

 

almost back up.

 

 

Then, it just so happened that the bathrooms weren’t working at the main parking lot. So we had to use

 

 

the out houses in one of the camping areas. There weren’t that many spiders and it didn’t stink too badly.

The ranger said it’s super busy in the fall, the park, not the out house, so summer is a great time to visit.

 

The Meadow creek fire tower looks a lot different than the last time I was there you can see the old tower here 

 

 

The tower is somewhere outside of Newport TN.

 

 

Just when you’re not sure if you’re even on the right windy dirt forest road there’s a sign!

 

 

From the parking lot a path

 

 

that spirals to the top.

 

 

And this it now what to tower looks like! Kind of boring actually.

 

 

Though the stairs are much safer than the ones I climbed a couple of years ago.

 

 

The views are just a spectacular.

 

 

In all directions. I think this is overlooking Green and Cocke counties.

 

 

It’s a pretty nice place to watch a sunset from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And to watch the stars come out.