Natural Bridge - Lookout Mountain, TN

People used to be easily entertained. A century ago, before the days of Rock City and Ruby Falls, the Natural Bridge was the thing to see atop Lookout Mountain. Then, people stopped caring about it and over time the place had so much overgrowth that I'm not sure how many people went to see it. Then, over the last five years or so, the locals decided their local geologic treasure should be enjoyed again.

The Bridge is 60 feet long and 15 feet off the ground. If you walk under the bridge, you'll see a mineral spring, which was perhaps the first reason that people came here as early as 1878. One of the first developers of the area was Major McCullough who opened the Natural Bridge Hotel nearby.

A few years after the hotel opened, the bridge became a popular place for Spiritualists, who are the people perform séances, spirit contacts, feats of extrasensory perception or just liked to hang out under a full moon. In 1885, the Southern Spiritualists Association purchased the Natural bridge Hotel and when their popularity grew large, they built an octagon-shaped meeting house here which could hold 500 people. Their popularity wouldn't last and five years later, they disbanded. The Historical Marker at this site is dedicated to the Spiritualists.

As more popular tourist attractions opened up, only the locals continued to visit the small park here, and then the too must have stopped coming. The whole park became full of overgrowth. After I heard of this place in 2004, I attempted a visit. There was this sign of park rules but I couldn't see more than 10 feet down the path. I suspect only the most brave were willing to venture wherever the decrepit path went.

Luckily in 2008, the town of Lookout Mountain wanted to make the park usable again, the first step was to clear-cut out all of the overgrowth. Then, they improved the trail so it was safe to make the short walk to the bottom. Add a few picnic tables, and it was ready for visitors in 2010. The town is continually looking for ways to improve the park and I believe the next phase is landscaping. Now it is once again not a place to be missed. One final note is if you do decide to visit, there is only a small pull-off for a couple of cars, so on a busy day, it might require a bit of a walk.

Friedman's Army/Navy Store Neon Sign

Friedman's military surplus store has been located along Hillsboro rd. (US431) for many years. I'm not sure when the Friedman's name was taken down, but that used to be at the top of the sign. The store has all types of surplus, such as compasses, tools, boots, helmets, camos, knives, etc.

The Cannonball - Lake Winnepesaukah

Designed and engineered especially for Lake Winnie by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and John C. Allen, the Cannonball is 2,272 Feet long, with a vertical drop of 70 feet at a 45 degree angle and reaches speeds up to 50MPH during the 1 minute, 32 second ride.

...and when I rode it, I realized that I'm now way too fat to ride roller coasters anymore, or at least the ones that have individual seats. People must have been thinner back then.

Trace Creek Falls - Hickman County

This waterfall (sometimes called Council Bend Falls), about 5 feet tall and 20 feet wide, is located approx. 5 miles outside of Centerville in Hickman County.

It's located at the MTSU WMA, who provides directions here:
www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/watchareadetails.cfm?uid=0907...
(Their map is not the most direct route that perhaps a GPS would offer. The road drives over the stream using another route, and if your car can't handle that, take their route.)

Home of the Cat Head Biscuit

Located in Benton, TN, I saw the sign and wanted to try Lottie's Diner as the Cat Head Biscuit had piqued my interest. But, alas, the day I was driving through town I was making good time and it was too early for me to stop and eat. I posted this to my facebook friends and as it turned out, one of my high school classmates had stopped here before. Instead of being shaped like a cat's head, the biscuits are as large as a cat's head.

The Batbuilding at Springtime

The Batbuilding, or as I like to call it now, the batt&tbuilding, is seen as a downtown tree starts to bloom for the spring. With a colder March this year, the blooming seems to be a little bit later than last year, when this photo was taken on Mar. 29.

Great Blue Turaco - Nashville Zoo

The Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is a turaco, a group of African near-passerines. It is not only the largest turaco but the largest species in the diverse Cuculiformes order (which includes the cuckoos). Generally, the Great Blue Turaco is 28–30 inches in length with a mass of 1.8–2.71 lbs.

There are a pair of these, along with a young'n that hatched about a few days ago in the aviary at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. The zoo also posted a video of the hatching.

If you like zoo animals, or are a fan of the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, I invite you to check out my Nashville Zoo website gallery:
seemidtn.com/gallery/index.php?album=nashville%2Fnashvill...

Tri-State Spot in the News: Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama

In the United States, there are 62 spots where 3 or more states meet at a single point, 38 of which are on land. Of these 38, perhaps none of them have made as much news over the last several years as the spot where Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama all meet.

In 1796, the U.S. congress established the border between Tennessee and Georgia to run along the longitude of the 35th Parallel. In 1926, Georgia hired Mathematician and University professor James Camak to mark the spot where the three states came together. After he performed all of his calculations, he placed a colorful stone at the site he had measured (and the stone was later dubbed the Camak Stone). As it turns out, he missed it by a mile. While it wasn't what the Congress decreed, it still became the official border location. If there was a TV show called "Surveyors Biggest Bloopers" perhaps this would make the opening segment.

Fast forward about 180 years and people weren't laughing any more. The state of Georgia was going through a drought and Atlanta area gardens started to get thirsty. That's when somebody remembered part of their state had been sliced off. As it turns out, if the Camak Stone had been placed where it ought to have been, a smidgen of the Tennessee River, and more importantly the Nickajack Lake impoundment would be in Georgia. Someone daydreamed of getting a siphon as wide as the Keystone Pipeline and all of Georgia's water consumption needs would be fixed. All they would need is to stick a pipe about 500 feet across the border and the crisis would be resolved. Georgia asked politely and Tennessee said "No." From there, it is presumed that someone got angry and wanted revenge because the really old Camak Stone was stolen in 2007. We can only assume at the motivation because there's no evidence whodunit. In March of 2011, the marker seen in this photo was placed to replace the stolen stone from a few years earlier.

Fast forward again to March 25, 2013 where the Georgia state senate voted 48-2 to take what they think is rightfully theirs. Instead of asking for everything south of the 35th, they're looking to add about one and a half square miles of land, or a small notch to get to the precious life-giving water. Again, Tennessee said "Nickajack is ours, and you can't have it!" They also noted it would be unfair for the people who live in this area to have to start paying GA income tax while also speculating the Peach State might steal the whole river when nobody's looking. Alabama refuses to take a position in the matter, but they already have all the Tennessee River they need.

As it turns out, I hadn't been paying attention to the news when three days later I was in the mood to visit the tri-state spot. I didn't see any tanks or infantry ready to defend their territory in the area. To get here, the street turns a corner around State Line Cemetery and there's a place for a car to park on the side of the road. From here, there's a small opening in the trees that begins the path through the woods. The walk is about 300 feet up the side of a mountain where I was thankful it wasn't a mile climb up the mountain. From here, you could even see the lake. I was thinking that if Georgia's border did change, Alabama's wouldn't and this would still be the three state spot, but the marker would still have to be changed. Maybe someday I can have a before-and-after comparison. Still, State Line Cemetery's name would have to be changed.

A Rock City Barn in Ohio

This Rock City barn is located along the old road, Old U.S. 68 a few miles south of Georgetown, OH in Brown County. US68 used to pass right through town, but now it runs east of that town where it meets up with US62 and then crosses through much of Kentucky.

It's Baseball Season!

While I always hope the Titans and the Predators do well, baseball has always been my favorite sport to watch. While I'd have friends who wanted to skip school/work during March Madness, It only crossed my mind when the baseball season starts. (I never have, I don't believe.) In Middle Tennessee, most baseball fans seem to root for the Braves, but there's a fair number of Cardinals and Reds fans out there.

And then, there's the Sounds. Major League Baseball flirted with putting an expansion team here in the 90s at a time when Larry Schmittou ran the Sounds. But nothing happened and every year Greer Stadium seems a tiny bit more outdated. Nashvillians were willing to support a tax increase to build a stadium for the Titans, but not for a new downtown Sounds ballpark. (The downtown ballpark subject even came up in the first episode of ABC's TV Show Nashville.) Until something develops, we've still got this cool Guitar-shaped Scoreboard.

This photo was taken during the 2005 playoffs, the year they won the PCL Championship.