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Tennesse again (2)
Still waiting for VivaLaVida’s new title, I get to Tennesse again since last Saturday. I found there the winter with low temps and some snow, the first one for VivaLaVida! 🙂
this time, I’m visiting the Big South Fork, North-East of the state. they are several natural arches and bridges I wanted to discover…
the first I visited were Twin Arches, two arches only about hundred yards one from the other on the same ridge, easy to access by a nice forest road. the morining I was there and even it doesn’t seem on the pictures, temp was 16°..!
1) The South arch, the largest one : about 95 feets high and 135 wide.
2) The North arch is smaller but thiner.
3) VivaLaVida on nice forest roads…
then I followed the trail to the Slave Falls, thin waterfall jumbing from a overhanging cliff.
4) Slave Falls
5) Further on the same trail, the very elegant Needle Arch.
On the way back, I discussed with a ranger – the only person I saw during three days- and he adviced me two other arches in the area, one over. The first one is just called Natural Bridge and is very thin in the middle. I had to climb a little to go down to it.
6) Natural Bridge
The seconde one is over the Picket Lake. Not easy to find a nice spot to shoot it without walking in the watter, what I refused to do since the cold temp, 26° at that time. 😉
6) Picket Arch
7) Nice Picket Lake…
8) The next morning, I drove another nice forest road, about 28 miles long, to visit a cave used long time ago par Indians Cherokee.
9) Entry of the cave
10) New arch in formation over the entry
Some road again to the Knetucky to visite the Cumberland Falls, known as the most powerful waterfalls of North-East America excepted Niagara .
11) Arrival at Sunset, a little too late for the right light…
12) The Cumberland River jumps 120 feets , making a permanent water cloud…
13) Grass…
14) Sunset on the Cumberland River
Following of these Tennessee discovery soon… 😉
Happy Thanks Giving to all ! 😀
Hello Tennessee!
As anounced, here is a short return about my last week in Tennessee. I went there to discover two nice natural bridges and two spectacular waterfalls, quite different from the preceding ones, you will see…
To go there, I drove through extreme western North Carolina and stopped at Catochee Lake, so nice with the last fall colors…
1. Arrival at Catochee Lake…
2. … Nobody there in this season…
3. … and nice fall colors.
I drove further and arrived late in the night at my camp to be on site for the sunrise on the Sewanee Natural Bridge.
4. To go under the bridge, no other way than crossing it. I say hello, can you see me..?! 😉
5. Sewanee Natural Bridge (1)
6. Sewanee Natural Bridge (2) : what a wonderful natural bridge!
Then on the way to the second natural bridge, I made the tourist and stopped at the Ruby Falls. This waterfall is in a cave and is 145 feets high! Rare and spectacular at about 1’000 feets under the mountain. It was discovered in 1926 and open to the public in 1936 after a 29 stages elevator was built.
7. Ruby Falls
8. The cave we go through tout access to the falls have nice formations.
Then I drove again to go discover the Craw Creek Natural Bridge. It wasn’t easy to find an access, the forest road I noticed on my map was closed by a gate. The 10 miles forest road I drove was washed out by thunderstorms in some places but it’s not a problem with VivaLaVida.
9. Forest roads…
I finally started late for the 2:30 hours hike to go to the bridge. I arrived there as the sun was just disapearing. Light was then difficult…
10. Arrival under the bridge in a steep slope… Rather impressive like that, isn’t it?!
11. Just under tons of rock…
12. A more standard picture taken in very low light.
The hike back was quite unusual, in the night with the only light of my flashlight, in a roaring forest by the strong wind and a temperature of about 40 degrees. I saw my first rattlesnake, dark brown and about three feets long, which desappear when I walked. I was surprised to see one with such low temp.
Another funny story, I saw pairs of small bright spots in the beam of my flashlight, sometimes ten at a time. As I approached to see what it was, I found that it was reflection of my light in the eyes of small spiders that live in dead leaves. I had the impression of being watched from all sides! 😉
But I found back VivaLaVida safely at around 20:30, not without having to use my GPS to find two directions not so easy to find in the dark forest at night ..! I slept there with the feeling of being away from all…
Wake up in the rain and cold with a very low ceiling of clouds … But VivalaVida doesn’t care of that, it led me to a beautiful waterfall by small “dirt roads” found on great topographical maps that the GAIA apps allows me to download (I’m not doing advertising but it is really great!).
13. Dirt roads…
And guess why I went to see the waterfall in particular? … Can you not find it? 😀
It is called “Pinot Falls”! Yeah Caro, I do not know if you have ancestors in Tennessee … 😉
This waterfall is beautiful, nestled at the bottom of a deep ravine, at the end of a steep and really wild trail, jumping off a semicircle cliff. The rain hadn’t left me, so the light was really not optimal but it’s the vagaries of traveling photographer …
14. Arrival at “Pinot Falls”
15. Semicircle view…
16. Last fall leaves against the cliff…
I will present the second part of that Tennessee trip in my next article… 😀
D5 Creation