A Place Called Grassy Cove

Tennessee is a photographer’s treasure trove of pictures just waiting to be taken, and during our recent trip to the Nashville area to visit our son, I captured over a thousand of those pictures.

And no matter how well my pictures turn out, I always wish I could go back and walk a little further down the highway, or across a ditch, or up a hill, and take more pictures, from different angles and distances and times of day.   

One of the most picturesque places we visited is a breathtakingly beautiful pastoral valley called Grassy Cove.

 

The valley is notable for its karst formations, which have been designated a National Natural Landmark. [Karst topography is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes, dolines, and caves.]  Be that as it may, all I could see were its grassy meadows, rustic red barns, and SHEEP grazing in the distance.

  

 

Grassy Cove is also home to a small unincorporated community consisting of a few houses, the Grassy Cove United Methodist Church, and John Kemmer’s general store, circa 1886. There are a lot of Kemmers in Cumberland County today, and their presence there goes back hundreds of years to when the area was first settled. 

Although no extensive archaeological work has been conducted in Grassy Cove, early farmers found projectile points and other prehistoric artifacts when plowing fields, suggesting that Native Americans were living in the cove during prehistoric times. Also, early 19th-century settlers reportedly found the cove bottom cleared and containing only high grass upon their arrival. 

The first Euro-American settlers arrived in Grassy Cove in 1801. This early caravan consisted primarily of families from Fluvanna County, Virginia. In 1803, they completed a log church and formed the Grassy Cove United Methodist Church, one of the first congregations in the Cumberland Plateau region. 



Prominent early settlers included John Ford, the community's founder, and Weatherston Greer, who arrived circa 1830. Greer set up the first post office in the cove, operated a sawmill and gristmill, and owned large tracts of land in the cove until the Civil War. 

During the Civil War, Grassy Cove's caves were an invaluable source of saltpeter, which was used in the manufacture of gunpowder. According to a local legend, the body of a Confederate soldier (in full uniform) was found in a petrified state in one of the caves shortly after the war. When no one claimed the body, it was buried in the Grassy Cove Methodist Cemetery. Several residents claimed to have seen the soldier's ghost in the church, however, and when church attendance began to drop as a result, the soldier's body was disinterred and reburied in an undisclosed location.

But enough about the history of Grassy Cove … here are a few more pictures I made while we were there.

Grassy Cove United Methodist Church and Cemetery

This little fellow stopped long enough for me to snap his picture.  I guess he was curious about the strange lady standing on the other side of the fence yelling, "Baaaaaaa .... baaaaaaa."

A drive through a place like Grassy Cove wouldn't be complete without an old Chevy truck peeking out of a barn.

I wish my camera could have captured my sense of wonder and awe as I glimpsed God’s glory in that peaceful little valley lying in the shadows of the Cumberland Mountains … a place called Grassy Cove, Tennessee.

Glory Along The Natchez Trace Parkway

On a recent trip to the Nashville area to visit our son, we traveled up the Natchez Trace from Clinton, Mississippi, to the Terminus near Franklin, Tennessee.  The Trace is such a beautiful and peaceful way to travel, and I highly recommend it if you are not in a hurry. The speed limit is 50 miles an hour and is strictly enforced by Park Rangers, but there are so many interesting and scenic places to stop along the way, that you probably won't mind driving a little slower.  We passed several deer and turkeys along the roadsides and stopped at several of the mile marker posts which feature historic sites, beautiful pastoral scenes, and serene creeks and waterfalls.

One of our favorite stops on this trip was at Milepost Marker 404.7, a place called Jackson Falls, named after, who else, but Andrew Jackson.  [You can click on the map to enlarge it]

Although viewing the waterfalls requires a 900-foot walk down a paved, stepped down path, I think it was well worth the effort (even the return trip UP the path) ... as you can see in the pictures below.  At the bottom a bench welcomes you, as does a cooler atmosphere, and many flat rocks to jump across to get a close up view of the falls.  

We were the only ones there at the time, and I spent a pleasant 40 or so minutes enjoying the serenity and mesmerizing sound of the water cascading over the falls and gurgling over the rocky creek bed.  I did my best to capture a little of the beauty of the moment with my camera, but it is something you have to experience for yourself to really appreciate it.  

I hope you enjoy my pictures and, if you are ever traveling close by, I encourage you to take the time to visit Jackson Falls.  I think you will agree that it is well worth the detour ... and the climb back up the path.

  

A "cave" and small waterfall "terrarium" along the pathway ...

God's glory never fails to inspire me.

 

This old gnarled cedar tree stands next to the path, its twisted limbs worn smooth by weather and time, a sculpture created by God Himself ... greeting visitors to the falls.
  

 

 

I invite you to join me next time to read about another one of my favorite stops ... a picturesque place called Grassy Cove, Tennessee.

A Town called Franklin

That sign is telling the truth when it proclaims it is winter in Frankin, Tennessee. Included on Southern Living's "Best Small Towns" top ten list, Franklin is a quaint historic suburb of Nashville, and even though it was dreary and cold yesterday when we arrived downtown, it was still very picturesque and charming. We spent an hour or so exploring and I was able to get a few pictures, in spite of the busy morning traffic. At the center of Franklin's historic district, is the Square (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like). And here is a view of its tree-lined Main Street. My pictures don't do it justice, but I think you can see why it is on Southern Living's list. We spent a very pleasant half hour or so in Curious Gourmet, an upscale kitchen shop which also offers cooking lessons. They have everything you could possible want or need for your kitchen, from fine quality utensils to a gorgeous AGA range like the one below, which was on sale! We enjoyed visiting with the very knowledgeable and gracious shopkeeper, Elizabeth, who told us about some of the historic sites to see in Franklin. After leaving downtown, we found a few antique shops to explore, and the Franklin Antique Mall was my favorite. Here are a couple of other shops that are close by ... Franklin is steeped in history and its townspeople take great pride in preserving its historical homes and buildings. There's a lot to see and explore there, but yesterday, there were some other places I had read about that I wanted to find and capture with my camera ... so we didn't stay long. I'd love to go back in the spring and spend a few days just soaking it all in, hopefully, on a bright "sunshiny" day! Tomorrow, I plan to share some of those "other places" we found, and I hope you will join me.

Whitewater Fun on the Ocoee River

Before I share my post for today, I'd like to share this quote by President John F. Kennedy: Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, [and] oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. May God bless and protect the brave men and women who are paying the price ... bearing the burden ... and suffering personal hardships every day ... to ensure that America remains out of harm's way from terrorist attacks like the one we suffered on this day eight years ago.

This is a slideshow featuring some of my vacation pictures I took at the Whitewater Center on the Ocoee River near Copperhill, Tennessee. The Whitewater Center site was constructed for the purpose of holding the 1996 Olympic Canoe and Kayak Slalom competitions.

This was the first time these events were held on a natural river, and it was appropriate the Ocoee should be chosen as the site as it was already one of the most popular whitewater rivers in the world. And, as you can see in the slideshow, they don't call it "whitewater" for nothing!

Below the slideshow, I have included some pictures of wildflowers and berries I discovered growing along the river's edge, if you would like to scroll down and see them.

Be sure and turn your sound up before clicking on "Play"