Worked required me to visit some back roads that would lead me along the sides of the Holston River from the Quarryville boat ramp up as far as the over-fall dam at the John Sevier Steam Plant in Rogersville. While negotiating these sometimes very narrow roads I noticed scenery I have not seen since leaving the Cherokee National Forest four years ago.
It wasn't anything startling but instead a subtle change in "the lay of the land" so to speak. Those old abandoned houses and barns began to appear and I began to wonder why there were so many of them and why were they consolidated in this upper river area of Cherokee Lake? These were just passing thoughts that I would log into the old steel chamber upstairs for later withdrawal.
I will do a piece on Tennessee at some point in the future but for now I'll just enjoy crispy, dark, cold early morning scenes along the river and absorb the beauty of abandoned homes and farms from a yesteryear.
Views of Cherokee Lake upper Granger County
Above and below are shots of part of the Tunnel Hill Farm located near the John Sevier Steam Plant at Rogersville. Note that Mr. Tunnel uses railroad ties for fencing. I've never seen this before but find it unique and beautiful, if not overkill.
This farm is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. I've had the privilege to float up Beech Creek to the creeks extreme upper end which borders one side of the farm and found the acreage to be very pleasing to the eye. Instead of stripping all the hardwoods off the land to create sterile meadows; Mr. Tunnel left heavy trees standing, albeit thinned out, in the pastures and meadow areas. These meadows reach back to touch the base of some fairly tall hills that one could proclaim to be mountains. The overall scenes are gorgeous.
Scenes like below line the edges of the Tunnel farm where pastures touch the water:
Above and below are shots across the Beech Creek Meadow on the Tunnel farm. Those trees are gloriously beautiful, and this is Winter. You should see this place in the Spring.
Small creeks like the one below shoot off from Beech Creek and inundate the pastures where level ground is the normal.
Again the remarkable thing about this particular area is the abandonment of property. There are simply too many empty old homes and farms that have fallen entirely to ruin as if some plague drove out the occupants of this obviously agriculturally driven community. I have some ideas about it but will let it be for now.
The interesting thing about East Tennessee and these old abandoned properties is that they aren't for sale. Its as if everyone just packed up the old 1950 Ford and drove off into the sunset, maybe for Hollywood - who knows?
Wonder where these people went. Wonder why they went.
There was one property with a for sale sign on it that really interested me. If I wouldn't be as strapped down with the property I live on now I would buy this place in a heart beat. It is absolute me and all that I am about. There are two houses on the grounds (15 acres) and who knows why that is but they both are old and in not too bad of shape.
One of the houses is newer but retains the rustic look of an earlier time. I suspect that this place is an original building that was renovated at some point years ago. Its fabulous.. Look at the doors and windows and even the steps how rustic.
The steps below belong to the second house that sits across from the one above. They are far enough apart not to collide, if you get my drift. I couldn't get shots of the houses as I'm using a telephoto lens and couldn't get myself positioned for great shots. I've just stopped here for a brief moment as my mission isn't photography today.
What a great front porch!
The house I'm messing with now would be the original house on the property I'm guessing. The second house is more rustic in appearance and uses newer materials in the build. So why go to all the trouble and then just leave? This property, however, is for sale. But, I have to live in Jefferson freekin City - the most backward town I've ever been associated with and the town too dumb to succeed. Boy, would I like another chance to do my move over again. I sure wouldn't come here to this miserable lost cause. Talkin bout Jefferson City now.
So that's pretty much it for today. The rain has started again and temperatures are dropping. The river is a cold empty place it seems and I better head for home. Hope you liked some of the shots today.
As usual, I put most of these shots on face book but without explanations. I think I'll minimize photo entries on face book and resume focusing my attention to the blog. I'm comfortable here on this blog and I don't have to worry about upsetting anyone here because this is my place. Hope Christmas was good to you. See ya later.
