1st CANOE FLOAT FOR 2012

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Beautiful Chilhowee Lake--Food for the soul after being on Cherokee and Douglas Lakes for the past six months.

The tractor trailer was passing, beside me, on the left and a little toy car was riding a few yards off the back of my canoe trailer on Interstate 40 at 65 miles per hour, when a car came zipping along very fast up the on ramp to merge into traffic.  The only thing is that there was no place for him to fit in.  I couldn't slow as the guy behind me was too close and I couldn't change lanes because of the truck beside me.  This guy didn't seem to care.  Either that or he had a death wish.  He never let up on the gas.  We were sure to collide.  He merged in front of me and missed my right fender by no more than a foot.  If he would have hit me I was prepared to drive the gas pedal through the floor and make him a believer in the word "yield".   I've no tolerance for idiots and I felt the blood running hot in my neck just under my ears.  If that guy had a death wish then I would grant him his desires as best I could.  It was just one of those mornings.  I needed to get out of Dodge for a day.

Peace at last!

I really wanted to get to Calderwood Lake but, as usual, I got a late start and it's a journey to any of the lakes I love to visit.  I had chores to do at home before I left and that further upset the schedule.  There's that word;  schedule.  When Chilhowee Lake appeared I thought, why not just put the canoe on Abrams Creek, as Calderwood was another 30 miles across the Dragon, Route 129?  Abrams and Panther Creeks are always a good paddle trip.  And so I did.

Canoe put-in area

The road crews have removed all the blow downs caused by the tornado last year.  This little put-in area was blocked with trees last Fall.

Douglas and I used to come to this place frequently to hike around the mountain.  The tornado has the trees a hundred percent knocked down.  It's a mess up there.

The getaway machine was ready and there wasn't a breeze at all.

The water was silky smooth and the canoe looked beautiful resting, waiting.

The temperature was warm.  The jacket came off and got tossed into the boat.  This was worth waiting for.  I stepped into the canoe, sat down and grabbed the paddle.  That paddle felt great in my hands.  It felt like coming home.

The shoreline was littered by blown down trees from the tornado.  Even so;  there was beauty everywhere.  Natural calamities in the wilderness usually do not ruin the beauty of the place but, simply add unexpected and interesting views.  Man made alterations usually result in less than picturesque sights.  Natural events happen frequently and simply rearrange things.

I paddled the canoe as quietly and slowly as I could.  I kept a sharp eye out for that elusive Mink I saw here last year.  I know there are otter back here also and they are just as difficult to sneak up on.

Abrams and Panther Creeks are both located within the boundaries of The Great Smoky Mountain National Park and are guaranteed protection from the human elements that could easily ruin the beauty of these places.  Funny thought;  humans protecting something from humans.  We are an amazing species!

Abrams Creek is a lot like Calderwood when it comes to seeing critters.  Early morning is the best time with nightfall a good second bet.  I can't seem to get to either anymore in the early mornings.  I will in the Summer months when I get days off in a row.  I intend to do a lot of camping on these lakes this Summer. The move over to the Cherokee Lake area and the purchase of this property I never wanted took a lot of time away from my meanderings.  Next year should be wide open for exploration.

I don't see any cars back here yet or even hear an engine.  Nope;  no traffic at all.  I despise all that clutter of life.  Despise it!  I'm not seeing any critters either. 

Then I saw a familiar sight.  I forgot all about the possibility of running into ice.  Foolish me.

Abrams is at the base of the mountains and evidently had experienced repetitive cold days and nights.  I wouldn't be able to penetrate the ice and therefore reaching the mouth of Abrams Creek was out for this trip.

The wrong place and time to upset in a canoe

We would have to paddle back down stream and check out Panther Creek.  It should be frozen over also.  There would be more ice on Panther as the water isn't as deep as Abrams.

I wanted this day to be alone without anyone or even the company of my dogs.  But, I miss them. I can't have it all at the same time.  They would be there when I got back.  It's just that a dog adds so much more to an outing.  Falcor has been acting strangely around me for the past week and it's been wearing me down.  I needed to get away from him for awhile and think about what I need to do to handle his disobedience.  He will not come when called anymore.  It's not a problem with him.  It's a problem with me.  I've done something that has changed his perfect obedience to one of my frustration.  I'm working on it.

That white in the distance is ice at the mouth of Panther Creek

The sun highlights the mist over the ice

The ice makes very loud sounds as it splits and breaks apart.  Imagine tree limbs being broken in half.  That is the sounds I am hearing.  It's nothing but the ice being disintegrated by the warmth of the sun.  The sound is constant.  At first I thought the noise was being made by a large critter walking across the mountain close to the lake.

I'll paddle down the channel on the left side going back.

Then a familiar place on the left bank came into view and memories of a wonderful day came to mind.

Douglas and I stopped here for a rest one day while paddling the Champlain.  It was a great, great day.  I'll never forget it. We've been back many times.  He immediately started chasing squirrels;  his favorite pastime.  The recent tornadoes have wreaked havoc to the mountain but spared the little landing site we used back then.

I remember feeling bad because I was sitting there on a log writing in my journal and he was being as patient as he could, all the while wanting to explore.  I couldn't deny him.  We bushwhacked straight up the mountain behind us and he was in his element.

Douglas went straight up that mountain and resembled a shaft of golden light.  That boy could power up hills!  I remember blasting right along behind him and feeling great.  I didn't get tired or out of breath the whole way to the top.  But, he was standing above me looking down from the summit as if to say;  "you coming dad?"  Maybe he's looking down at me now and thinking the same thing.  There's nowhere I can go in this part of the country in the time frames I have that he and I haven't shared time together.  I always recognize a place we were together and I get emotional, just like now.  I miss him so very badly.  "I hope your safe and warm golden boy.  I miss you."

The big tree in the middle was Douglas's favorite tree.  He would sit at the base and stare endlessly up into the branches.

That dog took a big piece of me with him when he left.  I guess that means I'm still with him.  If you allow them to have your heart;  they will end up taking your soul too.

The exact same view that Douglas and I had when we shared a day on the water together one day long ago

It was getting late in the day and the drive is a long one back to happy land so I better get paddling.  I miss my little family and I know they are looking out the living room window for the red truck to come back.  It's been a great day.  A great day!
I bought the kids toys on the way home because I felt sort of greedy with my time today not taking any of them with me.  Falcor acted like the puppy he is with his new ball.  I need him to start listening to me though.  He has to.  Thank you for your interest in the blog.  I promise many exciting outings in the future.  Check out the kids playing below:

Try one at a time Happy

Sneaky Chestnut!

Go little girl!

The pretty boy!  So pretty he should have been a girl.

 Shade took her piece of rope to the woods so she's not in the group for pictures.  She's a sweetheart too.  See ya......

BEAUTIFUL, SPECTACULAR DOUGLAS LAKE

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Wow!  If anyone ever dreamed of owning that marvelous home on the lake;  ya better hurry on down to Douglas Lake while there are still a few lots to be had.  Imagine, if you can, the unbelievable views you can have from your kitchen window each and every morning.  Enjoy owning your own boat house at the edge of your property where access to your boat is only a hop, skip and a jump across your well manicured lawn.  Oh;  just the thought of it makes my legs shake!  You can enjoy uplifting visions in front of your getaway home every morning just like the one below:

Oh;  don't be concerned by the slightly low water level.  TVA drops the level just a touch each Fall.  What's a few inches of water matter when you can live right smack dab on the lake.  Oh, Wow!

Alright;  I'm poking a little fun at the lake.  The photos in this entry are of the Nolichucky River where it flows into Douglas lake.  All the brown you see in the photos will be under water sometime in March.  Right now it looks like the Sahara Desert with an irrigation ditch running through it.  The silo's are where farms used to be.  The structures were bulldozed down by TVA just prior filling the lake.  Foundations and concrete structures were evidently left standing.  Old 25E roadway can be seen exposed running past the old silo.

I don't believe I could live in a place where I had to look at views like this on a daily basis.  I'd think it would affect my ability to maintain a cheery attitude on a daily basis.  I wonder if any official agency ever thought about testing people from this area to see where their attitudes fall on the attitude scale as compared to people who spend their lives surrounded by beautiful scenes.  Wonder if there is an Attitude Scale?  The water will come back.  It always does.

The first place I ever fished out of a boat in Tennessee

When I turned off the main road onto this gravel road; something looked familiar.  I had bought a 17' bass boat one morning eight years ago and drove here with it, based on a recommendation by the salesman, to put it in the water for the first time.  I haven't been back since.  Judging from what I see right now;  I probably won't be back again anytime soon.

You can see the high water mark on the bridge piers.  In a couple more months the water will be back up there.

If you focus on that light strip of shoreline way out there on the right you'll notice a bird or two at rest on the gorgeous, pristine beach.  A closer view is below:

Bonaparte's Gulls

Something caught my eye that sort of amazed me.  It was a simple bridge pier, or support.

Looks just like an old bridge support.  Look how the support itself is supported.  I can't believe this construction would hold a concrete bridge with traffic.

I remember smirking when I walked up to this monster.  Thick, reinforced concrete designed to bear the weight of the world supported by tooth picks.  I've seen it all now.

  Wonder if the engineer who designed this little piece of craftsmanship designed any of the dams on the Little Tennessee River?

 You can plainly see where the other bridge supports were located.  TVA no doubt knocked those down to augment river travel.  They're professional knockerdowners.   Remember;  this will all be under water sometime in March or April.

This end of Douglas Lake is very near the mountains and should be a nice piece of water to work on in the Summer months.  Right now, however, it's definitely not friendly water.  There is a pretty swift flow going on.

Not for my canoe

I got Falcor back in the truck and we headed on up the road to see where it went.  Look what we found below:

The gate was open.  Humm!  This is a public road--I think.

I definitely had the feeling we shouldn't be here but, we were on a main country road.  We proceeded around a bend and there was a great house.

I could see me living here.  I would guess there's enough room inside that place to house about a hundred dogs comfortably.  What a party that would be!  This was a great old place but, it lacked the flavor of yesteryear.  It was the construction.  The place was obviously renovated as every part was new in appearance.  That was the problem.  The brick work and style were too perfect and modern.  The wood parts were prefab in appearance or plastic.  Note the brick posts on each side of the sidewalk in the next photo.

That's just not how they used to do it in the old days.  Stacked field stone or hand cut flat rock would have been the way to go.  If the entire house is viewed as a whole; there's far too much brick.  It needs stone and wood.  I wrote a note about my opinions and left it in the too modern looking mailbox.  I know the owners will thank me.
I drove on past the house and the road dead ended.  Amazing!  We were about ten miles from Route 25E on this side road and not one sign indicating "Dead End."   This guy even had a gate on a public road, it seems.  Beats me!

The wind was up and it was blustery cold out.  We headed home.  I looked forward to seeing my family.  I hope tomorrow warms up a bit as I'm scheduled to float the boat on this mud hole tomorrow afternoon.  We'll see.  Hope your New Year started out great!  See ya in awhile......