on self-reliance

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
~Author Unknown  

Fishing in the shadow of South Holston Dam outside of Bristol, TN

knockin' on heaven's door

Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven. 
--Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913) English banker, biologist, archaeologist and politician

Open wide, you gates. Open up, you age-old doors. Then the King of glory will come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, who is strong and mighty. The Lord, who is mighty in battle. Open wide, you gates. Open wide, you age-old doors. Then the King of glory will come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD who rules over all. He is the King of glory.

--Psalm 24:7-10 (NIRV)

Sunset from Beauty Spot on Unaka Mountain outside of Erwin, TN [click photo to enlarge].

it's all in the mind

All we need, really, is a change from a near frigid to a tropical attitude of mind. 
--Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998) American writer

the long winter

All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar.
-- Helen Hayes (1900-1993) American actress

Campsite at Rock Creek Park, Erwin, TN

enthusiasm

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American Essayist, Poet and Philosopher 

Freshman Kyle Grisby (Charlotte, NC) is definitely one who plays with enthusiasm - here he is driving to the basket during Milligan's recent win over Montreat College. 

Upper Sill Branch Falls

Set out to discover Upper Sill Branch Falls without a map and without much of an idea where we were going. So after much effort and uncertainty, we turned back. As it turned out, we were on the right trail, but didn't go far enough. Ugh. I hate when that happens! To the left is a small cascade we found before turning around, admitting our defeat. The beautiful photo of the actual falls above was taken by Marty Silver (Thanks, Marty!). Follow the link to see some of his photos - posted under the screen name Mole.

Upper Sill Branch Falls is rarely visited - and for good reason. The trail to the falls is in horrendous shape with fallen trees and overgrown brush. What used to be a logging road is almost completely choked and impassable in places.  So this isn't a hike to take the kiddos on.  It's a bushwhack.  But if you are up for a challenge, this hike would probably be best accomplished in the winter months when the vegetation is at a minimum. To the right is a photo of a good section of this "trail."

Others have made it to the falls and lived to tell of it. Hiking Bill has a fabulous description and GPS track of the hike. Wendell Dingus also has a helpful GPS of the trail and photos. RATtreks also has a helpful post with lots of photos. And over on Tennessee Landforms, you'll find GPS waypoints as well as another photo.  Click here for photos of lower Sill Branch Falls (which is much, much easier to visit)

Directions: Take I-26 to the Erwin/Jonesborough exit #37. At the end of the ramp, turn right and take State Route 81/107 west for 6.5 miles, stay on Rt. 107 by turning left and continue for 5 more miles. Turn left on Clark's Creek Road and drive 3.1 miles (the last 1.7 will be gravel) into the Cherokee National Forest to a parking area on the left. A small sign will indicate the trail head for Sill Branch Falls. Take this trail to where it splits (less than a half a mile). The trail to the left (labeled North Sill Branch) will immediately cross the creek and lead you to lower Sill Branch Falls. To get to the Upper Falls, go right at this fork and continue 1/3 mile or so. During this stretch you'll see some awesome rock formations to your right and eventually cross the south branch of Sill Branch and not long after that you'll see a logging road climbing the hill back to your left (check out Wendell Dingus' topo map). This is the 'trail' to the upper falls. You'll immediately encounter fallen trees, take in some beautiful views (thumbnail, right), and eventually question your own sanity for embarking on this adventure. But the photos of the upper falls show a beautiful, stunning and remote waterfall. The trail leads back to North Sill Branch, which you'll follow to the falls. This is a very low-flow stream, so if you're going, I'd recommend going after a period of heavy rain.

cathedral

A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944) French Pilot and Author

a beautiful thing

A snowdrift is a beautiful thing - if it doesn't lie across the path you have to shovel or block the road that leads to your destination.
--Hal Borland (1900-1978) American author and journalist

Above: A snowdrift on Roan Mountain

jackpot

Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.
--Bill Watterson (b.1958) Author of the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes

dare greatly

Do not dare not to dare.
--C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) British Scholar and Novelist

Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals State Park, Elizabethton, TN

exhilarating

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
--John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Writer

Above: Rock Creek outside of Erwin, TN

deep thoughts

Advice is like snow -- the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) English poet

frosted windowpane

Frost is the greatest artist in our clime - He paints in nature and describes in rime.
--Thomas Hood (1799-1845) English Poet and Humorist

the first frontier

We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.
--John Hope Franklin (1915-2009) historian

Facing west to portray the pioneers westward movement into the "First Frontier," this impressive monument honors Henry Massengill and his family who ventured from North Carolina to the Watauga Settlement in 1769. The statute stood from 1937 to 1990 in north Johnson City at the intersection of the Bristol and Kingsport highways. But road widening and expansion in that area resulted in the 24-foot statue being moved to its current location in Winged Deer Park in 1990.

The monument reads:

"Erected to the memory of Henry Massengill and his pioneer family. Came from North Carolina to the Watauga Settlement in 1769. His plantation near the mouth of Boone's Creek adjoined William Bean's, who was the first permanent white settler west of the Alleghany Mountains. In 1775 was appointed to an office in the Watauga Association which adopted the first written constitution for the government of American-born freemen. Built the Massengill house of worship, 1777, served two years as sheriff of Washington District. In 1778 was chairman of the Committee of Safety. Served on the staff of Captain William Edmiston in General's Shelby's expedition against the Chicamagua Indians in 1779. Furnished three sons to the Revolutionary Army."

time of promise

Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so.
--Stanley G. Crawford (b.1937) author

looking glass falls

When you are looking in the mirror, you are looking at the problem. But, remember, you are also looking at the solution.
–Anonymous 

Above: Looking Glass Falls located in the Pisgah National Forest near the Blue Ridge Parkway near Brevard, NC -- click here for directions and information.

This quote reminds me of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". Click the link to watch the video.

first things

Before you speak, listen.
Before you write, think.
Before you spend, earn.
Before you invest, investigate.
Before you criticize, wait.
Before you pray, forgive.
Before you quit, try.
Before you retire, save.
Before you die, give.
--William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) author

Above: Toms Spring Falls in Transylvania County, NC. For more information and directions, click here.

Happy New Year!