Another Great Weekend

Once again our weekend started with tailgating and football in Knoxville. I really don't like those 12:20 starts when it's 80 degrees and just getting hotter!  But the victory makes all things bearable. Final score: UT 52, Western KY 20. I've never seen a game with 7 turnovers by one team!  That had to be disappointing for WKY. 

Since Rod Run was happening in Pigeon Forge, we drove back to Gatlinburg (from Knoxville) by way of Maryville, then Townsend. The traffic getting out of Knoxville was probably worse than the Rod Run traffic!  It took forever to get back. We stopped at Cherokee Grill for dinner and then headed home. 

Sunday we hiked the Bud Ogle Nature Trail. It is located right before the start of The Roaring Fork Auto Trail at Traffic Light 8 in Gatlinburg. Once upon a time William Ogle came to Gatlinburg and cut some logs in hopes of building a home.  He got everything ready then went back to South Carolina to fetch his family. He told his wife it was "like Paradise".  Unfortunately, he died in SC and never got back to TN. His wife and kids and her brother's family decided to make the trip and settle here anyway. So, the Bud Ogle house was built and some say it was the first home in the area. Generations of the Ogle family lived here and worked the land for over a century before the place became a part of the Nature Trail. And Ogle is still a big name in this area. (Many of you may remember Ogle's Water Park.)

This is the house and it is huge compared to some of the old homesteads we've seen in the area. Notice the two front doors. This house has two large rooms that share a common fireplace. Perhaps, it was a "duplex" type dwelling with each family having their own side. Or half might have been built with the other half added later since there are two roof lines. The Ogle widow had 7 children and it's hard to imagine where she put them all even if she had the whole house!  Generally, the girls and babies sleep downstairs with the parents and the boys sleep in the loft. I sure hope that was a big loft. Couldn't see up there. 

I love the glass windows in this house. That must have been a luxury. 

Farther along the trail, near the house, we saw the barn. It had lots of room for cattle, corn cribs and huge lofts.

The Ogles grew corn and apples. We read that a lot of it made it to market in liquid form.  That was just a way of life in the old days. We didn't see any apple trees and for the life of me, I couldn't begin to figure out how or where they grew corn!  As you can see, this land is unbelievably rocky!

We followed the trail down to the creek. The area was so peaceful and green. Mr Ogle was spot on when he described it to his wife. I kept imagining all those kids playing in these woods and waters. 

 

We finally found the mill. I suppose the family used it to grind their corn. It was hard to imagine the work it took to get this thing to work. 

The hollowed out log brings the water to the mill. 

We saw various ferns and wild flowers. I really enjoyed wandering through the woods, but the rocks were tricky. Our sticks certainly came in handy. We followed the trail for a little less than a mile back to the parking lot, then headed home for lunch and NFL football. 

Another trail conquered!