Hot Gossip, Cold Drinks

With construction on the new traffic roundabout at the busy intersection of State Route 81, State Route 353 and Depot Street set to begin this summer, Five Points Grocery is about to become a pile of rubble.  The store officially closed its doors Sunday, March 31. 

In a town that is proud of its oldest-town-in-Tennessee architecture, Five Points is not a picturesque building, or situated in a particularly nice location, but it's been around a long time and deserves to be remembered, if only in pictures.

Since us country folk don't get many chances to drive in roundabouts (also called roundy-rounds or rotary intersections) I figured it's my civic duty to learn the proper method of navigation through these traffic-control devices. So I did what modern folk do when they have a question ... I turned to the interwebs. So here ya go, put some knowledge in your head:

A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is slowed and flows almost continuously in one direction around a central island to several exits onto the various intersecting roads. In a modern roundabout, entering traffic must always yield to traffic already in the circle. Elimination of the opportunity for the most deadly crashes at intersections (T-bone or perpendicular crashes) is the greatest benefit of the roundabout design.

 

Saying the roundabout is “absolutely safer” than a traffic light at the Five Points intersection, Steve Allen, TDOT project planning director, added that studies show there are fewer severe crashes using that type of intersection design. The absence of traffic signals keep traffic moving during slow times, Allen said. The main drawback, he said, is the public’s unfamiliarity with using roundabouts, an issue he said can be addressed by using plenty of well-placed signage.

Notice that Mr Allen dis not say "fewer crashes", he said "fewer severe crashes", just pointing that out. With a high school full of inexperienced drivers forced to use the roundabout twice a day, five days a week, and the rest of the citizenry generally being older drivers, the potential for incidents is quite large. My guess is that one of Jonesborough's finest will be stationed at the roundabout full time.



Here's an artist rendering of the proposed roundabout at the Five points intersection. Dwight Armstrong with the TDOT Project Management Office in Knoxville describes the design as a typical roundabout with a bypass lane.


The upside is that there won't be any red-light cameras installed at this intersection.

Would it be in poor taste to take bets on when the first crash in the roundabout takes place?

Maybe we should run a contest to name the roundabout !

Chasing Steam

The restored Norfolk Southern 630 was back in town this past weekend. I spent the day with John and Ian chasing it round the area.

The 630 rolling back to the Bristol Train Station on Saturday evening

A shot of the Bristol Train Station after everyone had gone home

In front of Gilley's Hotel / Bulls Gap Train Depot

and yeah, technically it's a fake ... the diesel pic was taken about
an hour before the 630 arrived, I merged the pics in CS5

Rolling downhill past the old Limestone Depot ... notice the lack of steam and smoke

There was a mechanical problem with one of the diesel pushers between Limestone and Jonesborough
which made the arrival in J'boro about a 45 minutes late. Here the 630 is passing the Salt House headed for Johnson City.

the last shot of the day was the 630 crossing Boone Lake over the Bluff City bridge

VA in the Snow

I lost interest in the Bowl of Superness ... so I spent the time working over some pictures I took at the VA Mountain Home in Johnson City today ... enjoy.

Oh, and here's a picture of a barn in a field across Headtown road ...

First ...

It's important to start a new year off with a win; it sets up a winning attitude that can carry a person successfully through the next 364 days. Several years back I made a resolution to get a good night's sleep on new year's eve, and I am proud to report that once again I succeeded in sticking to my resolution.

The weather report said that New Year's day was going to be a total washout - and it was - so if I was going to get a year-ending picture posted it would have to be taken on the 31st. But I needed an idea of something that needed it's picture taken. As providence would have it I got a FB message from George Stacy about an old farmhouse on Simerly Creek road that he liked. The spousal unit needed to go to Elizabethton anyway, so the timing was right to swing by and see the house for myself.

It is a neat old house, sitting about 10 ft above the road. This angle is the best as there is a power pole with several guy wires to the right of the house.The gray skies made the surroundings a very unremarkable mix of browns and grays, with just a touch of green. Even the rust color on the roof was rather flat. I was hoping that some of the recent snow would still be on the ground, but no joy.

The clouds were rolling fast and the sun was popping in and out, so I waited until there was consistent cloud cover and snapped a three shot bracket that yielded this HDR. Since there was real lack of color in the picture I thought I would have to make it a black & white, but the HDR processing was able to bring out enough color to make it interesting.

Now that I know the house is a cool structure, I'll go back out there when (if) it snows again, and in the spring, summer and fall when the trees can provide some colorful backdrops.

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Directions: the house is 3.3 miles from the intersection of Simerly Creek Road and Route 19E (between Hampton and Roan Mountain).

Devil's Bathtub

Three weekends ago we were stymied by high water in our attempt to make a return trip to the Devil's Bathtub in Scott County, Va. This time we made it, barely ... I've been around creeks my entire life and - with God as my witness - I've never stepped on rocks that were as slick as those in that creek. I'm not sure what happened to them but it was dang near impossible to step on any of them and not slip. I can understand the rocks in the water and even the ones that were wet with dew being slick, but even the dry rocks had a slime on them.

We stumbled and bumbled and waded through the 13 creek crossings along the near 2 mile hike to get to the Bathtub. Once you get there you know it was worth the effort, there's no other place around here that I know of that looks like this series of pools and cascades. The water is as perfectly clear as you'll ever find; the rocks on the bottom of the pools are a blue-gray color, and there's impossibly green algae that gives the pools a teal color that, when you first see it, you'll be sure that it's fake.

There was a lot more water flowing this time than at any other time I've been here, so the pools were deep and the cascades into the pools were rolling. We're guessing the pool is more than 10 feet deep.

pool below the Bathtub

The trail at this point climbs a steep bank covered in - you guessed it - slime covered rocks. I climbed the bank, followed the creek to a point above the bathtub, and when I looked down and saw the whole creek bottom covered in green algae I just knew it would be too slick to walk down the creek to the get to where we could take some good pictures. But when I got in the creek I found that I could walk on the algae and get a reasonable amount of traction. We guess this pool is more than 10 feet deep.

the Bathtub

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Directions: Take US Hwy. 23/US Hwy. 58/US Hwy. 421 toward Gate City. In Gate City, continue going straight as the road becomes East Jackson Street and, ultimately, VA Route 71. Head east on Route 71 for a little over a mile. From here, take VA Route 72 to the left toward Fort Blackmore. Shortly after VA Route 65 and VA Route 72 merge, turn left onto VA Route 619 (Old Stoney Creek Road).

Once on Route 619/653 for about 3 1/2 miles, the road splits, follow 619 to the right, travel about 1 mile more and look for the Devils Fork sign. Route 619 takes a sharp left and becomes Forest Road 619 (there is no street sign). Travel over the one-lane bridge and turn left just before the abandoned white house with a chain link fence. Follow this unmarked dirt road to the end, where you will find parking for the trail. The road to the parking lot is very rutted and may not be accessible by all vehicles, high clearance and 4wd is recommended. You cannot park along the road and walk because the property on both sides of the road is posted, you must get to the parking area at the end of the road.

The trail starts at the top of the wooden stairs (yep, stairs) at the parking area. It proceeds downhill about 1/4 mile to the first of 13 creek crossings. A hundred or so feet past the first creek crossing, the trail splits - there are several trees with yellow blazes here - you want to take the trail going left. After 50 ft the trail will split - start looking to the right for the yellow blazes to pick up the trail  From here the trail generally follows the creek, crisscrossing it 12 more times over the the next 1 1/2 miles.

Falls of Little Stony Creek

The forecast was for clouds with a 50% chance of rain, but as we've all come to expect, weather forecasting in the mountains of NETN/SWVA is not an exact science. The trip was supposed to be a return to the Devil's Bathtub is Scott Co. Va with an excursion to Little Stony if time and energy permitted. 

We arrived at the first of the 13 creek crossings required to get to the bathtub and was greeted by high water, too high to make a safe crossing, obviously the runoff from the previous week's snow. So on to plan B.

We navigated through the mountains of Scott county to the Hanging Rock Rec. Area, then on to the trailhead for the Falls of Little Stony creek. The runoff that prevented us from getting to the bathtub made for a nice volume of water flowing over the falls.

This first picture is of a long cascade at the top of the Upper Falls, which is less than 1/4 mile from the parking area.

Cascade at the top of the Upper Falls

This next picture is of the Upper Little Stony Falls, a 28 vertical waterfall that lands in a large pool that is about 10 feet deep. Stone steps lead down to the base of the falls.

Upper Little Stony Falls

Back on the we traveled another 1/4 mile to the next bridge over the Middle Little Stony Falls, which is about 10 ft. high. There no plunge pool to speak of, just a long cascade that continues into a gorge. We had the scramble down the bank to get to the creek. This next picture was taken about 100 ft downstream from the falls.

Middle Little Stony Falls and the downstream cascade

This next picture is an isolation of a single limb at the base of the Middle falls. Trying to time the picture when the leaf wasn't blowing around took several attempts.

Lonely Leaf at Middle Falls

Just a few hundred yards further down the trail is Lower Little Stony Falls. It is the biggest of the three falls. This 40 footer is pretty spectacular looking; it's really wide with a large shallow plunge pool. The view from the wooden platform was just barely ok; the best looking water was the cascade downstream, but the "trail" to the base of the falls was very steep, and wet, and slick, with leaf-covered rocks, and mud. I first tried going downstream to try and find a way down to a large rock that jutted out into the creek, but no joy. So we slid/stumbled down the bank to the base and got the best shots of the falls from down there.

Lower Little Stony Falls and downstream cascade

All in all it was a good day. The trail was in pretty good shape, only a little slick in a few places. There were stone and wooden steps in the steeper areas, I'd rate the trail itself from easy to moderate in difficulty.

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To reach the Little Stony Falls trailhead from Dungannon, follow Route 72 north for 7.7 miles, then turn left onto Retford Rd (Route 664.) After 0.4 miles, take a slight left at Corder Town Rd. Follow Corder Town Rd. for 0.8 miles, then turn left onto Forest Road 700. Follow Forest Road 700. for 1.3 miles, then take a slight left onto Route 701. The trailhead is at the end of the road.

First Attempt at Timelapse

Ever since I decided that I wanted to do a timelapse video I've had the weir dam below South Holston dam in my head as a prime video target. There's a predictable scenery change in a relatively short time frame.

I finally talked myself into buying the Triggertrap app for my iPhone and the cable required for my D90. All I needed to do was be at the weir dam when I knew that TVA would be generating. I got half of that this past Saturday afternoon when I took my youngest and went without knowing the generation schedule ... realistically to scout out a good place to take the pictures, and to practice using the Triggertrap app to do the work.

I found a nice place with a reasonable background and ran off 100 exposures. I used Lightroom v4 to do the post-processing and video generation work.  Even though there wasn't any water over the weir it was a decent run, the clouds were really rolling. Here's those 100 exposures rolled into a 5 second video:

I checked the Sunday generation schedule, saw that it was set for 1PM through 2PM Sunday, and made plans to come back in time to record a full cycle. The only bad thing was the bluebird skies, it would have been really nice if Saturday's clouds were around on Sunday, but no such luck. I had to find a different spot than Saturday else I'd be shooting into the sun. I got setup in my new spot just as the generation warning horn went off ... excellent!

What follows is 250 exposures, taken at 15 second intervals, over 50 minutes. The full video is about 25mb, which is too big to be interwebs friendly. So I ran it through Windows Movie Maker and saved it as 'Youtube' which made it about 10mb. The sky gets a bit pixelated but it's a reasonable tradeoff.