Rock Island Shrooms

On the way back up the trail we stumbled upon this cute
little patch of mushrooms.

Coming up next...Dale Hollow lake!

Back to Rock Island

Wildflower.


More gnarly tree roots.


This waterfall was on the Caney Fork River Gorge trail.

"Happily we bask in this warm September sun, Which illuminates all creatures..." - Henry David Thoreau

Our cat, Libby, basking in the beautiful Fall sunshine on
the backporch this morning.


Soaking up the sun!

Rock Island Pt. 6

Love the sound of a running stream!


Lone leaf.


Scary tree root, ferns and wilflowers.


I wonder what kind of fern this is?

Rock Island Pt. 5

Hole in the rock.


Fern waterfall.


Reflecting pool.


Delicate daisies growing out of a crack in the boulder.

Rock Island Pt. 4

One of many waterfalls in the gorge.


The Caney Fork River with waterfall in the background.


Ferns growing beneath the bluff.


View of Cany Fork River with waterfalls.

Fairy Ring

I took this picture of a "fairy ring" on my way to Lebanon to
have lunch with Terry. They're growing all over the place,
especially in the median of Interstate 40. I pulled off the
Linwood Rd. Exit to get this shot. I wish I could've taken it
from the front of the ring, but major fear of getting smeared
by a semi kept me from it.

The name fairy ring comes from an old folk-tale. People once
believed that mushrooms growing in a circle followed the path
made by fairies dancing in a ring. Fairy rings are found in open
grassy places and in forests.

In grass, the best known fairy ring fungus has the scientific name
Marasmius oreades. The body of this fungus, its mycelium, is
underground.

It grows outward in a circle. As it grows, the mycelium uses up all of the nutrients in the soil, starving the grass. This is the reason a fairy ring has dead grass over the growing edge of the mycelium. Umbrella-shaped fruiting bodies, called mushrooms, spring up from just behind the outer edge of the mycelium. Large rings are created when the older mycelium in the center finally exhausts the soil nutrients and dies. On the death of the central mycelium, the nutrients are returned to the soil and grass can grow again.

More Rock Island photos tomorrow!

Rock Island...Caney Fork River Gorge Pt. 3

Makes you wonder how those huge boulders ended up like
that.


Terry had the idea for this shot. I love it!


I wanted to stand under this waterfall so bad!


Absolutely gorgeous!

More Pics From Caney Fork River Gorge

The landscape of the Caney Fork River gorge. Lots of'
huge boulders and beautiful ferns and flora.


In recent years, Rock Island State Park has become popular
with kayakers, who use the river for playboating. Below Great
Falls Dam is a series of rapids with a well-known, constant,
retentive "hole" that allows playboaters to hone their whitewater
kayaking skills, riding the wave, spinning, rolling and performing
other tricks.

Check out this link for a pretty cool animation of kayaking on the
river: http://www.pbase.com/cavertim/image/110851905


Small waterfall trickling down thick ferns on the side of
the bluff.


Mini waterfall. Isn't it cute?


I would love to see this place after all the rain
we've had in the past couple of weeks!

Rock Island...Caney Fork River Gorge

Terry on the rugged trail leading to the Caney
Fork River gorge. I'm glad I wore my Reeboks
on this trip!!


Gnarly tree roots on the trail. This was one
of the most rugged, wild trails I've ever been
on, but well worth it for what was to come.


Caney Fork River and one of the many waterfalls in the
gorge area.


This picture speaks for itself.




Twin Falls. These falls were a lot further down
the trail, but we decided to admire it from afar.

Rock Island State Park

On September 11th we hopped in the Jeep and took a
road trip to Rock Island State Park in Rock Island, TN.


Rock Island State Park is a ruggedly beautiful place with
trails and lots of waterfalls.


There's also a natural sand beach, swimming area and
a beautiful limestone bluff in this part of the park.


The headwaters of Center Hill Lake.


This is the trail we took down to the Caney Fork River
Gorge. When they say use extreme caution, they mean it.

I'll be posting more pictures we took in the Caney Fork
River gorge. This is where we spent most of our time in
the park.

Overton Lodge

Great memories of staying at this place.


This is a view of Standing Stone Lake from the Overton Lodge.


Cattails





Looking back toward the road leading to the lodge.


I would love to have a cabin on this spot!


Makes me want to go back to stay for a week or two!

Hope you enjoyed my Standing Stone pics. Rock Island
is next!