Exploring Tennessee

Occasionally we will load up the boys and go find a back road to explore around our house. It will typically be the same - driving through the hills and hollows of rural TN until we decide to look at our phones and find our way back home. This is one of the pleasures of living where we do - Alexandria and the surrounding rural country-side are amazingly beautiful. The beauty really does surprise us every time we explore a new area.

Yesterday's exploring led us a little farther than normal and with a little more purpose. I had heard of a kayaking and swimming hole nearby, but didn't have any specific directions. Since it is summer and we don't have anything better planned, I loaded up the kayak, swimming stuff, and took off with family in tow. After driving for an hour or so we found what sounded like the right place, but the river didn't match the description. After receiving the stink-eye from a group of locals who were well into the bottle, we decided to look elsewhere. As I was driving out of the gravel entrance I found the real spot, pictured above.

This place is nicknamed "The Boils" because an underground spring resurfaces here and the water boils up as a cool, clean mountain stream. This phenomenon is something that is unique to Tennessee's Karst topography - a unique layering of rock that creates caves, sinkholes, and many underground springs. It felt like a small oasis with the lush vegetation and clear water next to a wide, warm water river, which is more typical of this area. This spot was such an unlikely feature that if you didn't investigate down a local "muddin' trail," we would have missed it.

The boys loved it and the fact that I got to play in my boat only an hour away from home was an added bonus. Bryson kept wanting to float downstream as I caught him and Parks loved to feel the current. I was in the water most of the time, so I didn't get any pictures of the kids, unfortunately. However, Lindsay took a few highly entertaining videos of me surfing the pourover.

Other than yesterday's adventure, we are gearing up for Bryson's Camp Invention next week. He is ridiculously excited about the camp and Lindsay and I can't wait to see what he gets from this experience. Be sure to check out the video below and listen for B & P giving me some coaching tips on the riverside!