Abandoned 220 Year Old Town in the Appalachian Mountains

a reply to: RedmoonMWC

Thanks for the comment and for watching.

Man, I bet a lot has changed since '72. . . well, maybe not a lot inside the park, but the towns (Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and even Townsend) are almost unrecognizable. A lot of the tourists are big-time consumers and never really even visit the park on their vacations. I always thought that was strange. Take a 5+ hour trip to the mountains for vacation and never actually go into the mountains. Oh well, less crowded for the rest of us.

a reply to: Reverbs

Yeah, 3 hours either way is ideal. Closest for me is probably Charelston, SC - 5.5hrs. I can be running from a bear in Cades Cove in about 15 minutes. You should definitely come back and check it out soon. I have a feeling it is gonna look really crazy with the regrowth surrounding all the burned trees from the wildfire.

originally posted by: esteay812
a reply to: Reverbs

Yeah, 3 hours either way is ideal. Closest for me is probably Charelston, SC - 5.5hrs. I can be running from a bear in Cades Cove in about 15 minutes. You should definitely come back and check it out soon. I have a feeling it is gonna look really crazy with the regrowth surrounding all the burned trees from the wildfire.

I'm about half way through your video. It's quite nice. Definitely has me wanting to take a vacation. The sound of the mountains, the old buildings.. Nice. I actually like your camera work to be honest. much better than what I usually end up with haha.

did you see the guy driving trying to get out of what looked like hell?
I knew I was watching the video so I knew they were alive, but damn, I still didn't believe they were going to make it.

so scary..

a reply to: Reverbs

Oh yeah, that was crazy up there when the fire was going on. It was really scary. It's still surprising that it wasn't covered more by the media. I was there, but working, didn't think of getting any video at the time. I really just started making videos after the fire, maybe trying to do my part to help the area get back a little.

I'm just learning how to record, I think this is my 7th video. There is a lot of shake I didn't notice when recording and every little sound is picked up by the mic. Things I never heard are loud on video. I don't have the best equipment, but it's turning into a pretty fun hobby. Hopefully my next videos will be better, overall.

a reply to: esteay812

The video makes me homesick!! I grew up in the SE, with mountains and forest all around, and it still feels like home. Sad that the people lost their homes that way, for parkland! Forcing people out like that is just wrong.

Do we know if they ever caught all responsible for the fires?

originally posted by: esteay812
a reply to: Snarl

The history of the place is quite awesome really. It nearly disappeared after the civil war - before the government lent their helping hand.

I wish you all could smell the air in and around the old cabins. That old wood really sets the scene. It's hard not to imagine those old-timey folks out there working or just daily living when the sights, sounds and smells take over.

Oh, for that smell!!! Speaking f things that make me homesick!! The smell.....kids teased me for rolling down car windows, some years back, when we drove through those parts.

a reply to: Reverbs

Oh, wow.....that video is horrifying. Whoever is responsible for that arson needs to die.

originally posted by: esteay812
*snip*

I'm gonna try to visit all of the major waterfalls in the Smokies this spring/summer/fall and make a video of that. I mention it, because there are several on the NC side, some near Bryson City, you may be familiar with.

Benton Falls, part of the Cherokee National Forest, is quite nice, especially with a decent amount of rainfall! Not a bad hike, at all.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Yes, the arson wildfire was started by a couple kids .

I love being from here, nowhere I have been compares, but I guess we can all say that about home.

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Yes, I think I am going to try and visit this year at some point. That's the most important thing to me, before visiting a mountain waterfall, I always make sure it has been rainy on days prior. Sometimes I'll even go when it's raining, as long as it's not really cold. Should be a very nice spring this year, hope to have a lot of fun.

It looks like the set from "Coal Miner's Daughter"! Very nice. You did a fantastic job. My favorite was the water wheel.

a reply to: diggindirt
This move was disruptive but in the long run the people are much better off now. I live not far from the Shenandoah valley. It's beautiful. Full of thriving businesses, beautiful hotels, restaurants, colleges, And entertainment related to the old ways. The roads through the mountains did that. The oppressive poverty of the mountain people has been alleviated.
And the land has been preserved too. No one is building in those mountains.

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: diggindirt
This move was disruptive but in the long run the people are much better off now. I live not far from the Shenandoah valley. It's beautiful. Full of thriving businesses, beautiful hotels, restaurants, colleges, And entertainment related to the old ways. The roads through the mountains did that. The oppressive poverty of the mountain people has been alleviated.
And the land has been preserved too. No one is building in those mountains.

I don't know who you've been using to get your information but you've been misinformed. The oppressive poverty of the mountain people has NOT been alleviated.
Do you know what it feels like to have your home TAKEN? Your business TAKEN? And be handed about half of its worth and told to go forth and prosper? To go from farming fine, rich bottomland to trying to farm upland clay soils? My family "preserved" and tended that land for over 100 years with the full intention of handing it down to their children just a bit better than they'd found it.
Oh yes, some development companies made quite a bit of money building playgrounds for the city folk so the city folk don't feel uncomfortable coming out to the country.

originally posted by: esteay812
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Yes, the arson wildfire was started by a couple kids

.

I love being from here, nowhere I have been compares, but I guess we can all say that about home.

Kids......can I have a word with the parents?!?!? Oh, wow.....all that destruction!

I love that part of the country myself, and have stated that forest is a MUST when we relocate!! I miss the woods! Miss the smell, the sounds, the peace. Could do without wildfires!! What a nightmare that had to have been!! Video gave me chills. Only time I was not happy looking at woods! Never understood the fear of forests so many have!! I have a close relative who is like that; afraid of them, as so many are. For me, a forest is close to heaven!

originally posted by: esteay812
a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

Yes, I think I am going to try and visit this year at some point. That's the most important thing to me, before visiting a mountain waterfall, I always make sure it has been rainy on days prior. Sometimes I'll even go when it's raining, as long as it's not really cold. Should be a very nice spring this year, hope to have a lot of fun.

Nice thing about that part of the country, too, usually enough rain!!

We used to camp up there, nearly every year, so I know that one well! We'd hike down with a picnic lunch, and eat on the big boulders in the stream bed, watching water bugs, and enjoying the sound of the falls.

Spring, you'd have wildflowers, too!! Bonus!! AH!!! Now I really want to get there to camp!! I can't wait till we can move!

a reply to: LadyGreenEyes

I was recording some stream for the video below when I noticed something kind of scary, really. As I was walking back to my truck, I noticed a massive boulder that was hanging over the road. I mean it was huge, easily 60' tall and 30' wide. From the roadway up about 15', the boulder had been carved away. I guess it was to make room for the road, originally, but it looks like water erosion has been getting at it. Now there is a small (about 16"diameter) round boulder that appears to be supporting the weight of the entire upper boulder. Walking under it made me quite nervous. I'll get a picture of it when I go back up there, it's really. . . uh . . . breathtaking, lol.

I just noticed that you can see part of it in the video. @ 1:25, in the upper right, it is the giant rock that appears to be the side of the mountain. If you look closely, you can see how the bottom of it recedes as it gets closer to the road. Just below the camera's view is the little rock that looks like it is supporting it.

a reply to: esteay812

Oh, nice video!! Excellent for a screen saver!! You are making me SO homesick, lol!!

The boulder, yeah, know the sort you mean, and can see it, sort of, there! They can be disconcerting, but I never really worried about one.