Crossville TN

Donna and I recently headed to Crossville, TN with the primary reason being to visit The Minister's Tree House, a gargantuan tree house that a man has built over the span of many years for the enjoyment of anyone that wishes to visit it. Unfortunately, just 4 days before our visit, it had been shut down by the local authorities, who deemed it unsafe (despite its many years of existence and countless visitors, with not a single report of an injury.) We were definitely disappointed not to be able to go inside it, but we nonetheless had a good visit. We were joined by about 20 fellow visitors, and the builder, Horace Burgess; it was a pleasure being able to talk with him. He's a very cool individual - very kind and intelligent and a strong Christian. He is determined to re-open it to the public at some point; I sure hope he can.



Horace Burgess






Some views of the tree house from a distance




The structure at the top represents a crown of thorns.


From there we headed a few miles east and visited Ozone Falls. There was a pretty steep and rugged trail heading to the base that we weren't quite up to undertaking that evening (it had been a long day, and we had Cracker Barrel on our minds), so we just enjoyed this view from the top.


A couple of cool photos that Donna snapped. Look closely and you will see her car in the water drop.




A nearby railroad trestle.


The next day we headed about 60 miles south to Fall Creek Falls State Park, where we visited 4 waterfalls. The big one, and the park's namesake, is Fall Creek Falls.


We hiked the rugged trail to the base, which was made extra tricky by the light rain falling that made some areas really slick.




A view from the base.


A couple of shots taken while at the base.




And the, the hike back up! We definitely got our exercise for the day.


This is Piney Creek Falls; the view was quite obscured by foliage, but it was still neat to see.


This is the Cane Creek Cascades.


And this suspension bridge crosses the creek right above the cascades.


The cable from the suspension bridge has worn through this adjacent tree over the years.


Another fun-filled adventure! Hopefully at some point in the future the tree house will once again be open, and we can head that way again and make a proper visit.