Time has a way of erasing the past, especially in rural America. All along the roads that lead to Mom's house at Lead Hill are homesteads that were once thriving farms. They now stand empty, in decay. The fields that once grazed cattle are now overgrown with Johnson grass and cedars dotted every few feet, it breaks my heart.
A couple of weeks ago when I found Gary Loucks' Outdoor Wanderings, I was immediately hooked by photography that will take your breath away. Locations and waterways, nature and wildlife that is rarely seen. Gary's job puts him right smack dab in the middle of Mother Nature's best and most beautiful.
The day I found Gary's blog, he was right in the middle of uncovering the mystery of Scona Lodge, Alcoa Aluminum's exclusive resort on the banks of Tennessee's Lake Chilhowee.
The once thriving resort has literally disappeared from the face of the Earth. Every brick, board and shingle gone... as if it never existed. The Lodge and three other exclusive houses, sheds, roadways and patios all evaporated, vaporized.
The grounds once boasted golf courses, shooting ranges, trout ponds~ now the mountain top that welcomed the privileged from big business is hidden under layers of forest and Kudzu.
Follow along with his faithful companions Scout and Shade, as Gary paddles along Tennessee waterways with Douglas in his heart...
To read about Scona Lodge start HERE, more on the mystery at...
Thanks so much Gary for allowing me to post some of your fabulous photography! I'm hooked like a big fish now and can't miss a single blog...
What a shame a once beautiful lodge is no longer, beautiful pics though.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post and the pictures were just awesome. Gary knows how to look through a camera and take pictures of nature right up close.. On my walks I come across foundations of what used to be a house or a building and makes me wonder ~ what did it look like when it was new. Time marches on whether we like it or not and I tend to look on the bright side of things.
ReplyDeleteOur lives here on earth are temporary but our life with God is eternal, forever.
Have a Tiggeriffic Day~ ta ta for now from Iowa:)
I love his photos. I am always intrigued by a stone pillar or stairway. Makes me imagine what might have been there in the past.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, I wonder where it all went!?? I live a hop, skip and a jump from here and never knew of it's existence. I will be visiting Gary's site to learn more. Nevertheless, Tennessee does have some marvelous preserved "old places", but it is so odd that this one disappeared.
ReplyDeleteHe's uncovered a real mystery and is working on the facts, I won't have to buy any books as long as this story is in the works!
ReplyDeleteSeeing things that once were wonderful and are now in the state of decay, (when they haven't totally disappeared) is something that saddens me. This is how I see my Grandparents place, where they toiled, through blood sweat and tears, through several generations, now overgrown and uncared for. If they are able to look down from heaven, what must they think?
ReplyDeleteJoycee
ReplyDeleteGary's photography just takes your breath away! I love the canoe photo
best.
I can relate to the heartbreak of seeing a once thriving lodge gone. Everytime my husband and I head north we pass place after place that is just waiting to cave in.
I'm not sure what has caused it, but it seems such a waste.
What a wonderful photographer! Is mysterious about the buildings being gone, were they moved, maybe? I know, aliens! LOL!
ReplyDeleteMy ancestors came from Tennessee a way back when. I often wondered why they left and moved to Texas. After seeing your site, I wonder even more. Why.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog link thanks! My curiosity is killing me to know why it was destroyed!
ReplyDeletewow. those photos are amazing!
ReplyDeleteCheryl