February 27

Obed River is as scenic as a river can get. The river cuts through a gorge which is 500-feet deep. Only a few bridges cross the river within the park boundaries, so one must know which roads to be on, or will find themselves turning back to the main arteries. I stopped at Lilly Bridge, to take the hike to the falls on Melton Mill Branch, which flows into the Obed. This is a perfect example of why folks should put on hiking boots and trudge through undergrowth, overgrowth, sand, and streams, to see the nature in our parks. Being a Monday, and in February, I did not expect to see anybody else, and I did not. But the river will get crowded in a couple of months.

Manhattan Project NHP has moved its VC to the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum, from the American Museum of Science and Energy. Not sure why, but things like this happen when the NPS does not own a building at a specific park. So, yes, stopping at this park’s VC does not mean I was in the park itself. I had to go find at least one of the myriad “parts” of the park so I could say I was within the park boundaries. Since the VC was closed today, I had no good reference to use in locating any specific piece of land. The unigrid (the standard foldable sheet which everyone receives when they enter a VC) would have shown many of the spots, but now I had to rely on past memories. My first stop was the Bear Creek Checking Stating. It still stands, after 70+ years. And just a few hundred yards away is the Y-12 Complex, where much of the classified work for our atomic energy program continues today. I went into the visitor’s History Center to read stories about the complex, and to view the replica Little Boy bomb. The bomb itself was created in Los Alamos, NM, but the fissionable U235 material was made in Oak Ridge. The Dept of Energy allows the public to take tours of the Y-12 complex, but for the time being those tours are on pause. I was fortunate to take the tour in 2017. On the wall in the History Center was a timeline of events. The year 2014 was highlighted for Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security becoming the operations manager for Y-12. My brother Mike works for Bechtel and had been assigned to the Oak Ridge work for a couple of years. His daughter Sarah also received a Bechtel job in Oak Ridge but has since moved to a different assignment for the company. My last stop was the Elza Gate, which was the eastern entrance to the entire “Secret City” in the 1940’s. The structure was demolished years ago, today the spot is a traffic intersection. So, three places which are considered part of the park site. Time for Cumberland Gap.

Practically every American knows the name Daniel Boone. One of his most famous accomplishments was discovering, and then opening for travel, the Cumberland Gap. This allowed for caravans of people looking to push west a more feasible means to get on the other side of the mountains. By the time I arrived the area was getting some serious rain. A road goes to the top of the mountain ridge which separates Virginia and Kentucky, ending at Pinnacle Overlook. The last 50 feet of elevation was completely socked in with clouds, moving fast due to a strong wind. On the way back down I stopped at Fort McCook, so I could look at another cannon and more earthworks (may get boring some day). A trail goes to the actual “Gap” and the Tri-State marker, but the ranger at the VC had recommended doing this hike from the Thomas Walker parking lot. Based on the elevation drop from the fort to the Walker parking lot, I am glad I took his advice. The hike is only 2.5 miles, round-trip (to the Tri-State marker, only 1.2 miles to the Gap), but with the rain coming down, it felt longer. Standing at the plaque for the “Gap”, I tried to think what Boone felt when he reached this spot. He did not have cars or bicycles to make transportation easy. Finding a gap in the mountain range had to be like winning the Power-Ball Lottery. The Tri-State marker is under a shelter. Took a few seconds to position my feet so I could be standing in three states while taking the requisite photo. Then it was time to turn back. Yes, I was soaked when I reached the car, but the hike was worth the effort.