Phil Perkins Photography
Photo ⋅ Pictures ⋅ Poetry
Enjoy this three dimensional grunge-style graphic artwork, featuring several mechanical gears with reflection and half-tone effects. This image is available on many different great gift & apparel items, in the following shops:
Check it out & I hope to see you soon!
Leaving the Laurel-Snow Trail to climb a hill and step into the forest, I stepped back in time 100 years. At that time and earlier, the Dayton Coal & Iron Company had a mining operation at this Dayton, Tennessee location, along Richland Creek. Now, when exploring off the beaten trail, hikers can observe structural vestiges of that era, as seen in these photographs:
If you’re looking for a picture to fill empty spaces on walls at home, work, a business lobby, cafeteria, school or hospital setting, then visit my gallery to have a look around.
Fine prints are available in several varieties, including: framed, canvas, art, wood, poster, metal, acrylic and tapestry. Framed prints may also be customized to suit your wishes.
These photographs were taken while hiking at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, including Mead’s Quarry Lake and The Keyhole:
Taken many years ago in the city of Grand Ledge, Michigan, this black and white photograph features an abandoned, out of business industrial structure. For prints and other items, you can visit these shops: Pixels, Redbubble and Society 6. Thanks for stopping by!
Yesterday I visited Mead’s Quarry Lake, part of the Ijams Nature Center, a 315-acre park along the Tennessee River in Knoxville, where I hiked for a few hours. Mining operations in the early 1900’s included extraction of limestone and marble, and remnants of milled-stone are evident throughout the park. Here are a few photographs of the area:
Railroad Trestle
This black and white photograph was taken at Richland Creek, near Dayton, Tennessee, and features the structural remnants of a railroad train trestle that was used by the Dayton Coal & Iron Company, in operation between 1882 until the 1920’s.
History
After the Civil War, saw and grist mills emerged in Tennessee’s Morgan and Cumberland counties. Corn meal, flour, logs, and other goods from the early lumber and pulp industries were shipped along this bridge.
The Cincinnati Southern Railway was built across the Cumberland Plateau here at Nemo in the 1870s. It became part of the Southern Railway system in the late 1890s. Many small extensions like the Catoosa Railroad were built to tap timber, coal, and other natural resources.
The epic flood of 1929 destroyed the means by which workers made a living, ripping up railway lines and washing away virtually every mill and building in its path – just as America sank into the Great Depression.
The Hike
I recently visited Wartburg, Tennessee, where I enjoyed a 5 mile (roundtrip) hike along the Nemo Bridge Trail to Alley Ford. Located in the Obed Wild And Scenic River National Park, the trailhead begins at the Rock Creek Campground and continues 14.2 miles to the distant Devils Breakfast Table.
The hike to Alley Ford is rated as moderately difficult with several changes in elevation. There is also a very rocky downhill section of the trail near the end which requires deliberate footing. It was a cold 30-degrees when I began the hike, along which I encountered layers of rain-soaked leaves, creating slippery conditions and, periodically, effectively camouflaging the trail.
Along the way I enjoyed seeing many different sandstone cliffs, colorful autumn foliage, a large group of wild turkeys, and, at the end, the Obed River. Due to recent rains, though, many of the river-rocks otherwise visible at Alley Ford were covered in water.
Photographs
Prints
Visit my online shop to discover quality prints for your home and/or office!
Camera in hand, I returned to Ijams Nature Center today to explore the Ross Marble Quarry Loop & Hayworth Hollow Trail (see map).
Ijams Nature Center, Knoxville, TN
For more information, read my earlier post on Ijams Nature Center In Knoxville, TN
Located in the upper peninsula harbor of Marquette, Michigan, this old iron ore dock was once a busy port, servicing large freighter ships to transport raw materials throughout the great lakes for distribution. Years later, the structure has since been disconnected from the railroad system and remains idle. Visible along the left side of the picture is the harbor break wall, shielding the area from often rough waters on Lake Superior. This textural, vintage photograph is available in my galleries on a variety of printed items: Fine Art America, Society 6 and Zazzle. Enjoy!
Phil Perkins Photography 