First weekend of May, also the weekend of Mother's Day, I ventured to Blue Springs in Marianna, Florida with some other kayakers. I did not take my dog, Sam with me this time.
I did however took my mom on an adventure for the weekend.
In all of her worldly travels out camping with her international troop, this is something that she had never done before. My mom doesn't even know how to swim, but after a bit of convincing she was ready to come along.
As you can see, someone had a great time relaxing on the water.
On the way to Burgess Falls, TN, I decided to take a detour since I had some time. There were so many waterfalls to see and the trails to see them were very short. All of them were under 0.75 of a mile.
The names of the waterfalls that I saw are escaping me right now, but I have some nice photos of them.
A college friend of mine moved out Las Vegas after graduation. She has visited on several occasions and it was time to pay her a visit. We went to Emerald Cove last summer (2021).
For this trip I took a few days off and made it an extended weekend vacation. (Weekend vacations are always the best.) It ended up well with a round trip for less than $125 as well!
What’s really neat about Emerald Cove is that during a certain time of the day, when the sun hits the water the right way, the reflection illuminates the cave like an emerald.
On a trip last summer (2021) to Emerald Cove, I saw a young pup on a paddle board and I immediately thought of my pup, Sam.
From a distance, we exchanged some words and it was the pups first time out on the water.
A few weeks ago, I got the Intex Challenger K2 and took Sam with me. He is always up to go for a ride, but had no idea he was going kayaking.
Same really doesn’t mind the shoes.
Sam typically doesn’t wear his shoes, but never been on an inflatable kayak and the last thing I was worrying about was his nails puncturing a hole in it.
Instead of K2 Challenger, the name is now K9 Challenger 😊
Got the kayak inflated and ready to go. Set it in the water and got in first. Called Sam to get in a few times, but he was more interested in the lake water (gross). But after he quenched his thirst, he jumped right on it.
Pushed off and ready to go!
Sam was a bit shaky and nervous at first, but quickly got use to it. I only had to tell him to sit down a few times. The last thing I’d want to do was him jumping in and having to pull him back in.
About halfway to the falls, he turned and turned me into his bed. Sam was definitely comfortable and felt safe in the new environment.
Sam was getting comfortable. Not even halfway there.
Made it to Burgess Falls. His shoes kept getting caught between the loose rocks and coming off, so they stayed off.
I think Sam is picking up a new sport of bouldering, but it’s probably just me.
I’ve always wondered what goes on in Sam’s head when we go places. What are his thoughts his emotions. Just like any doggo owner, I wish I could speak to him and he would talk back.
Sam in his thoughts people watching.
On the way back to the Rec Center, Sam comfortably laid down most of the way and he wasn’t so close to me.
I’m so glad that Sam wasn’t scared on this trip. This means I can take him on the water more often.
Headed to Burgess Falls late on Saturday and came back on Sunday night. It was worth the drive!
I saw some pictures of this waterfall last summer, 2021, and instantly wanted to go. You can view the top of the falls from an observation deck.
Burgess Falls is located on the Falling Water River. There is a Burgess Falls State Park that I mistook as a put in location. The state park is available for day use and has about a 2.7 mile trail for hiking. This trail is considered difficult to strenuous and is 5.4 miles for the entire loop.
The 5.4 mile loop trail has a total of 18 creek crossings. During high waters, it can be a challenge or impassable in some areas since there are no bridges and only cables and rock crossings.
However, the real view is from the lake.
For a water put-in, the closest location to the falls is Cane Hollow Rec Area. This is where we put in.
From the Rec Area to Burgess falls, it is about 2 miles one way. The entire trip took about 4 hours. We didn't boogie it the entire way and the currents were pretty strong as we got closer the the Cane Hollow.
You can see Burgess Falls by jetski, kayak or any other shallow boat.
Just on the lake
If you go by kayak, it was a bit rough getting back closer to Cane Hollow Recreation Area. It’s about 4 miles round trip.
By boat, the closest marina on Center Hill Lake is Cookeville Boat Dock. And apparently there is another waterfall called Fancher Falls nearby.
Very cool to see Burgess Falls coming around the bend.Remains of the power mill. It’s located right before the falls.
There is another waterfall that you can see from the lake as well. It's called Francher Falls, but it's not as a large or spectacular waterfalls like Burgess Falls. We did not make it to this waterfall, nor did we plan on it. It was not on the way, and the distance is much further.
Cathy Gray is an eCommerce and digital marketing professional based in Atlanta, GA, with nearly a decade of experience helping B2B businesses sell more online. Outside of work she's chasing waterfalls, kayaking rivers, and finding dark skies to camp under.
