#2: [07-Jan-21]

10-Mar-2001 -- My brother and I have gone to find confluence areas alone, but we wanted to try some together. We started out early to try to get two confluences in middle Tennessee in one day.

We got our first confluence of the day at N36 W85. We proceeded to the next confluence with maps and aerial photos that showed the area on private land. We had our printed confluence letter with us and we were hoping for the best. We turned onto a gravel road that was indicated off of TN Highway 70. The photos showed the houses and roads accurately in the area, and my GPS started pointing to our left into a field that unbelievably had no fences around it. We continued up to the house at the end of the road that overlooked the confluence area.

When we got there, we parked and got out and knocked on the front door. The man inside said that the owners were away for the day and he was working to renovate the home. We told him that we were just here to take a few photos to document the confluence point, and he told us we could leave our confluence letter in the mailbox by the road. (We also left the aerial photos with an explanation of the confluence location.)

My GPS pointed 400 feet down a hill to the northeast, so we grabbed the cameras and struck out. We went down the hill to a point near a fence where a single cow was grazing. My GPS settled down and we took photos of the area around the confluence point. In our self-portrait, we are standing on the confluence point. I have a photo of the hill we came over looking southwest, and also one of the trees to the northwest of the confluence point. The trees to the left seem to be a fir trees, but the trees on the right are the cedar trees that are all over middle Tennessee. They look like Christmas trees all over the countryside. As we walked back up the hill, we took a picture looking northeast showing the confluence area. You can also see the lone cow and some of the picturesque old barns that make middle TN an area of vast photographic opportunity. The house and the hill that overlook the confluence can be seen in the distance in the photo that shows the TN countryside. The GPS close-up shot is included, always my favorite! We moved on to see Falls Creek Falls Park, TN's highest waterfall (N35° 40' 01.2" W85° 21' 22.3"). Two first confluence visits and TN's highest waterfall… truly a travelling trifecta.