South Holston Dam and Osceola Island Recreation Area - 9th August 2015

        After a lazy weekend we were considering a hike close to our place which would be accessible to our 80+ year old grandparents. Since we had not come up with a place and it was almost 6 pm on a Sunday the chances that we were going anywhere were almost slim to none, almost like we were delaying the decision to the point where it ceases to be an option. Suddenly South Holston Dam came to mind as a potential spot since it is a 35 min drive from Johnson City and seemed like a good place if you are in the mood for a leisurely walk. Also it helps that the days are long at this time of the year and you can consider getting out even so late in the day. 

       The drive to the dam took us exactly 40 mins via US-11E N and the TN-394 E . Once you turn right on Emmett road and then Holston View Dam road, the dam can be seen almost continuously. The scenery is refreshing. We decided to drive past Osceola Island and first check out the top of the dam. As we reached the dam we were just so happy that we decided to come, as the rewards outside the window were just beautiful. We parked at the end of the Bridge across the dam and then walked over the dam. The view of the South Holston lake, the dam, the South Holston river below and the lush green mountains around was breathtaking. Since it was close to sunset there was a festival of colours bursting in the sky. The water released from the dam into the river had formed a cover of mist over itself adding to the beauty of the scene. We spent some time just strolling along the dam and taking pictures. It was a picture perfect sunset indeed and it was difficult to pass on the opportunity to watch the sunset from the dam. But we decided to pass and drive down to the Osceola island recreation area to check it out. The recreation area did not disappoint us too. The parking lot is right besides the river and a bridge to the island. The water looked even more beautiful from up close. The mist cover over the water gave the whole area a mystical feel. The biggest attraction though was the weir dam. A weir dam is essentially a construction of series of structures in a way that they hold the water behind them but also allow it to flow over them (my theory mostly the outlet flow is less than the inlet flow, hence the pooling - sorry but couldn't help putting my engineering hat on :P ). The dam creates a very beautiful flow pattern which is a photographer's gold mine. I just couldn't stop admiring how beautiful this place was and so close from where we live. I took a zillion pictures and then when the lens was tired and yet couldn't capture the beauty that the eye could discern, we just stood on the bridge admiring the beauty of nature unfolding in front of us.

     We decided not to do the 2 mile hiking loop on the island in the interest of time so that we could have a reason to come back to this place (not that we need one). We devoured the nice little dinner that we had packed at the best picnic table there is in the area right besides the river and returned home knowing well that we were going to go back soon enough.

Update 12th August: 

As I had anticipated we did actually end up visiting again just in the space of few days. This time it was a brighter time of the day and we got to see a different view of the weir dams than the fog covered view earlier. We also walked the roughly 2 mile loop around the lake. It is a nice leisurely walk along the river and can be done by people of all ages. The gentle sound of the water flowing by is very relaxing. We were lucky enough to see a paddling of ducks show up on the river. And sure enough the fog showed up as the evening got cooler.