Chuck Sutherland

Table of Contents The Story David Starnes's Photos April Moore's Photos Watch Guide for Locals THE STORY BEHIND WALT DISNEY'S DECISION TO FILM RUDYARD KIPLING'S JUNGLE BOOK MOVIE AT LOST CREEK CAVE AND WATERFALL A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION BY DAVID STARNES RETIRED PRINCIPAL PLANNER LOCAL PLANNING ASSISTANCE OFFICE TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT I was employed by the State of Tennessee as a community planner from October 1990 to August 2011. The Local Planning Assistance Office of the Upper Cumberland region was based in Cookeville. Our agency was in the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, which also included the Tennessee Film Commission. Occasionally, different agencies would meet to explain their role in fostering economic growth in the state, and this was how my love for caving became entwined in the 1994 Walt Disney live-actio...

Tires-To-Spare is a fascinating cave whose entrance opened violently on April 25nd, 1994. The roof fell out of a previously unknown cave system exposing a passage down into the dark. In the video below, retired geology professor Ric Finch tells of its original exploration and what was found within. A description of the cave, written for the Tennessee Cave Survey by Ric Finch reads as follows: The sink entrance is 101 feet long, with a maximum width of 43 feet, and 31 feet deep. The entrance chamber is 50 feet by 75 feet. Two small holes through breakdown lead to the upstream passage. This solution passage carries a permanent stream and is subject to frequent flooding. Conduit dimensions are typically 15-20 feet wide by 10-12 feet high. The main conduit has been mapped 577 feet upstream from the breakdown, trending nearly due west, to a point where the ceiling lowers and the passage is submerged. There are several short loops and on significant side passage, for a total of 1230 fee...

Standing Stone is an area named for the monolith that once stood in Monterey. (Sadly, little remains of the original monolith .) The area consists of a state park, state forest, and a wildlife management area. I spent several days over the last week exploring Standing Stone trying to catch wildflowers in their prime. My timing was excellent and the showing of wildflowers was as well. After a few hours of exploration I noted that the Chattanooga shale exposed in the park often produced nice cascades and waterfalls. Unfortunately, most were ephemeral features. On a hunch I ended up walking up Bryans Creek and found the most beautiful undescribed 35' waterfall.  Previous to my documentation of Bryans Creek Falls, I had bumbled around with my friends Kurt Heischmidt and Haley Dickson. We visited OV440 (a cave whose name I feel best to withhold), and a few other interesting features. Then there were the wildflowers. Five species of trillium, and ...