(gentle music) - [Announcer] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

"Wish You Were Here," produced under an agreement with the Upper Cumberland Development District and made possible in part through support from the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.

(energetic orchestral music) - [Narrator] In the heart of Tennessee, there's a little slice of heaven you've just gotta see.

Oh, man!

Wish you were here.

- Hi, I'm Katelyn Steakley.

Welcome to "Wish You Were Here Adventures in Tennessee's Upper Cumberland."

I'm ready to explore today.

How about you?

But first, let's grab some hand-rolled ice cream at the 1806 General Store here in downtown Livingston.

(lively country music) I'm here today at the 1806 General Store with co-owner Gene Gantt.

Gene, thank you so much for having us today.

- Thank y'all for coming.

I enjoy having people around to look around at all our cool stuff.

- You do have some really cool stuff.

- [Gene] Thank you.

- [Katelyn] This store is part museum, part antique shop, and part restaurant.

As we were exploring today, I noticed some really unique spaces in the back of the store.

Can you tell us a little bit about that space?

- Yes, in the back is the Lincoln room.

We have all kind of Lincoln memorabilia in there, most of which came from my house.

And it was an effort by my wife to move some stuff out, so she said, "Let's have a Lincoln room at the restaurant."

So we do.

We also have, we carry a line of toys, especially around Christmas time, that are unique, old, hard-to-find toys that you may or may not remember from your childhood or your parents may remember from their childhood.

- I did see some of those in one of these booths out here, and I got some serious nostalgia, so those are really neat.

Well, thank you so much for having us.

It was great meeting you, and I'm really excited to go explore.

- Sounds great, let's go.

(lively country music) - I'm joined by 1806 rolled ice cream expert Bekah Henry.

Bekah is gonna give us the tips and tricks of the trade for rolled ice cream.

Let's get started.

- Set the candy in place.

We're gonna be making Reese's madness today.

- That sounds fantastic.

- It is super good.

(lively country music) And then you just smooth it on out into a square.

Okay, just like this.

And then you just get a roll out of it just like that.

- Okay.

Like this?

- Yep, just like that.

Yep.

That's perfect.

- [Katelyn] Try not to throw it on the floor.

Woo!

- Yep.

I'm gonna take these rolls, stick them in here.

Okay.

Little bit of Cool Whip.

Little bit of chocolate.

Okay, and there we go.

- Okay!

That looks so good.

And there you have it, guys, Reese's madness.

Bekah, thank you so much for helping us today and showing us how to make the perfect cup of rolled ice cream.

- [Bekah] Absolutely, thank you.

(lively country music) - Let's see what underground adventures our field correspondent Rafferty Cleary had when he visited Lost Creek State Natural Area.

(peaceful music) - [Narrator] Located on the western flank of the Cumberland Plateau, the Lost Creek State Natural Area is a favorite destination for spelunkers and hikers.

The Walt Disney Corporation featured the falls and cave entrance in the 1994 live adaptation of "The Jungle Book."

(peaceful music) - We have gone into the wild today, standing within the Lost Creek Cave and Falls State Natural Area.

Stuart Carroll is with us.

He is with Tennessee State Parks.

Stuart, the way this is set up, it's tied into several different areas.

Tell us how it's all interconnected.

- Well here, you've got the waterfall of Lost Creek Falls and the cave and numerous cascades like this one and Rylander.

This is over 200 acres as a natural area, but we're tied into another close to 2,000 acres with Virgin Falls.

You can hike from here over to Virgin Falls.

So this is part of a much larger area with lots of sightseeing and recreational opportunities.

Lost Creek is just a great area to visit, incredible wildflower display in March and April.

(peaceful music) Of course, the waterfalls itself, we call this the little sister to Virgin Falls.

If you wanna see some of the really unique geology of the Cumberland Plateau and the Highland Rim, this is a very accessible place to go and see.

You can also hike in from this end now to Virgin Falls.

And that trail is full of wildflowers in the spring.

(peaceful music) Lost Creek Falls is around 80 feet high.

That's taking in account the cascades up above, 'cause it has some more waterfalls that you don't normally see up above it.

It comes out of a cave, a spring up there, a big cave.

It falls 80 feet over the different rocks, disappears into some more limestone passages at the base.

And, in turn, that water goes through the cave system, and you can view it again inside the cave.

- Let's talk about the caves a little bit.

First thing that I notice, it is so much cooler.

It's like natural air conditioning.

It's so nice.

- It's almost a average between the really coldest periods and the really hottest periods.

The caves are much more stable than you find out here.

This air here is really unique from another perspective.

It's got all this cold air coming out of the cave, and we're in a big bowl or a sink.

This looks like a big kitchen sink, and the cold air is trapped down here.

So this is a cold air sink.

And in the summer, it can be 90 degrees up at the top of the rim of the sink, and it can be 70 down in here.

And so that not only creates a situation where it's much cooler down here, but it's much moister down here.

So you find a lot more abundance of plants and primitive plants and plants coating the boulders.

It's a very diverse area here in this sink.

- A lot of bats you could probably see?

- The bats have been adversely affected by the white nose syndrome.

They're population numbers have been really dropping on the cave-dwelling bat.

The caves are closed in the winter when they're in there hibernating.

We reopen some of the caves come May one, and you can sign up online.

But the reason the caves are closed in the winter is we're trying to give them a refuge, a break, from all the problems they've been having with their populations.

We're really dependent on those bats as insect eaters, so we want to protect them.

And that's the reason our caves are closed in the winter.

All caves on state lands are closed in the winter to give these bats refuge, a place where they can quietly hibernate.

- If one wants to go venturing into the cave, you can't just do that, can you?

There's protocols in place.

- There is online registration, and you can go on your own if you're familiar with caves, not just caves, but the cave resources, different aspects of cave safety.

That's why we do recommend that you join one of the local caving grottos, learn some of the essentials of caving, go with a group, or go with a ranger.

If you've never been in a cave, we do ranger-led programs.

Go with a ranger or go with other folks who are experienced cavers.

It can be tricky to wander into caves on your own.

You could hurt yourself or you could hurt resources.

(upbeat music) - I'm standing at the entrance of Lost Creek Cave in White County, just a few feet away from Lost Creek Falls.

Chuck Sutherland is with me.

He is a geographer, photographer, caver.

Chuck, tell us what allows the Upper Cumberland the prime geological environment for cave formations?

- We have very pure limestone here, like 400 feet thick, and limestone's different than other rocks.

It dissolves in the presence of water, creates conduits, the conduits enlarge, and we get things like this.

And so Tennessee has about 11,000 documented caves right now.

That number's always increasing because we're always finding, documenting, and describing more of these features.

Lost Creek is one of the larger ones, probably in the upper 10 percent.

It's 4.12 miles of mapped cave passage here.

- [Rafferty] It's important that our gear is clean.

Is that that right?

- That's right.

- So tell us why.

- U.S.

Fish and Wildlife has published guidelines for decontaminating our cave gear.

We don't want to spread microorganisms from one cave to another, 'cause it could be detrimental to life forms in that cave.

One of the things that we're trying to prevent from happening is moving the fungus that causes white nose syndrome in bats.

And so it's important that we decon our gear.

The hard gear gets wiped down and sprayed with 409.

All the soft gear goes into the washing machine and then sprayed with 409 when it dries.

- Chuck, what type of cave formations can folks expect to see in one like Lost Creek Cave?

- It's mostly characterized by really large passages and breakdown, big chunks of rock that have fallen from the ceiling and walls piled up on the floor.

(cheerful music) - Would you like to try a sip or two of the good stuff?

Our field correspondent, Matt Beal recently visited Short Mountain Distillery in Woodbury, Tennessee.

Let's join Matt at the distillery for a tasting.

(rocking country music) - [Narrator] We wouldn't be telling this story right if we didn't revisit our Tennessee distilling roots.

For generations, distilling was one of the primary sources of income for the people of Southern Appalachia.

Due to prohibition, bootleggers and moonshiners would hide their stills deep in the mountains.

And as the name might suggest, distilling was best done under the light of the moon, so the neighbors don't see the smoke from the still.

Distilling remains a strong Tennessee tradition to this day.

(rocking country music) - I'm Matt Beal, and I'm here at beautiful Short Mountain Distillery in Woodbury, Tennessee.

And I'm joined by president of Short Mountain Distillery, Billy Kaufman.

Billy, thanks for being here.

- Hey, thanks for having me.

- What experience can tourists expect when they come visit here?

- When you come out here, you're gonna have big open spaces.

You're gonna really experience the natural beauty of the place.

You can take a tour, and we really immerse you in our stories, tasting of all of our different spirits.

We really spend as much time with you as you want.

From there, you could take a cocktail class, listen to live music.

We have paranormal tours, where we talk about some of the history, the more nefarious history of this property.

And we really try and give our customers and visitors, the feeling like they're coming to our home.

Our restaurant's in an old farmhouse, so it has a very homey feel to it.

And I think when people come here, they get a hands-on experience that maybe they wouldn't get in a big city.

- Sometimes you do draw bigger crowds at music festivals and live music.

- So we've had craft fairs here that bring in lots of people and lots of vendors.

We had a big music festival called the GreenWay Music Festival.

We have big bands for that, and that is a fundraiser for our conservation easement trails that we're putting on the property.

- Short Mountain started as a moonshine distillery, but now you've expanded into bourbon and other liquors.

Tell us how that happened.

- I feel that it's important for distillers to actually produce what they distill.

So I didn't want to come out with a blended bourbon as my first product.

So, instead, I went the honest route and produced moonshine, the best moonshine I could produce.

Now that the distillery is almost 11 years old, I've got barrels that are seven years going on eight years old, things that have really put on some time.

(twangy country music) This is our flagship spirit.

It's called Green Thumb Organic Tennessee Whiskey.

It's the only organic Tennessee whiskey in the world, that I know of, unless someone just came out with one.

And it's a very interesting bottled in bond spirit.

It has three sources of smoke.

- Oh, delish, oh, yeah, the smoke is really there.

And it, I almost get a little hint of scotch-type flavor.

- Yeah.

So scotch is made with smoked malts from peat.

And we have all these different sources of smoke, and they combine and give it something very similar.

So a lot of people, when they have this, they say it's like a Tennessee scotch.

(twangy country music) - Let's explore the unique beauty of Pickett CCC Memorial State Park with our field correspondent Shan Stout.

(peaceful music) - [Narrator] Deep within Pickett State Forest and adjacent to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, you will find Pickett CCC Memorial State Park.

This beautiful park remains as a memorial for the unique architecture built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a work relief program during the 1930s and 40s.

Take the trails and appreciate the sandstone bluffs, natural bridges, and waterfalls.

- I'm here with Ranger Michael Hodge, and we are at the Pickett State Park near Jamestown, Tennessee.

- Actually, it's the Pickett Civilian Conservation Corps Memorial State Park is its full name.

- So then for short, the Pickett CCC State Park?

- Yes, ma'am.

- (laughing) Why is that?

- So during the Great Depression, there was a New Deal program called the Civilian Conservation Corps, and it allowed young men to find jobs with the government.

Here at Pickett, we actually had two camps, and they worked here building the structures, building the park itself.

- [Shan] Oh my goodness.

I see a lot of historic structures here.

- Yes.

- So these are the original buildings?

- Yes, these are the original buildings from the 1930s that the Civilian Conservation Corps built.

- [Shan] Well, they're beautiful.

Now, I see the lake behind us.

Who could miss it?

Tell us about what families and individuals could expect when they come here to be able to spend time on the lake.

- [Michael] The lake is a CCC-built lake.

We have our swim beach that people can come out and swim anytime.

We have our boathouse.

we do boat rentals.

We have paddleboards, canoes, and jon boats and kayaks now.

And also the lake is stocked with trout, so you can do fishing.

- [Shan] That's amazing, and it is beautiful here.

And you have lots of family-friendly entertainment for all ages, and I appreciate that.

- [Michael] We have a lot of ranger-led hikes, programs that we do, some nature hikes, we'll do snake programs.

(Shan laughs) - I'm skipping that one, FYI.

- During the summer, we'll actually have a seasonal ranger that will do full-time programming.

So there'll be lots of programs for families, various things, historical programs, nature programs, a little bit of everything.

- [Shan] For people who are wanting to know the intensity levels, the types, and what's special about your hikes versus other state parks.

- [Michael] We actually have our Story Book Trail, where kids can go and actually read a story on the trail.

- [Shan] Oh, that's so sweet.

- [Michael] And then we have our longest trail is the Hidden Passage Trail, which is about eight miles.

And we have everything in between.

Most of them are loop trails, or they'll connect and make a loop if you wanted that.

We do have maps available that folks can pick up and kind of plan the perfect hike.

Most of the trails will lead you to a natural feature, whether that's a rock shelter that you can actually get under in some cases, or an arch.

And we actually have one on the lake that you can paddle a boat through.

We are currently doing our glowworm hikes.

We meet at night at the Hazard Cave trailhead.

The ranger will lead a group down.

We'll turn all the lights out, and you will see little dots of blue light all over the cave walls, the bluff line, and it's really a spectacular event.

It's almost like looking at the night sky.

- [Shan] Oh, wow.

Now speaking of night sky, you have something special here at Pickett that some of the other parks cannot claim.

- [Michael] Right.

We are an international dark-sky park.

People come out, the public can come out, and we'll do a presentation talking about the night sky.

the Milky Way stretches from horizon to horizon, especially in the summer.

So June, July, coming up here in the next couple of months, we'll have some really beautiful night skies.

(peaceful music) - Recently featured in the "New York Times," three restaurants in Gainesboro, Tennessee, have their own modern takes on classic dishes.

Our correspondent Shan Stout is on the scene.

I think she might need a little help.

- Thanks, Katelyn.

I wish you were here.

- But I am.

I couldn't let you have all the fun.

- Oh my goodness.

Well, you know what this means.

This is a perfect opportunity for a girls' afternoon.

I think we should check out some of these restaurants in Gainesboro and have a little fun.

- I'm ready.

Let's go.

(upbeat jazz music) - [Narrator] The Stolen Coin Oyster Bar and Bistro offers a Louisiana-style menu with seafood and a wide variety of land-lubber food as well.

- [Katelyn] I heard that the Stolen Coin made the "New York Times."

- It did.

- [Katelyn] Tell me about the impact that article had on your business.

- At least once a day, we've got somebody new who's like, "Oh, we saw you.

We wanna see if there's really oysters in the middle of Gainesboro."

- Where in the world do you get fresh oysters and bring 'em into Gainesboro?

- We get them from the northeast, up towards like Martha's Vineyard area, Canada.

We get them from the Gulf of Mexico, kind of Louisiana, Galveston area.

And sometimes, if we can, we'll go the whole way to the Pacific Northwest and get some really good ones from the Washington state.

- What if you can't have shellfish?

What are your options here?

- So we have lots of chicken and beef selections and fresh produce.

(upbeat jazz music) (lively Irish music) - [Shan] I think it's time for a little Celtic fare on the square.

- [Katelyn] Yes, it's the Bull and Thistle.

Let's check it out.

- [Narrator] The Bull and Thistle Pub is known for fine dining with both Celtic and Southern cuisine.

- [Shan] Now, the Bull and Thistle is a little different from your typical restaurant.

Tell us what sets the Bull and Thistle apart from anywhere else around.

- I would say that the first thing that sets us apart is the food.

You're not gonna find food like this anywhere else.

- [Shan] Well, and I'm gonna give credit to the food, the atmosphere, and the fact that you have live music quite often.

- [Diana] We do.

Every Friday and Saturday night, we have bands.

We bring them in from all over Tennessee.

(lively Irish music) - I'm chef Ben at the Bull and Thistle.

Before you, you have an Irish meatloaf.

It's just my variation of a traditional meatloaf, something recognizable for the demographic.

And Shan, you have the Dublin lawyer.

There's many ways to do the traditional dish of the Dublin Lawyer and many different explanations of it.

(lively Irish music) - Hi, I'm John.

I'm the sous chef at the Bull, and I hope you ladies enjoyed your food very much.

- Hi, John, the food was wonderful!

- What I love most about the Bull is the group of people I work with.

We're really just a tight-knit family between the back and front of the house.

We've got great managers that do care about us and the food that we're putting out.

And the atmosphere is great.

The dining room and the music we do, it's all very special here.

You don't find something like that in a small town very often.

(lively Irish music) (upbeat country music) - [Narrator] The 12 Degrees Tavern is known for great burgers, fresh jumbo wings, and made-from-scratch specials and fun events.

- [Shan] I hear this is really a happening place.

- Oh yeah, we've got events going all week.

So every Wednesday night we do an open mic from 6 p.m. to close.

Thursdays, every other Thursday, is line dancing, so we do a class here from 7 to 9 p.m. - Wait, wait, wait, line dancing?

- Line dancing.

- Like real - Yes, ma'am.

- line dancing?

- [Turner] Oh yeah, we've got a teacher comes out and teaches from seven to nine, and we'll run later if people are in here having a good time.

(upbeat country music) We're known for our burgers and our wings.

- [Shan] So tell us about these wings.

- [Turner] So we grill 'em here in house, toss 'em in any kind of sauce you'd like.

They're grilled on a charbroiler, just like our burgers.

Our slaw is made fresh as well.

Everything we try to do from scratch, if we can.

- Tell me how 12 Degrees got its name.

- [Turner] The street the town was founded on, and if you pull it up on a map, it's actually not set to cardinal on north, south, east and west.

It's about 12 degrees off kilter, just to match the flow of the river.

- [Katelyn] You really pulled in the geometry on this.

- Oh yeah, we try to incorporate a lot of historical facts, things about the town.

As you could see, the walls have pictures of famous people that are from or associated with the town.

We've got Lieutenant Colonel Edward Cassidy over there, Aunt Polly, long hunters on the trail, General Gaines, who the town was named after.

(upbeat country music) - My name's Todd.

- I'm Katelyn.

It's really nice to.

- Katelyn.

- Shan.

- Shan, nice to meet you guys.

Welcome to Gainesboro.

- Thank you for having us today.

- I'm Todd Turner Edwards.

That's Todd Turner Edwards, Junior.

- You must be very proud.

- I am very proud of him, very proud of him.

- I think it's time to try this food.

- Yeah, I agree.

- [Turner] Y'all dig in.

- [Todd] Hope you enjoy it.

- [Shan] Okay, I'm excited about these wings.

- They look fantastic.

- They're beautiful.

Mm, good.

Mm, and they're not spicy.

Those are really, really good.

But you know what I'm real excited about?

Turner has challenged Katelyn to conquer this burger.

- This massive - Go, do it.

- hand pattied burger.

- Come on, come on.

- You said you guys do these every day, right?

Hand pattied.

- Be a man.

- Oh my God.

- Take that burger down.

- Uh uh.

(Shan laughing) - It's so good.

- Success!

- So good.

- We have a winner.

(upbeat country music) Now, whether you bring your gal pal or your significant other, or even your family, downtown Gainesboro has something for everyone, and you know what we have to say about that.

We wish you were here.

(gentle music) - The 1806 General Store in Livingston, Tennessee, part museum, part antique shop, part restaurant, a fascinating place, just like our beautiful Upper Cumberland.

Join us next time for more Upper Cumberland adventures in Tennessee.

Don't you wish you were here?

(light music) - [Man] Stand?

- [Shan] (laughing) I'm trying.

- Don't fall.

- Don't fall.

- We're having too much fun.

- I've giggled myself to death now.

It's just really hard not to make this extremely awkward, but.

- Sorry, that really didn't go well either.

I'm supposed to do part store.

- Do we get the bloopers too?

- Yes, we do.

It's really great.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "Wish You Were Here," produced under an agreement with the Upper Cumberland Development District and made possible in part through support from the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.