- [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 Agriculture.

In the heart of Tennessee, there's a little slice of heaven.

You just gotta see.

(gentle music) Oh man, wish you were here.

- Welcome to Wish You Were Here.

Adventures in Tennessee's Upper Cumberland.

I'm Katelyn Steakley and I'm excited to be your guide as we explore the natural beauty and unique culture of this stunning region.

Together we'll explore the hidden treasures, breathtaking landscapes, and unique experiences that make the Upper Cumberland so exceptional.

Join us as we embark on unforgettable adventures and meet with our field correspondent to uncover the best kept secrets of the stunning region.

Let's begin our journey right here in the town of Gordonsville, where we'll discover the beauty of a one of a kind bed and breakfast Butterfly Hollow.

- [Announcer] With its beautiful woodland trails and abundance of wildlife, Butterfly Hollow is the perfect destination for nature lovers.

With its stunning views of meadows, mountains and butterflies, you'll feel rejuvenated in no time.

- I'm joined today with owner of Butterfly Hollow, Dave Yakes.

Dave, thank you so much for having us today.

- I appreciate you being here.

- Butterfly Hollow is located here in Gordonsville, Tennessee and I'm excited to hear about the history of Butterfly Hollow and all you have to offer.

- The home is 1899, so it's 125 years old from 68 to 96.

It was abandoned couple that we purchased it from actually purchased the home and did the restoration.

You see today and all the beauty that Butterfly Hollow has to offer.

The pitch over the fireplace is kind of the focal point in it helps people visualize what the house looked like in 1997 before it was restored.

But that is the uniqueness of the home in which it is the original 1899 Home Foundation and a lot of what you see in the house.

The home has a lot of unique characteristics that the couple who we purchased it from that did the restoration, wanted to make sure that they used and kept the history of the home alive.

And we still do do our part to continue that tradition.

- It's a true bed and breakfast.

What can they experience when they stay on site?

- There's not a lot to do, and that's on purpose.

It is geared towards couples or individuals that just need to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

We have a wraparound porch with plenty of seating.

There's walking trails where you can listen to the birds chirp, or if you're quiet enough, you can see a couple deer walk by and enjoy the scenery and the peacefulness that we have to offer.

We have a hot tub, so you know, you have to have some of the modern conveniences, but that you can sit underneath the stars at night and enjoy that.

We have a fire table on our front porch where people enjoy having a glass of wine is the sun setting.

But really the, the main focus and what I try to convey to guests is you want to get away from everyday life.

Come out here and, and just reconnect either with yourself, with your spouse, or just with Mother Nature.

- You guys offer two different types of rentals here on the property.

Can you tell us about the other rental besides the one we're standing in?

- In 2017, we built a two room, two bath vacation rental.

It's about a hundred yards away from us here at the BMB.

But by renting that, you have the ability to have your own space.

You do your own cooking, it's fully-stocked kitchen has a grill but you also get to enjoy the 82 acres and everything we have to offer here.

But it's the only downside about staying up there is you don't get breakfast by me.

And that is in itself an experience.

- Well, it sounds like a wonderful location.

I also hear that you guys have a lot of couples that come here to get married.

- Yeah.

So one of the things when I was looking at the property in 2014 that made me realize is there's not a lot of this around the Nashville area around Middle Tennessee.

And when I say something like this, a bed and breakfast that also offers the opportunity to get married and spend a couple nights as your honeymoon.

We do elopement where it's just the bride and the groom.

Or we can go up to 30 people of your closest friends and family with dinner if you so choose.

- Well, I'm really excited to explore your property here today.

Thank you so much for having us.

I can't wait to see you it all.

- I appreciate it.

Can't wait to show you.

(gentle music) - [Announcer] So come explore Butterfly Hollow and discover the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure.

- Nestled in the heart of the untamed wilderness on the outskirts of Sparta, Tennessee lies a breathtaking natural wonderland adorned with mesmerizing waterfalls, magnificent overlooks and an abundance of exquisite plant and wildlife.

Spending a day amidst the lush greenery and exploring the area's beauty is an experience that will leave you spellbound.

Recently, field correspondent Rafferty Cleary had the opportunity to embark on a hike into one of the most enchanting corners of the Upper Cumberland region, Virgin Falls.

(bright music) - [Announcer] Welcome to White county's natural Wonderland, Virgin Falls State Natural Area, pack your bags, pitch your tent, and be prepared to be awed by the breathtaking beauty of Virgin Falls.

- I'm relaxing in Sparta, Tennessee.

Today at Virgin Falls State Natural Area, Park Ranger, Stuart Carroll hanging out with us today.

Stuart, sweet office you have my friend.

- Absolutely one of the best offices in the whole world right here at Virgin Falls.

- You consider yourself the luckiest guy probably in the state, don't you?

- With this as my workspace, what do you think?

- Yeah, absolutely.

So Virgin Falls State Natural Area just a small part of a much larger natural area.

How many acres this encompass?

What makes it stand out from the other tourist destinations across the southeast?

- We like to say that Virgin Falls is the most beautiful state park in Tennessee that you gotta work to see.

Now, you know, getting in here today was not easy and it's a strenuous hike in here.

It's about four miles one way through some strenuous terrain.

So eight miles round trip for folks to come in and see it.

As you can see, it's an amazing waterfalls.

But what we've also been working at is developing access to other beautiful things that people that aren't in such good shape can come, see the Lost Creek Falls which is the little sister of this waterfalls which is much, much easier to get to.

So not only have we added acreage to protect these areas we've also added acreage to make these some of the other beautiful things in this area more accessible to a wider variety of people.

- The hike in is no joke, and I don't think we can stress that enough to our viewers out there.

What are your suggestions if they're considering coming to Virgin Falls?

- If you're gonna do the hike in the Virgin Falls first off, you know, know what you're getting into.

You know, if you wanna work up to it, shorter, easier trails at some of the other state parks, we always recommend a walking stick 'cause it helps you with stability.

Bring a backpack, always have, whether it's five essentials or ten essentials, water, food, extra clothing, lights.

So prepare accordingly.

- Stuart, as we were walking in today, you were pointing out all kinds of interesting things along the trail.

Give the viewers an idea of what they'll experience.

So there's wild flowers, there's rock formations.

- This waterfall is what makes it so unique is it comes out of a cave up at the top, falls 110 feet and disappears into another cave.

There's not much water at all flowing across the surface like you would expect.

But to getting in here, you've got all sorts of rock overhang, boulders.

Now if you wanna see the wildflowers, you need to come in March and April.

We do have a lot of wildflowers blooming around us today.

This is a fairly old growth forest that you find in here.

It's mature, so you can look at all the birds and different animals that you might expect to be living in a place like this.

- There's multiple ways to get to Virgin Falls.

- Well, the main way that a lot of people like to come in is off of Scotts Gulf Road and that's been the trail since 1970 for 53 years.

About three years ago, we opened up a new trail from the Lost Creek side.

And then in the summer, when Katy Fork River gets down, we lead hikes up through big bottom, but we've gotta wait for the river to get down.

So those are the three ways we come in for this waterfalls.

- What better way to close out than you to step away?

- [Announcer] If you're interested in learning more about the area's natural wonders, be sure to check out the Ranger-led programs available throughout the year.

- The Upper Cumberland is filled with awe-inspiring natural wonders making it the perfect destination for all you adventure seekers out there.

For our next adventure, we head underground.

Do you dare to venture into a subterranean world and step into the shoes of an early explorer?

Join field correspondent Shan Stout as she takes you on a journey through the winding tunnels and breathtaking chambers of the Cumberland Caverns.

- [Announcer] As we journey into the depths of Cumberland Caverns, we are transported back in time where we rediscover the excitement early explorers once had as they travel through these underground passengers so many years ago.

- I am in McMinville, Tennessee and we are 333 feet below the earth's surface.

That must mean we are in Cumberland Caverns.

And I'm here with general manager Nicole Ridlen.

- Hi, Nicole.

- Hi.

Welcome to Cumberland Caverns.

- This has been a wonderful trek in just to get to this point for the interview.

Now, Cumberland Caverns is over 200 years old.

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the caverns?

- Yeah, so it actually started out as two separate caves.

We had Higginbotham Cave and Henshaw Cave.

Henshaw was this small cave people didn't want to know much about.

Higginbotham was this huge expansive cave that people would come and take trips in during the 1800s and early 1900s.

It wasn't until 1953 that a connection was made and that made Cumberland Caverns possible.

- Now tell us a little bit about this historic chandelier because people get to this point and a lot of pictures have been taken to this chandelier.

- Oh yeah.

Roy Davis was our founder.

He opened the cave for tours in 1956 and he was in New York at the Lowe's Metropolitan Theater trying to purchase an Oregon and he saw that chandelier right there and they were tinkering with it.

He says, what are you gonna do with that?

I'm like, oh, we're gonna watch it crash to the ground.

Isn't this gonna be fun?

Stick around.

He said, no, I'll give you a thousand dollars for both the Oregon and the Chandelier.

So he drove it all the way from Brooklyn New York to here in Cumberland Caverns how it installed in middle of July, 1981 so he could wake in the world first underground theater.

- Now, Nicole, as we entered the cave, the doors open and you can feel the cold air coming right out.

And then the first thing that we see is a moonshine.

Still, you got an explanation for that?

- Oh yeah, that's a fun story.

So when we first opened July 4th, 1956 one of our first tours had a local law enforcement officer.

And when he went on that tour, they asked him at the end, well, what do you think?

Or just open today?

And he says, well, you're not a real cave.

And the tour guy's like, what do you mean?

I mean, you just saw this amazing cave.

He said, every cave I had to go in had a moonshine still.

So he went home, pulled one out of his basement, punched a hole in the back so we couldn't make any moonshine.

And it's been on display ever since.

- Now we've seen a few trickling waterfalls and beautiful pools.

Tell us about what we're seeing here.

- Oh yeah.

So you're standing in a window to the groundwater, right?

You know, if you drilled for a well and we're pulling water out you'd be where the water used to be.

You're standing in a hollow space that was full of water.

And so this limestone was carved out by water that's slightly acidic because of that carbon dioxide.

So over time you had a small cave, it got bigger and bigger.

And then after the water left the cave these beautiful formations started forming.

You get stag tights that build up on the ceiling they stick tight, you get stag mites that build up on the floor, they might trip you, you get columns when they join together, flow stone, drapery.

All of these beautiful things are living in a sense because water is still depositing minerals making them bigger every day.

- We are getting ready to have some adventure here in the Caverns.

Now whether you are a novice caver like myself or a season's spelunker, you have different levels of caving adventures.

Can you tell us about those and then how if you're a newcomer and you wanna book a tour, how to do that?

- Absolutely.

We have tours for just about everyone.

So our walking tours are your general walk in the park.

Sometimes a strenuous hike, but you're on your feet.

It's along the lit portions of the cave.

Adventure tours are for those that wanna get muddy and crawl around.

So we have those four different levels of adventure tours where you're crawling sometimes on your belly, squeezing through tiny spots like the lemon squeeze and birth canal, wearing a helmet and headlamp.

- This is, I'm starting to get nervous.

Is anybody else hot in this 50 degree cave?

- I bet you'll make it through fine line.

- [Announcer] For the more adventurous the spelunking expedition takes you off the beaten path and into the depths of the cave crawling and climbing into winding narrow passageways.

- It's okay.

I'm believe in you.

I know you can do this.

That's the amazing thing about caving.

It teaches you what you can do that you didn't know you were capable of before.

Come on.

- Just leave me, just go down without me, just soldier on without me.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] A visit to Cumberland Caverns always provides an unforgettable underground experience.

(gentle music) - In the vast expanse of the Upper Cumberland, a plethora of creatures call it home, but there's one that dominated the landscape long before settler set foot in this region.

Majestic and powerful, the American bison once roamed the rolling prairies in large herds leaving an unforgettable mark in our area's history.

Let's join field correspondent Rafferty Cleary in Cookeville, Tennessee, where you can witness the beauty of the American bison firsthand at the Lazy G Ranch.

- [Announcer] Welcome to Lazy G Ranch.

The ranch is home to 150 bison making it an ideal location to see and interact with these majestic creatures.

- I'm here in the countryside, just outside Cookville, Tennessee at Lazy G Ranch, joined by the owners Frida & Eddie Gaw, thank you so much for letting us hang out with you all today.

The terms bison buffalo often used interchangeably but Eddie, there's a difference, isn't there?

- Our old timers called them Buffalo.

The National Bison Association is trying to get us to call them bison now.

The real name for buffalo is bison bison.

- Bison bison.

- So, and what they do people get them confused with water buffalo and then buffalo.

So now we're trying to go to just call them bison but I still call them buffalo.

A lot of your old timers still call them buffalo.

- Eddie, tell us some of the characteristics of a bison and talk a little bit maybe about the lifespan of a bison.

- A bison in captive like we have them can live up to 28 to 30 years old in the wild.

I'm going to say 13, 14 years.

It'll be a long life for them in the wild.

'Cause the predators take care of them.

When the babies are born, they're called red dogs they weigh about 50 pound.

Within 30 minutes, they can be running under their mother's belly at full speed.

- They can jump high run fast.

- Yeah, it can jump anything.

It can last chin on.

That's six or seven foot.

- That is incredible.

- They can be up to 35 to 40 mile an hour and six strides.

They can run the length of a football field in five seconds.

- Frida, I heard a story earlier.

You got pretty close to a bison one time and were feeding it by the bottle for a while.

And so I guess they're kind of like kids.

They have their own personality, don't they?

- They do.

Sometimes you can even watch them from a distance and we can tell you which ones which.

We have one, his name was Chief and we bottle fed him and he got where we could halter him.

I was leading him one day and I'd got him out of the pen and then all of a sudden, he just kind of got a little anxious.

And the next thing I know he's dragging me down the driveway and Carlos runs out to help me.

And then Eddie shows up and we take the halter out and he goes, that's it.

No more halter in Chief.

- You know, when you think of bison you think more out West Wyoming, New Mexico.

But bison or part of our history right here in the Upper Cumberland.

Is that not correct?

- There used to be 30 to 60 million bison run.

We killed them down to less than a thousand.

And here in Tennessee, the last one here was killed out in the early 1900s I think.

But yes, they ran all over the US and Canada.

- What's the most satisfying part of all of this?

Is it meeting new people or is it just a whole bunch of combination of things?

- I think educating people.

I probably have 10 cars a day drive our driveway.

That's very satisfying to us.

We have a lot of school groups come.

- It's fun to see the excitement on the kids' faces and stuff and how that all works.

- Well, thank you all so much for letting us spend some time with you today.

We look forward to exploring the rest of Lazy G Ranch.

- [Announcer] While Tennessee's bison population was wiped out due to human hunting, Lazy G Ranch is now part of a national effort to repopulate these creatures across the United States.

Visiting Lazy G Ranch offers not only the chance to see these magnificent animals up close but also the opportunity to connect with the rich history of this region.

(gentle music) - Theater has the power to inspire, challenge, and connect us in ways that few other art forms can and few places embody this transformative power more than the Cumberland County Playhouse.

Attending a performance at this cultural institution is an experience that stays with you long after the final curtain falls.

Field correspondent Shan Stout had the opportunity to experience the magic of this celebrated theater and witness firsthand the impact that live performance can have on the community.

(gentle music) - The Cumberland County Playhouse is a testament to the power of the community and the transformative nature of the arts.

What began as a local school play has blossomed into one of the largest nonprofit reforming arts resources in rural America.

- We are in an extraordinary place in Crossville, Tennessee.

We are here at the Cumberland County Playhouse and I am with the producing director Bryce McDonald.

Hi, Bryce.

- Hello.

Welcome to the Cumberland County Playhouse.

- Doesn't he seem like a director?

Yes.

Speaking of the playhouse, this building this whole facility has been here for over 50 years.

- And we're about 58 now.

- 58, almost 60.

- Our doors open July 15th, 1965.

- You have a wide and vast cast of actors and support.

You know, how do people get into this?

How do they participate?

Where do you find your actors?

Where do they come from?

- You know, to go back just a little bit, in 65 when it really started, not only did the community build the theater, he put them in all the shows.

Paul and Mary Crabtree created the town to become actors.

- [Shan] Wow.

- And then over the course of the years, we started adding more professionals with degrees in education or just really phenomenal greenhorns who did not go to college and just happened to have a knack for it.

Now we have a resident company of 14 actors that over the course of my eight years of being the producing director have decided Crossville home.

- I love it.

- And the same thing with our amazing artists from our carpenters to our costume designers, props artisans are from all over.

- As you can tell, Bryce is very passionate about the playhouse and the community is the better for it.

This is a wonderful way for families and children and individuals to be able to engage with each other and join your imaginary world which changes from season to season.

Now you have large groups that come as well.

Field trips.

- Field trips, a lot of church groups, a lot of, we call them day trippers where they're coming from all over and they come to Crossfield, they're gonna try to antique or maybe get a ground of golf in and then they'll come and spend the afternoon or the evening with us.

And we do more business on matinee days than evening shows.

I always tell everyone if you want the best seat in the house, come on a Friday or Saturday night because if you come on a matinee of a Saturday matinee Sunday matinee or a Tuesday or Thursday, it's sold out.

- Well Bryce, thank you so much for giving of your time today and letting us be able to have behind the scenes here.

(gentle music) Now, in case you haven't noticed, we're now backstage in one of the dressing rooms here at the Playhouse and I have Weslie Webster.

Now give me your full title.

You wear many hats here.

- I am the Director of Education here.

I get to work with 135 wonderful children every week all year long summer camps.

We teach dance, we teach acting, we teach musical theater, mini styles of dance, clogging and tap and ballet and jazz and contemporary.

We have an extraordinary dance class.

Every week we teach about 35 classes to these kids and that follows the school year.

And then in the summer we combine it all into a camp called our Summer Performing Arts Camp Spark.

It teaches them how to appreciate theater and the arts.

It just makes them better audience members, but it also instills self-confidence and the ability to speak in public.

And you just get to know these kids and I just, I love them.

I love my job.

I love doing this.

- In other words, she's just not busy at all.

Speaking of busy, we're gonna let you get back to work.

'Cause I know you're still getting ready in costume and all that stuff and we can't wait to see you a little later.

So break a leg.

- And thank you very much.

It's a pleasure to be here and to meet you.

- [Announcer] From Broadway stars to Hollywood actors, the Playhouse has attracted top talent who are drawn to its unique charm and dedication to the arts.

Whether you're a local or a visitor the Cumberland County Playhouse is a must-see destination that will we you inspired and entertained.

(gentle music) - From the moment you arrive at Butterfly Hollow you are transported to a world of natural beauty and serenity that's hard to find in today's fast paced world.

It's more than just a place to rest your head.

It's an experience that will stay with you long after you leave.

Whether you're looking to escape the stresses of daily life, celebrate an important day or have the longing to embark on a new adventure, Butterfly Hollow has everything you need to make your journey unforgettable.

What an incredible journey we've had today exploring the Upper Cumberland.

Thanks for joining us on Wish You Were Here.

Adventures in Tennessee's of Upper Cumberland.

Until next time, keep exploring.

(upbeat music) For our next adventure, we head underground.

Do you dare adventure?

Holy big words, henna.

- Ugh.

That was as hard as I made it look.

- Kramer is in my space (laughs).

- [Announcer] 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 Agriculture.

This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS Station from viewers like you.

Thank you.