Published: June 23, 2009 06:03 pm      

Butterflies and fireflies light your days and nights

Two of nature’s most spectacular events are now on display at the Head of Sequatchie unit of the Cumberland Trail. The Friends of the Cumberland Trail and the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail will open the historic Head of Sequatchie farm to the public, allowing for tours through a summer day and a summer night.

On Sunday, join Bill Haley, Tennessee Aquarium education outreach coordinator, at 2 p.m. for a butterfly hike in the Head of Sequatchie. Haley has been actively involved in the North American Butterfly Association for 15 years, and was recently named Conservation Educator of the Year by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. Visitors will survey the rare and the beautiful butterflies in the state park meadows and learn their behavior. Gates will open at noon.

Monday night, June 29, 7 p.m. ,  Dr. Steve Murphree, of Belmont University will explore the fascinating night world, decoding firefly lights, examining glowing scorpions and shining spider eyes, and surveying the colorful wings of the moth families. Murphee is a medical-veterinary entomologist with broad interests in entomology, ecology and science education. He is a frequent contributor to the Tennessee Conservationist magazine, teaches insect day camps, and often visits classrooms in Middle Tennessee. He has served as president of the Tennessee Entomological Society and the Tennessee Academy of Sciences, and in 2004 was named the Tennessee Environmental Educator of the Year by the Tennessee Environmental Education Association. Gates will be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Experience a summer night at the head of the Sequatchie Valley.

For detailed directions to the 200-year-old Head of Sequatchie farm, check the Friends of the Cumberland Trail Web site:  www.friendsofthecumberlandtrail.org. This State Park site is accessed from Old Hwy 28, about 9 miles south of Cumberland Mountain State Park. 

 

Directions to the Head of Sequatchie

·      From I-40, take the Peavine Road exit (Exit #322).  At the end of the ramp  turn south, onto Tenn. Hwy 392/Milo Lembert Parkway.

·      Continue until you come to a 4 way stop.  Go straight. You are now on the bypass around Crossville.

·       Travel 2.6 miles, until the next red light. Turn left on US Hwy 127 South/Main Street. 

·      Travel 2.6 miles to the Y intersection with TN Highway 68  at the Homestead Tower.   Turn right onto Highway 127 south.  From the Highway 68 split to the main entrance to Cumberland Mountain State Park is 0.7 miles.

·      Travel 1.3 miles past the entrance to Cumberland Mountain State Park, and turn left onto Old Hwy 28.  A Texaco gas station and an Antique Store are on the left, just before this intersection. 

·      Follow Old Highway 28 for 8 miles to the entrance road to Head of Sequatchie.  The road crosses Daddy’s Creek at 3 miles after the turn off US 127, begins a rapid descent into Sequatchie Valley after you have passed a dump station.  Watch your speed: the road is narrow and there are two “hairpin” turns.   small driveway on the left marked by two mailboxes.

·        Notice the orange TDEC strip signs and orange paint on trees as you cross through the State property boundary on Old Hwy 28, before the turn off to the entrance road

·       The entrance road is a paved drive on the left, marked by two mailboxes.     A “Dead End/Private Drive” sign is posted just past the entrance.   We’ll have a temporary Tennessee State Parks or Cumberland Trail sign here to get your attention.  Turn left onto the drive.

·      Continue down the drive to a gated entrance on the left.  This is the access to the state park property.  The main road is also gated, just beyond our gate.