Timberline Lodge (Tennessee) Report

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Timberline Lodge, Crossville (Tennessee)

May 14, 2005

This past Saturday, May 14th, my wife and I made a trip to the Timberline Lodge & Resort in Crossville, Tennessee to check out this 'social nudism' thing that I had been so fascinated with for over 25 years! Both of us having grown up in a very conservative home where nudity was not discussed much less shown (no pun intended), it was going to be a learning experience that, I figured, we would never forget. Both of us have been, and still are, involved with rather eclectic groups where nudity (and sometimes sex) can be casual issues, based upon the circumstances, therefore, actually being nude for nudity sake would be a totally different issue. Although discussing other subjects on the drive over, we both were very nervous about such issues as body image and the sexual conduct of others during our visit.

We started out with the idea to tour both Timberline Lodge and Cherokee Resort (see other report) and then determine where to spend our day. My wife and I discussed our thoughts regarding social nudity and wondered how this experience would turn out. I have been familiar with the owners, Glenn and Bea, for over 25 years - first, having visited their adult lingerie/novelty shop in Knoxville several times; second, having actually stepped foot on the grounds once to gather information; and third, to dine at their restaurant - 'The Hobo Depot', complete with railroad memorabilia and authentic Tennessee Central wooden caboose sitting out front.

We arrived at the entrance to Timberline and made our way down the drive, stopping first at what appeared to have been a 'visitor center' resplendent with broken windows. Next, we drove a little farther to the second visitor center only to find a faded sign that stated "Dawn had had an emergency and would return shortly". (Her emergency was probably to secure both life jacket and life raft, but I digress).

While out of the car, we looked at the depot and surrounding area noting the location of the Tennessee Central right-of-way which runs in front of the depot.

After this, we drove into the resort area itself, when we saw what appeared to be the remains of a campground, complete with falling-down trailer/RV decks, broken PVC pipe, and asundry debris...the signs of a business that was in the process of closing down. Parking our car, we made our way into the lodge itself and found the place unlocked and the doors open. No one responded to our calls but activity was noted off in the distance so off we went to investigate. As we walked towards someone, we observed a vehicle heading our way driven by an older woman. Upon stopping, she responded to our inquiries by stating that Glenn had been in the process of selling the place to a prospective buyer due to health issues in their family and that 'they (Timberline) were in a transitional state'. She went on to state that several of the previous campers had been moved to Cherokee Lodge and Resort across I-40 since April and that Timberline would reopen later this summer. Two or three other trailers were seen in the distance and we later discovered one of them having been moved to Cherokee Lodge and Resort later that afternoon!

Afterwards, my wife and I thanked the woman for her time, returned to our car, and headed to Cherokee Lodge and Resort. As we headed out, we observed someone a vehicle heading into the campground but did not know whether he was a member or staff. Both my wife and I noted that it was very disturbing that there were no owners or staff around to answer questions or provide details. It was also noted that the beauty of the area, i.e. lake, lodge, pool, shaded camping/trailer/RV area, would apparently no longer have anyone there to appreciate it.

Needless to say, we WON'T be back to Timberline as it appears that they are shutting down with little or no hope of reopening anytime soon, if ever at all. In fact, an email sent to them the first of March has NEVER been answered while the same was answered by a Cherokee staff member the next day. Our observation, head towards Cherokee!

Bill & Ginger

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