Les Jones

East Tennessee > Rachel's Labyrinth at Buckhorn Inn

Last weekend Melissa and I stayed at the Buckhorn Inn just outside of Gatlinburg. The short review is that it was wonderful. The long review will have to wait a little. There are so many pictures I'm going to show a few at a time.

These pictures are of Rachel's Labyrinth, which is a hundred yards downhill from the inn on the way to the pond.

The labyrinth is named for Dr. Rachel Young. She and her family bought the inn from its founder in 1979. She's also the founder of the Knoxville Wellness Center. As for the supposed spiritual benefits of a labyrinth, it's a little hocus-pocusey for me. "Hokey religions and ancient landscaping are no match for a good blaster, kid." Or something.

I do think they look extremely cool, though. This labyrinth laid in grass is neat. It sets the stones flush with the ground. I can see doing something similar for a hopscotch court or foursquare court in an otherwise conventional yard.

Melissa really dug the labyrinth and even learned to draw labyrinths on paper. You can find instructions here, and a Flash application here. For more information, visit The Labyrinth Society. More about Buckhorn Inn later this week.