Last Photos of Fall Trip

We are back in Texas, staying at Loop 289 RV Park In Lubbock for a week or two. I thought I’d post the rest of the photos from our Tennessee trip even though it has been a couple of weeks since we were there.
After we left the Smokies we spent a few nights at Montgomery Bell State Park west of Nashville, then headed to Pickwick Landing State Park near the TN/AL/MS state lines. We spent the time sightseeing and visiting several Civil War Sites.


Our space at Pickwick Landing, near where the Tennessee River runs through Pickwick Lake. Donnie built our one and only campfire of the whole trip and we “burned a few dogs” as my sister Kathy would say. It was a nice quiet park with only a few other campers. In fact, it was so quiet at night we heard coyotes howling.
We camped here with my (BJ’s) Mom and Dad in 1988 when Casey was just eight years old. That trip we really enjoyed watching the barges and tug boats going through the locks at Pickwick Dam, but were unable to repeat the experience. The whole area is now fenced off and no longer open to the public. We guessed it was a safety measure put in place after 9/11.


Here is a photo of tug and barge heading toward the locks.


We drove down into Alabama one day and discovered this creek covered in fog. On the way back we stopped in Corinth, MS at Martha’s Menu, another “meat and three”. Donnie and I have noticed that our jeans are fitting a little snugger after our stay in Tennessee! Wonder why.....



Shiloh National Military Park, site of Battle of Shiloh, April 1862, near Pickwick Landing State Park. Donnie’s second trip to Shiloh, my fourth. We both agreed if you believed in ghosts or spirits, this would be the place to find them.

One of five Confederate burial trenches.


The Sunken Road near the Hornet's Nest where some of the fiercest fighting of the battle took place.


The Bloody Pond where the blood of so many soldiers, North and South, stained the water red.



I didn’t get any photos of our campsite at Montgomery Bell but I always manage to take pics of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Birthplace. Above are the chapel and replica of the log cabin where the church was founded in 1810. Both structures are on the state park grounds.


The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge at a height of 145 ft crosses TN State Route 96. The double arched bridge was completed at a cost of $11.3 million in October 1993.

View from the top of the bridge.

One day we went to Franklin, TN to tour the site of the Battle of Franklin. But first things first: breakfast at Dotson’s, one of the “meat and three” cafes in TN that I had researched. It definitely did not disappoint with eggs, bacon, hashbrown casserole, biscuits, homemade preserves, grits and gravy! It was so good that we went back a couple of days later for the “meat and three” which was just as impressive as breakfast. If you are ever in Franklin we highly recommend Dotson’s, just don’t let the “no frills” exterior and atmosphere keep you from enjoying an exceptional meal.


After breakfast, we drove around town then visited the 1826 Carnton Plantation nearby. On November 30, 1864, the McGavock family who owned the plantation, witnessed one of the worst losses for the Confederacy. The battle lasting only five hours, took a toll of over 10,000 men who were killed, wounded or captured. Carrie McGavock, opened her home as the largest field hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers. The novel “The Widow of the South” is based on Mrs. McGavock and the plantation during the battle.


A giant 150 year old Osage Orange (Texans call it Bois D’Arc) tree in the plantation gardens.


The Confederate Cemetery on the plantation grounds.


Fort Donelson National Battlefield near Dover, TN. The Union victory in February 1862 opened the Cumberland River, advancing the Northern invasion of the South.

The Cemetery Lodge, which now houses burial records, was built in 1877 on the grounds of the Fort’s National Cemetery.

Autumn in Tennessee and North Carolina

These two photos were taken as we were leaving Look Rock Campground on Sunday morning.
Old Friends...

Here we are with the campground host, Fred Griffin, whom we met while camping here in September of 2009. Fred and his wife Millie have hosted at Look Rock for ten years now and have always made us feel right at home.


Jim Whaley (on left) and Mike Berry (on right) who are firefighters with the Alcoa, TN department. We met Jim and his wife Karen, Mike and his wife Audrey, and Mike’s parents, Dottie and Ken during our 2009 trip.

And New...
Hello to Jane and Hank Caruso, who were so kind to invite us into their home and make us feel so welcome. They have a beautiful house with a great view of the mountains on Flats Road just below the campground. We had a wonderful dinner with them and Hank shared his secret for the tasty pork roast. Thanks Hank! Donnie and I enjoyed meeting the Caruso’s neighbors, Ellen and Lesley, who joined us for the meal. I wish I had photos to post from the visit, but I forgot my camera. Maybe next trip...

Of all our travels since we have retired, the people of Eastern Tennessee are the most warm, friendly and welcoming folks that we have ever encountered. We should know, as a portion of our 2009 trip was spent in New York and near the Washington D.C. area, where none of our fellow campers would say hello, let alone talk to us! So... Hurrah for Southern Hospitality!!


On Wears Valley Road this old truck with the trees growing out of the bed really caught our eyes. Obviously it has rested in this spot for quite a few years. The owner was nice enough to let us take a few photos, even though we interrupted him while he was watching the Tennessee Volunteers football game.




One of our favorite drives was Miller Cove Road between Walland and Pigeon Forge, TN.



More scenery from surrounding country roads.


The kudzu vine was introduced to the South from Japan in the late 19th century as food for stock and to stem erosion on worn-out farmlands. Though we find it beautiful to look at, everyone around here sees it as more than a nuisance, as it grows at an alarming speed. In the South, Kudzu has been spreading at a rate of 150,000 acres annually.


On the way home from the Cherohala we stopped at this Bryson City, NC Drive-In for a late lunch. It is called Na-Bers and has been in business since 1954. We chowed down on the best fried chicken and good old southern veggies.


Burning Bush shrubs in Bryson City. Almost every Tennessee and North Carolina yard has these beautiful plants, which have no blooms just brightly colored leaves.







Another day trip to the Cherohala Scenic Skyway in TN/NC



Aunt Becky’s house in the Cable Mill area of Cades Cove.




This was our third and final tour of Cades Cove in the Smokies.

Hey Rylee and Parker, these photos of Grandma and PaPa's visit to the Gatlinburg Aquarium are for you guys. We think it is one of the best aquariums that we have ever seen. One of the neatest areas was the giant shark lagoon filled with 750,000 gallons of water. A moving glidepath (sidewalk) took us around three sides of the lagoon and through an underwater tunnel. We saw really large sharks, sawfish, stingrays and thousands of other fish.
Below are photos of the lagoon.





I love this ray's "face". Looks like he is smiling for the camera!


Blue Tang and Clown Fish.


A Sea Urchin....Oh wait, that’s just PaPa!

Camping in the Smokies...

Hello everyone! We are into our fifth week now at Look Rock Campground in the GSMNP. The following are a few photos we have taken during day trips out and about in the beautiful Tennessee and North Carolina mountains.

I can’t seem to blog without photos of bears. We came across a bear and her cub as we were driving along Flats Road just below our campground. Both bears ignored us as they climbed a tall oak tree and starting munching on acorns.

Here’s mama bear scooting up the tree. Donnie said she reminded him of lineman climbing a pole, and he should know!


She doesn't look very happy with us at this moment, but the bad mood only lasted a minute then it was back to lunch.


The cub climbed to the top of the tree, balancing on limbs so small we wondered how they supported his weight.




Last week Donnie and I walked to the top of Clingmans Dome which is the highest spot in the Smokies at 6643 feet. After a fairly steep half mile we reached the observation platform on the mountain top, with great views of the park. We also stood on the Appalachian Trail but I was too pooped to walk it very far.



We drove through this covered bridge which is all that remains of Harrisburg, TN (in Sevier County). It was built in 1875, and restored in 1972.





Just a few examples of the fall foliage on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove twenty miles or so on the southern end of the parkway near Cherokee, NC to Waterrock Knob Visitors Center. Beginning near Waynesboro, Virginia and ending near Cherokee, NC, the parkway covers over 460 miles of beautiful scenery.



While driving through the park yesterday on our way home we noticed a sign for the Little Greenbriar School. We turned off onto a narrow one lane (but two-way!) gravel road which ended in a little cove. We found the school house which was built in 1882. Classes were taught there until the school closed in 1935.



Fontana Lake in North Carolina, on the southwestern boundary of the GSMNP, covers 10,230 acres. The Fontana Dam, at 480 feet, is the highest in the eastern U.S. It was constructed in the early 1940s to supply the growing need for electricity in the area.



A more recent view of a maple tree near our Look Rock site. We plan to leave next week and travel west to do a little more camping and exploring.