Take me home, Country roads

 Ordinarilly, in a car, I can handle a straight through drive heading home after a vacation.  These days it's not the same at all. Getting accustomed to retirement, I realize its not a vacation, its an adventure. I don't have to be home next Monday to get back to work,  The drive is nearly as important as the destination, and instead of taking the fastest and most direct route, I can find the most relaxing and scenic route.  This was our plan for the return trip for July, a subtle relaxing tour of the peaceful country roads hidden under the canopy of trees beyond the view from the Interstate highways breaking the 14 hour return trip into 3 travel days.  

We left Roan Mountain State Park and wound our way through a maze of forest mountain roads and back out to the highway.  By mid-afternoon we had arrived at the Love's RV Stop in Loudoun, TN.  Nothing special, just a safe place to take a break with all the hook-ups and amenities available on-site including a quick junk food fix should the need arise.  We got set up, settled in for the evening and filled the fuel tank next morning on the way out.  From there we took another leisurely drive across the Dayton Mountains and over to Pikeville stopping to get some fresh local produce along the way. 

Not being in a hurry is key to enjoying the ride.  The roads are fraught with 15 and 20 mph turns and steep grades.  When you're not zooming along the interstate at 75 mph, a 25 mph stroll through the back roads is an adventure all to itself.  

Retirement allows me the calm needed to enjoy this rather than dread the hazards because I can actually relax and enjoy the scenery along the way.  I'll still be running with the flow as soon as we get back down onto the US Highways in between these vistas but it's no longer about trying to make time and instead its more about making memories.  Not wanting to stop and cook and looking for something other than fast food we came across a nice BBQ restaurant in the town of McMinnville, TN and stopped in for lunch.  The highway was undergoing some work and made getting there a little difficult but well worth it.  Lynn went in and ordered a plate of Saint Louis Ribs for both of us while I took the boys on a walk and potty break.  We sat outside and ate in the shade.  This place is situated right alongside a popular canoeing and kayaking spot in the area and they had signs all over to let the kayakers know the upper parking was for restaurant parking only.

From there we headed a little southwest to take in a few miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway.  Like the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, this one is another relaxing scenic drive provided by the National Park Service and one we would like to explore further on another outing.  Although the speed limit is a brisk 50 mph on this one compared to 35-45 on the Blue Ridge, it's still a relaxing interlude with the sights, sounds, and smell of the wilderness to settle your senses and relax.

Our next scheduled stop is another of the Thousand Trails resorts, a two night stay this time to break up the long road home.  I really wasn't looking forward to this one nearly as much after our previous experience but my expectations would no longer leave me disappointed either.  Surprisingly, Thousand Trails Natchez Trace Wilderness Preserve turned out ok.  This one covers a lot of ground and at the gate when we arrived, they actually told us we could just drive around and pick a spot of our liking.  We looked over the map and picked an area as far from the tourist trappings as possible and found a site in a tree covered area with scores of vacant sites all around.  This is still not something I would consider a destination but at least a decent stopover point along the way and not too busy.  I was planning this to be the last entry of our July trip but we still have one more stop between here and home and its at a State Park on the Eastern side of Arkansas that should still be worth a mention.  

Have a great weekend, Ya'll take care.

Follow Up:

I apologize for the delay, there was no signal to finish the blog at our next stop and when we arrived home, we found that the storms had wiped out our network, Air Conditioning, Garage door and a few other items.  I've been busy getting it all back up since then.

    We stayed at Village Creek State Park just south of Wynne, AR for an overnight stop and found another beautiful, peaceful campground worth more than an overnighter and we'll likely stop here again in the future.