Tims Ford

    Wednesday morning was nice, another of those "no worry" days since it was only about a 4 hour drive to our next stop, and the Chickasaw park was a quiet peaceful spot that led to an easy feeling of calm.  I'm not really sure what time we pulled out, it was a calm relaxed morning and we just got a quick breakfast and started out.  Getting out of this park was much easier than getting in because the drive to the RV campsites actually rounded back out to the highway.  I added a few miles to the trip to include a Starbucks stop on our route, this would take us up to US-412 East and into Columbia, TN.  

I tried to refrain from mentioning the temperatures on the last post since it appears I focused on almost nothing else previous it.  Thankfully for this leg of the trip, temps were only in the 80s and we were on a lot of 2-lane roads with lots of trees and hills.  A few hours in, I was ready for a break and eyeing for signs of a good place to pull off and let the boys out.  I hadn't been looking for long when I notice a county park on the right and thought it looked promising.  Wow, I expected maybe a pavilion, swimming area and probably a ball field.  This turned out to be all of the above and included about 50+ campsites with water and electric.  There was even a pull-thru site and it provided the perfect spot to stop for lunch.  We're adding this one to our list.  It's not what I would consider a destination but would definitely do well for an overnight stop if you're in a pinch.  We stayed for the better part of an hour, then continued on towards Columbia, TN for that Starbucks. Yum...

We made our way to Tims Ford State park and arrived just after 4pm.  This time there was no Park gate and check-in, and since we already had the site reserved, we just meandered our way around the grounds until we came upon our assigned site.  This is to be a two night stay, a well deserved break from the daily drives.  By the time we got in and setup, the temps were back in the upper 90s and it was a good hour just getting the RV comfortable.  I  took that time to get everything else setup like the BBQ, carpet, Lounge chairs, etc.  As luck would have it, I stepped back into the RV to rest and a gust of wind blew the awning up like a sail.  A storm front was approaching and it started to rain.  Within minutes the temps fell 10 degrees and after a long light rain we were enjoying a calm misty 78 degrees with a light breeze.  It sprinkled on and off all night and we awoke to a very nice 73 degree morning.

Tims Ford State Park, and more specifically Fairview Campground, is on a huge reservoir and is frequented by campers and fishing enthusiasts.  Being the last week in June, the campground was full, and a bit cramped compared to a lot of sites we've visited but there was a nice green space beside us that lent itself to the dining table window where I'm sitting and writing the blogs.  I outlined our site on the aerial map for reference, site 82.  It's about noon now and a nice 80 degrees with mostly cloudy skies and a light breeze.  I plan to take the boys for walk around the campground loop after lunch. We'll be here again tonight, then back on the road east tomorrow once more.