Davidsonville Historic State Park

 We stayed at Milan City Park as planned, this time with a pull-through site.  Nothing else reserved for the remainder of the trek home so we pondered various routes and decided on the path less traveled.  We avoided Memphis and crossed the Mississippi River at Dyersburg and across the boot heel of Missouri.  I came across an Arkansas State Park we were unaware of but we found plenty of good ratings and decided to give it a try.

Davidsonville Historic State Park is about 70 miles northwest of Memphis, TN.  Turns out there is way too much history to summarize here, so if you'd like to check it out further, here's a wiki link.  Being Arkansas residents, we got a great discount for a campsite with full hook-ups.  I didn't get any pictures this time so I decided to put a copy of the Background picture here just to fill the space.

This is our last stop before making the final leg home.  We could easilly grab another campsite somewhere between here and home but I'd rather make the 5 hour drive and be home.  As much as we enjoy the time out, it's still nice to get home and back to normal, whatever that is...  We'll be heading south before the end of October so I'll be posting again in about a month.  Cheers!

Crossing Tennessee

We prepared to leave the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park Sunday morning.  I caught a glimpse of what had looked like someone walking a large dog, or at least thats what it appeared to be from my vantage point.  I laughed out loud a moment later when it came out from behind my car and into full view.  I felt both amused and a little awkward, still unsure how my outburst was received.  It just stopped and turned to look at me.  Not having my camera, I just said "Hi there", but there was only a nonchelant nod.  As it walked away I ran into the RV, grabbed my phone, and raced back out to get a shot.  I got 4 shots but he/she was already a good distance away and was not interested in a photo op. A BIG Mountain Goat is all I can only assume, almost 4 feet tall at the shoulder.  I wish I could have gotten a shot of him by the car when he was so close and stood still looking at me.

We headed out of the campground soon after and followed the Cumberland Ridge southwest.  Following the ridge along the highway made it obvious just how important the Cumberland Gap really was.  It would be quite some time before we came across another break in the Cumberland Ridge.  I was imagining a frontiersman riding past the Cumberland gap on his horse thinking "nah, there's prbably a better place further down" and then consumed with doubt a week later. 

Our next stay is at Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  There are 3 Campground areas but 2 of them are under upgrade construction.  We stayed here because it was convenient to visit friends nearby.  The campsite we got had water and electric hookups, a huge level pad, and is a spacious site overall. 

We'll be leaving here Tuesday morning and taking a casual ride west headed to a park we stayed at on our return trip in July.  Milan, Tennessee.  I'm so glad you could take time out to follow us here.  Let me know if you have any questions, I'm always happy to share.  Until next time, Cheers!

Wilderness Road

We're staying at the Wilderness Road Campground in The Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. The campground is laid out very well.  Most of the campsites are placed well apart from each other giving a sense of privacy you don't often find in most RV sites. Theres a good bit of dense forest all around breaking up the view to your camp neighbors.  Being a National Park, great care was taken to respect the grounds.  Level RV spots were not a priority, most require ramps or blocks.  Our campsite was near enough that we only needed the ramps on one of the rear wheels.  There are Electrical hook-ups at only 41 of the 160 campsites, and there is a water spigot available on each of the campground loops.  The restroom and shower facilities are worthy of a National Park . If you could see past the trees, we're barely a mile east of the gap in Virginia.  From the Wilderness Road, about a half mile from our campsite where it crosses over the Tennessee line, you can see the gap quite well.

We set out this morning to explore the area and took the first road we came upon.  It led down to the Town of Cumberland Gap. Historically the spot was settled in 1888 as a work camp for Iron production, there is a trail on the edge of town leading to the Iron Furnace directly below our vantage point here.

We made our way back out to the highway and through the tunnel into Kentucky where the Main Visitors center is.  From there we followed a steep and winding road to the Pinnacle Overlook.  The panoramic photo below says more than I ever could.  Tennessee on the left, Kentucky to the right, standing at the Pinnacle Overlook in Virginia.

We'll be making our way back towards home tomorrow, next stop is Cedars of Lebanon State Park.  God willing and a good signal, I'll get another post in soon.  Cheers!

Cumberland Gap

Friday Travel day.  A bit of a busy day, we made several stops along the way here from Roan Mountain picking up supplies.  I was hopeful there would be a few good opportunities for pictures along the way, The view of some of the mountains was awesome but every time a good view came up, there wasn't anywhere to pull off and get it.  When a good spot to pull off appeared, there wasn't a view.  I'm thinking the Tennessee Highway department has already figured this out. Hmmm.

We traveled North to the Cumberland Gap. A truly historic place in this beautiful country as one of the few places permitting the frontier west. It's hard to imagine anyone getting beyond the Cumberland Ridge with anything other than a horse.

The Cumberland Gap is the only pass in the continuous Cumberland Mountain ridgeline.  It lies on the border of Kentucky and Virginia near the tri-state border with Tennessee.  The gap serves as a gateway to the west. The base of the gap is about 300 feet above the valley floor, even though the north side of the pass was lowered 20 feet during the construction of Old US 25E.  To the south, the ridge rises up 600 feet above the pass, while the north Pinnacle Overlook towers 900 feet above at an elevation of 2,505 feet.

Long used by Native American nations, the Cumberland Gap was brought to the attention of settlers in 1750 by Thomas Walker, a Virginia physician and explorer. The path was used by a team of frontiersmen led by Daniel Boone, making it accessible to pioneers who used it to journey into the western frontiers of Kentucky and Tennessee. An important part of the Wilderness Road, it is now part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. 

Roan Mountain

 Well, it rained non-stop till about noon Tuesday.  We'd had enough of it and got in the car to take a drive up the mountain.  The road goes very near to the top of Roan Mountain where you cross over the North Carolina State line and decend for miles.  I got a low fuel level warning but there was a gas station about 8 miles away, all downhill.  I put in $20 worth (at $4.209) and continued along.  We eventually came across a familiar little town we visited in the summer during our Blue Ridge Parkway adventure.  Spruce Pine N.C. is a nice small town nestled in the mountains between Roan Mountain and the Parkway.  By this point the rain had ceased and we were nearing the Town of Roan Mountain.  Google told us about a highly rated place to stop for lunch, and we did. Smokey Mountain Bakery turned out to be as good as its rating.  An off the beaten path, quaint little spot you won't find without GPS, we had a wood fired pizza that was just right to liven up a weary body.

We drove back up to the top of Roan Mountain again today, The shot above was about a mile and a half from the top but I had to stop and get a shot of that view.  Good thing I did because when we arrived at the top, a cloud bank was rolling in and soon visibility was too poor to get much more.

Part of my reasoning for driving back to the top of Roan Mountain was to get a good shot of the early fall colors that we've gotton to see during our little trek.  Unfortunately every time we would have one of those OOooh moments, there was nowhere to pull off and get the shot.  Too often on a 2 lane road with a steep wall on one side and guardrail with a steep drop on the other.  I did take a stroll around the campground though and took a few shots for the scrapbook.

By most accounts, the fall colors will peak about the time we get back home. I expect we'll get a few more chances in the week ahead.  I'll be sure to post them if I do.

We'll be here till Friday, check-out is by noon but I'm planning to head out by 10am.  Then it's about a 2 hour drive north to our next destination, which I'll reveal in another post.  Till then, Happy Hump Day! :-)

Roan Mountain State Park

Located at the base of the majestic Roan Mountain, Roan Mountain State Park encompasses more than 2,000 acres dominated by rich hardwood forest along rugged ridges. The cool, clear Doe River winds its way through the center of the park and supports a healthy population of trout.

We arrived Sunday afternoon about 4:30. Almost every park we go to is usually emtying out on Sundays, Not so here, or at least not by appearances. When we arrived, there were 2 other campers waiting at the ranger station but no rangers available. A bystander noted they were short staffed and out in the park. We already had our campsite reserved and proceeded to get in and setup. I expected to see a lot of empty sites considering the time of year and being Sunday. It looks like the campground is 95% full. The campsite we occupied last year wasn't available and we knew that in August when we made the reservation. Maybe everyone is here for the fall colors, which we noted are beginning to change as we made our way into the mountains. Not as evident from the campsite, but we're underneath a dense forest canopy with just a hint of color peaking through.




The high expected today is 64 degrees, it was 59 when I stepped out this morning. It's 2:00 now and still only 62. The picture above was the site we reserved in August. It was barely long enough get into and still have room to park the car. Once we got in place and leveled out, there was an 18 inch drop from the bottom step to the ground. This morning when we were headed down to the ranger station, we made the rounds around the campground and found a few that we better suited and had our reservation changed. Below is where we settled in for the rest of our stay. We found out there was a Tropical depression making landfall in the Carolina's and of course it started to rain as we were relocating to the new site, but it never got any worse than a light drizzle.






This part of the campground is considered "Premium" campsites, presumably because they are all on mostly level ground, Other than that, no difference. I still prefer the site we had last year and we're already looking at booking it now for next summer. The Wi-Fi is great here, there are wi-fi repeaters all over the park, not much of a cell or tv signal but my phone doesn't care when it has wi-fi.



We are here for the rest of the week and if the weather clears up a little, we'll get out and about exploring everything nearby. For now, its peaceful, quiet, and a little on the cool side with the light rain expected to clear around nightfall. Perfect for a light nap, maybe  :-) Cheers!

September 2024

 Greetings!

We're off again on another escape.  We'll be staying at Roan Mountain State Park in Eastern Tennessee along the North Carolina border.  We were last there July 2023 and had wished we could have stayed longer.  On our July 2024 trip up the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway, I was almost disappointed we didn't break away and stay at Roan Mountain since it was fairly close to our route but, that would have been another brief stay and I knew we already had plans in the making for this outing..  

We left home last Wednesday and as usual, had our share of first day out issues.  I had intended to take GeorgieGirl out and get the LP tank filled, but Over the weekend found steel belts showing on the right front tire.  We checked every tire shop in a 30 mile radius looking for a place to schedule.  Most were closed for the weekend and with so little time left before we were to leave, it was critical we got the tires replaced ASAP or we would have to cancel the trip.  Luckily, there was a shop in Bentonville that was open and could have the tires onsite Monday afternoon.  With Tires mounted and balanced, I drove her back home and forgot about the LP tank.  So when we pulled out Wednesday, I headed to the RV Propane place about 5 miles north and got the tank filled.  Heading back south, our phones notified us a package was seen at the front door.... so we stopped at the house again, put the package inside and started off again.

Our first stay was Maumelle Park, This is a beautiful Corps of Engineers park just north of Little Rock we use as a regular launching place for most trips.  It's only about a 3 hour drive and alows us to gather our thoughts on what we might have forgotten or need to shop for in the days ahead.

Heading East Thursday through driving rain, the remnants of a Cat 1 hurricane that came up from the gulf,  we made our way to Parkers Crossroads and a private RV park with full hook-ups and good wi-fi. Lynn had a zoom meeting to attend that night so a strong wi-fi connection was required.   After that, the skies cleared up and we continued East to stop at our current location at Center Hill Lake, Floating Mill Campground near Silver Point Tennessee, about an hour east of Nashville. After 2 straight days of travel, this place is a welcome respit. 

This is another Corps of Engineers park and although it would be very cramped if it were full, there is only about 40% occupancy and we are staying another night to break up the drive.  Tomorrow we'll continue East  another 250 miles to our Destination, Roan Mountain State Park. For now, It's a beautiful 80 degrees with a light breeze. Yesterday after we arrived and got setup, there was a brief shower that passed through here and I stepped outside just in time to catch a faded rainbow. 

Today, I've had the pleasure of taking Toto and Bilbo for a stroll around the campground, Assisted two friends with computer issues, and put this blog post together.  I couldn't be much more relaxed and am now looking forward to the drive tomorrow.  Our stay at Roan Mountain last year was so nice, but I think we had very limited cell service.  Our campsite this time is a bit further up the mountain and might just afford us a better signal.  I'll post again tomorrow afternoon if that proves to be the case,  If not, I'll try to get it written and drive to a location where I can upload it.  

Have a great weekend, I am.... Cheers!