If you have read any of our previous blog posts, you know we used to travel in a pick-up with a camper shell. In December, we bought a new Nissan van for our travels.
It is a 12-passenger van so we can take our three grandchildren on trips:
We can take out the seats and put in a sleeping platform and use it for two-person trips.
After canceling trips with the kids to New Mexico in April and our trip to Alaska this summer and homeschooling/babysitting for three months, we managed to take a break and make a 12-day road trip to Tennesee. Not our usual 3-month sojourn, but it was nice to get away from the heat and humidity of Houston and visit hills, mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. We have soooo missed camping and hiking since returning from our last road trip last September.
A short visit to Shiloh National Military Park, The Visitor Center was closed, but we did drive through part of the battlefield auto tour.
Shiloh National Cemetery
Campsite in David Crockett State Park near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee
Crockett Falls
Statue of David Crockett in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee
We also spent time at . . .
We took a boat trip on Fall Creek Lake - very relaxing.
The climb to the top was not so relaxing. We had to hike up the hill from the gate
at the bottom to reach the fire tower.
Brian stopped halfway up
Nice view from the top
On our bed waiting out a summer rain shower to pass
Cane Creek Falls in Fall Creek Falls State Park
We drove the Cherohala Skyway through Cherokee National Forest (Tennessee) and Nantahala National Forest (North Carolina) so we could take in views of the Smoky Mountains and find caches in the one county in NC that we didn't have any finds. We have now found geocaches in every county in 27 states. We drove around Great Smoky Mountains National Park but did not enter the park. (We did not want to have to deal with Gatlinburg, TN and we discovered the formerly-quiet town of Cherokee at the NC entrance to the park is not so quiet anymore - huge Harrah's casino, increased traffic. These days, the town of Maggie Valley looks more appealing.)
We chose the Natchez Trace Parkway for our return route and drove all 444 miles from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi. Such a relaxing and scenic route with numerous places to pull off and stretch out legs. Little traffic and a comfortable 50 mph pace. We spent two days on the Trace.
A portion of the Trace is on this bridge near the northern terminus.
A truck with a camera on a crane-type arm was driving
over the bridge and filming a Mitsubishi commercial.
Someday we may recognize this distinctive bridge on TV.
Gravesite of Meriwether Lewis who died nearby
“In the language of Mr. Jefferson: his courage was undaunted; his firmness and perseverance yielded to nothing but impossibilities, a rigid disciplinarian yet tender as a father to those committed to his charge; honest, disinterested liberal with a sound understanding and a scrupulous fidelity to truth.”
(Note: Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is a riveting account of Lewis and Clark's epic journey. I highly recommend it for all history lovers.)
Old cemetery on the Natchez Trace. The oldest legible headstone we found was dated 1851.
We made a short detour from the Natchez Trace to go into Port Gibson, MS
not far from Natchez.
We wanted to see the steeple of the Presbyterian Church in town . . .
. . . and Windsor Ruins
Info sign at Windsor Ruins
Emerald Mound near the southern terminus.
Seen while geocaching:
geocache location . . .
. . . with reading material inside
Centerville, Tennessee - hometown of Minnie Pearl
Sarah Colley's grave in Franklin, Tenn. (aka Minnie Pearl)
Love the straw hat next to her marker!
Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn.
Brian on Father's Day
Overlook at Beersheba Springs, Tenn.
on the decking of the overlook at Beersheba Springs
A challenging hike to Greeter Falls near Altamont, TN for an earthcache -
quite crowded on Father's Day.
The owners of this geocache live across the road and told
us they enjoy watching people stop at their mailbox.
Almost home near the Texas-Louisiana border:
This trip was so different from our past trips - shorter in duration and miles (only 3,600), limited National Park Service experiences (we passed up sites we will have to come back to someday), less spontaneity and flexibility, fewer restrooms available, and the necessity to take sanitizing wipes and face masks into public places. The trip did meet our main objectives - scenic drives, hills and forests, cooler weather, "shake down" trip in the van to determine needed modification before taking longer journeys. It was nice to pay less for gas and to find fewer people on the hiking trails.
We are now back on babysitting duty with three grandkids (ages 4, 6, and 7) and waiting to find out what happens when school begins next month. The van is back in the driveway waiting for the sleeping platform to be taken out and seats put back. Of course, we are dreaming of our next adventures!
