LIFE IN THE BIG CITY.
Day 65 – At 6:30 this morning it was 45 degrees and partly cloudy. We were up a bit early so that we got an earlier start this morning. It takes several hours to pack up, dump tanks, & leave, plus we we have a long day of driving ahead of us.
314 miles, (6:50), 35713-36027
We left Lakepoint State Park at 9:25 a.m. It was 49 degrees & cloudy. The bow-hunters event was still going on, but the fishing tournament was over. Many of the fishermen were leaving. A guy in a pick-up truck was driving the campground loop over & over, pulling screaming (with glee) children on skateboards behind him. Yep, it was time to leave.
We drove north, then west, through small towns, following the GPS. Our destination was northern Alabama near the Tennessee border. We had never been this way before so it was all new territory for us. The hills increased & the countryside was lovely. The clouds cleared to a bright, sunny day. (We sure didn’t know that Alabama was hilly. We did some substantial climbing over big hills/small mountains.) The traffic was light, probably because it was a Sunday, and since we were in the south & there’s a church on every corner, people were probably otherwise occupied, ho ho. (We take that back. On one corner there was a church. Across the street on the corner was a self-storage place. The opposite corner would have a Dollar General [we kid you not] and more than likely, another church would be on the final corner. Gas stations had prices varying 20 cents per gallon; no controls here.)
We reached the City of Birmingham, Alabama. It should have been easy to get through the area. The sprawl started WAY before the actual City with high-end stores and mansions in gated communities in the rolling hills. But no. GPS sometimes gets it wrong when there’s road work going on & routes have changed due to road closures. We should’ve easily gotten on I-65 heading north out of town, but lo & behold, there was no way to get there from here. GPS had us circling around, again & again, trying to find the onramp for I-65 N which did not exist due to the construction. We were unleashed with an RV in the middle of downtown Birmingham, which is a very large City. Driving an RV pulling a tow car is not fun in these circumstances. We gave up on the GPS and hand-plotted on a map, imagine that? Didn’t people use to do that all the time? LOL.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
By the time we got off the merry-go-round, we were many miles east of where we wanted to be, so we took “blue highways” through farmlands & gorgeous rolling-hill country to get back to I-65. It really was a nice drive. We stopped for lunch at a small shopping center. The girls had been hollering to get out for a little while. It was a much-needed break by all. Back on the road, we drove awhile & finally got back on I-65 where we should have been long ago. We crossed the huge Tennessee River and entered the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. We knew we weren’t too far from our destination since the reason we were travelling here was to spend a day or two at this wildlife refuge. We stopped for gas in Athens, AL after getting off I-65. There was a dog at the gas station, riding with his owner in a convertible, wagging its tail so hard we thought it would fall off. That must be doggie heaven – a car ride without windows and a roof!
We reached our campground in Rogersville, AL at 4:15 p.m. It was 61 degrees & sunny. We did not have reservations, thinking that it was Sunday afternoon and the weekend was basically over. The Ranger said that it was the beginning of Spring Break week & they were filling up fast. We grabbed two nights at the assigned campsite, #A007. (We’ll see if we need to stay longer depending on if we finish the NWR tomorrow or need more time.)
Joe Wheeler State Park is one of those Alabama “resort” state parks. It has 116 campsites, 110 of which have full hook-ups including sewer. In separate sections of the Park, there is a boat launch onto Wheeler Lake which leads to the Tennessee River & a marina, a Lodge with rooms & a restaurant, laundromat, store, golf course, cottages, picnic areas, tennis & basketball courts, etc., a city within a city. We were happy with our campsite. So, after a long day, we opened the beer & wine and relaxed. Our campsite faced into the woods & other campers weren’t too close so we were okay & the cats were happy.
Brophy says you’re right……riding with the top and windows down is DEFINITELY canine nirvana!