HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HELEN! WE HOPE IT’S PURRRFECTLY WONDERFUL!
Also, to those who celebrate it, HAPPY EASTER! And then there’s APRIL FOOL’S DAY, too.
Day 203 – Supposed to rain today, a good day to move to the next destination, a campground near to the three units within the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge. We are slowly working our way to Elkhart, Indiana, refuge by refuge, towards our first appointment for work to be done on the RV. It was 49 degrees and cloudy at 11:35 a.m. when we left the Elk Harbor Campground, after dumping tanks & refilling the fresh water.
60 miles
Elk Harbor Lakeside Campground, 1570 Cumberland City Road, Cumberland City, TN 37050, (931) 827-4096, www.elkharbor.com, elkharbor@gmail.com. Check-out time is 11 a.m. This campground bordered Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge & there is a boat launch on the grounds. An independent campground, it’d been vacant & in disrepair for three years before the current owners bought it last year. They’re still working on it, but it worked out great for us and our stay. There are several camping loops, each tiered a level above the other; we were in the lowest loop by the Lake. It was private & quiet, only 5 campers in our loop including us, but all sites are fairly close together. The loop we were in housed seasonals. The two closest to us were never there. There’s a cafe and campstore on the premises, we didn’t use either. We had site #3. All sites were full hook-up. Some were not operational & that’s being worked on. It was $30 per night, a bargain. We would stay there again.
We did not follow the GPS since she wanted us to take a roundabout journey that was many more miles. (Sometimes she just does that to us to see if we’re paying attention.) We took small, winding roads thru beautiful countryside (233 SE, 149 SW, and 13 SW) until we reached Interstate 70, heading west. We scouted several campgrounds northwest on Friday & hadn’t found the right one, so we decided to try several southwest today. All we were looking at were in the vicinity of the three units of the Tennessee NWR. At the city of Camden after crossing the Tennessee River/Kentucky Lake, we took the 191 NE, then followed signs to the Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park, near the town of Eva. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center & Park Office & spent a lot of time there – the woman working on Easter Sunday must’ve been lonely because she was talking up a storm, telling us stories, and showing us the two beautiful snakes they had at the Office. (Again, we are finding the folks in the South really love to talk, and it’s with that slow southern drawl – Rob & I often find ourselves talking back in a slow southern drawl. You know how that happens, you pick up the way people are talking & do it yourself?)
She sent us with a map to drive through two campgrounds to look at available sites (a third campground was a group camp and not open). The first, Lake Front Campground, had 13 sites, only one occupied. They were primitive, no hook-ups, but they were right on the Lake. None of these campsites were big enough for our RV; they were designed mostly for tents and small campers. But we figured we’d find something at the other campground within the Park, and were happy we wouldn’t have to look at other campgrounds. There was also a loop leading to the Lake which had 7 new, large cabins available to rent. Very nice. And we read about, but didn’t see, a rustic, authentic, old cabin, secluded at the top of a hill, that was available for rent, too, and part of the State Park system.
Happy Hollow Campground was located in the hills beyond the Lake. It offered 37 campsites with water & electric hook-ups, a dumping station on site. About half the sites were occupied because people were still leaving from Easter Week/Spring Break. Some of the campsites were fairly close together and not all were big enough for the RV. But as we drove around the loop we found site #23, somewhat secluded in a corner of the loop, facing up to a small creek, large enough for the RV and the tow car, and not reserved or currently occupied. YES! We unpacked, had lunch, and went back to the Park Office to pay for three nights.
Click on any picture below to see a slideshow.
People were still leaving once we got back after a LONG conversation with the woman in the office. From what we could tell, the campground had been completely full last week. Good timing for us. The high today was 54 degrees, very cloudy, some showers. We relaxed, sneezed & coughed a bit, and watched the campers leave. There were maybe only five sites occupied by evening. The girls think it’s just fine here; so do we.
I forgot to say something yesterday about the historical furnace alongside the road on the way to Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge, and I’ve asked Rob to repost the picture to go along with the history. We were driving to the Refuge & saw a massive rock structure by the side of the road with an historical sign. When driving around these small country roads, we sometimes forget that people have inhabited these areas and their stories show us an interesting past. (From the NWR brochure): “Cross Creeks and the surrounding areas in Stewart County, Tennessee are rich in history. Archaeological investigations indicate that people lived here during the Paleo-Indian/Early Archaic period, 8000 years ago. These Native Americans who were hunters & gatherers lived along the Cumberland River which they called the “Warioto”. During the 1850’s, much of the nations iron industry was centered in TN and up to 1862, two charcoal iron furnaces were operating on lands that are now within the Refuge. These were the Bellwood and the Rolling Mill Furnaces. Important resources needed in the iron smelting process included limestone that was used as a cleaning agent while the local forest provided timber that was converted into charcoal for melting ore. These resources along with the numerous iron ore deposits made Stewart County one of the top producers of “pig iron” in the state. The only reminder of this industry is a portion of the massive furnace stack at Bellwood. Both it and the Rolling Mill Furnace were destroyed by Union Naval gun boats moving up the Cumberland River following the fall of Fort Donelson in 1862. The Bellwood Furnace is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.”
1850’s Pig Iron furnace near Dover, TN
Driving along these country roads, we are reminded of what had been here before us, and what is good that’s going on today. Today we passed by an old Baptist Church up on a hill. People from the town were standing outside watching the little children, dressed in their Easter finest, running around searching for hidden Easter eggs. Everyone was laughing and having a great time. We soon passed the only restaurant in town and the parking lot was overflowing – the rest of the town must’ve been gathered there for Easter Brunch. I hope when we don’t travel around so much, that we remember to take a look around where we live. There’s so much beauty and history surrounding us. The media, the news, make it seem like it’s all terrible out there. It’s really not if we stop to smell the roses. Okay enough preaching. Easter must’ve gotten into my brain! End of Week 29, Trip #3.