RV There Yet?

Barbara and I have spent most of the past week exploring the Great Smoky Mountains. This is the most visited of all of the national parks. It welcomes approximately 9 million visitors a year. Last week we visited the two visitor centers in Tennessee to determine the best places to go. On Friday we drove the Cades Cove 11 mile loop. Today we drove up to Clingmans Dome and I hiked up to the top. This is the highest point in the state of Tennessee at 6,643 feet above sea level. Tomorrow I am going to hike to Laurel Falls. This is the highest waterfall in the park at 80 feet.

The Smoky Mountains are part of the Appalachians Mountain chain which began to rise approximately 300 million years ago due to the collision of the north American plate and the African plate. This was during the assemblage of the super continent, Pangea. It is believed that at their peak, the Appalachians Mountains were as tall as the modern day Rockies. However, after 300 million years of erosion they are barely what would be considered hills. They may be old but they are very beautiful. Take a look!

After leaving Hot Springs, Arkansas Barbara and I traveled to Natchez Trace Parkway south of Nashville, Tennessee. This is a beautiful area with it’s green hardwood forests and abundant song birds. However, it was a little unnerving having to deal with the severe thunderstorms each day. We didn’t get the worst of it. While there Nashville was getting flooded. We did have one day where I was able to get out, explore and take some photos. I did see several cardinals while here, but they appear to be camera shy.

Last week Barbara and I traveled from New Orleans to the town and national park of Hot Springs in Arkansas. As far as national parks go this isn’t one of the better ones. However we enjoyed our visit. At this location rain water and snow melt percolates down through the cracks in the crustal rock, is heated from below and comes back to the surface as hot springs of almost pure water. This trip takes approximately 4,400 years to complete. Each day nearly 700,000 gallons of 143 degree water comes to the surface in 27 springs located in the area. This water is so pure that it is potable straight from the ground. There are two springs in town where you can fill your own bottles for free.

Barbara and I are currently in Central Tennessee where today we are experiencing heavy rain along with severe lightening. A tornado watch was just posted by the National Weather Service lasting through 9:00pm. Take a look!

At the RV park where we are staying there are bird houses located throughout. Yesterday we saw a cardinal but by the time I got my camera it had flown away. This morning there were two doves in the trees above our trailer. Take a look!

Yesterday Barbara and I visited the New Canal Lighthouse located on the south shore of Lake Ponchartrain. This lighthouse was almost completely destroyed by hurricane Katrina. As you can see, it’s looking good now.

On Friday Barbara and I visited the French Quarter in New Orleans. We had a lot of fun. We saw the St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, we saw the mighty Mississippi River just upstream from where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico and we even visited the Hard Rock Cafe. We even found Dr. Seuss. That’s surprising due to today’s “Cancel Culture”. I tasted beignet’s for the first time. We went to the Cafe Beignet just across the street from Jackson Square, but the line was approximately 200 yards long. Fortunately, they had two other locations a few blocks away with no waiting. After our long afternoon of exploring the French Quarter, exhausted, we made our way back to our trailer. We hope to visit again some day.

I have often been curious about the location of the city of New Orleans. It was built upstream from the Gulf of Mexico in the Mississippi Delta. It’s a good place for a transportation hub, due to the Mississippi River, but where it is located is in most places, below sea level. When standing in Jackson Square, we were 2 feet below sea level. They could have accomplished the same thing if they had built the city 15 miles to the north where the land is above sea level. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the city is built on fill. It’s a good thing they don’t have frequent earthquakes. If they did, they would have even more to worry about than just hurricanes and flooding.

Barbara and I are currently staying at the Wilderness RV Park in Robertsdale, AL. This is not much of an RV park, but it has great potential. Unfortunately, it appears that the owners don’t have the energy and or money to make it in to the park that it could be. If someone was interested creating an RV museum, this would be a great place to start. There are a lot of older RV’s parked here. There are a few mallard ducks that call this place home. I went for a short walk this morning and took a few photos of the better areas in the park. Take a look.

Barbara and I have been staying here since Wednesday and have really been enjoying ourselves, especially the view. Today I took a hike on one of their featured hiking trails, the Mountain Creek Trail. This trail is listed at 3.2 miles, but with all of my off-trail adventures I made it 4.8 miles. Tomorrow we head to Alabama for four days and then off to the “Big Easy”. We have never been there before so we are really looking forward to it. As usual I have some photos to share.

This morning Barbara called Wakulla Springs State Park to see if there were any manatee’s there. It cooled down into the mid thirties last night, so we thought they may have ventured inland. She was told that they were there, but they couldn’t guarantee how long they would stay. So we jumped into our truck and took the 35 mile drive to the park. By the time we arrived, they were gone. I guess I’ll have to add them to my list of Florida’s mythical creatures. I did get some nice photos at the park. Take a look!