2019-7 Chattanooga to Pigeon Forge Tennessee

2019-7

The Great Smokie Mts

Elkmont Nature Trail

Chattanooga Tennessee

Campground: Harrison State Park, TN. $21.00 50amp w/electric Senior discount 25% off, $18 a night. Older park, campsites including many pull-thrus can be tight with trees, curved driveways and sloping sights. I had to put my rear-view mirrors in to back up on incline slope. Loop A is more open and better for larger rigs.

Nice marina and restaurant, swimming pool and lake beach.

Harrison State Park
marina, swimming pool, tennis courts, golf course
campground

Campground: Eagles Nest, Pigeon Forge TN. $21 PPA discount. 50 amp full-hookup w/cable TV. Less for sites with 30 amp. Nice campground, good location to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Word has it that the place has been sold and will close temporarily this fall for redevelopment. New concrete pads, paved roads, etc. And no doubt an increase in price.

commercial campground

Distance traveled: 120 miles
Georgia into Tennessee

Harrison State Park, many campsites are older
tight curves, close trees, uneven.... check out loop A for large rigs

My drive was partially on I-75, always a busy highway but at least I was able to get onto it north of Atlanta Ga. The usual heavy traffic at times and lots of semi-trucks. Still, I was able to travel at a comfortable speed of just under 65 miles an hour as it was a three lane highway in each direction.

I booked the state park campground and was pleasantly reminded that Tennessee gives all seniors a 25% discount on camping. Keeping my camping fees under my preferred price of $20 or less.

Lots of small projects this week with a little bit of touring included. I’ve been ordering stuff online and having it sent to my Mail provider in Pensacola and they forward it to me via General Delivery to what ever small town post office is nearby.

temporary fix, cracked
wind guard (trees)

updated loose wire connections

installed new fuse box
for solar system

 

I’ll be installing a new fuse box for part of my solar panel setup since that item arrived in the mail and I also received my new Kindle Paper White. Was able to get $15 for trading in my old Kindle and also received a 25% discount on top of that, making for a very happy camper indeed. You know how I love a bargain. The paper White is easier to read both indoors and outdoors and I’m really looking forward to that.

My Roku stock has done exceptionally well with their second quarter earning results the other day. In effect doubling the value of my investment. It should continue on an upward trend for quite some time.

Of course, as a few people have pointed out, until I sell the stock, it’s only a profit on paper and could be wiped out tomorrow.

Chattanooga Train Museum

I did take some time the other day to drive over to the Chattanooga Train Museum. It was raining lightly and I was hoping it would let up while I was there. Surprise, they were having their yearly kids special with Thomas the Train, “I think I can, I think I can”. Well the rains came, there weren’t any good displays inside the main train station, except continual movies of Thomas the Train and outside tents with kid displays and games. Oh well, it got me out of the camper for a while, even if in the rain.

Thomas the Train

balloon lady, happy,, just before the downpour

I did have a fun day the following day, heading up to Signal Point to find a UFO house. Having discovered it on the app “Atlas of the Obscure”. Along the way I found a unique house sitting on top of a lift bridge. Scoring two really cool looking buildings.

house on the top of a Lift Bridge 

UFO house

what a fun find

on the road leading to the top of Signal Mountain

The Spaceship house was built in 1972 during the Star Trek craze. It’s been sold many times and I believe you can rent it through AirBB.

Distance Traveled: 126 miles. 4 hour drive, taking the secondary roads.

Traveling from the Chattanooga area, I took hwy 58, hwy 30 to 441 and 321. 321 being the narrowest of roads as it boarders the Great Smokey Mountains, ie winding and climbing along the edge. 321 not recommended for larger Rv's, motorhomes.

Now this is probably going to be the highlight of my summer travels, a visit to Elkmont Tennessee.

Elkmont Tennessee

I knew about this place by watching YouTube on my ROKU Tv. The town evolved from a base for a logging company and eventually the land was sold to hunting and fishing enthusiasts, becoming a summer camp resort. The Wonderland Park Hotel was built in 1912, eventually becoming the Wonderland Club and the area evolved into an elite vacation area for the wealthy locals in the area.

After the Great Smokey Mountain national park was established, the lifetime leases were converted to 20 year leases and eventually all the land and homes became a part of the NP. The hotel and cottages were removed, but in 1994 many of the remaining cottages were designated as historic places. Finally in 2009 the park decided to restore the clubhouse and 18 cottages.

obviously I'm into old buildings

triple extensions on this cabin

these were simple summer cottages

love the paint/stain used on many of the cabins

this log cabin is the oldest structure in the town

close neighbors, big porches to sit out on

There are a number of nice hiking trails along old road beds, where one can see the remains of the millionaires row of cottages, stone fireplaces and foundations standing alone in the woods. Only the Spence Cottage remains standing and can be rented. I’m here to mainly take lots of pictures and absorb the Smokey Mountain scenery. There’s a nice campground where the original town once existed, trails for hiking and a number of good rivers for fishing.

Needless to say, I’m in heaven exploring this old town and I’m sure I’ll have to come back to explore a number of the trails. What a grand adventure. So much so, that a came back a few days later to take a hike on the old railroad bed/road along the river. Talk about a babbling brook. The rushing river was dancing, splashing, crashing over the large rocks along the river bed. It was so loud I kind of missed that normally quiet walk in the woods.

Wonderland Club
I sat on the porch for a while, just enjoying
the scenery of the Great Smokey Mts

Wonderland Club

all but one of the millionaire row of cottages
was torn down before having been declared
historic bldgs

lots of fishermen and a few women along the banks

my kind of hiking trail, very easy on the feet and not rocks
to look out for

one of the prime cottages torn down

Spence Cabin, last of the millionaire row of cottages

available for rent by the National Parks

Spence Cabin

Pigeon Forge Tennessee

Titanic Exhibit

Back in Pigeon Forge, I toured the Titanic exhibit. It’s well done, with lots of information on the building and design of the ship, the large staff it took to run it (over 345 men required to shovel coal in the boilers 24 hours a day) Stories about the people who survived and those that lost their lives after hearing the fateful words “iceberg ahead”.

Now Pigeon Forge is definitely a major tourist attraction on the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains. The buildings are excessively large, grand, gaudy in design. Many of the restaurants are cavernous in size and design. Not filled with tourists this time of year, but wait a few weeks when school lets out and the summer vacationers arrive. Even the large empty parking lots at Dolly-wood will be filled to overflowing. And almost all of the attractions, restaurants and businesses are advertising for “all positions hiring”.

the Great Smokey Mountains, from Pigeon Forge TN

the Hollywood Wax Museum

Just up the road, surrounded by the Great Smokies is Gatlinburg. A tighter more compact version of Pigeon Forge, with all of the large venues like multiple Ripley’s Believe it or Not crowded on top of each other. Oh, and the parking is not easy to find, definitely not available on the main street. Parking lots including private ones for restaurants charge for parking even if you’ll be dining in with them.

Travel Tip: The Foothills Parkway has finally been completed and opened only a short time ago. It’s taken over 50 years to complete. Search the Wears Valley for the new entrance to the parkway. Hwy 321.

More photos:

Chattanooga TN, trains, UFO house, house on top of a bridge (92 pictures)

Great Smokey Mt, Elkmont town  (297 pictures)

2019-6 Fort Gaines Georgia to Abbeville Alabama

2019-6

Fort Gaines Georgia

traveling rural roads

Hardridge Creek, water front sites

Campground: Hardridge Creek, COE park. Senior Rate: $12. Water and 50amp electric. Site are well kept, paved driveways with concrete pad. Many with lakefront views. Air-conditioned bathhouse and washer/dryer available. Dump station nicely positioned.

Campground: VFW POST 7402, Buchanan GA. $20 for 30 amp, water site. $5 entry fee into gated park daily (good for 3 entries via bar-code) ie $25 to stay per day. Ni e swimming beach, a favorite for the locals.  The VFW post does not look to be active, no postings of events etc.

Distance Traveled: 175 miles

Georgia has some awesome state roads and I traveled a number of them. Hwy 19, double lane divided highway with grassy median through one stop light towns. Hwy 37 hardly saw any vehicles. My campsite is actually across the boarder into Alabama. We Rv-ers appreciate this country setting in that there are lots of Army COE parks on the spine between Alabama and Georgia. Why anyone would drive I-75 through Georgia is beyond me.

This COE park is done up right. Air-conditioned bathhouses, well paved roads throughout, nice swimming beach, boat ramps, and they even have screen enclosed cleaning stations for filleting your catfish. Impressive.

ended up extending my stay it was such an awesome site

An odd thing though, at the check in station, the campground hosts, which I believe are paid camp workers, though they don’t wear uniforms or T-shirts, are well, how do I put this. Darn right rude and a bit surly. Upon check in, the white haired guy was adamant that I not only post my tag on the windshield but that I hold it up every-time I go through to my campsite. As I was leaving to go into town, I slowed down next to the entrance station, and as I pulled away, a woman pokes her head out the window and screams at me at the top of her lungs. Ekk. She tells me to back up. Of course I do, wondering what on earth I’ve done wrong. I know I wasn’t going fast.

Out pops her husbands head and he tells me in no uncertain terms that he told me to stop going and coming into the park and to show my tag! I explained I hadn’t herd the second part and would stop from now on. Now I’ve been Rv-ing for well over 15 years and have never, ever been told to show my tag and hold it out so the attendant can see it going and coming into the park. I’m going to investigate this and will add additional info later.

Abbeville Alabama

Drove over to this little town looking for a bite to eat, cute little town, not too many shops, a nice old drugstore and restaurant and a number of buildings owned by the lumber company, Great Southern Wood Preserving Inc. You know, the YellaWood pressure treated pine. As I was walking around the town, which they own quite a bit off, I also noted that there were security cameras everywhere. Not sure what that’s about.

small town festival,
14 year old singer with a strong
clear voice

Yellow Wood Company owns
many of the empty stores
used to display collection of signs, antiques

many store fronts display historic
items

first seated at local restaurant

Fort Gaines Georgia.

Now this is a sad little town that’s almost a ghost town. Some of the building fronts are just that. With nothing, on building behind it. I took a few pictures of the old movie theater from across the street and decided to have a closer look. Peaked through one of the windows, and it was just an open space out back. Next door is a clothing store, still with clothing on display in the grungy windows. Doesn’t look like the store has been open for years. Asked around and they have no restaurant in town, well except the Chevron Station does have a hot food station and a couple of tables. They hope a new restaurant will be opening in about a month.

I stopped at the local post office to let them know I was expecting a general delivery pkg. When I

walked out on the sidewalk, a couple of black men looked at me like I was an alien. Small town U.S.A.

Now they do have two hardware stores and a shop selling lots of garden plants spilling out onto the sidewalk. I did see a small grocery store and if I understood the sign correctly, they are only open a few days a week, hmmm. But I might have that wrong.

So the next day having driven into Fort Gaines to drop of some mail at the post office, I went over to the Army COE Rangers office to find out about the showing of camper ticket on entering and exiting the campground. Come to find out they issue Visitor passes and “other” passes at the entrance. Supposedly those folks are supposed to turn them in when leaving the camping area. Many don’t. The Ranger sympathized with me, but at least I now know why they insist on everyone showing their entry pass.

Fort Gaines Georgia

love old theaters
what's it like inside....

Surprise, the theater had no building
besides the front facade

nice new pavement, on empty main street

looks like it's been closed for
some time

all the clothing still on display

nice looking bar/restaurant
open a few days a week

Add caption

Kolomoki Mounds Historic Park.

Mound A, the largest platform mound

Over hill and dale as the saying goes as the roads in these parts are like a roller coaster ride along a tree lined, canopied country lanes. Interspersed with farms, pine forests ready to be cut down for paper products along the way hardwood white oak forests. Where ever the soil is visible the dark Georgia red clay can be seen.

Since I was out and about I decided to drive over to Kolomoki Mounds Historic park. There are 7 earthen mounds built by the Swift Creek and Weeden Island Indians between 250-950 A.D. Mound A the largest of the mounds was built about 700 years ago to a height of 56 feet. The shortest mound is only around 4 feet in height.

An interesting feature of the park is that one of the mounds that was excavated is now encased inside the visitor center museum. Where you can see the partially dug out mound along with displays of the clay bowls and effigy pots that were buried. During one excavation of one of the mounds, the archaeologists completely dug up the entire mound, removed all the artifacts and bones and rebuilt the mound where it once stood. Doubt that kind of excavation would be done today.

Always fascinating to realize that America was once heavily populated with Native Indians before the European explorers arrived and essentially killed off over 90% of the population by passing on diseases that killed the natives or killing them off in Indian Wars. Clearing the way for new settlers.

Mound A, side view

historic photo, digging into one of the mounds
now surrounded by the visitor center/museum

effigy found at site, duck

trade items

Back at one of the many small communities in the area, I’m enjoying the many southern style meals at restaurants that in most cases have a very reasonably priced buffet lunch. Average price including drink has been $8 or 9.00.

Driving the two lane country roads, I’ve noticed a ton of beer bottles, cans and soft drink cups strewn along the sides of the road. If gives me, the tourist, the impression that folks are lazy, slovenly, careless, backwoods type characters. Not sure if that’s an accurate description of people in the area, but that’s the impression it leaves in my mind.

Favorite coffee shop in Eufaula Alabama

Mail:

I had my mail sent out this past Monday, by Saturday it still hasn’t arrived. I’ll be heading out on Monday and hope arrives. Yippee, mail arrived on Monday, heading out.

Distance Traveled: 175 miles

through Georgia

Pleasant drive along hwy 431 and hwy 27. 27 is a 4 lane divided state road, nice grassy median and scenery.

Distance Traveled: 120 miles

north of Chattanooga TN

More photos: 

Small Town America

Eufaula Alabama proudly has confederate statue in center of town

Abbeville Alabama, mostly owned by the company Yellow Wood

Fort Gaines Georgia and C.O.E campground  almost a ghost town

Buchanan Georgia and V.F.W. campsite off the main hwy