Summer of 21 - #6 - Watts Bar Dam, Moving Day, Douglas Dam Campground. Another move & a New State for Lily.

 April 27th, 2021

I managed to get the last prescription filled that I needed, just in time as we leave this area tomorrow.

On the way back we stopped at Watts Bar Dam which is just up the road from our campground.

We had a butterfly flying around us as well but I couldn't get a picture of it.

We'll be driving over this in the motorhome tomorrow.

We drove over to the bank on the other side of the river.

Nuclear Power Plant

Lock Doors

There's the road we'll be on.  We just drove over it.  It's not as bad as it looks.

April 28th, 2021

We left Bitners RV Park and headed to our next campground.  We didn't get any pictures of this campground.  There really wasn't anything to see, but we did enjoy the area. 

Lily going across the bridge, over the dam we were at yesterday.

This was our route today.  By the way you can click on any of the maps or pictures to zoom in on them.

We arrived at our next campground, Douglas Headwater Campground in Sevierville, Tennessee.

We knew as soon as we got here we would like our stay here.  The views from our front window.  It helped that the person opposite us moved out shortly after we moved in, hmmmm. 😆

The only downside, and it really didn't affect us, was that the people behind us had 2 boats and trucks parked alongside us and behind us.  They were actually parked partially on the grass by the side of us and were blocking the entrance to two other sites.

Fortunately the views more than made up for the inconsiderate people behind us. 

April 30th, 2021

We're here for three nights and decided to do nothing but relax and enjoy the park. We went for a walk.

Boat ramp

Office & Store

The following pictures were taken from the empty sites opposite us.

There was a small beach/fishing area.

Looking across to the dam.

There we are.

Look, the inconsiderate a$$ho!es have left, yay!!!  These people can now get in and out of their sites with no obstructions. The pictures above showed the boat/truck on that road/grass blocking those driveways.

The empty site is where they were.

Still no one opposite us, yay!!

May 1st, 2021

We liked this campground and will return if we ever come back through this way. For now it's time to leave and head north.  Heading on Route 66 very briefly at the start of our trip. Thought of Simon.

and into Virginia, a new state for Lily. We were here last year for Bryan's birthday and Thanksgiving with Ryan, Christina & Trystan but we left Lily in Jacksonville.

Here's our route for the day.

We arrived at Fort Chiswell RV Park in Max Meadows, Virginia for an overnight stay. We had a pull-thru site which meant we could leave the car hooked up and just pull out in the morning.  Easy-peasy.

We had a welcoming party. So refreshing to see cows, reminded me of England.

We added the Virginia State sticker to our map.

That's it for now, until the next time.

Summer of 21 - #5 - Cumberland Mountain State Park & Ozone Falls

April 26th, 2021

After spending the weekend at home we decided it was time for a day trip.

Our first stop was Cumberland Mountain State Park, Tennessee. Here is an excerpt from the website.

"Cumberland Mountain State Park is situated on the Cumberland Plateau, a segment of the great upland, which extends from western New York to central Alabama.  It is said to be the largest timbered plateau in America.  Cumberland Mountain State Park began as part of the greater Cumberland Homesteads Project, a New Deal-era initiative by the Resettlement Administration that helped relocate poverty-stricken families on the Cumberland Plateau to small farms centered on what is now the Cumberland Homestead community.  This 1,720-acre park was acquired in 1938 to provide a recreational area for some 250 families selected to homestead on the Cumberland Plateau."

One of the reasons we chose to visit here was I thought Bryan might be able to get some good photos and it looked pretty. It didn't disappoint and was helped by the sun shining.

Our welcoming committee

The colors were amazing.  The pictures don't do them justice.  Although Bryan's pictures are sharper than mine.

Red car going over the bridge.

There is a restaurant here but it has not reopened yet.

We walked across to the other side of the bridge and Bryan went down to the river bank to get some pictures.  I started to go with him but I was a little unsure of my footing when stepping down and decided against it. My legs are shorter than his, ha!!ha!!

There I am wishing I was down there with him.  I did find another way down, but he was already on his way back so I didn't go any further.

They have cabins and a campground here.

It was a relaxing place to be and we only saw a couple of other people.

Our next stop was Ozone Falls State Natural Area.  

It was a short walk to the top of the falls.

Getting closer, looking down!! I had read that there were no guardrails and to watch children very carefully. I would have been very nervous if I had children with me.  You  only had to get close to the edge to see the top of the waterfall, but of course that was what we wanted to see.  

There was a nice stream, which led to the waterfall.

There wasn't anywhere you could get a picture of the whole waterfall without going on a steep uneven trail down to the bottom. It's places like this that make us wish we were younger. I spoke to a lady who was there and asked her about the trail down.  She told me where it was and that it was very steep and uneven with lots of rocks/boulders. She also told me that there was a small amount of snow here only a couple of weeks prior, and the stream had frozen. That would have been amazing but dangerous.  Imagine slipping on the ice!!!

We started to walk to the start of the trail down, just to see if we thought it was possible for us.

On the way, Bryan did get quite close to the edge.

and got this picture.  

The waterfall is to the right of the tree trunk in the middle

You can't really tell from these pictures but you can walk behind it. We really wanted to do that but it wasn't to be.

I took a close up.  This was the best I could do.

This was the trail to the bottom.  It doesn't look to bad in this picture but it was quite steep and you had to clamber over the rocks.  We didn't want to risk breaking anything!!!  It was a little frustrating.

Across the road there was this old railroad trestle.  The track was no longer in use and had been taken up either side of the trestle.

What can you imagine this is??  A serpent?? A dinosaur??

Here's a map of our travels today.

Another great day even if we didn't get to walk behind the falls.