Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Tennessee

Posted in Nature, RVing, State Parks, Tennessee, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, Waterfalls, WildlifeTagged , , , , , ,

State 38:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is

Tennessee

Tennessee became the 16th state on June 1, 1796. The Capital is Nashville.

Elvis, BBQ, Blues and the Mississippi River in Memphis. Country music, The Grand Ole Opry and camping beside a lake in Nashville. The Tennessee Aquarium and other attractions in Chatanooga. Waterfalls near Crossville. Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Sevierville. Waterfront camping at J. Percy Priest and Normandy Lake. Touring a famous distillery in Lynchville. These are just a few of the things we loved in Tennessee.

Before our RV days, the Opryland Hotel was our home base in  Nashville for a night at the Grand Ole Opry, cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs as they played the Vanderbilt Commodores, and a night at the Wild Horse Saloon.

20031017Grand-Ole-Opry
Grand Ole Opry
20031017Opryland-Hotel-(8)
Atrium at the Opryland Hotel
20031018Wildhorse-(4)
Line Dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville

On our way home from our first RV trip out west we spent a couple of days wandering around Memphis. We toured Elvis’ Graceland, ate our fill of ribs at two different restaurants, listened to blues at B. B. King’s BBQ and Blues on Beale Street, and strolled along the scale model of the Mississippi River at Mud Island River Walk.

20060908Graceland-(47)
Elvis’s grave at Graceland
20060908Graceland-(52)
Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis
20060908Graceland-(70)
Elvis Presley’s Pink Cadillac

 

Mud Island River Park river walk in Memphis, Tennessee is a 5-block long replica of the lower Mississippi river, from Cairo, IL, to New Orleans, LA.
Beale Street in Memphis
BB King’s BBQ and Blues Club in Memphis

While wandering near Crossville we discovered two waterfalls.

Tennessee-2003-(82)
Fall Creek Falls
20090810Ozone-Falls,-TN-(1)
Ozone Falls near Crossville

We enjoyed the campground at Old Stone Fort Archeological State Park and have camped there twice. Both times we hiked beside the Big Duck River to see the waterfalls.

20100623Old-Stone-Fort-(2)
Campers cross this bridge to get to the campground at Old Stone Fort State Archeological Park
20070405Old-Stone-Fort-SP-TN-(14)
Waterfalls on the Big Duck River in Old Stone Fort State Park

One November we traveled to Sevierville to take in the beautiful fall colors and scenery of Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Cades Cove in Great Smokey Mountains National Park
John Cable Grist Mill at Cades Cove
Fall in the Great Smoky Mountains at Cades Cove
Horse pasture on Cades Cove drive
Millstones at Cable Mill

A mama bear and her cub were hanging around the picnic area when we stopped for lunch in the park. Mama kept a close eye on her cub as he searched for a bite to eat. When the rangers chased them off the cub scampered up a nearby tree.

20081105Cades-Cove-(63)
Mama bear watching out for her cub at picnic area in Cades Cove
20081105Cades-Cove-(53)
Bear cub at picnic area in Cades Cove
20081105Cades-Cove-(70)
The cub escaped to a tree when the rangers chased them away

Seven Points Corps of Engineers Campground in Nashville is a favorite of ours. Seeing this sunset from our campsite was a great way to end the day.

20090811Seven-Points-Site-23-(11)
Sunset over J. Percy Priest Lake at Seven Points COE Campground

In Chattanooga the Tennessee Aquarium was a highlight of our stay.

The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga
The penguins were my favorite at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga

We chose a waterfront site at Barton Springs TVA Campground as our home base for taking a tour at the Jack Daniels Distillery in nearby Lynchburg.

Blondie enjoying our site Barton Springs
Blondie enjoying our site Barton Springs
Old time jugs
Old time jugs

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama      Alaska      Arizona      Arkansas      California      Colorado     Florida      Georgia      Hawaii        Idaho  Illinois      Indiana      Iowa     Kansas     Kentucky     Louisiana     Maine     Maryland     Massachusetts     Michigan     Minnesota    Mississippi     Missouri     Montana     Nebraska     Nevada      New Hampshire     New Mexico      New York     North Carolina    North Dakota      Ohio     Oklahoma     Oregon     Pennsylvania    South Carolina     South Dakota

22 thoughts on “Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Tennessee”

  3. Great post. We are smiling as we go through the wonderful narrative and photos because in a couple weeks we’ll be traveling there ourselves. You have given us some great ideas of where to go. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Thank you for sharing a wonderful blog post. Campendium highlighted your blog, so we thought we would drop in for a visit. Glad we did…your Alaska info is priceless. We have friends living near Denali and plan to visit them and spend a few months traveling the state. No doubt we will be using your Alaska maps and campground lists as another reference to prepare us for our trip. Look forward to stopping by again!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Love the Wild Horse Saloon! We’ve eaten there several time. Good food and great bands! Love watching the line dancing! We really enjoyed the Jack Daniels Distillery, as well! A fun state with lots of variety.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. We’ve only stayed twice in Tennessee – but plan to do more there. Now you’ve given us a few places to stay! Especially the COE near Nashville! We do love the Smokeys. Stayed there in a cabin with our daughter and son-in-law before the grandsons. Cades Cove was a highlight as well as the black bears!

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.