Tennessee

Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Tennessee

July 28, 2017July 27, 2017Posted in Nature, RVing, State Parks, Tennessee, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around America, Waterfalls, WildlifeTagged America the Beautiful, bear, Cades Cove, Chattanooga, Graceland, Jack Daniels, Old Stone Fort22 Comments

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 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.

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.

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

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

Smooth as Tennessee Whiskey

October 9, 2014June 20, 2015Posted in Birds, Road Trip, RVing, Sunrise, Sunset, Tennessee, Tourist Attractions, WildlifeTagged Barton Springs Campground, Blue Heron, Egret, Jack Daniels Distillery, Normandy Lake, Tennessee Whiskey14 Comments

There is a line from the George Jones song “Tennessee Whiskey” that has been going through my head ever since we crossed the Tennessee State Line. It goes “You’re as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey”. There. Now it’s in your head, too.

Our first stop of our fall trip was Barton Springs Campground, a TVA park in Normandy, Tennessee. We love waterfront camping so of course when I found this campground I made reservations for a site right on the water. The lake is down now during the off season but comes right in front of the campsite in spring and summer. This is a federal campground so you can use your Senior Pass to get a discount on your camping fee.

Sitting outside watching the lake was a great way to end the day after a 300 mile driving day which included going through Atlanta and Chattanooga. A doe and a fawn were across the lake grazing. A great blue heron stood on a point out in the lake. A couple launched their canoe and went for a paddle. And we were able to watch a pretty sunset.

Just before sunset at Barton Springs

Almost a Full Moon over the campground

Blondie enjoying our site Barton Springs

Old canoe on the beach

Sunset over Normandy Lake from Barton Springs Campground

Monday morning saw thunderstorms coming through the area. After breakfast we waited a little while for the rain to let up and then hopped in the truck to visit the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Jack Daniel was 13 years old when he bought his first still for $25. He developed the formula for his famous whiskey and the whiskey is still produced using the same formula and method. All the water used comes from an underground spring on the property, the barrels are still made by hand out of white oak, and the charcoal used for filtering the whiskey is made there from Sugar Maple wood. Jack was only 5 foot 2 and never married.

Our guide Janine told us the story of how Jack died. One morning Jack came to work early and tried to open the safe in his office. He was too impatient to wait for his nephew to arrive to open it so he kicked the safe and broke is big toe. He was too embarrassed to go to a doctor right away and when he finally saw one he had developed an infection which led to gangrene. He died as a result of this. It just goes to show you should never go to work early!

He left everything to his nephew shortly before prohibition shut all the distilleries down. His nephew opened a hardware store in town and made enough money to pay the property taxes every year. The distillery opened back up when prohibition was repealed.

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After our full day of sightseeing Blondie took a swim in the lake and we ended the day with a Single Barrel Jack on the rocks.

Before we left the next day I took Blondie for one last walk along the lake and enjoyed watching a Great Blue Heron and 2 Egrets. A great ending to our enjoyable stay at Barton Springs.

Great Blue Heron

Egret at Barton Springs

Egrets flying over the lake

Early morning on the Lake

We Love Waterfront Camping

September 25, 2014June 20, 2015Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, RVing, Sunrise, Sunset, Tennessee, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Cedar Key, J Strom Thurmond Lake, Lake Barkley, Mississippi River, Ortona, Seven Points Campground, White Pelican18 Comments

Our favorite places to camp are the campgrounds with a view. There’s nothing like waking up with a view outside the RV or sitting outside in the evening enjoying the scenery around us. We’ve enjoyed campgrounds with views of spectacular mountains, glaciers, forests, and all kinds of water.

For us, the best camping is beside a river, mountain stream, lake, or any body of water for that matter.

We enjoy watching the different water craft go by.