Winter Excursion 5, Day 148

Drove out of camp this morning enroute to Em's. Got this pic just out of the campground gate, but still in the park. It didn't even phase them. 

Got to Em's, had a nice lunch, then said our goodbyes.  It is always good to see her.

Did a few errands on the way home one of which was to fill the propane tank. We are forecast for temps in the 20's for the next three nights. The weather this year has been crazy! 

Two more days and then off to a new campground in KY. All is well in the Boss Camp!

Winter Excursion 5, Day 147

We took a long Five TN State Park tour today. We left camp around 1000. First stop was Bledsoe Sate Park near Nashville, TN. Nice park and we would stay there again as it is closer to Em and Joe.

Next was Cedars of Lebanon SP. Also nice, but if we ever camp there it will be in Campground #3. The sites CG #1 and #2 are too close together.

We had been here before. Campsites are on stilts (imagine that). We would not even consider staying here.

This is a nice stop, but has no campground. There is a private CG just outside the gate and it looks really nice.

Last was Standing Stone SP. Nice place, but out in the middle of nowhere. It would be a good place to sleep for a week. No cell coverage, but the CG is nice.

We drove 208 miles today and had fun doing it. We do like this area in TN, but the roads and highways are hilly and not a lot of fun for us northerners.

Back at camp after 210 miles of TN backroads it is definitely AB time!  

Winter Excursion 5, Day 146

We started the day off pretty excited about the beautiful weather, but that ended early this morning. After all that rain there is major flooding in the entire area. We spent the day watching the water creep up to our campsite. The rest of the campers on our loop were told to leave for other sites on higher ground. Another foot or so and we would have also had to leave. Here's a few pics. 

That isn't ground, it's debris washed up on shore by the 15 mph winds we had all day.

This is as high as it came. Notice the fence underwater.

Here's a little video. 

The Ranger came by early this evening to say we could stay and the lake (river) wasn't going to rise any higher. The dam is just down stream from us and they are dumpling as much water as they can.

To say the least it's been an exciting few days with the storms and flooding!

Winter Excursion 5, Day 145

So we got our severe weather again today. It started raining early this morning. Actually raining is not the word, it's more like a giant faucet got turned on. Had tons of thunder and lightning to go with it.

We had a very short break around mid day, everyone came out for a walk. We even managed to get Kaylee to come out.

The storms started again in the afternoon and lasted until early next morning. 

The silver lining is we have forecast good weather for the next week or so.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 144

It was a beautiful day, but anything would be beautiful compared to yesterday.

We left camp around 1000 and did a few errands on the way to Em and Joe's new house. We met some of Em's friends and Joe's kids. We spent the afternoon outside just yakking and enjoying the weather. We also got to meet Rob's fiancé Kate. She is really nice, he's a lucky guy. Kaylee even had fun as there were two other dogs and a fenced in yard!

We left around 1730 and drove back to camp. It's been a nice day, but tomorrow is forecast, once again, for severe weather.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 143

Today was interesting to say the least.

We woke to torrential downpours and thunderstorms that lasted most of the morning. We decided to stay at camp rather than take the hour drive to Em and Joe's. The afternoon was actually nice. We sat outside and enjoyed the view.

Late afternoon we started hearing weather reports predicting severe weather. We came under a tornado and severe thunderstorm watch around 1800. I hit the sack around 2000 and wasn't in bed for ten minutes when the sirens and weather radio started to go off. The camp host came by and suggested we head to the bathhouse along with the other campers. The nearest town is Carthage, TN and it came under a tornado warning around 2100. The rain started and it really poured! The lightning show was spectacular. It all finally passed around 2130 and we headed back to the camper. No damage and we are fine.

We will see Em tomorrow as the weather is supposed to be nice, but this time of year in the south can be fun! 

Winter Excursion 5, Day 142

It took us awhile to load up this morning as we are both limping all over the place! We finally left Falls Creek Falls around 1030, but had to wait at the dump station until 1100.

We got to Defeated Creek, COE campground by 1300. The drive was easy and weather is good.

This is a beautiful campground, lots of space between sights, on the water, and very clean!

Here's a few pics of our site:

Our view from the camper.

Nearest neighbors are probably 50 yards away. Views are great, place is quiet, and we have a northwest facing site, life is good except for the knees.

We are off to Emily's tomorrow.

All is well.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 141

The day started out great. We got our laundry finished by 1030 this morning.

But, as I was loading it up I managed to "tweak" my right knee. Tweaked it good this time, it's actually painful and hard to walk. And BTW Cath tweaked her knee yesterday riding the E-Bike. Seems she has a problem stopping, so she just crashes into the trees. We make quite a pair right now....LOL.

Limped into the Verizon store to pick up our new phones this afternoon and then spent the rest of the day at camp getting them fixed up the way we want, Pixel 5s, and we are happy with them.

Tomorrow is moving day. Should be fun with our bum knees!

Winter Excursion 5, Day 140

I forgot to put in the blog that we had a reservation canceled. We were supposed to be at Fort Boonesborough, KY 12-19 April, but the campground was flooded last week and is closed for repairs until further notice. That was the last thing we wanted to hear as it is getting harder to get any reservations as everyone seems to be camping. We got lucky and were able to book a COE campground named Axtel in Kentucky. This actually saved us about $150!

We left camp this morning and drove to Northfield Vineyards near Sparta, TN. Emily had mentioned they have good Hard Cider. The place was really nice, the cider was good, they are very dog friendly, and we left with three growlers of Hard Cider. Here's a few pics:

This is their Great Dane Bo, he was very friendly, even Kaylee liked him.

From there we drove to Defeated Creek Campground, our next reservation. I'll post pics of that when we get there late this week.

Back at camp Kaylee was exhausted as usual and spent the late afternoon sleeping by the fire.

Couldn't resist posting this. Sticky Chicken on the Egg. Anyone one wanna race?..LOL.

Tomorrow is laundry day and we pick up our new phones in the afternoon.

All is well in the Boss camp and yes I'm feeling better everyday.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 139

Well it was time to go see a doc and get some meds for my sinus issue. I woke up this morning totally blocked up and with a nasty headache.

Urgent Care didn't open until 1300 as it's Sunday, but I was the third in line. Got a shot and some antibiotics. Back at camp I took a little nap and woke up feeling better, that steroid shot did wonders.

Cath made a yummy dinner of Piquant Stew for Two, we haven't had that for a few years. It was great as usual.

A little TV then off to bed. I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 138

We stayed a camp today. The weather is nice, sunny and warm so we spent most of the day outside. Kaylee is enjoying the weather also.

We have been having some discussions as to whether this thing is level. Folks have been in it for a few days now.

Campground is fairly full. We've had a few nice walks and the E-bike is always fun.

I've been feeling a little under the weather with a sinus issue. If it doesn't clear soon I'll go see a doc.

  

Winter Excursion 5, Day 137

We left camp this morning to do a little exploring and visit the Lodge Factory Store.

First stop was the Veteran Memorial Park in Dunlap, TN. We have passed this park, but never stopped.

This wall has Veteran's names starting with the Revolutionary War to the present.

The park is well maintained and can be seen from Rt 28.

Just down the road 11 miles is another memorial park, Marion County Veteran Memorial Park.

Very similar to the other park, this one has tons of flags. It is also very well maintained.

Here's a few pics of the Lodge Factory Store in South Pittsburg, TN.

We went there last ear, but the store was closed due to COVID. We picked up an 8 inch skillet with no handle for the camper.

On the drive back to camp we had to climb a mountain on Rt 111. We counted 14 waterfalls along the road in four miles. Here's a few of them.

I'm sure they don't always run, but we've had tons of rain in the past 48 hours.

Back at camp it's dinner and a movie. Temps will be in the 30s tonight.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 136

We drove to Crossville today with two goals in mind. First was the Verizon store. We pick up our new Pixel 5s on Tuesday! Second was the Tastykake factory outlet store. We always stop here when we camp at Falls Creek Falls to stock up on butterscotch krimpets. It reminds me of when I was a kid in Pennsylvania. And Oh Yeah; they are not healthy!

Back at camp we watched some TV and waited for the rain to start again. We also headed to the park laundry to wash the dog beds. Cath says the camper smells like a Viszla! The neighbors stopped over to say goodbye as they are leaving in the morning.

Tomorrow is Friday and we're sure the campground will fill up. Looks like people watching again.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 135

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

We were pretty much camper bound today due to the weather. It rained most of the day and we had a few severe thunderstorms. We had two lightning strikes within a few hundred feet of us. Needless to say Kaylee was petrified. Even Cath was a little scared. We did get Kaylee out a couple of times, but not for long. Storms and rain are forecast to last through the night.

Cath made an excellent Corned Beef dinner with all the trimmings.

Cards and TV were the words of the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be nicer.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 134

We left camp this morning and drove to McMinnville to get our propane tank filled. It ran out on the drive from honeycomb to here. I wanted to make sure they were both full as temps will be in the 30s for the next few nights.

After McMinnville we drove to Arnold AFB and stopped at the PX and Commissary.

Back at camp we spent some time with the neighbors swapping stories. They were having some trouble with their bathroom water pressure, but it turned out to be a clogged aerator. 

Dinner and a movie, then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 133

The drive to Falls Creek Falls was short and uneventful. We left Honeycomb before it started raining and arrived and set up at Fall Creek Falls before the rain started here. We were happy as setting up or packing up in the rain is not a lot of fun. Here's a pick of the new campsite.

We were not at our new site for ten minutes when the neighbor came over. They are new campers and are having a problem with their 12 volt system, the batteries are not charging. I offered to take a look, but they were on their way to go sightseeing. When they arrived back to their camper I walked over with my multimeter. He had disconnected the 12 volt cutoff switch, so the converter was not able to charge the battery.  I reconnected the cutoff switch and then used the multimeter to check the battery. He said it will read 0, but it was now reading 13.61. To say the least he was thrilled.

The rain started late afternoon, but was not as bad as forecast.

 

Winter Excursion 5, Day 132

We left camp this morning to do our shopping to get stocked up for Falls Creek Falls. Back at camp we spent the afternoon packing up for our departure tomorrow.

We are still really happy with our new satellite dish. It works so much better than the old one.

Our neighbor's little girl fell in love with Kaylee. She spent almost an hour with Kaylee and Cath while I was gassing up the truck and picking up our pizza for dinner.

Weather was cloudy today, but temps were near 80!

Honeycomb has been fun and it's one of our top campgrounds

Winter Excursion 5, Day 131

The weather continues to be perfect!

While I was on the E-bike this morning I snapped this pic of the "Goose Lady". I call her that because she just calls me "New York". She feeds the geese twice everyday. The white goose was dropped off from a local farm and hangouts with the Canadians.

Here's Kaylee watching us play cribbage. It's almost 80 degrees and she's in that bed!

We found a splitting stump someone had left. I sawed it into a Swedish Torch. It burned for hours and was just ashes when it finished.

People watching was the hit of the day. The campground is packed and there are lots of Kiddos. One more day then off to Fall Creek Falls, TN.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 130

We spent the morning in camp. Our neighbors are leaving today so we helped pack up a little and then said our goodbyes. It's been a fun few days yakking with them and trading ideas.

We ran a few errands after lunch and watched all the weekenders arriving. The campground is full again.

The weather is still really nice with temps in the 70s and the boaters, kayakers, jet skiers, and fisherman are out in force.

Here's a pic of the opposite shore in the campground.

And here's the same shore all lit up in the evening. I used the "night sight" feature to take this pic.

We will spend the day people watching tomorrow and riding the E-bike. There isn't an empty site in the campground.

Winter Excursion 5, Day 129

Hung out at camp today.

We finally got the new charger for the E-Bike. It only took 10 days, shipping estimate was 3 - 5  days, but took 10. The new charger fixed everything, we were worried that something was wrong with the bike, but all is well. We are riding again! 

Had fun watching a few weekend campers arrive.

Weather continues to be perfect, but that will change.

Did some crab cakes on the egg. They turned out great!

Our neighbors are leaving in the morning. We had fun yakking with them.

Campground is supposed going to be full for the weekend. We will see how that goes. Watching all the Kiddos is one of our favorite pass times.