TENNESSEE September 17-28, 2015

With doctor appointments over, we returned to a new area near Erwin, Tennessee and the beautiful Rock Creek Recreation Area in north eastern TN. The park is a combination of facilities built by the CCC in the early 1930s and the campground built by the Forest Service in the 1960s. We loved the deep wooded privacy and yet the nearness of some darling small towns and more history. Being a forest service campground we had a 50% discount, love that!!!

Though only 55 miles north of Asheville, it was a steep climb at times and took us about an hour and a half to get to the campground. But the change in elevation also brought cooler temps, very nice. Along our drive the GPS took us a bit off track with a route leading us over a very steep railroad crossing...one we couldn't make! As the hitch dug into the road we were stuck...and blocking traffic along a small country road. There wasn't much we could do but unhitch the car and the dolly, then back down the ramp. With the help of a friendly driver we were soon back in business and headed to the park using an alternate route. 

Sunday was a beautiful drive to the nearby town of Greeneville and the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. The town was sleepy-quiet and we had the museum and home tour pretty much to ourselves. Johnson was the 17th President of the US who became president after Abraham Lincoln's death. The historic site includes two of Johnson's homes, his tailor shop, and his grave site. 

 Friends had told us to be sure to have lunch at a restaurant along our drive that day, just wish we had stopped on our way over to Greeneville rather than doing it on our return. The after-church Sunday crowds were surprising but we just waited for our table and soon we were seated at The Farmer's Daughter with family style dining and way more food than we could ever eat.  

 Monday was a perfect day just to stay at camp and take care of little loose ends as well as time to read. We both love all the amazing places we get to see, but every so often we just need to stay at the RV and take a breather. So, that's what we did adding lunch at this fun drive-thru restaurant, Pal's.



Then Tuesday we headed north to visit the historical site of Rocky Mount, TN. and step back in time to 1791. Costumed interpreters gave us a a personal look at the life of the Cobb family members and neighbors and life on the then "frontier".

 From Rocky Mount we drove on to Elizabethton, TN, the historical site of the first independent American government located west of the Eastern Continental Divide and the original 13 British Colonies. And of course, always fun to find a covered bridge in tact!

It was amazing to me that in such a small part of the state we had so many places to visit, so Wednesday we took a pretty drive over to Jonesborough, TN and an afternoon in the charming village. It is "Tennessee's oldest town" founded in 1779, 17 years before Tennessee became a state and is often considered the center of the abolitionist movement.  But today the little town is the home of the International Storytelling Center which holds the annual Storytelling Festival the first full weekend of October.  Being there just a week early, we missed the crowds of the festival but did enjoy the fun of a storytelling performance at 2:00 that afternoon. Besides the storytelling, we toured the Chester Hotel Museum and had lunch at the General Store Cafe. I also had fun picking up some hand made fall decorations to use at our campsite.

 And so we continued our touring the next day going north to see Roan Mountain State Park where we hiked to an iron ore mine, checked out the campground, and drove to a lovely overlook and walked to the Miller historic farmstead settled in 1870. It was such a beautiful day, we put the top down on the car and took a scenic route back, stopping for ice cream to finish the day.

 Saturday we returned to Elizabethton and Sycamore Shoals Historic State Park for the reenactment of the Overmountain Men and an event that happened in 1780. Many historians believe that the battle of King's Mountain and the men of Sycamore Shoals turned the tide of the American Revolution. So much history every where we turn!!! It's also amazing that so many local citizens treasure the history of their area and continue to tell the stories through costumed events such as these. It certainly brings history to life!

 Leaving all the history behind we found a small little coffee house for an afternoon snack before returning home.

 On our last morning at the campground we took a beautiful hike up Rock Creek Falls Trail. Cloudy but such a lovely peaceful hike.

 This is our campsite as we pulled out, it was such an amazingly wonderful site, large and spacious, no neighbors this time of year. That makes it pretty wonderful!!

 From Erwin we went a little west to Jefferson City and the Cherokee Dam Campground for two more nights before returning for another month at Lake Powhaten as hosts once more. This lake was built by the TVA in 1940-1943 and so beautiful still today!

 And then it was time to return to North Carolina and have a fun month back at Lake Powhaten.