Thursday,
September 14th – Sunday, September 17th
Pickwick
Dam Tennessee River RV Park, Savannah, Tennessee
We headed south towards Tennessee, taking the back roads
again. Upon leaving Kentucky, we have now RV’ed in all states; except for
Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. We plan to do the Great Lake states next
summer.
This stop in Savannah, Tennessee is at another riverfront RV
park. The campground is managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, (TVA), which
runs the Pickwick Dam. The campground was very nice, shady and spacious sites.
The managers were very friendly and helpful. There were not a lot of activities
in this area, mostly driving around and visiting local sights. Kurt sat on the
riverbank for many hours watching the barges go up and down with their cargo. We
also met some really nice RVers that had two pure bred basenjis. They were so
adorable, but such different personalities than our mixed basenjis.
We visited the Pickwick Dam up close and were amazed at the
size of this dam. This dam facilitated a major electric generation plant on the
Tennessee River. Kurt rode his bike across the dam and watched barges go
through the locks.
After four nights there we were anxious to head to Alabama,
where there are some great mountain biking trails.
Camping World/Good Sam RV Campground, Oxford, Alabama
We drove south to Anniston, Alabama. There were mountain
biking trails that we had researched and they looked great. We camped in the
town of Oxford, just south of Anniston. The campground was actually owned and
managed by Camping World, which was right next door. The RV park was very nice
and well managed. We are finding that Camping World has begun buying campgrounds
adjacent to their retail/service stores. How smart!
The city of Anniston is a very historic area. We drove into
town and viewed the historic section and the old brick buildings. It is a very
quaint town with lots of industrial areas. Oxford seemed to be a newer area,
with all the shopping that anyone would need.
Over the last couple of years, other mountain bikers had recommended
Coldwater Mountain biking trails and they were right! We biked there for 5 days
and truly enjoyed the great, well designed and managed trails. So much fun! And
we met some very nice local people on the trails.
One day we took a break from biking and drove 25 miles south
to Cheaha State Park in the Talladega National Forest. Wow, what a beautiful
drive up into the mountains! We learned that this forest is called the “exclamation
point” on the most southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. The highest peak in
the Park is also the highest point in Alabama. We took the dogs and a picnic with
us. We hiked on two different trails which went out to amazing overlooks. It
kind of reminded me of some trails in the Smoky Mountains. This is such a
different state park; they have cabins, hotel rooms with a pool and view from the
mountain top, full hook up campsites, primitive camping, group and banquet
facilities, swimming and fishing lake, two museums and picnic areas. We really
enjoyed our day in the park and so did the dogs.
Anniston is another one of our “go back” places. The
mountain biking trails make this a great place to stay and play!
