2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Tennessee & Alabama

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Thursday, September 14^th – Sunday, September 17^th  

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.

 

Monday, September 18^th – Sunday, September 24^th

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!

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, Grand Rivers, KY

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Tuesday, September 5^th – Wednesday, September 13^th   

Hillman Ferry Campground, Grand Rivers, Kentucky

We headed south from Shelbyville towards western Kentucky. Again we drove the back roads as opposed to the interstates. In this part of the state the back roads were not so great, in some areas they were very narrow farm roads with very uneven surfaces. Along the way Kurt was checking the odometer as we turned over the 100,000 miles on our 2008 F-250 truck. We knew it was coming soon. So now we're out of our extended warranty, ugh. 

On the last leg of the trip we passed through the city of Paducah Kentucky and then entered the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL). This is a huge inland peninsula of 170,000 acres of forest, wetlands and open lands. It lies between the Tennessee River on the west and the Cumberland River on the east. The recreation area is about 35 miles long from north to south and extends south into Tennessee. This amazing place is filled with so many things to do; everything from RV/tent camping to Backcountry camping, marinas and boat launches, golf courses, beaches and picnic areas. There were various attractions, such as the Woodland Nature Station, a drive-thru Elk & Bison Prairie, and a Visitor Center with a Planetarium and Observatory. Also, the Homeplace 1850s Farm, over 100 miles of mountain biking trails, 261 miles of hiking trails, and historic areas. This area was in the Totality Eclipse in August. We were told there were close to 100,000 people in the LBL to view the eclipse! And the area will also be in totality for the April, 2024 solar eclipse.

We camped at Hillman Ferry Campground, which was on the Tennessee River side of the recreation area. We were able to find a nice waterfront campsite. We also found a great day use area with a beach called Moss Creek. There we were able to watch the barges go up the river and watch sunset. The dogs really enjoyed running leash free around the beach. 

On two different days we visited the dams. The Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River side and went into a really nice Visitor Center there. Then another day we visited the Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River side. It had limited access for visitors, but was nice to see the dams and the power generation systems up close.

One day we decided to go to the South Visitor Center and spend some time there, viewing the historical information and then to a planetarium show. The show was very interesting, although the videography was a little outdated, we still enjoyed it.  

While camping there we began watching the progress of Hurricane Irma and was worried about where it was going to strike in Florida. As our next plans were to move south into Tennessee, we started looking at the path, which projected the remnants heading right up into the Tennessee Valley where we were. So we decided rather than driving into the storm, we would stay put in our campsite for an extra two days. So we just hunkered down, stayed in the camper or under the awning for a couple of days. We were all pretty bored and ready for this storm to be over. The next day the weather was beautiful, which made the drive south a lot easier. We were also very happy with the path that the hurricane did go, as the east coast of Florida was not impacted as they had projected. We continued to check on our family and friends and make sure everyone was safe and were okay after the storm. 

We truly enjoyed the Land Between The Lakes and have decided that we will come back here someday. As we only have four more states to visit: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, this will be a great stop over area. (For Steve & Celia, we will definitely visit you on this trip, hopefully next summer).

Now on to Tennessee, where we will stay by another dam, this one on the Tennessee River. Kurt has more barges to watch!

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Shelbyville, Illinois

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Tuesday, August 2^th – Monday, September 4th 

Lithia Springs Army Corps Campground, Lake Shelbyville, Illinois

Leaving Dubuque, we headed south through the back-road highways until we reached the Illinois state line.  At that point, we ended up taking interstates heading southeast down to Lake Shelbyville. At one point we did continue on back road highways through many agricultural areas. The small town of Shelbyville is in south central Illinois and in a huge farming area. Just 7 miles from town is Lake Shelbyville Recreation Area, which is run by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lake is huge with many campgrounds, resorts & marinas available to so many locals and people traveling through the area. Since we were arriving on a Tuesday after Labor Day weekend we were able to find a great first-come first-serve campsite that has full hookups. So we planned on staying a full week there.

We stopped at the very extensive Visitor Center for Lake Shelbyville Army Corps. There were many displays explaining the local flora and fauna, local wildlife, the history of the building of the dam and some history of the town of Shelbyville. Very interesting to learn more about this area.

Prior to arriving, we were aware of some mountain biking trails that were on the lake side peninsulas and just north of the town of Shelbyville. Before we went to the trails we were thinking, "How good could trails be in a little local agricultural town?". We were quite surprised once we got on the trails and found that they were very well designed, a lot of fun and not too technical. We actually rode the trails on three different days and truly enjoyed them. Just adjacent to the trails was a really nice city park called Forest Park. There was plenty of parking and connector trails back to the mountain bike trails. We were very impressed with such a nice city park for a small town. It has a swimming pool, picnic areas, tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, an old Carousel Building that looked like it was being renovated and a beautiful gardens area called the Sunken Gardens. There were a lot of locals visiting and enjoying this park.

We also met some very nice local people. One of our RV camping neighbors are from Shelbyville. Very nice people, just good country people that love the area and love hanging out at the lake. We hope that someday they'll come to Florida for a visit. 

This campground was just such a nice place to chill out with fellow campers, relax a little bit and have some fun with the mountain biking nearby. Every time we stay at an Army Corps campground, we really enjoy the facilities and the surrounding activities. We also enjoy the 50% Senior Discounts that we get for camping.

Next we will be heading south towards a campground in southwestern Tennessee, on the Tennessee River.

 

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Dubuque, Iowa

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Friday, August 25^th – Monday, August 28^th 

Miller Riverview RV Park, Dubuque, Iowa

We packed up and headed south out of the Saint Paul Minnesota area towards Dubuque Iowa. Our goal was to stay on the Mississippi River and experience more of the river and its history. As we drove south out of Minnesota and through Iowa we saw more massive farms along the way. As we got closer to Dubuque and the Mississippi River we noticed that the farming process was different, Kurt called it contour farming. We later found out that there are farming regulations for any watershed from farms that drain into the Mississippi River. Crop row ridges of varying crop types are built by tilling and planting on the contour of the land to create hundreds of small dams. These ridges or dams slow the water flow and increase filtration, which reduces erosion and sediments. It was really quite beautiful to see, especially looking at satellite views of the farms and the amazing designs in the crops. He just loves this stuff and looking at the farmlands.

As we drove along the Great River Road southward, there were a couple of overlooks where we were able to view the Mississippi River and learn more history about the river. We finally arrived in Dubuque Iowa. It was really exciting to arrive at the Riverview RV Park right down at the river level. It was quite beautiful and we were able to watch barges and other boats heading up and down the river. 

We decided on the first full day there to drive around area, particularly in the City and check out the variety of interesting places to visit. The city is a river port, very industrial and with so many original brick buildings throughout downtown. We found a beautiful riverside park that was dedicated to the founder of Dubuque, Julien Dubuque, from Quebec Canada. His grave site is at this park named the Mines of Spain, on a lovely overlook. This park is near the location of his lead mines where he made his fortune, along with fur trading with the Indians. Another day we found downtown along the Riverside was an enormous museum, The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. At this wonderful Museum we learned more history of Dubuque, how Julien Dubuque founded the city and was an important person in the life of the people. There was a lot of information in the museum regarding Mark Twain. We learned how paddle/steam boat building was a major industry in Dubuque for many decades. We were also able to tour a historical river boat that was a dredging ship and built in Dubuque. The museum has a 3D movie theater and we were able to watch a National Geographic movie called Extreme Weather. It was really cool as it was in 4D, which along with the 3D, provided special effects of wind, smells and moisture that coordinated with the scenes you were viewing. It was pretty awesome.

Another day we drove up to Eagle Point Park, where we were able to see some beautiful long-distance views of the river and the Mississippi River Lock and Dam # 11. On another day, Kurt was also able to paddle from the campground up to the dam and then paddle back. He was really excited to again get his kayak on the Mississippi River. From our campground we were able to see a major bridge that crossed the river over into Wisconsin. That highway is along the border between Wisconsin and Illinois, they call this the Tri-State area.

We truly enjoyed our visit to Dubuque. There is so much history there that we learned about. We met a lot of really nice local people. This would probably be the last time we would be crossing or be near the Mississippi River on this trip, it was a fun journey. Next, we will head south into Illinois

2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

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Monday, August 21^st – Thursday, August 24^th 

Lebanon Hills Regional Park Campground, St. Paul, MN

As we headed south towards the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, we crossed the Mississippi River a couple of times. Each crossing showed us that the river was getting wider and wider, as some smaller rivers were converging into the Mississippi. Also, we happened to be traveling on the date of the total eclipse of the Sun. We were in an area where we were able to see an 85% eclipse. At one point we stopped at a local Walmart to shop and found a young man in front of Walmart that had a 6 inch square black piece of filter glass and he was letting people view the eclipse through that black glass. It was really exciting just to see one glimpse of the eclipse. The eclipse was really something special.

As we continued to head southeast through Minnesota, we again drove the back roads. We are always in amazement of the agricultural areas in this state. As we approached Minneapolis we were shocked to see what a large metropolitan area that it is. We drove around to the southeast side of the city and arrived at Lebanon Hills Campground. This is a county park with amazing mountain biking trails and a beautiful campground. The mountain biking trails are what actually brought us to this area, along with the fact that we were able to see the Mississippi River again. The campground is a top-notch park with everything we needed. Also, the mountain biking trails were accessible right from the campground. 

The first day we took a drive around town and went to a historic park along the Mississippi River in the St. Paul area. This was historic Fort Snelling, which was active during the Civil War. This Historic Site is on the western bluffs of the Mississippi River, at a higher level where we could look down at the river. We also drove around to other parks where we could be at the river level to view it from there. 

During the four days there we spent most of our time on the mountain biking trails. We were so pleased as the trails were very well-engineered and maintained, with trail markers the best we've ever seen. We truly enjoyed the flowy trails that had an intermediate level of technical and obstacle challenges. 

Surprisingly, Kurt had mentioned that he was interested in going to the Mall of America, the largest mall in the U.S., in terms of number of stores and total floor area.  The Mall has 4 floors and over 7 million square feet. I was not so excited about visiting this mall as I am just not a mall person, but during my research of the mall we found one of our favorite restaurants is there, Cantina Laredo. There used to be one near where we lived in Palm Beach Gardens and it was absolutely our favorite Tex-Mex food in the world, but it had closed down a couple of years ago. With that knowledge I said “heck let's go”. I just wanted to go to eat and maybe just stroll through the mall little bit to check it out. The mall was absolutely the largest one I've ever seen in the US. It was crazy that there were duplicate stores in various parts of the mall. The huge central atrium of the mall was filled with an amusement park for children and families. Most of the amusements were Nickelodeon sponsored. It was so large, we actually got tired of walking around and headed back to the campground.

After four days there we were ready to move on to our next destination. Next stop being Dubuque Iowa, where we found a campground that was right on the Mississippi River. I knew Kurt would love this as he is a huge river fan and loves to watch barges.
 

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Lake Itasca, Minnesota - Miss. River Headwaters

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Thursday, August 17^th – Sunday, August 20^th 

LaSalle State Recreation Area, Solway, MN

Our next adventure was in search of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota. We headed north east about a hundred miles into the Lakes area of Minnesota. We arrived at LaSalle State Recreation Area where there is a wonderful campground out in the wilderness. Just seven miles south is Lake Itasca, which is the actual source of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. 

A first glimpse of the actual river was when we were driving to the campground and we crossed over two bridges with Mississippi River signs. We stopped to have a look and realized it was a very tiny river at that point, only about 6 feet wide, but it was flowing. 

Near the LaSalle Recreation Area there is a canoe access to the river, Coffee Pot Landing. We went there the next day and found a lovely hiking/snowmobiling trail with a bridge that crossed over the small Mississippi River. It was interesting that we found two really nice lean-to cabins along the trail which could be used either by overnight hikers or snowmobilers. 

The next day we drove down to Itasca State Park and spent most of the day there exploring the area. We took the dogs with us as they were allowed to hike the trails, so we had a really nice family day outing. The state park had a very informative Visitor Center, with lots of historical information about the park and all about the vegetation and wildlife. The Mississippi Headwaters Center also displayed the history of the search for the headwaters and the team that ultimately found it. In 1832, Henry Schoolcraft was guided by Chief Ozawigdib to Lake Itasca. We walked up the trail to the actual Headwaters area. At that point water was flowing out of Lake Itasca into the small, narrow beginnings of the Mississippi River. It was really cool that you could walk across the ankle-deep water of the Mississippi River at that point. It was so hard at this point to imagine that this little creek would turn into a gigantic river. We also visited various overlooks and shorter hiking loops within the park, then we had a nice lunch in a lovely picnic area. 

On our last day there we hiked some trails within the LaSalle Recreation Area. Kurt, me and the dogs headed out on the main trail. Kody and I only hiked part of the way and headed back around the campground trail, while Kurt and Luca hiked all the six miles around La Salle Lake. Later in the afternoon Kurt took off with his kayak and went down to Coffee Pot Landing, put it in the water and was able to kayak the upper beginnings of the Mississippi River. Check that off his bucket list!

Next, we will head south to the St. Paul, MN area. There are some great mountain biking trails there and a nice campground.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Bismarck, ND & Moorhead, MN

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Thursday, August 10^th – Sunday, August 13^th

Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park, Bismarck, North Dakota

We left Roosevelt N.P. and headed east in a straight line on I-94 to Bismarck, the capital city of North Dakota. Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park was our destination. This park is located along the Missouri River, where the Heart River converges. The first known inhabitants of this place were the Mandan Indians that had built a village of earth lodges on the river bank slope, inhabited from years 1575 to 1781. They were skilled farmers, hunters and traders with other Indians in the territory. Lewis & Clark stopped here in 1804 and found the long abandoned Indian village, which they noted in their journals.  Many years later in 1872, after the Northern Pacific Railroad was built through this land, Fort McKeen was established on the bluffs. A year later, the land became Ft. Abraham Lincoln and was the base of Colonel George Custer and his 7^th Cavalry. This was where they rode out to the ill-fated campaign against the Plains Indians, at the Battle of Little Bighorn. We all know this was his last stand; they were defeated, he and most of the men died in this battle. In 1907, the land was donated to the state by President Theodore Roosevelt and became a State Park. Due to the military Fort being abandoned for decades, the State restored or rebuilt many of the buildings for historical purposes. The surrounding area is mostly agricultural lands on the rolling hills.

The campground was one of the nicest we have ever been in. The grounds along the river were heavily treed with green grass everywhere. The hills throughout the park had several miles of single track mountain biking trails. We did enjoy riding the trails, they were a lot of fun and not too technical. The views from the trails of the Missouri River valley were great. It was interesting to tour the historical buildings and learn more history of the area. Such a beautiful park, we truly enjoyed our time spent there. It was much more than we expected in N. Dakota.

Monday, August 14^th – Wednesday, August 16^th

Buffalo River State Park, Moorhead, Minnesota

On our way east, we had planned to stay in the Fargo, N.D. area. However, I found a great State Park just inside the Minnesota border. The weather forecast called for rain a couple of days, so we decided it would be good time to relax a little and also get some chores done on the camper. The park was very nice; large shady camp sites with a prairie view out the back window. It was in a remote area and was very quiet. We were able to hike some trails around the park, when it wasn’t raining. The small Buffalo River wound its way through the park. There was also a very nice “swimming hole” pool area. This was man-made and spring fed, very clean water and lifeguards. It looked like a lot of locals brought their children here for day use. It looked like a lot of fun, but was too cold for us.

This was a decompression stop for us, so there was not a lot of activities outdoors, thanks to the rain. After this respite, we were ready to head into northern Minnesota. We were then ready to move forward and head into North Minnesota.