TWIN OAKS RV PARK
This is very nice RV park. Lots of shade trees. The sites are gravel and dirt with a cement patio with a picnic table. The WiFi connection is free with a strong signal. The people staying in this park are also very friendly. Wouldn’t mind staying here longer, but there is nothing to see in Elko.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under GEORGIA to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
Day 78-81, May 19–22: CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE
As we drove into Tennessee the next day, the temps really came down. It was in the mid 70’s. A very pleasant and mild temperature. After 4.5 hours and 224 miles we arrived at Holiday Trav-L-Park.
HOLIDAY TRAV-L-PARK
This is a very nice RV Park that is large with about 150 sites. Sites are in even rows with lots of trees and shade. The free WiFi does not have a good connection. The signal keeps dropping. The RV park is almost across the street from a Cracker Barrel and an Antique Mall is right behind the Cracker Barrel. We spent time in between sightseeing to visit this mall and check out all of the antique stores.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under TENNESSEE to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
CHATTANOOGA
Chattanooga began in 1815 as a small trading post started by Daniel and John Ross at what is now known as Ross’s Landing. It also served as one of staging areas for the Cherokee relocation known as the “Trail of Tears”. During the Civil War Union forces occupied the city. We will be spending three nights in this city.
CHICKAMAUGA & CHATTANOOGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
This national military park is a lot like driving through Gettysburg. Its acres of meadows and woods full of monuments from each state that had troops in the battle of Chickamauga (both Union and Confederate). This battle was about 6 months after Gettysburg. The South had won the Battle of Chickamauga, but the Union took over the town of Chattanooga for 3 months waiting for reinforcements. Then they attacked the South and pushed them back into Georgia where they set up a defense around Atlanta. The Civil War would soon be over after this. We drove around the park, occasionally stopping to get a closer look at some of the monuments.
Nearby is another national military park; Lookout Mountain National Military Park, where several civil war battles took place. From this mountain top we could see the whole town of Chattanooga and the Tennessee River.
TENNESSEE AQUARIUM
One of the best attractions we have visited so far is the Tennessee Aquarium. The Tennessee Aquarium is quite impressive. It is in two buildings along the banks of the Tennessee River. The aquarium highlights the voyage of a drop of water from its origin in the Appalachian Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. The River Journey building houses what is said to be the world’s largest freshwater aquarium. There are river otters, delta swamp, etc.
Can you figure out what this last picture is?? Answer is below, under the Kentucky facts.
The Ocean Journey houses a stingray touch pool, jellyfish, sharks and butterfly garden. There is also an IMAX 3D theater. We spent the whole day at this aquarium; there was so much to see. If you are ever in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this aquarium is a gem and a must see!
In this part of the aquarium, there was some nice displays of glass work. Dale Chihuly had some of his work in this display.
CHATTANOOGA ZOO
This is a very, very small zoo, but a very nice one. It is nicely laid out with nice landscaping and gardens. There are no lions, tigers, or bears, oh my. Nor are there elephants, zebra’s and many other African animals. But there are Jaguars, Snow Leopards, Coatis, Chimpanzees, and other small animals.
Now we move into new state; KENTUCKY. Abraham Lincoln was born here in 1809. Colonel Sanders creates his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices at his restaurant in 1939. The 1 millionth Corvette rolls of the assembly line in 1992. The Kentucky Derby is here as well as bourbon making. You can visit the many distilleries in this state and sample bourbon and whiskey.
KENTUCKY facts: Kentucky entered the Union 1792 as the 15th state. Kentucky covers 40,411 square miles and has a population of 4,041,769.
State Motto: "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
State Nickname: Bluegrass State
State Capital: Frankfort
State Flower: Goldenrod
State Bird: Kentucky Cardinal
State Animal: Gray Squirrel
State Tree: Tulip Poplar (1994)
State Gem: Freshwater Pearl (1986)
State Song: “My Old Kentucky Home”
Answer to above question: The second turtle is the real thing; red ear slider turtle. The turtle above it is it's reflection just below the water surface.
Day 82-84, May 23–25: FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY
We are seeing a lot of horse ranches on this drive to our next destination. We are definitely in horse country. After 7.5 hours and 214 miles we arrived at Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort, Kentucky.
ELKHORN CAMPGROUND
We are disappointed with this campground. It is full of permanent trailers and they put us overnighters in between these permanent residents. We had asked for another site. The WiFi signal is also very weak here. We had to find a Panera Bread sandwich café and use their free WiFi to get our e-mail, check Facebook and I needed to harvest my crops in Farmville and feed my pet in Petville.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under KENTUCKY to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
FRANKFORT
Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky and has been since 1792. It was chosen as the capital in a compromise between rivals Louisville and Lexington. Frankfort is surrounded by wooded hillsides and divided by the S-curve of the Kentucky River. The north section of the city originated around the time of Frankfort’s founding in 1786. The south section was developed after the new capitol was built in 1910. We will be spending three nights in this city exploring some sights in Frankfort and visiting nearby Louisville.
SALATO WILDLIFE EDUCATION CENTER
In Frankfort, we visited the Salato Wildlife Center. This is run by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. Their headquarters are here. The education center and the grounds around it have exhibits focusing on Kentucky’s fish and wildlife. Inside contains mounted and live birds and mammals in dioramas and interactive displays. Outside are paved trails through nicely landscaped areas, forests, marshes. There are natural habitats for injured and un-releasable native animals such as black bears, bobcats, bald eagles, elk, buffalo, etc. There is a trail head for a 7-mile HabiTreck trail that winds through woods and fields. There is no fee to visit this place, but they ask for donations.
LOUISVILLE ZOO
Louisville is about an hour away from Frankfort. We drove over into Louisville one day and spent about five hours in this zoo. This is a large zoo on 134 acres with 1,400 exotic animals presented in naturalistic indoor and outdoor habitats arranged by geographic region within the zoo. They feature a rare white alligator. There were lots of school groups when we arrived, but not for long as we got there late. It was a hot day and humid day. But it was cloudy and sun disappeared on and off throughout the day and there was a cool breeze. There are lots of trees that keep the zoo shady, so it was quite pleasant when you were in the shade and the cool breeze was on you. We stayed until closing (5:00) and had a very nice day.
Day 85-86, May 26–27: MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK, KENTUCKY
It was a short drive to our next destination. We drove into another time zone and lost an hour. We didn’t even realize it until later on that afternoon when we went to get something to eat. Good thing those cell phones keep us on track. Usually there is a sign on the highway warning of a time zone change. This time we saw none.
We are staying in Cave City. Cave City, with a population of 1,880, is the center of Kentucky's cave area and located next to Mammoth Cave National Park with the largest cave being Mammoth Cave.
After 3.5 hours and 125 miles we arrived at Cave Country Campground in Cave City, Kentucky.
CAVE COUNTRY CAMPGROUND
This is a very nice campground. It’s between the highway and railroad tracks,(so it is noisy). It’s out in the open with very little shade (hot). But it is nicely laid out. The staff is very nice and friendly and it just has a good, comfortable feel to it. There are no permanent trailers and the sites are all pull thus, level and there is nice landscaping all around the park.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under KENTUCKY to see a review and more pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK
Mammoth Cave National Park occupies 52,830 acres with more than 70 miles of back-country trails. Within the park is Mammoth Cave which contains more than 367 miles of passages charted on five levels. Mammoth Cave is said to be the longest cave system known. There is also archeological evidence of human existence approximately 4,000 years ago.
This is a one-way loop road....not a trail.At one point on the two way road we had to take a 2 car ferry through the river to the other side. There was no charge for this. It was the only way to get to the other side.
We did a short hike on this trail to Sand Cave.
There are several guided tours of these caves that range from “easy” to “very strenuous”. We signed up two different tours that were considered “moderate”
HISTORIC CAVE TOUR
This tour was considered “moderate”, but before we got started, our guide called it “strenuous”. And for me it was. This tour included 440 stairs, which we climbed up and down. I had to stop and catch my breath several times. It ended with climbing 144 stairs up this tower to the exit. This tour just about killed me. This cave and its history were very interesting. This is a very dry cave with no stalactites or stalagmites. Just very large limestone boulders. In fact it felt more like a lava tube than a living cave. There was a very twisted, narrow passage called Fat Man’s Misery. This was difficult to get through, but fun. After this two hour tour we had lunch at the Lodge and then did the next two hour tour we signed up for.
NEW ENTRANCE CAVE TOUR
This tour started at another entrance and we had to be bused there. We had to descend many stairs through a very narrow and twisted passage way. Whew. This cave is also like a lava tube with limestone walls, but many places were wet with dripping water. We also saw small rivers and lakes. Towards the end of the tour we did see some stalactites and stalagmites.
The next day we will head back into Tennessee to stay in Nashville again for two nights.
Day 87-88, May 28–29: NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE..AGAIN
The famous glassblower, Dale Chihuly, was having an event at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville from May 25th thru October 31st. During our first visit to Nashville in March we didn’t have the time to visit Cheekwood. We decided to return to Nashville and visit the garden during the Chihuly event.
So after 2.5 hours and 91 miles we arrived at Yogi Bears Jellystone RV Park in Nashville, TN. We stayed at this RV park during our first visit to Nashville and we even stayed at the same site.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under TENNESSEE to see a review and pictures of this RV park http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
CHEEKWOOD BOTANICAL GARDENS
After we got settled in at the RV Park we relaxed a bit. Then at 5:00pm we drove over to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens (about 20 miles away) to see the Chihuly at Cheekwood exhibit at night. The gardens would stay open until 10:00pm on Friday night. Chihuly glassworks will be lighted for night viewing. We got there while it was still daylight to view his work and get pictures.
On the drive to Cheekwood, we drove through some beautiful neighborhoods; tree lined streets, landscaped gardens, and beautiful homes and estates. It had also rained before we got there. We could hear thunder in the distance. It is really weird after a rain in these hot, humid states. After the cold rain hits the heated pavements, the water starts to evaporate and you can see a lot of hot mist rising up. It appears like you are driving or walking through steam.
The Chihuly exhibit was awesome. He had several large pieces scattered throughout the garden. Most were lit from the inside. It was just gorgeous. His work is always amazing. Some of his pieces were set up to blend in with the plants and colors that surrounded the glass sculpture. We wandered around admiring everything. It was getting darker and Chihuly’s lighted glassworks really stood out. It was so beautiful! Soon it started to rain and it was raining hard, so we had to leave. But we saw all his pieces, in the daylight and lit up at night. Only certain sections of the gardens were open during the special hours. So we were unable to see all of the gardens. This will have to be done on another trip. So we will be visiting Nashville again.
MORE OF CHIHULY
The next day we drove into downtown Nashville to see more of Chihuly’s work at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. I never get tired of seeing Chihuly’s brilliant work. Unfortunately, they did not allow pictures inside this art gallery.
Now we turn WEST and really head for home. Four more weeks!!
Our next destination is St. Louis in ILLINOIS and MISSOURI.
