I've spent a lot of time talking about what I've seen as a make my way across the country. And there's been a lot to see, and a whole lot to talk about.
But what I haven't spent much time on is where I live. You guys know that I live full time in my RV, and that my house comes with me on my journey. But what I haven't done is talk about my "back yard." The campgrounds I choose to make my home base in each area I explore can be just as varied and as interesting as the battlefields, old houses, towns and cities that I've shared with you.
So this week, I'm going to focus on those spots. In particular I want to look at the ones where I stayed this summer while on the Natchez Trace, Trail of Tears and the Bourbon Trail.
All of these are state parks. While I have done national parks and RV "resorts", I have found that I like those offerings from the states, mostly for two reasons: First off they are cheap, and also because most of them are centered around points of interests other than camping. Lakes, recreation and history tend to be the primary offerings, and while I'm really not that interested in water sports or fishing, I do love history and the occasional view of a placid, mirror like image that a lake can provide are quite beautiful and calming. And if a park has decent hiking trails, I take advantage of those daily.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the amenities at the parks, like hookups, cell signal, campsite condition and bathroom facilities. There are a lot of very good campground review sites that cover that. One of my favorites is Campground Reviews.
Let's get started. I'm laying this out chronologically as well as geographically, starting with the southernmost end of the Natchez Trace and ending in central Kentucky.
Natchez State Park - Natchez, Mississippi Let's be honest here. I didn't care what this park offered. I only wanted to be as close as possible to the Trace.
And I got it. Natchez State Park is less than a mile from the parkway, and the closest Trace entrance is only about 5 miles from the southernmost terminus.
There's not a whole lot more to the park. The park has a bit of shoreline on Lake Natchez, and the dam is within park boundaries. Hiking trails are nonexistent, but the park road is quiet, and with all the elevation changes, quite a workout. The campground area is heavily wooded, which made for great shade; a boon for the hot days of a Mississippi summer.
Tombigbee Lake Park State Park - Tupelo, Mississippi When I was planning out my Natchez Trace trip, I looked for campsites that were spaced out along the parkway enough to allow me to range out about 2 hours for my explorations. From Natchez, I made it up to Vicksburg, so when looking for a midpoint, Tupelo worked just fine. Not only was I able to make it up to Shiloh, but come on, it's Tupelo!
And no, I didn't go to Elvis' birthplace. I'm just not into him. But the park was super nice. And I met some fun people there. The trails were another workout, what with climbing up and down the hollows. And while I'm not a disc golfer, seeing not one but two 18 hole courses winding up and down those steep grades made me think of starting. And there were a lot of golfers (diskers?) there.
The lake here was very small, but so sheltered that the surface was like glass. Also in the park are several CCC era cabins that look like they would be a fun place to stay.
It's neat the way they took advantage of the terrain. The group pavilions are cantilevered out over the hillsides, giving nice views (although I wouldn't suggest it for acrophobics.) and the tent campsites have these cool platforms built to allow for level tenting.
David Crockett State Park - Lawrenceburg, TN This was my favorite stop on my trail ride. Not only was it close to the northern part of the Trace Parkway, it also sits on a portion of the original Trail of Tears. Several hiking trails not only wind up and down the hills, but also follow portions of the ToT. Plus, there is a small museum (free) on the life of David Crockett, a birds of prey aviary and a really nice falls area for cooling off in the hot summer.
Add to that the local sights in the area around Lawrenceburg and the fact that Nashville is just about an hour up the road, and this one will stay on my list for a return visit.
Cedars of Lebanon State Park - Lebanon TN This one was just a stopover on the way to Kentucky, but the trails were nice (lots of caves to explore). And it's a WPA park, so it's on the list as an OK place to spend a few days.
My Old Kentucky Home State Park - Bardstown, KY This is another pick based on convenience and location than amenities. It's close to a lot of the bourbon distilleries (I could walk to Heaven Hill), but the roads were tight and my site was so off level that I had to build a set of wooden blocks to put under my rear tires. The few saving graces was the home itself and possibly (were I a golfer) the golf course on park grounds attractive wake up call. Although the shotgun start (complete with VERY loud train horn) was a less than pleasant way to wake up Friday morning. I will say that my time spent there had a couple of highlights. First was the access to the distilleries and the second was meeting Butch and Mary Joe and learning how to play Mexican Train Dominoes. Those made the stay enjoyable.
So, those are the high (and low) lights of my stops along the trails. All in all, beautiful sights, nice walking trails and good neighbors. If the rest of the trip is like this, I'll have a great time.
For now, I'm ensconced in Gettysburg and back on the Battlefield tour. A couple of weeks here, including the nearby site and also Antietam, then down Virginia way and an easy trip back home to Texas. So lot's more to see and do! As ever...
Later, folks.
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