Since our last camping trip, Mary & I have been occupied with plenty of activities but have been chomping at the bit to get the Fun Finder back on the road again.  We had planned a trip to Marion, Illinois to visit my Great Aunt Ivolene for a family reunion but when Cousin Trevor in Texas became ill, the event was postponed. We decided to visit Ivolene anyway and to get in some camping as well!

Friday Oct. 11 found us up at 7:45 and raring to go.  Breakfast, hitch-up and load-up took us to 9:50 and a stop in the village for gas put us on the road at 10:00 with 128325 miles on the F-150 and about 350 miles to our destination, the Marion Campground & RV Park.  We hit I40 West and started up the escarpment to the Cumberland Plateau but were being bounced all over the road by winds and turbulence from big rigs blowing past on the highway.  We had a number of white knuckle moments and I was not at all comfortable with how our rig was handling.  At the first rest stop (11:15 and 128380 miles) we moved the hitch torsion bars to link 3 and tightened the sway bar tension for a little smoother ride.  Each rest stop or gas stop found me “Tweaking” the sway bar until finally in Northern Kentucky, I felt we were dialed in and much more stable.  There was a big difference in driving this rig on the Interstate from our first trip along the lighter traveled highway we took to Townsend.

At last, we arrived at our campground in Marion at 6pm CT – 357 miles and 9 hours!  I was exhausted and we had obviously traveled too far and too long for this senior citizen.  After setting up in our campsite, conversations with neighbors brought looks of astonishment at our time and distance.  It seems that most other campers tend to shoot for 150-250 miles and 4-6 hours in a day.  Lesson learned!  We ordered take-out pizza, watched “The Patriot” on TV and collapsed for the night.

Saturday Oct. 12: We slept until about 8:15 CT – a couple of hours longer than normal but well rested.  Breakfast and a morning stroll around the campground put us in a great frame of mind to head to Ivolene’s house around 10:30.

A visit with Aunt Ivolene is always a walk down family history lane and since the reunion had been cancelled, we had this wonderful woman all to ourselves for the entire day.  We learned that her Uncle Ottis Brayfield was killed in action in WWI. Ivolene’s father, Henry J. Brayfield, was the youngest person to ever obtain an Illinois Mine Inspector Certification (at 18) but due to regulations he couldn’t work as one until he was 21.  We talked all day and went to a BBQ lunch at KB’s but by 4:30 Ivolene was tuckered out and we decided to call it a day.

Mary & I drove around Marion looking for landmarks from my childhood but most were gone on not where my senior brain thought they ought to be.  We couldn’t visit any of the interesting stuff around Crab Orchard Lake because of the government shutdown.

Sunday Oct 13:  We had a leisurely morning around camp and spent some time talking with our hostess Julie Ross and our fellow traveler Elasteen Compton (Traveling to Oklahoma in a RoadTrek 170).  We rolled out of the campground about 10:40 with odometer reading 138733 for a leisurely trip down to Reelfoot.

We headed South on Illinois 148 through Crab Orchard NWR and even though all the facilities were shut down, it was a pleasant ride down to Devil’s Kitchen and Little Grassy lakes.  We got on Rocky Comfort Road (The Rocky part is more correct than the Comfort part.) headed South to Anna (the site of the Lincoln Douglas Debate) and on to cross the Mississippi River into Missouri just beyond Cairo, Illinois.

We had a comfortable ride South through Missouri and back across the Mississippi into Tennessee about 40 miles South of Tiptonville, Tennessee.  We arrived at Reelfoot State Park about 4pm with 128910 on the odometer.  This was a much more comfortable trip of 180 miles in about 5 hours (2 of those wandering 30 miles down Rocky Comfort Road LOL).  We setup in space 65 in the State Park Campground (Next trip, 19 will be our 1st choice).  We went to El Potrillo Mexican Restaurant in Tiptonville for dinner OK but nothing to write home about.  Staff was very friendly but the food could have been better.  Stopped at the Visitor Center to see the Eagles and Hawks – they keep injured birds here until they can be re-introduced to the wild.  Then back to camp for a bit of a bike ride and to bed.  Another really good day.

Monday Oct. 14: This was our first “Tourist” day so we headed out for a trip around the lake taking in all the highlighted places on the visitor map.  First stop was the Visitor’s Center for a viewing of the fascinating formation of Reelfoot lake by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812.  We looked through the center at snakes, a flightless Screech Owl and plenty of displays about the lake’s history and the plants and animals of the region. Click here https://powerpestcontrol.ca/ certified pest experts providing fast, safe and effective pest control services. Then we took a 30 minute walk along a boardwalk trail through the swamp and out to the tree line in the lake itself.

Next stop was Samburg a few miles East of the Visitor Center and their City Park along the lake.  Mary found her first bench at Reelfoot here so the trip was a success.

The next 40 miles just turned out to be a drive in the country as all of the Federal wildlife areas were closed to the public.  Just another day in the Washington shutdown.  We did visit the Air Park area on the NW shore and were surprised to discover that the Inn had been closed for several years.  The campground liiked like a great isolated place to stay on another trip and the nearby Gray’s Camp and Sportsman’s Resort on Upper Blue Basin offer lodging, fishing and supplies.  John and Cindy Fagan at Gray’s were great people to talk with and made us want to spend some time there on our next trip.  We spoke with three wildlife officers doing a fish survey at the air park boat ramp and they said that there was a great crappie hatch last Spring.

We had a wonderful dinner at the Blue Bank Resort right next door to our campground.  We had an appetizer of Grilled Shrimp and a main course of Cajun Grilled Catfish finishing with a sinful Chocolate Cobbler (You just have to try it.)  YUM.

Speaking of YUM, the view from the deck outside this restaurant is really beautiful.  The shoreline at Reelfoot is dotted with many beautiful little harbors that will provide a haven for a few boats.  This one is larger than most.

Tuesday Oct. 15:  I was supposed to go fishing with Jackie Van Cleave (a local guide) but the rains came, and came and the wind blew and we called the trip until tomorrow.  Mary and I took off just to see some of the local shops.  First stop, was the Eagle Tree Gallery on Rt. 21 near the Visitor Center.  We passed a very pleasant couple of hours admiring the quality

hand-made Native American merchandise.  On our way out the door, Mary commented, “Oh, come take a look at this ring.”  (Guess what came home with us?)

We then decided to investigate the little bitty peninsula of Kentucky at the extreme North West corner of Tennessee.  This peninsula is completely cut off from the rest of Kentucky by the Mississippi  River so you either ford the river or enter it through Tennessee.  We took the road and along the way crossed the levee so Mary could dip her fingers into the Mississippi for the first time.

 

Wednesday Oct. 16:  The rain finally quit around 10:00am so I got to go fishing with Jackie.  The day was cold and windy but I did get a few fish before we came to our senses and got in out of the weather.  This was not the stuff of dreams but the fish were fun to catch (and delicious to eat) so I considered the day a success.  The little crappie is 10″ for scale.

Thursday Oct 17:  We broke camp and were on the road at 10:25am with 129041mi on the odometer and headed down the back roads towards Nashville at a sedate 50mph then got on I40 about 60 miles West of Nashville.  The traffic on I40 was heavy but when we took the 840 Southern beltway, we left most of it behind and had a very pleasant ride to Cedars of Lebanon State Park near Lebanon, Tennessee where we were able to get a campsite for the night.  4pm 129279 miles

Friday Oct. 18:  On the road for home at 9:00am CT and arrived home at 1:30pm ET (129423 Miles) an uneventful drive along US70 nearly all the way to Lenoir City concluded our week on the road.  We covered 1098 miles in 4 stated and had a wonderful time.  This gypsy lifestyle is fun!

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