I love Tennessee. I have for over two decades now. Most of the time that I have spent here has been in the Great Smoky Mountains. Ray and I went to Gatlinburg, TN for our honeymoon almost 22 years ago, when we were just 19 and 20. We’ve gone back plenty since then. We’ve taken the kids to Pigeon Forge several times over the last few years. And while we had spent a good bit of time in East Tennessee, we hadn’t really had the opportunity to check out much of the middle of the state. So, we decided to spend a few days at a campsite on Arnold Air Force Base, just down the road from Tullahoma.
This campsite is fantastic! It’s on the lake, very rustic, has spectacular views and gorgeous sunsets, and is only $15 a night. Can’t beat it!
This will be our fifth night here, and tomorrow we head on to Nashville! But, while here, we have certainly seen some breathtakingly, beautiful Tennessee fall scenery and some phenomenal lake views.
We drove over to Chattanooga to check out Rock City the other day. Well, it’s technically in Lookout Mountain, GA, but it’s really close to Chattanooga. The walk along the Enchanted Trail has many stops to check out rock formations, views, caves, and other sights. We took the dogs on this outing, and they were very happy to be included.
We also spent a little time walking across the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, grabbing some shaved ice, and seeing what downtown Chattanooga was all about.
I think our favorite things about the Tullahoma area have been the trails and waterfalls. We learned of beautiful Rutledge Falls, which is actually on private property, but the owner allows the public to follow the short trail to check it out. So, we decided to see it yesterday afternoon. We had to climb down a few rocks, which is challenging while holding a wiggling dachshund, but it was worth the little bit of struggle.
We also went down some beautiful tails in the Short Springs State Natural Area. We enjoyed seeing the fall colors and some pretty waterfalls. Machine Falls was a highlight for the girls, because we had to walk through the ice cold stream to get to our destination.
We moved on and followed another trail and some fairly steep climbing to Busby Falls. And here’s what I’ve discovered: During previous hikes, our kids have always complained relentlessly – “I’m tired. My legs hurt. It’s hot. I’m hungry. This is taking forever. This is boring. When can we leave?” Not on this day, though! So, the key is this: there must be rock climbing and water involved in any hike we do to avoid bitching from the children.
Our last full day here in Tullahoma and being just 23 miles from the Jack Daniels Distillery, we had to head over to Lynchburg for a bit today. Because we have a couple of six-year-olds, we opted (or had to, really) take the “Dry County Tour.” This is a non-tasting tour, and while I would love to sit around and taste Tennessee whiskey, it probably was for the best, because the kids would have been super bored during that part of things. The tour was pretty fascinating. I like just smelling the stuff (and we bought some from a local store – not the distillery – on the way home). The girls were well behaved during the hour tour, minus a tiny drama queen moment from Rayne when “it stunk, was loud, and was too hot” during the few minutes we were inside the distillation room. Otherwise, it went surprisingly well. We had bribed them a bit, promising a visit to the Moon Pie General Store if there were no incidents of any kind. After our tour, we ate at a barbecue joint the guide had recommended, got some Moon Pies, and walked around Lynchburg (about two blocks of shops). It was a nice time.
As I sit here, sipping on my Jack and Coke, I think we’ve been having a pretty good time, overall. Just this week, every one of us (minus Ray) has had a meltdown, though. I insisted that we were done RVing, homeschooling was over, and that we needed to call it quits one day, when the girls were not being very receptive to learning. Jayden went into freakout mode one afternoon at a Wal-Mart, because she lost a lucky penny. Rayne turns dramatic about things like she did at the distillery. But, we are still adjusting to life on the road, living in smaller quarters, and teaching/learning in an RV. It will be worked out. Meanwhile, the fun times are worth the figuring it all out. It’s a process. I don’t miss a thing about living in a house, and I don’t long for any of my things that are in storage. The school thing is more about learning to teach kids (I’m used to adult learners), being really patient, and finding ways to make learning fun. Some things work so amazingly well. Others fail miserably. Still, we have managed to stay on track and keep up with the curriculum, even with all the excursions we have been going on. And, I’ve managed to also keep up with my own work. Wifi at the campgrounds, and being able to tap into the personal hotspot while we are moving down the road, have been lifesavers.
We will be in Nashville for the weekend, and as a huge country music fan, I am ridiculously giddy about this. I’m not crazy about the fact that we will be staying at a resort-style RV park (I’ve liked these rustic, spacious, out in the sticks spots), but I’m looking forward to seeing Music City. Stay tuned!
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