Fish and chicken April 23, 2022

 For something completely different,  we headed to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga today. 

It was voted one of the 10 best US aquariums in a USA  Today ranking of Readers' Choice, and has an interesting organization. Therefore 2 buildings: one celebrates Tennessee River life, the other focuses on the ocean. Rather than roaming the buildings looking at exhibits, you are led to the top level of each building. You then follow a path from the top to the bottom of the building. Nice aquarium,  but they could use a few docents spread around the facility to answer questions,  and the signage around each exhibit could be better.

For dinner,  we landed up at a little place called Bea's. 

This place was very unique. No menus. They put everything they make on the table and you eat as much as you want. Drinks are a choice of sweet or unsweetened ice tea or water. They brought fried chicken, collard greens, Cole slaw, pinto beans, pulled pork, corn bread, biscuits, creamed potatoes. When and if you want more, you just ask. For dessert, they brought cherry cobbler. Everything is made from scratch. This place was originally located in a manufacturing area in 1951 to serve the workers. In the 70s, the manufacturing companies started to close down,  and they had some tough times. But they made it through,  and have been going strong based mostly on local support. It's nowhere near the tourist area, and is still run by the same family.

So you walk in, they seat you, and ask what type tea you want. Then they bring the food. No menu, no explanation. I think we were the only folks there from outside a 2 mile radius, and the place was packed. When we asked for a menu, the server might just as well have said:  "You're not from around here, are you?"

Tables are big round ones that seat 8. As people come in, they fill the tables, and you might find yourself sitting next to a new acquaintance. To make the food accessible,  there is a large lazy Susan in the middle of the table. We sat at one of a few tables for 4. Fried chicken was great, the other dishes, good.

Cloudland State Park, April 22, 2022

 

We are staying in Chattanooga, a 40 minute drive from Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia. In fact, our campground is just down the road from the Tennessee-Georgia border. Cloudland is in the northwest corner of the state on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. 

The views from the rim of the Canyon are spectacular. We took 2 trails here, one directly at the rim, the other longer, following  the rim generally, with a lot of ups and downs to the grade. Decent trails, nothing outstanding.

More flowers April 20, 2022

Another sunny and even warmer day brought us to another wildflower trail not far from our campground. The first mile or so of this trail is south facing and its sides were liberally spread with large patches of beautiful flowers: phacelium, sedum, fire pinks, trillium, and more. We followed the trail for about a mile, and then found that it wound around to and through the forest. We were looking for wildflowers or waterfalls, and this had neither. We decided to head back down and find another trail to explore. On the way back down, we saw another hiker looking above us on the trail (the trail was on the side of the mountain). Directly above us, about 20 feet away, was a bear cub. Not wanting to see where the momma bear was, we moved on. 

We then decided we'd head back to the trail we did in the rain 2 days ago. As then, the river that runs by the side of the trail was roaring, but now that trail was dry and pleasant. We enjoyed the waterfalls all along the trail.

The drive back was delightful through the spring forest in all shades of green. So beautiful. 

More photos later

Whiteoak again April 19, 2022

 What a difference a day makes! From yesterday's cold, rainy weather, we awoke today to bright sun and a clear sky. It's still on the cool side, but comfortable. 

We decided to head out to a nearby trail that stunned us last year with its beauty. We came to the Smokies specifically because it's  wildflower time. The Smokies are a world-renowned preserve of wildflower diversity. Over 1500 kinds of flowering plants are found here, and wildflowers are here through 3 seasons. But springtime probably shows the greatest diversity. The coolness of spring makes it a perfect time to hike as well, with minimal buggy annoyances.

The hike to Whiteoak Sinks starts out with groupings of wildflowers along the path-- wild iris, violets, trillium, and so much more. The trail descends to an open area of acres of wildflowers laid out before you: blue phlox ( LOTS of blue phlox), bishops caps, phacelium, wild geranium, white and yellow trillium, and many more varieties everywhere you look. It's absolutely magical.

Once we got back to the trailhead, we ate a late lunch and set out for Cades Cove, a beautiful area, but for today, something of a mistake. Traffic at first wasn't bad, and the drive was leisurely. But at one point, it slowed to a crawl. The road is one way, with no exit point, and no place to pass. If someone spies a bear or other animal and decides to stop to take a look, the entire cortege behind them stops as well. That's what happened today. We finally stopped along the road at a historic farm with a mill.

But the Sinks, the sun, and the spring beauty ruled the day. Photos to come.

Rainy day April 18, 2022

 

We woke to the sound of a hard rain pounding on the RV roof today, and read that the forecast was for the rain to dissipate to showers after noon. We set out at 11:00 with that expectation. By the time we got to our first choice trail, it was still raining and 50 degrees, and the trailhead looked very muddy with giant puddles. OK. We didn't mind hiking in the rain, but wading through water was not on our agenda. So, we chose another trail, threw on our ponchos and set out. The weather stations got it wrong. The rain let up only as we got back to the car. The hike took us up a gradual incline along the Middle Prong of the Little River that was swollen with the rains of the day. The noise from the cascading river was deafening and there were waterfalls and white water all along the length of the trail. Huge stands of rhododendron lined the river. It was a nice hike, and although there were some muddy spots, we didn't have to wade through any  serious water. Even so, our shoes were soaked by the time we finished.

Photos are here: 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2TBHSY1M3oUQGtz6A

To the Smokies April 17, 2022

Our plans today took us north up secondary roads through northern Georgia across the border to southern Tennessee. What beautiful country! I think that springtime is probably my favorite time of year. Our views were of hillsides painted in many pastel hues of green. We motored past flowering pink and white dogwoods,  and roadside patches of pink, purple, white and yellow wildflowers.  Gorgeous! 

We must have passed at least 20 Dollar General stores along the way. Those stores rule the south!

Our campsite for the next several days is at a KOA just outside the Smoky Mountain Park boundary. It's probably the equivalent of a high end hotel room. We have a patio, strong wifi, great cable TV, and all the comforts of home. Our site is large, quiet, and nicely separated from others. 

Today we took a stroll on the Townsend River Walk and Arboretum. It's a short path through the woods by the side of the Little River that has been planted with native wildflowers in a natural setting. In one short walk, we saw red columbine, blue sage, trillium, redbud, dogwood, yellow trillium, cinquefoil, violets, wild iris, periwinkle, ragwort, phlox. red buckeye and more. At the beginning of the trail is a little faerie village, placed there by town residents who used a fallen princess tree to construct it. All in all, it was a delightful walk.

A few photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7w3mYZ3Wh5qHkK6q7

Fort Mountain

The drive north to Fort Mountain State Park took us through the craziness of Atlanta where we spent at least a half hour "swimming"  in a sea of trucks. As you crawl along at 10 to 15 mph, you can almost watch the gas tank empty. Speaking of gas, we were heartened to see that prices have come down a bit. We paid $3.24 per gallon yesterday with the Fuel Rewards discount we use. Once we got off the Interstate, the ride was great. The scenery in northern Georgia reminded us both of New England, rolling hills lined with springtime blooming trees, and greening fields. 

Since we arrived here a day late due to our slide issue, we set up and decided to take a hike directly out of the campground. It took us up a hill to a gorgeous view through the trees of the valley below. This view will be obscured in a week or two once the trees leaf out. It felt great to be out on the trail again.

Our site here is wonderful- level, large and private, and the campground is clean and quiet. Too bad we're missing the second of the days we had planned here. I think we'll be back.

A Spring Getaway

 

The offending slide

We're  headed to the Smokies for a bit less than 2 weeks. We've found that springtime travel is great because the weather is cooler, and the crowds are lighter. 

Our first stop was initially going to be for an evening in Cordele, GA, a breather on our way to Fort Mountain  State Park in northern GA. 

After coffee and breakfast, we readied for departure. The last steps to do so is  pulling the slides in and taking up the stabilizers. Except...the first slide would not retract. The second and third slides were no problem. But that first slide would not come in. So, the next step is to refer to the manual to see how to manually retract the slide. No dice. 

Our next step was to call our warranty company. Could they send someone to help? No, there's a specific procedure they have to follow to process a claim. Get the issue analyzed,  submit an estimate for repair, and then they will authorize action. An explanation of the situation got me nowhere. There was no way they could  help me out of this dilemma.

A gentleman at the neighboring rig suggested I call a local mobile RV repair place. I did just that. 

The technician came mid-afternoon and showed us how to kick start the switch and that finally got the slide to open and close. 

BUT! Ray had identified another issue. The house batteries could not be turned off. The tech discovered that the solenoid needs to be replaced, something we will have done when we get home.

So we'll stay another night here in Cordele, and head to Fort Mountain  tomorrow.We quickly discovered that our RV warranty doesn't help us at all while we're on the road. We probably will cancel it when we get home.