East Bank & Home

Our last evening at Foscue was spent inside listening to the rain. It sure sounded wonderful on the roof and lasted all night long. The downside was everything was wet in the morning. It stopped long enough for us to pack up and get on the road.

It rained a good part of the 200 mile trip to East Bank. East Bank is another COE park. It is on Lake Seminole, the park is nice but it has ants. We stayed at the park about a year ago – they had the ant problem then too. **** Bud here, Dog-dick knats too! ***
We decided after one night it was time to get on down the road. I believe we are both getting the “horse returning to the barn syndrome”. We went into Chattahoochee for breakfast. What a trip, I guess the economy must really be slow – the restaurant was pretty run down. We made it thru breakfast, filled up the truck, then went back to camp and packed it up. I’m not sure if we will stop half way home and camp or try to make the 240 mile trip today. I’ll let you know.

There was rain, wind and clouds most of the way back. We talked about stopping at Manatee Springs but it was raining so we drove on. When we got to Crystal River we decided to eat at Crackers and then head for the shed! We arrived home around 5:30 – 6:00. Boy, it was real weird driving down the driveway. When we left the pastures were crunchy and brown; now they are soggy and heavy with grass! Everything in the house was fine. It looked really big after staying in the RV. And it didn’t even wiggle when you walked around. Our showers felt soooooo good and roomy!

We had a wonderful time but “There’s no place like home”! Thanks for joining us on the “Gophers Trails”.

Buddy & Patsy

Bluff Hall & Gaineswood

Bluff Hall & Gaineswood

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We visited two of Demopolis’ Historic Landmarks – Bluff Hall and Gaineswood Mansions. Please make sure you view the pictures. Some of the pictures are dark but I was very excited that we were allowed (without the flash) to take them.

Bluff Hall - was built in 1832 by slaves of Allen Glover for his daughter, Sarah Serena, and her husband, Francis Lyon. The couple used Bluff Hall as a townhouse. The house was one of several homes build atop a limestone cliff overlooking the Tombigbee River. The house is a two-story brick structure, with portions covered by smooth stucco. The double parlor in the interior features two columns that were an anniversary gift to the Lyons from the Whitfield family. (see pic) The Whitfield’s lived nearby at Gaineswood (the other mansion we visited) the house was altered in the 1840’s with the addition of a front portico and large rear wing. The rear wing contained the dining room and kitchen (one of the first kitchens ever added directly to a house). Also, two bedrooms were added to the second floor. In one of the rooms there was a bathtub. (see pic) We were told they did not take baths very often because the water made them sick. (Malaria) And they did not submerge into the water; it was just poured over them.
The house was filled with about 70% original belongs of the family. There were dresses, quilts, toys and other interesting artifacts. In the kitchen she showed us a tin egg crate. There were about 24 egg sized pockets. She said the people ordered fertilized eggs from Sears so they could have different breeds of chickens. She also showed us spoons that were made from silver dollars that had been melted down. Demopolis had its own wallpaper design. There was a one of a kind black powder gun on display that was designed by a local dentist from the 1800’s. (see pic) We were told that Francis Lyon donated 6 million dollars of his own money to keep the banks from going bankrupt during the war. The house, although built by slave labor, was estimated to cost $10,000.

Gaineswood - In the 1820’s George Gaines built a dog-trot cabin where the Gaineswood now stands. Then in 1843 Nathan Whitfield, a wealthy cotton planter, bought the estate and the 480 acres surrounding it from Gaines. Whitfield and his skilled slaves and craftsmen took 18 years to build Gaineswood. The cabin was enlarged and refined into an elegant mansion under the direction of Whitfield, who was his own architect and designer for his neoclassical Greek Revival-style house, even though he had no formal training in those fields.
The house has two huge domed ceilings with ornate plasterwork. There are carved wood columns (like the ones he gave to the Lyon’s couple) through out the house. Whitfield had a passion for design and constantly changed the architecture as the trends changed. He wanted two matching mantles for the drawing room and could not find them so he commissioned someone to make them using his design. He paid $55 each for them.

We were told his wife raised 24 children, which 12 were her own, during their marriage. She died at the age of 45. Because of Whitfield’s passion for architecture he was away from home a lot. His wife was left to manage the home and plantation. There were many letters from her letting him know it was time for him to come home. It is said that after her death he truly regretted being absent as he loved her very deeply.

Foscue Creek Park, Demopolis, AL

Foscue Creek Park, Demopolis AL

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The trip from Bankhead to Foscue was around 150 miles of nice rolling hills of clay, green grass and tall trees – nice back roads. It was surprisingly cool (maybe I should say pleasant and breezy) when we arrived at Demopolis. Foscue Creek is a Corp of Engineer Park. It is land that has been purchased by the government for water control purposes. When there is surplus land they either sell it back to the land owners or make parks and wildlife management areas. So COE parks have some type of water facility that is managed. There is a Lock & Dam here on Demopolis Lake, on the Tombigbee/ Black Warrior River. They offered a tour of the Lock on Saturday and we decided to go. I was surprised to see how many people were there. Ranger Brandon Smith was guide. He told us the water level was raised or lower about 40 feet to allow the barges and other vessels to pass down the river. There is a fixed crest dam (weir) on the river to hold back the waters to a certain level. They open two valves about 10 – 12 feet in diameter to let the water into the lock. It creates big whirlpools when their open (See Pic). A big barge was just arriving when we got there so we were able to watch the whole process in action. The lock is 110 feet wide by 610 feet long (the barge was 105’ by 600’). The weir is about 1100 feet in length. Thumbs up to the Captain, he didn’t even bump the side. They opened the gates and let in 21 million gallons of water in about 12 minutes. It raised the barge to the level of the other end of the lake to enable the barge to pass thru.

We are camped close to the water and have a nice breeze most of the day. It is cool in the mornings and we have walked on a few of the park’s trails. We ate at the “Farm House Restaurant” the first night here – it was a seafood buffet, every thing we ate was delicious! But we passed on the frog legs. They had peach cobbler for dessert – they could give Paula Deen a run for her money! It was some of the best southern cooking we’ve had so far.

Today we went to the “Foscue House”. It’s an old homestead turned into a local restaurant. (See pics) The house was built in 1840 and with the exception of the front porch added in 1900 and electricity the house has remained the same. Mr. Foscue had the date put in the design of the bricks on one of the exterior fireplace walls. Upon entering the first things we noticed was the creaking wood floors, ten foot ceilings and wide baseboards. They left the interior walls and even the original house front windows inside. The upstairs was closed to the public, per our waitress and restaurant manager, because the owner only leased them the first floor. She told us to make sure we went out back and looked at the original barn. She said it had square nails. It was a very friendly casual place, there were children playing out back as their parents ate and visited inside and we also saw several fellow campers from the campground.

Oh, we found a new meaning for “fork in the road”. See what we discovered embedded in the asphalt road at the park (See pic)! **** John, if you ever revert back to your vagabond ways, maybe you can try to find the fork in the road! Be sure to take a picture to validate the authenticity of your picture! Ha Ha

Bankhead National Forest – Corinth Park, AL

Corinth at Bankhead, AL

Bankhead National Forest has three parks within the National Forest. We are staying at the Corinth Park where the RV sites are full hook-up and very nice. The other recreation areas don’t have full hook-up. One has water and electric RV sites the other is tent camping only – not sure which has what – I forget! We got up Tuesday morning and went for a walk on one of the trails. It was a little too early for Bud, see pic. Later we drove to the nearest town, Double Springs, for fuel. It is an extremely small town but the diesel price was the lowest we’ve seen on this trip, $4.30 per gallon (we have paid up to $4.79)! The primary means of employment are the forestry, mobile home and window manufactures. The temperature is 90+ so we are working on getting acclimated for Brooksville!

On an evening walk we saw deer, turkey, gray fox (2), bunnies and leather winged bats. There is a big leafed tree here called a Cowcumber Tree. It is in the magnolia family. The camp manager (host) told us it gets a long bud that resembles a cucumber then it blooms into a gigantic magnolia type bloom. I looked it up on the internet and the bloom is about one to two feet across. The manager’s is a very nice Georgia man named Warren and his wife’s is very nice also, her name is Jessie.

We have used our walking sticks aka, flick-a-stick - web remover, quite a bit on our journey. Trace made the one Buddy uses, it's made from a laurel oak and has a real nice crook for a handle. Buddy made mine from a sparkle berry bush it fits my hand perfect.

We’ll be leaving here in the morning, heading to Foscue COE Park in Demopolis, Al. We’ve heard good things about Foscue. Probably one or two more parks before returning to Annutteliga Hammock (home)!

Hey you two!! You sure have seen some pretty places this summer. Hey, Bud, I remember that trip to Lookout Mountain. Are you going to go to Ruby Falls too? Remember riding the elevator down to the caverns? I forgot to mention on our phone con the other day about explaining to Donna the difference between her napping and Bud's knapping. She thought he had fallen asleep in the chair!! Just kidding. Anyway, I'm glad you're keeping the blog, thanks for sharing your experiences with the rest of us. Be safe, but ENJOY!!!

Cloudland Canyon - See Rock City

Cloudland Canyon, Rising Fawn, GA

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We arrived at Cloudland Canyon State Park, Rising Fawn, GA around noon. The park is located on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. We have a nice pull-thru site. There are too many trees to get satellite but we have good internet and phone signals.

Cloudland offers several hiking trails. There are two waterfalls on site but due to the drought neither one has water. We opted to take the West Rim Loop Trail. There are gorgeous overlooks into the canyon. It was in the low 70’s and we had a nice breeze for a good part of the walk. From one of the overlooks you could look down on the town of Trenton and Lookout Valley, 1,200 feet below. Buddy found a rock that looked like a hatchet head. (See Pic) Our little trek ended up being 6 miles! Buddy made delicious steaks for dinner. We slept pretty well that night – but you would not believe how loud the Katie-dids are here. They are louder than the AC.

Buddy told me when he was little he went to Rock City and as he recalled he thought it was pretty cool. It was less then 20 miles away, so we set off to “See Rock City”. I was excited because I really wanted a birdhouse. (See Pic) According to the brochure, in 1928 Frieda Carter spent four years forging a path through the wilderness and among the rock formations with only a string to mark her trail. Garnet Carter introduced her unique gardens to the public as Rock City Gardens in 1932. In 1936 Mr. Carter began his famous barn roof advertising campaign to lure vacationers from the highways. By the 1950’s Clark Byers had painted “SEE ROCK CITY” on 900 barns roofs. To my disappointment, the bird houses are made in, you guessed it, China!

On the way back from Rock City we stopped by a place where people were hang gliding. It looked like fun but Buddy said “No Way”! The camp host told us that some lady decided to hang glide off the west rim (our camping area) without a hang glider just a couple of weeks ago. One of the deputies that went down to retrieve her body had to be evacuated due to yellow jacket stings!

We will be leaving in the morning (Monday) for Bankhead National Forest in AL.

Pigeon Forge – Walden Creek Campground

Pigeon Forge, TN - Walden Creek Campground

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Our ride from Breaks Campground to Pigeon Forge was another one of those “butt hugging” trips, but this time we were pulling the RV. We left early in the morning hoping to beat the coal mine truck traffic. The A’s and B’s parted ways at interstate 81 – they headed to NC and we went to TN. We had a great time traveling with them!

We arrived at Walden Creek Campground around noon. We are right off the main drag at Pigeon Forge. After checking in and setting up we were ready for lunch. The park owner suggested we try Mel’s diner – it was less than a mile down the road. It is a “Rock Around The Clock” diner! (see pic). We were too full to eat desert but knew we would return for their famous 9 scoop banana split.

Tuesday we checked out the outlet malls and the knife shop. On the way back to camp we returned to Mel’s for the banana split. Sorry, I forgot my camera – it was everything they said it would be.

Wednesday I wanted to go to Gatlinburg. It is a wall to wall tourist trap. **** They’re like ants running all over the place! *** I guess I have just out grown that kind of fun. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always ready to go to the mall when there’s a good sale. We drove through town and made a loop back to Pigeon Forge.

Buddy has been plotting our next move to northwest GA – Cloudlands Canyon. He was thinking about going on US 129 – nice scenic route. I found an article about it in one of those “What to Do” books. The article was called, “The Roads That Are Less Traveled” – Tail of the Dragon. The road segment earned its name from its curves resembling the back of the tail of a dragon. An 11-mile stretch of road is said to contain 318 curves. The speed limit was 55 mph prior to 1992; however, in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the limit was reduced a number of times until 2005 when a speed limit of 30 mph was signed along the entire stretch. Crashing on ‘The Dragon’ earns you the right to hang part of your crash damage on the famous ‘Tree of Shame’ at Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort. Maybe we need to check this out, what do you think?