1ST POST - REELFOOT LAKE - TN

This Spring we have decided to just go in a westward direction, maybe revisit some of the places we have been to before, along with some new ones.  In previous years we have followed the Lewis & Clark Trail (2006), the Oregon Trail (2010), and the Santa Fe Trail (2016).  It always seems better to have a "theme" to a trip rather than just go willy-nilly here & there, but this year that’s what we are doing - just playing it by ear.

We know for sure we are going through the northwest corner of Tennessee, then across Missouri, after that we’ll see -- let the trip begin!!

The original plan was to leave on Monday, April 16^th, but we decided to go ahead and leave after church on Sunday, go to Chatsworth, GA and spend the night in Marilyn & Terry’s driveway (for those that don’t know Marilyn is LaVerne’s sister).  After a nice visit with them Sunday afternoon & night, we pulled out headed northwest on Monday – I-75 to Chattanooga, I-24 to Nashville, and then I-40 to Dickson, TN.  We stopped for the first night at a really nice campground – Montgomery Bell State Park.

Tuesday we were on I-40 West again to Jackson, TN, then north on Hwy 412 to Dyersburg, then on to Reelfoot Lake State Park in Tiptonville, TN.  We’ve been here several times over the years and really like it.  Reelfoot Lake is a shallow water lake (18 feet max) that was formed by the earthquakes along the New Madrid fault line in the years of 1811 & 1812.  Fishing is the really big draw and it seems that everybody (except us) has a fishing boat.  We got a nice campsite with a great view of the lake.

We put out a bird feeder and some seeds and it didn’t take long for the resident Red Squirrels to show up!

The lake is surrounded by jillions of Cyprus trees and is always great for a beautiful sunset.

We are here for a couple of nights, so Tuesday was a day for exploring.  After a nice breakfast at Sherry’s Kuntry Kitchen, we rode the back roads sightseeing and looking for birds.  This area is in the far northwest corner of Tennessee where the Mississippi River makes a giant loop with Kentucky and Missouri joining on the other side and you can ride all the way up into all the farm country inside the loop – lots & lots of wheat!  The Mississippi is up, has covered a couple of picnic areas, and washed out the road in a few places.

After riding all the back roads, we stopped in at the Reelfoot Lake State Park Visitor’s Center.  They provide rehabilitation for injured raptors and have them on display at the Visitor’s Center – beautiful birds.

We love this area, but tomorrow is moving day again – headed on into Missouri!