Completing the Trace...

Our first experience driving through the Natchez Trace was in April of 2012.  We started in Natchez MS and traveled through Mississippi to Red Bay AL where we left it to go to  the Tiffin Service Center to have some work done on our coach.  We never completed the Trace and always promised ourselves that "someday" we would.

That "someday" was last week.  We took up right where we left off...from Red Bay!  This time we spent a little more leisurely time doing it tho.  We decided to camp nearby and stay awhile.  Since we only had a couple of hundred miles left to do, which was easy to do, there were also areas that an RV wasn't allowed to go into that we'd wanted to see.

As typical with me, I "forgot" about Memorial Day coming up until about two weeks before time, and when I went to make reservations around Nashville, found them all booked!  Ugh.  When I located a campground near the Natchez Trace that had a vacancy, I was thrilled and I quickly took it.  The owner was so nice to talk with and assured me we had "full hook-ups". 

Everything went smoothly in Red Bay and we got done two days early, so I called Noel at the campground in Hohenwald and asked if we could arrive early, he said "no problem" and even asked us if we were coming via the Trace.  When we said we were, he explained that a small part was closed down due to construction, and gave us directions as to how to get around it.  Then, we were on our way!

Well...that was the last of the "good vibrations...." When we got there things were quite different... First, no one was there to assist us.  Noel, the owner was out of town shopping, then the camp host wasn't there (emergency).  When I called (help!?? where do I go??).  When I finally go hold of Noel on the phone and talked him into talking me through "where" we were to park...it was a disaster!  This place was horribly laid out, with only a couple usable spots, and those were not available.  The spot he had us going into was about 40+ feet long with electric at the very front and sewer at the very end and big lumps and dips all up and down through the grassy middle!  No way could it work!  Then, after we kept explaining (over the phone) that to him, he said, "how about pulling through it, to the one in front, and using it?"  Well, that meant using the sewer, going up hill!  Nope, that wouldn't work either!  Jack was furious!  A long day's drive to this? ...and Memorial Weekend?  Now what were we going to do?

I got on my phone and started looking again for places and God must have been on my shoulder, because I don't know how I found it, but I did, and somehow another campground showed up nearby!  I called, and would you believe it, they had space?  I grabbed it!  As we left Noel called me back and offered to move someone else and put us in another site, but I told him it was to late, we already were going somewhere else, sorry.  To little, to late.  He apologized and said it was bad timing that he wasn't there when we arrived, and that his host had that emergency.  ;-(

What a beautiful campground we ended up in!  Natchez Trace Thousand Trails...ended up on a "beach site" overlooking their lovely lake, full hook-ups, big, level sites and lovely wonderful people who had tons of fun, wonderful activities scheduled all weekend long...and at cheaper rates than the other place!  Wow!  Makes you just shake your head sometimes...;-)

We faced the water and the grass park was behind us!  Far behind those trees were the "other campers"!

Once settled in, we used the truck to enjoy the Trace and take in it's beauty.  For those of you that might not know what the Natchez Trace is...it's 444 miles through threes states and 10,000 years of history.  As the US expanded westward in the late 1700s and early 1800s, growing numbers of travelers tramped the rough trail into a clearly marked path.  Where the ground was relatively soft, walkers, riders and wagons wore down the "sunken" sections you see today.  In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson designated the Trace a national post road for mail delivery between Nashville and Natchez.  Today the Natchez Trace parkway creates a greenway from the southern Appalachian foothills of Tennessee to the bluffs of the lower Mississippi River.  It's truly a beautiful drive, and if you ever get the chance to do it, even a part of it, take it!

We enjoyed using it as our "daily freeway" as we ventured into the edge of Nashville or over to Franklin.  We could count on one hand the number of cars we would see on the road with us.  I would tease Jack that he would get spoiled here and not know how to drive with regular traffic again.  ;-)

As you exit the Trace at Nashville, there is a wonderful Cafe there, called The Loveless Cafe.  It's been there since 1952.  Now, there might not have been a lot of traffic on the Trace, but boy there sure was here!  This place was packed, but they know "service"!  ...and food!  Yum!! Nothing like "Southern fried chicken" in the South!  My mouth still waters up just thinking about it! ;-)  They give you a "beeper" and set you free to roam...they have gift shops (plural), a motel, meeting room, catering, and ?? Quite a place!  Super great staff (and did I mention how great the food was?).  ;-)

We took a side trip into Franklin one day and visited the Carter House where the Franklin Battle took place.  It was quite a siege and left both the brick house and the wooden office riddled with bullet holes.  Very interesting town, I wish we could have spent more time there, but it was a long drive from the campground and we had arrived late in the day.  We will remember it for next time!

Back at the campground, activities were going strong.  They had everything from Bingo to BBQ, from live music to ice cream socials, watermelon eating contests to water slides and for Memorial Day they invited Rolling Thunder to do the Missing Man table ceremony.  I had never seen it before and was really moved...to tears.  Very touching, and perfect for the day.  Being a "Navy Brat", military observance is special to me and this really touched my heart.  These men and women who dedicate their time, money and energy to keep the POW & MIA active is really something.   

We met some great people here and had a wonderful time.  I loved looking out my window each day, watching the families enjoy the lake together, watching the geese as they honked at each other in the park beside us.  The night before we left, it gave us a wonderful sunset to say goodbye, come again!  ...I love that, we will!

...on the road to Kentucky,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Sweet Home Alabama!

With only a few days of Jack and I together in Alabama, we still managed to cram a few "sights" in!

For the most part, we were actually "separated" - he was in Red Bay AL at the Tiffin Service Center having our rig worked on, while I was in Texas with my son and daughter-in-law,  having their first child!  Two weeks apart, experiencing "changes and celebrations".  Once my adorable grandson was home with his parents and all was well, I flew to Birmingham AL to meet up with Jack.  We had hoped, that by then that the "long list" of things would have been completed and we had planned on spending a few days visiting that fair city, then traveling on...but, as we all know, best laid plans... So, it was not to be.  Not only did we have to return to Red Bay, but my flight into Birmingham was delayed by almost 3 hours, so that cut that day short as well!

We did stay the night tho, and since it was only a couple of hour drive, I requested at least one visit to one area of Birmingham!  I chose to go see the Vulcan Center!  I had read about it, and it seemed that it would be one of the most unique places and one with the greatest views of the city as well.  We weren't disappointed. Vulcan, Birmingham Alabama’s colossal statue is the world’s largest cast iron statue was built for the World's Fair in 1904 and has overlooked Alabama’s largest city from atop Red Mountain since the 1930s.  By 1999, the 50-ton statue was in desperate need of repair. Thanks to public-private partnerships and a $15.5 million campaign, this beloved symbol of Birmingham and the nation’s iron and steel industry stands preserved and proud as the centerpiece of it rehabilitated and expanded park.

Thankfully, they added an elevator to a viewing deck, which we took advantage of, and luckily the rain staid off long enough for us to get some nice views of the city from up there!

The museum itself was quite interesting as well, adding a little history about Birmingham's civil unrest to it's foundation of iron & steel.

Back to Red Bay (in the pouring rain) for another few days while they finished up the remodel of our closets but thanks to that rain, we found out the roof leaked!  Well, where they had walked on it, they had loosened some rusted out screws that then popped out and that caused the leak!  Anyway, in she went back into a bay for a resealing and caulking, and no more leaks!  Thank you rain!  New TV mount done, new closets done, time to go!  Yea!

Old closet with TV mount (slides in)

Ugly TV out, new closet with extra drawer space added

New flat screen TV mount with new front window screens instead of curtains

Last stop before exiting Alabama, Scottsboro, the home of the "Unclaimed Baggage Store"!  We don't leave that state without stopping there!  Way to much fun!  I got us all checked into Goose Bay Colony Campground (cool), then off we went, shopping!  All we had was four hours, so had to make the most of it!  You never know what you are going to find there, sometimes it's "bounty" sometimes it's "bust".  Last time we came away with our arms loaded down with tons of books, movies, audio books and a few clothes.  Jack had just bought his new IPad, and if we would have known, we could have saved hundreds on it.  This time, not so much.  Only a few books, a couple of movies and a couple of jeans for me....but still a whole lot of fun looking!

We still had Sunday in Scottsboro, and like most things in the South, stores, etc. are all closed, so we looked over the "list" of what to see, and decided to check out the Burritt Mansion and Historic Park in Huntsville.  It was fun.  William Henry Burritt was a homeopathic doctor in the late 1800's.  He bought 167 acres on Round Top Mountain   overlooking Huntsville and had this lovely house built for his retirement.  It burned down the day he was to move in (wouldn't you just know it!).  He had a second one built and moved in two years later, in 1938.  It's in the shape of an X (for better ventilation, of course) and combines many different architectural styles including classical revival, federal and art deco.  The house used 2200 bales of wheat straw as insulation.  Having no heirs from his three marriages, he left the mansion and the surrounding acres to the City of Huntsville to become the city's first museum.  The open area behind the mansion was once a ten acre farm where Dr. Burritt grew a large quantity of fruits and vegetables.  He also operated a goat dairy on the property until his death in 1955.  The city has moved five houses, a barn, a blacksmith shop, church, spring house, and smoke house from the 1800's & 1900's into this area to create the Historical Park.  They have also built a beautiful Orientation Center, Visitors Center and Museum Store.  They had several interpretation guides throughout the place explaining the various houses and activities, as well as special things for the children to participate in.  It was a delightful day, in spite of the rain and lightning storm that persisted on and off throughout the day!

...on the road to Nashville TN,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Always nice to see how things are made...

Red Bay is a tiny little town in the north-west corner of Alabama, that if you sneeze, you've missed it. I don't know it's population (they don't list it on it's sign) but I would guess that 2/3 of the town folk work for Tiffin Motorhomes, as 1200 do. We jokingly call it "Tiffin Town", and some of the locals have shared with us, that they do too! We came here for a couple of reasons, one being that this is where our RV was made, and ever since we first started looking at Tiffin's, we thought it would be fun to come and tour the manufacturing plant. The company is family owned and run, Bob Tiffin, being at the helm, makes it a practice to constantly invite all his customers to "come on down and take a tour!" After we bought ours, and had an opportunity to meet Bob, he pressed upon us, once again to "please come and see us!" So, we put it on our list of places we wanted to visit. That was the first reason.

The second reason, was for some "work" to be done. We had attended a rally in February and had the opportunity to see the new Tiffins, and Jack took a liking to the new, free-standing dining-style, vs our booth-style seating. Being as tall as he is, ours is rather uncomfortable for him. We had talked to an outfit in Florida about a redesign, but they never followed up on it, so we decided to have it done "at the source", in Red Bay. After all who better than the people who designed her in the first place, right? Additionally, we had a couple of little things that needed fixing (a couple of the blinds, tv antenna, mirror). Then, as everyone said it would, we had our first "oops". We discovered that we are a bit wider than we realized, and tried to park in a spot that had trees on both sides of it - making it about a couple of inches to skinny...just enough to put a nice scrunch on our shade awning. Luckily it didn't do any body damage and we had already talked about getting a new one, so, for an "oops" it probably was one of the least costly ones we could do.

We arrived at the Tiffin "Campground", which in fact is a very large gravel parking lot with hookups, to find out that this is their very busy season as all the "snowbirds" are heading back home and pass through here first to get what ever they need done. Luckily, they took us on anyway, as long as we didn't mind waiting a week or more for all of it to be completed. Time, we have!

While we waited, we took the tour! Wow, what a tour it was too! Two hours, and nothing held back. We walked into every area, could see and ask any question. After the tour, we could stay behind and walk around all we wanted, no security! They do the painting in a separate facility across town (remember, that's only about 3 miles!) and were told how to get there, to "just check in with security, and they will point you in the right direction". We did, and he gave us goggles and ear plugs and showed us where the door was and told us to "watch our step and enjoy." He didn't come with us, we were on our own! We wandered around, asking questions, peeking in doors, watching the process, it was fun! As "Californians" we couldn't get over the openess! We would never have allowed that for fear "of being sued!" When we were picking out our new buffet table top material, we asked the young man helping us "doesn't it slow you guys down having customers wander in and out of your service area all day, asking questions, watching, etc?" He said "yea, but that's the way Bob wants it, so, that's they way we do it here". Pretty unique, I'd say.

Everything here is made by hand, no "automation" going on here! All the way down to the chassis! Even the painting, all hand painted, they don't use decals, every design is hand taped out, then painted, layer after layer. Amazing. It gave me a new respect for the product I can say.




































































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Alabama, Marie