Falls Creek Falls, TN
09-14-2015
Author: Blog Editor in Chasing Adventure- Coast to Coast
My family decided to have the family reunion in a central location so all could attend. I was put in charge of the event, so I chose the “Central” location to be Falls Creek Falls State Park, near Pikeville, Tennessee. We had family coming from Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida.
Falls Creek Falls State Park is a 26,000 acre park, including four water falls, great hiking around the lake, and of course camping. The park has many “RV” spaces however, only one will take a Class A motorhome. Therefore, we elected to stay fifteen miles away at the Mountain Glen RV park, located in the middle of Amish country. http://www.mountainglenonline.com/ this park is a beautiful, quiet, RV park where one goes to relax, enjoy bond fires and just veg out.
This trip in our RV started out as just another wonderful getaway from reality. Since we were traveling with my 94-year old mother-in-law, we limit the number of hours we travel each day to 4 to 6 hours, stopping often at rest areas to allow her to stretch etc. Finding an RV park that satisfies your expectations, and one that is not a “Mobile Home Park”, is sometimes difficult. We elected to stay at http://www.fairharborrvpark.com/ a nice quiet park. On the back side of the park, are many residents that have been there for some time!
Shortly after pulling in and getting set up, another class A pulled in alongside of us. The owner and I started discussing RV parks, and he (being from Florida) stated that he was pretty fed up with what is called an RV park in the State of Florida. I totally agree. Many rundown mobile home parks have jumped on the band wagon and begun calling themselves an RV park. Simply stated, be aware of the term RV park in the state of Florida! Our next stop was at http://www.harvestmoonrvpark.com/ one of our favorite stops before entering into Tennessee. This park throws a holiday bar-b-que on every federal holiday, and it is free! The owner and his wife are great to talk with and very accommodating. Nice restful park.
As we crossed over into Tennessee, and went through Chattanooga, the scenery was great, and the roads were fairly good. Just as you come out of Chattanooga, you begin to climb the mountain! Last year in a gas powered RV, I thought the engine was going to blow up while climbing the mountain. This year in our new RV with diesel engine, it was a dream come true. The pusher did its job, without straining and screaming all the way up the mountain.
Arriving at the Falls Creek Falls State Park, you are greeted by herds of deer; everywhere you look there is “Bambi”! Throw in a few squirrels, possums, and wild turkeys and you have instant entertainment. As we had reserved a cabin for my mother-in-law, daughter and granddaughter, I ended up driving late each night back to my RV, for some much needed peace and quiet, on roads that are narrow and very dark. First, you dodge the deer, then you stare through the thick fog on a narrow road that you really don’t know, then you have the Amish coming down the road in there horse and buggy, it was quite interesting to say the least.
After viewing the falls, celebrating the family reunion with a great cookout and more food than we could eat, we spent the last night hosting a bonfire at the RV park. First it was just going to be my wife and I, mother-in-law, daughter, granddaughter and my cousin and his wife! However, it turned out to include two additional families and their 5 children who joined us for a lesson in “Pie Iron” cooking. I have not quite mastered the technique but, that did not stop me from “teaching” everyone else how to make pies. We made cherry and peach pies, absolutely delicious, according to all who attended.
The great part of the evening was the comradery that instantly took place around the bonfire and the campground. I will go out and talk to anyone and everyone so we usually have someone joining us or we join them, it is what RV traveling is all about.
We headed out on Labor Day for our return trip home, as we were so tired form the bonfire the night before, we only drove 106 miles and stopped for the night. Which shows our theory on travel, you just cannot get in a hurry, nor have a schedule! The next day we made it to the Tifton, Georgia KOA. Here is where we ran into a problem! What is a RV trip without a problem? As we went to put the jacks down, a 125 amp fuse blew, as the jacks were down, I decided I would worry about it in the morning.
Morning comes, and the problem is still there! I called the manufacture of the jacks, LCI, and they said it had to be the master fuse! Really? So I called Winnebago Industries in Iowa and talked with a representative that has more patience and determination than one can imagine. I maintained a sense of humor and kept telling him I thought it was time for a gin and tonic, he agreed but kept working on the problem. Long story short, it was the fuse, but it is located in a spot that only a tiny monkey can get too! So Good Sam sent out a mobile repair unit from Valdosta RV, some 40 miles away. JD and Greg arrive forty-five minutes later, as JD was getting out of his vehicle, he committed, “Guess you want to be on the road!’ He said give me five (5) minutes and I will have you ready to go! Really! Ten minutes later the jacks were up and I was preparing to move on towards home. JD simply used a homemade jumper cable to provide power to the blown fuse which gave the unit a temporary revival and allowed the jacks to come up.
If you are ever in the Valdosta, Georgia area, and need assistance call Valdosta RV, they are fun and very professional, very friendly and reasonably priced. The overall trip was satisfying and created many friendships and memories. Until the next posting, may your dreams of RV travel be recognized, and may the Lord keep you safe in your travels.
About the Bloggers: Debbie and Mike Whitt are part time RV’ers who decided to give up sailing and begin a life on the road and enjoy the RV’ing lifestyle. With no idea of what type of RV they wanted, they began with a used 2006 Damon Challenger. Five RV’s later, they enjoy the RV life in their 2015 Itasca Meridian. They love the adventure, meeting people and searching for all the great seafood spots along the way. The RV life is somewhat different than the sailing world yet, it offers all the adventure they had hoped to find. Although adapting to the RV life has been a new experience, they enjoy the many trips that they have taken to discover the beauty of the USA. They are currently planning to be full time RV’ers by mid-2016. Follow the adventures of Deb and Mike and their two miniature longhair dachshunds, see where their adventure takes them while preparing to be full time RV’ers.
Falls Creek Falls State Park is a 26,000 acre park, including four water falls, great hiking around the lake, and of course camping. The park has many “RV” spaces however, only one will take a Class A motorhome. Therefore, we elected to stay fifteen miles away at the Mountain Glen RV park, located in the middle of Amish country. http://www.mountainglenonline.com/ this park is a beautiful, quiet, RV park where one goes to relax, enjoy bond fires and just veg out.
This trip in our RV started out as just another wonderful getaway from reality. Since we were traveling with my 94-year old mother-in-law, we limit the number of hours we travel each day to 4 to 6 hours, stopping often at rest areas to allow her to stretch etc. Finding an RV park that satisfies your expectations, and one that is not a “Mobile Home Park”, is sometimes difficult. We elected to stay at http://www.fairharborrvpark.com/ a nice quiet park. On the back side of the park, are many residents that have been there for some time!
Shortly after pulling in and getting set up, another class A pulled in alongside of us. The owner and I started discussing RV parks, and he (being from Florida) stated that he was pretty fed up with what is called an RV park in the State of Florida. I totally agree. Many rundown mobile home parks have jumped on the band wagon and begun calling themselves an RV park. Simply stated, be aware of the term RV park in the state of Florida! Our next stop was at http://www.harvestmoonrvpark.com/ one of our favorite stops before entering into Tennessee. This park throws a holiday bar-b-que on every federal holiday, and it is free! The owner and his wife are great to talk with and very accommodating. Nice restful park.
As we crossed over into Tennessee, and went through Chattanooga, the scenery was great, and the roads were fairly good. Just as you come out of Chattanooga, you begin to climb the mountain! Last year in a gas powered RV, I thought the engine was going to blow up while climbing the mountain. This year in our new RV with diesel engine, it was a dream come true. The pusher did its job, without straining and screaming all the way up the mountain.
Arriving at the Falls Creek Falls State Park, you are greeted by herds of deer; everywhere you look there is “Bambi”! Throw in a few squirrels, possums, and wild turkeys and you have instant entertainment. As we had reserved a cabin for my mother-in-law, daughter and granddaughter, I ended up driving late each night back to my RV, for some much needed peace and quiet, on roads that are narrow and very dark. First, you dodge the deer, then you stare through the thick fog on a narrow road that you really don’t know, then you have the Amish coming down the road in there horse and buggy, it was quite interesting to say the least.
After viewing the falls, celebrating the family reunion with a great cookout and more food than we could eat, we spent the last night hosting a bonfire at the RV park. First it was just going to be my wife and I, mother-in-law, daughter, granddaughter and my cousin and his wife! However, it turned out to include two additional families and their 5 children who joined us for a lesson in “Pie Iron” cooking. I have not quite mastered the technique but, that did not stop me from “teaching” everyone else how to make pies. We made cherry and peach pies, absolutely delicious, according to all who attended.
The great part of the evening was the comradery that instantly took place around the bonfire and the campground. I will go out and talk to anyone and everyone so we usually have someone joining us or we join them, it is what RV traveling is all about.
We headed out on Labor Day for our return trip home, as we were so tired form the bonfire the night before, we only drove 106 miles and stopped for the night. Which shows our theory on travel, you just cannot get in a hurry, nor have a schedule! The next day we made it to the Tifton, Georgia KOA. Here is where we ran into a problem! What is a RV trip without a problem? As we went to put the jacks down, a 125 amp fuse blew, as the jacks were down, I decided I would worry about it in the morning.
Morning comes, and the problem is still there! I called the manufacture of the jacks, LCI, and they said it had to be the master fuse! Really? So I called Winnebago Industries in Iowa and talked with a representative that has more patience and determination than one can imagine. I maintained a sense of humor and kept telling him I thought it was time for a gin and tonic, he agreed but kept working on the problem. Long story short, it was the fuse, but it is located in a spot that only a tiny monkey can get too! So Good Sam sent out a mobile repair unit from Valdosta RV, some 40 miles away. JD and Greg arrive forty-five minutes later, as JD was getting out of his vehicle, he committed, “Guess you want to be on the road!’ He said give me five (5) minutes and I will have you ready to go! Really! Ten minutes later the jacks were up and I was preparing to move on towards home. JD simply used a homemade jumper cable to provide power to the blown fuse which gave the unit a temporary revival and allowed the jacks to come up.
If you are ever in the Valdosta, Georgia area, and need assistance call Valdosta RV, they are fun and very professional, very friendly and reasonably priced. The overall trip was satisfying and created many friendships and memories. Until the next posting, may your dreams of RV travel be recognized, and may the Lord keep you safe in your travels.
About the Bloggers: Debbie and Mike Whitt are part time RV’ers who decided to give up sailing and begin a life on the road and enjoy the RV’ing lifestyle. With no idea of what type of RV they wanted, they began with a used 2006 Damon Challenger. Five RV’s later, they enjoy the RV life in their 2015 Itasca Meridian. They love the adventure, meeting people and searching for all the great seafood spots along the way. The RV life is somewhat different than the sailing world yet, it offers all the adventure they had hoped to find. Although adapting to the RV life has been a new experience, they enjoy the many trips that they have taken to discover the beauty of the USA. They are currently planning to be full time RV’ers by mid-2016. Follow the adventures of Deb and Mike and their two miniature longhair dachshunds, see where their adventure takes them while preparing to be full time RV’ers.
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