Summer Camping Trip

  We traveled to the Kentucky / Tennessee border to camp at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
 There are miles of trails and shoreline, Civil War battlefields, a planetarium, a woodland nature center.........plenty to keep a toddler entertained!  

 Homeplace 1850s Farm

Great Western Furnace

Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace Parkway beings in Natchez, Mississippi and ends in Nashville, Tennessee.  It is a beautiful and educational drive filled with historical markers. I grew up not far from these trails that are steeped in Native American history.   The trails around the Mississippi section of the Parkway are very easy....after all it is Mississippi so not a lot of mountains to climb!  A few weeks ago I returned to my old stomping grounds.   

The mound at the Boyd Site

I love the history lessons along the Parkway

Bald Cypress-   A cone bearing tree that is deciduous....hence the name "bald"

 Looking for arrowheads

Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga

 The Aquarium in Chattanooga rocks!   I wish we would have spent an entire day there. We arrived after lunch and quickly realized there was too much to see in one afternoon.  However, that just gives us an excuse to go back next summer!

An awesome holding tank where you could touch the stingrays.

The jellyfish exhibits were my favorite.

My sidekick!

Cloudland Canyon State Park

 Cloudland Canyon is located in the northwest corner of Georgia.  Hiking the West Rim Trail around the canyon was the highlight of our stay in this quiet state park.  Spectacular views surround you for almost the entire journey.

 Best state park cabins ever!   Great price and fully furnished.  Sometimes it is nice to splurge and take a break from camping in a tent.

Cherokee Falls.......well worth the 600 steps down to the bottom of the canyon.















                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Orlando

A road trip to visit my husband

's 93 year old grandmother!

She lives in Sandlando Spring, which is a community named for a natural spring made private in 1971.  We spent 3 days swimming and playing in the sand.  

The grasshoppers in Orlando are HUGE!

Clawhammer Cove

Spring is finally here!  We celebrated with a hike around Clawhammer Mountain in Pisgah National Forest.

One of the first flowers to bloom in the spring is Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) 

This is why it is called bloodroot. 

The Cherokee used the juice of the root as a dye for baskets and clothing.