Noccalula Falls Campground is part of the Noccalula Falls Park Complex. The campground is separated from the park by the 90' falls where Princess Noccalula supposedly leapt to her death over her love. The park has a "train" that offers a scenic one mile ride in and around the park. For us, the biggest draw was to be able to walk down the Gorge Trail where we could pass under the Falls. This is one of the better sections of the "path" down. Once we made it down, the effort was worth it. The view was spectacular

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park is along the Duck River in Manchester, TN and is home to a prehistoric earth enclosure from 1,500-2,000 years ago. Across the river is the State Park Campground that was totally rebuilt in the fall of 2020. Until then access was from the Archaeological Park via the bridge shown below. Now there is a direct road from the highway to the campground.

Lots of trails to explore and some small waterfalls. Native Americans used this area continuously for about 500 years, eventually leaving it abandoned. By the time European settlers arrived, it was unclear what the area had been used for, which resulted in it being misnamed as a fort. The walls of the "fort" were piled stone covered with earth, enclosing about 50 acres. Radiocarbon dating establishes construction between 200 A.D. and 600 A.D. According to the resident ranger, the Duck River valley is the most biologically diverse river in North America. He led us on a two hour tour of the river basin discussing many of the species of flowers, trees, plants and insects.

In Lexington, we stayed at a campground next to the Kentucky Horse Park. It had a nice bike path to downtown that wound through some of the horse farms in the area.

Bobbi enjoyed spending a day at the Horse Park.

This is a Corps of Engineers park in the northeast corner of Ohio where we spent two relaxing evenings.

After a one night stop at Arundel Cellars & Brewing in North East, PA., we headed to Camp Bell in Campbell, NY. One of the more interesting campgrounds we stayed in, not for the surrounding area, but for what went on at the campground. They had a Christmas in July celebration including a tree, hay rides, gifts and Santa.

Luna even got her picture with Santa.

We stayed at a nice city campground in Schenectady, NY but riding around the city it was apparent that it had seen better days during the boom of GE. However, there was a city park with a fantastic garden, pool, amphitheater and more.

We camped right on it and the sound of the river at night was heavenly.

Nearby is Dog Mountain, 150 acres on a mountain top that a local artist created as a studio and an area where dogs are free to roam.

St. Johnsbury is home to several covered bridges and massive stone churches, but the highlight was the BBQ and bonfire on Saturday night.

We have visited Bar Harbor, ME several times but Cadillac Mountain within Acadia National Park was always fogged in. This time there was no fog and we were able to climb around the top of the mountain for some fantastic views.

No visit to Maine would be complete without lobster rolls for lunch every day.

Flick & Sandie had just moved into their new home in Topsham, Maine, located between Bath and Freeport, the home of LL Bean. Nearby was the Cribstone Bridge, a 100 year old bridge that uses granite slabs positioned to allow the tide to flow freely. Their movers would not transport Sandie's tree over the state line, so we went to Massachusetts and carried it to Maine in the RV. Of course time for one last lobster roll before we headed south.

After an overnight stay at Saucony Creek Craft Brewery in Kutztown PA we made it to the Washington D.C. area. We visited with several long term (not old) friends from elementary school through high school, CF & Mary Jane Snyder (Thomas) and Cheryl Mulvhill (Carder). Cheryl's son, Mike, lives in the area and invited us over for some great BBQ. Luna enjoyed being chased, and chasing, Mike's lab, Gunner.

In Edinburg, Virginia we were right on Stony Creek and enjoyed having dessert while watching boys be boys. We ate at Swover Creek Farms & Brewery where we had wood fired pizza from their outdoor ovens with pepperoni from locally raised pork and beef.

Walking through Edinburg we noticed many old homes, many in fine shape some not.

Watoga is West Virginia’s largest state park. Built in the 1930s as a CCC project, it is absolutely one of the most beautiful state parks we have visited so far. It has 8 miles of nicely paved roads within it.

The views from within the park are stunning and the 77.1 mile Rails-To-Trails Greenbrier River Trail runs past the entrance to the park.

Our campground was on the New River just before the confluence with the Gauley River to become the Kanawha River. There were some special views for me when the sun went behind the mountains and created that magical moment of the long twilights in West Virginia. It was a short drive to Montgomery where Flick and I were born. The state of a town that once boasted two movie theaters, many churches, fine restaurants and a college was depressing. My grandfather’s former bank is now City Hall and our church is closed and for sale. In fact we were told that there were no active churches in Montgomery.

Up the Gauley River from our campground is Hawks Nest State Park. I remember when as a child we had many picnics there and the park's clifftop overlook provides a scenic vista of the river 750 feet below. Further up is the Summersville Lake that forms the largest lake in West Virginia. Finally, no visit to West Virginia would be complete without our newest National Park, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

The Glen Ferris Inn may have been built as early as 1815 as there is an 1815 newspaper article that states this, but it has been clearly serving customers since 1839. In 2008, the 1899 5.5 megawatt Glen Ferris hydroelectric plant was rehabilitated and placed back in service. It is located just upstream from the Glen Ferris Inn and the plant's dam creates stunning images of the still Kanawha River.

Our next overnight stop was Round Peak Vineyards, outside of Mount Airy, NC. We sampled some of their wines, primarily French and Italian varietals, while watching them process the last grapes of the day. Very interesting.

Micah and Yoshi drove up from Atlanta and while Micah worked remotely we took Yoshi to an apple orchid. Later, we taught Yoshi to play Left-Right-Center and he kept winning.

Yoshi's birthday is September 20th so we left the RV in Norcross and spent several days in Atlanta.

It was a fun time sharing in his excitement.

Doll Mountain Campground is a Corps of Engineers facility on Carter's Lake. Beautiful, clean and level sites with views of the lake. Carter's Lake is more than 450 feet deep and is the tallest earthen dam east of Mississippi River. We were lucky to be near Ellijay for the Dancing Goats FolkFest.

Our fall Southern Leisure Travelers rally was held at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. The more than 29,000 acres on the rugged Cumberland Plateau has streams, gorges and several water falls including the 256 foot Fall Creek Falls. A swing bridge over one of the falls was no problem for Luna.

There is a dog friendly Nature Center that gave Luna an opportunity to see some 'wild' animals up close. A short hike up the mountain offered stunning views of the area.

Our last stop was Sunday in Tallahassee to visit Katie and Charlie, her boyfriend. She gave us a good tour of the campus and seems to be well acclimated to college life.