Tim’s Ford State Park

October 31, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Just south of Lynchburg, Tennessee on Highway 50 is Tims Ford State Park. The Tims Ford Lake is one of the prettiest lakes in Tennessee.

One of the first places we stopped at was the dam. The dam overlook area is a must-see. It’s a pretty place.

The Tims Ford Dam was named after an early Ford crossing the Elk River near Winchester. A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream can be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water.

The dam provides water supply and flood damage reduction downstream on the Elk River, primarily for the town of Fayetteville, Tennessee.

The lake is huge and encompasses 10,700 acres with approximately 250 miles of shoreline.

Just down the road from the dam was a house with a lot of ducks and turkeys running around inside the fenced-in yard.

Black Cayuga Ducks

The Black Cayuga Duck is a rare breed of domestic duck that is believed to have originated in Cayuga County, New York in the early 19th century. They are known for their distinctive black plumage that shines with a greenish sheen in the sunlight. Black Cayuga Ducks are also known for their hardiness and adaptability, and they can thrive in a variety of habitats.

Black Cayuga Ducks were first introduced to Tennessee in the late 19th century, and their populations have grown steadily over the years. Today, they are another one of the most popular types of ducks found in Tennessee. I have never seen any of these all-black ducks before.

Chinese Geese

Chinese geese are large, domesticated geese originally native to East Asia. They are not native to Tennessee either, but they have been introduced to the state and can now be found in many areas. I have never seen any Chinese geese before.

Chinese geese are known for their distinctive appearance, with their large size, knobbed black beaks, stripe down the back of the neck, and brown plumage. They are also known for their hardiness and adaptability and can thrive in a variety of domestic habitats like ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Chinese geese are a popular sight in Tennessee today. They are often seen swimming in ponds and rivers or foraging for food in fields and meadows.

Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy ducks are large, domesticated ducks normally native to Central and South America. They are not native to Tennessee, but they have been introduced to the state and can now be found in many areas of the state. Today they are a common sight in Tennessee. I have never seen these ducks before.

They are known for their distinctive appearance, with their red warty faces, fleshy knobs on their heads, and dark, glossy plumage. They are also known for their hardiness and adaptability, and they can thrive in a variety of habitats, including farm ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Tims Ford Lake was designated a Bill Dance Signature Lake on Dec 21, 2021. Rich likes watching Bill Dance.

The lake is beautiful and so are the fall trees. We saw a couple of fishing boats on the water, but it was a chilly day.

Tims Ford State Park is beautiful. I’m glad that Tennessee State Parks have free entrance. We enjoyed seeing such a beautiful area.

Thanks for traveling with us. I hope you enjoyed seeing Tims Ford State Park in Tennessee.

 

Historic Lynchburg, Tennessee & the Jack Daniel Distillery

October 31, 2023  – Traveling with Rich & Julie

The Jack Daniel Distillery is the oldest registered distillery in the United States and among the most prestigious listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We drove thirty miles south to Lynchburg while we were camping in Tennessee.

The first place we stopped was the Tennessee Whiskey Trailhead & Lynchburg Welcome Center which is just across the street from the distillery.

This place provides additional parking for the distillery and a free shuttle service.

Two of the nicest men greeted us and told us all about the small town and told us where everything was. We visited with them for quite a while.

Jeff and Billy get 5 stars from us for kindness and helpfulness!

We hopped on the free trolley which took us on a short ten-minute drive through historic downtown Lynchburg before dropping us off at the distillery visitor center. The trolley driver was fun to listen to as he told us some history.

Despite the operational distillery, which is a major tourist attraction, Lynchburg’s home county of Moore is a dry county. But you can buy a lot of products with whiskey in them. And none of the residents work for Jack Daniel.

Sadly, the old jail museum was closed the day we were there.

Did you know that Davy Crockett lived in this town from 1811–1813? Neither did I.

The next stop was the Jack Daniel Distillery Visitor Center. We did not take a tour.

But we enjoyed walking through the museum exhibits and the bottle shop. Purchasing bottles of the famous whiskey is much more expensive here than at a corner liquor store.

If you want an actual gift shop with all things Jack Daniel, like t-shirts, the downtown hardware store is the place to go.

And finally, we visited the grave of Jack Daniel in the Lynchburg Cemetery. We heard that he was quite the ladies’ man and the chairs were placed here for his lady friends to visit him.

If you are ever in the area, Lynchburg is definitely worth a visit.

Thanks for reading and coming along with us as we see America.

Welcome to Tennessee

October 29, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

We headed a little further south today.

After just two days in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and visiting the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, we left Longview RV Park this morning and headed further south on I-65.

I made Rich pull into Mammoth Cave National Park so I could get my stamp and sticker in my National Park Pass Book. We explored the cave a few years ago, and I took a lot of photos then. Any of you who regularly follow me know that I tore a meniscus in my right knee while crawling through a cave in Ohio a few months ago, so cave spelunking is out for me. I wasn’t writing about every place we visited back then. I will write about it soon. Stay tuned.

Today was just about the fact that I have this new national park book, and I wanted to stamp it. The park is only a mile off the interstate, and the visitor center is only 8 miles away. We enjoyed the eight-mile drive through the park and explored the visitor center, checked out the gift shop, and then headed back to I-65.

We drove I-65 into Tennessee, and around Nashville and got on I-24. The Nashville skyline is cool to see.

(Rich wants me to tell everyone that the interstates in Kentucky were a lot better than Ohio or Tennessee.) As soon as we got to Tennessee, we hit construction. Do you see the orange roadwork sign in the top photo above?

I also did not realize that we would enter Central Time Zone.

We made it to our new home in Tennessee and will be here for three nights. Isn’t our campsite beautiful? We are on our way to Alabama for the months of November and December. We can’t afford to winter in Florida. Too many people are going to Florida and the prices to park the RV for a month are too expensive. We don’t need luxuries, just the basics are enough for us.

Stay tuned for the adventures. I am excited to show you all the places we visit.

Thank you for stopping by and reading about our journey.