Land Between the Lakes, TN

Noontime on Thursday, Sept 9 found us in Memphis, Tennessee. We stopped in the Peabody Hotel to check on the ducks. They come down the elevator from their penthouse each morning on a rolled out red carpet and spend the day in the lobby in their fountain before they parade back to the penthouse for the evening. All seemed well in their world.


We could not resist heading to the Rendezvous for ribs. Well, maybe not we, but I! They are unofficially open for lunch, which means you can get ribs, beans, and slaw. Leon had a nice Greek salad.

We later located a delightful spot on the shores of Kentucky Lake in Piney Campground at Land Between the Lakes. This is a 40 mile long peninsula that is a National Recreation Area between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, the southern half lying in Tennessee.


I couldn't resist a geocache located several miles from our camp. It led us to the Bear Spring cold-blast furnace near Dover, TN that was used until 1901. What an education.
The first one was destroyed in the Civil war and this was the replacement. This furnace, built of limestone, produced pig iron from the brown hematite ore found in the area. Charcoal made from the abundance of timber in the region was used for the fire. Temperatures often reached 3,500 degrees. A find like this is what geocaching is all about to us!

Fifty years ago Leon was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, only an hour's drive from our campground. On 9/11 we were ready for an adventure. He had spent a lot of time in Clarksville, Tennessee and wanted to look for his old haunts again. Sure enough there was the Roxy Theater and Frank's Place, two that he recalled vividly.

I enjoyed visiting with this fellow who was reading the newspaper founded in 1808 and showed him the new way to go - my iphone!


The museum is in an attractive old building that was once the 1898 Old Federal Building.



After a stroll on the riverwalk alongside the Cumberland River we visited the home of the 101st Air Assaut Division of the U.S. Army. Here Leon reminisced about his home for 3 years. We toured the Pratt Museum and he located a 3/4 ton like he used to drive.

Then there was the 105 mm Howitzer like the one he learned to fire in Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas.


This is a C 119 which is what Leon jumped from more times than he would have liked. It was also called a "flying boxcar." photo


I thought this one looked like more fun!

Several miles from our camp we stumbled upon Ft. Donelson National Battlefield. Ft. Donelson guarded the Cumberland River, which allowed Tennessee access to the Ohio River.


At first the confederates defeated the union army and disabled their ironclads.

After some confusion the union army prevailed. Ft. Donelson is significant as the first major Federal victory of the Civil War was here. 13,000 confederate troops were taken prisoners of war and the towns of Bowling Green, Ky, Columbus and Nashville, Tn evacuated as a result.

It was dark when we arrived back at camp. If each day is as fun-filled as our first then we should be exhausted before long!

Is this better, Barb?