Huntsville

We traveled to Huntsville to visit our friend Dennis Sanders. This worked out well since Huntsville was also in the general direction we were headed to stay at a favorite campground northeast of Nashville.

We had a smooth trip through lovely countryside until we made our first stop in Huntsville. We needed a place to unhook the car. We knew the next campground was on top of a mountain ridge overlooking Huntsville and did not know what type roads we would encounter on the way up. So we spotted the Space Museum and pulled off to use their parking lot. No sooner had we stopped than a security guard pulled up with flashing lights. That momentarily startled us, but he turned out to be a nice guy. He just wanted to tell us we could not camp there overnight.

As we proceeded toward the campground, we realized unhooking the car was a great idea. We followed the directions from the GPS, and it took us the shortest route up a very steep, winding and somewhat narrow road. (We are learning to be very cautious using the GPS. It seems unable to avoid such roads even though I have it set on the “bus” option.) We reached a point where a sign said no trucks allowed over 30’ in length. That was a delight to see since we are just over 40’ long and there was no place to turn around. We continued forward until we reached a sharp u-turn up the mountain. I had no choice but to swing all the way over into the other lane to make the turn. Once again God watched over us. Just as I completed the turn and got back into my lane, a delivery truck came barreling around the curve ahead from the opposite direction. A few seconds earlier and he would have plowed into me. Fortunately we arrived safely at Monte Sano State Park. It is another very nice campground where we were able to get one of the few sites with full hook ups.

Before planning this trip, we had forgotten how picturesque the area is around Huntsville. It is divided by mountain ridges. The drives over the ridges are beautiful especially this time of year with all the shades of new green leaves and the dogwoods in bloom.

Dennis lives over the ridge in a wide valley. He is in a new development and has a lovely home. We had a great time visiting Dennis and his friend Lynn. Dennis has such a quick whit. He always keeps us smiling, and it was a delight to meet Lynn and spend time with her.

Sunday we drove a short distance out of the campground and found the Monte Sano United Methodist Church. This was the first church we found and pulled in since it was almost 11:00 am. That was a real blessing. The folks in that congregation are among the friendliest we have ever encountered on a first time visit. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome.

One of the fun activities during our visit was lunch at the “Soul Burger”. The burgers were great and the owner is a real character. If she learns you are a first time patron, she rings a loud hand bell and yells out “another virgin!” When we went to find a table we struck up a conversation with another couple, Susan and Alan McCrispin, who also turned out to be Rvers. They wanted to pick our brains about full timing (like we are some kind of experts - Not!) We had a great time meeting them and spending more time with Dennis and Lynn.

Just like our time in Memphis, we realized we did not schedule enough time in Huntsville. We look forward to a return visit.

JP Coleman Mississippi State Park

JP Coleman is another nice somewhat remote State Park. It is located on Pickwick Lake in the very top northeast corner of Mississippi. In the distance up the lake, you can see Tennessee , and just on the other side of the peninsula across the lake from our campsite is Alabama.

Our campsite was right on the edge of the lake with a pretty view. Campsites along the lake are fairly close together but we had plenty of room.

We enjoy State Parks especially ones like this with full hook-ups. They usually provide plenty of areas to walk our dog Clay. (We often tell people now that our main purpose in life is to chauffeur Clay around the country so he can sniff every tree and bush in the land.) We stopped here because the online reviews sounded good, and also because I wanted to visit Shiloh Battlefield National Park.

When I was a young boy, perhaps 5-7 years old, we went on a long car trip with my Mother, Sister, an Aunt and my Grandmother Rone. I only remember bits and pieces of the trip, but I think it had a great influence on my interest in travel and in history. The trip certainly expanded my horizon beyond the areas where my family lived in Mississippi. I recall we visited Shiloh, Andrew Jackson’s home in Nashville, Mammoth Cave, Renfro Valley Kentucky, and I think Henry Clay’s home.

I would like to visit these places again as we travel in the RV. We have already been to Renfro Valley, but that was not a planned visit. Last year we had yet another repair on our former motorhome at a truck repair shop in nearby Berea, Kentucky. While waiting on the repair, we drove to Renfro Valley and found that the small log cabins still remained where we stayed at the Renfro Valley Motel. My Grandmother loved to listen to the weekly radio show from Renfro Valley. As much as I can remember, it was a combination of Blue Grass and Gospel music. She was thrilled to attend the live broadcast one Saturday night on our trip. Renfro Valley still contains a big Blue Grass entertainment facility.

So having been to Renfro Valley, I wanted to go to Shiloh. It is a beautiful place, and it is hard to realize that a bloody battle occurred here in the Civil War. Almost 24,000 men were listed as killed, wounded or missing - more than all prior US wars up to that point. It is sad to realize it only got worse from there. It ultimately was listed as the 9th costliest battle of the Civil War. So other battles had even more casualties. But today Shiloh is a place of quiet peace and beauty.

From 04-2008 JP Coleman SP Mississippi and Shiloh

From JP Coleman, we headed on to Huntsville, Alabama.

Memphis

Leaving Petit Jean SP in Arkansas, we traveled to the Memphis area. Crossing Arkansas we had never seen so much water in fields with so many rivers in flood. We thought if it rained any more some of I-40 would be closed. Although it did rain more within the next week or so, it never quite reached the Interstate.

We stayed at Meeman-Shelby State Park north of Memphis near Millington. It is a lovely park located in a bottom land hardwood forest. Just enough trees have been removed to build the campground entrance road and camp sites. We stayed here for several reasons. We visited this park several years ago while our previous RV was being repaired at a nearby RV dealership. (We visited more parks than we wanted under similar circumstances with our prior coach). We liked the park and knew it would be midway between my cousin James and his wife Theta’s home and that of our friends Phil and Sharon Bollinger. Plus we had not found a RV park in the Memphis area that sounded particularly good to us. The main drawback is that it is somewhat remote, about 15-20 minutes from Millington along a somewhat circuitous route. But the drive was pretty especially with the spring blooms and new leaves coming out on the trees.

We were blessed the first night. Terrible storms with very high winds were predicted. We were surrounded by tall trees and could see that some had been blown down in previous storms. But God protected us and the storms moved around us to the north and south - a great relief.

We had a wonderful visit with James and Theta who came to the RV for a visit. We caught up on all their children and grandchildren’s activities. We were surprised during our visit when Phil and his Dad came by. Phil’s Dad has been ill and was in the hospital the day before. In fact we did not realize he had been released so it was great to see him out for a ride with Phil.

Sunday we went to a wonderful church service with Phil and Sharon at their church - The Love of Christ (TLC) Church. Then we went to their home for a great meal and time of fellowship.

I regret that I have not done better at staying in closer touch with Phil and Sharon and my other college friends. We always have such a great time when we get together. We were glad to have visited a close friend from high school and college, Warren Harper, when we were in Vidalia. Warren still lives in my hometown of Greenville Mississippi and happened to be in Natchez for a church conference. Our next stop is to visit another friend, Dennis Sanders, in Huntsville. Warren and I roomed together our first year at Delta State. That is where we met Phil and Dennis. Dennis and I then roomed together for the next 4 years at Mississippi State. Three of those years were in an apartment we shared with Phil and another friend, Joey Green, who I am sorry to say I have lost complete contact with.

Over time as we travel, we hope to make contact with some other college friends and arrange visits. Likewise we have been able to visit many relatives, but have others we are anxious to see as well. Plus we have RV friends who we hope to meet up with and of course look forward to returning to South Carolina to see all our friends and family there.

Leaving Memphis we drove to JP Coleman State Park in the very top northeast corner of Mississippi. I scheduled a stop there so I could revisit nearby Shiloh Battlefield National Park before we moved on to Huntsville. More about that in my next update.

While in Memphis, I kept forgetting to take my camera with me and so regretfully I have no pictures from this visit.