Day 7 - Hot Springs National Park, Hot Springs, Arkansas

From 1915 to about 1930 Hot Springs, Arkansas was equivalent to Orlando, Florida today. It was the place to go if you were rich or poor. Although there are many hot springs throughout the US, the water from these springs was thought to have medicinal qualities superior to any other hot spring water because of its purity, it's mineral content, and the heat source (radioactivity [very small amounts]) of the water. There were 21 bath houses (think spas) in operation that catered to all walks of life. Some of them are still in operation today and 100,000 "baths" are taken in the hot springs each year.
We toured a restored bath house, took a small hike to several hot springs (the water was almost too hot to touch), and went to an observation tower. We also filled up some water jugs using the free spigots they have throughout the town. I'm hoping the water has special mineral qualities to heal Bria from her picky food issues and her stubbornness. Better yet, perhaps it will heal me from getting so aggravated by both of those.

Day 6 - Memphis, Tennessee to Hot Springs, Arkansas

I guess you could call today a day of accidents. Thankfully, they surrounded us but nothing directly affected us. On the way to Hot Springs we passed a very unusual accident in which a tractor trailer (with 2 trailers) veered off into the woods and hit a tree. Here at our campsite, the neighboring camper had a branch fall and puncture the roof during high winds. Yesterday, when we were not here, our other neighbor had a branch fall and dent their truck. When the kids heard these stories they were asking me to move!
Today we passed the 1000 mile mark. To celebrate, I changed a tire on the travel trailer! It had a very unusual wear pattern. You can see from the picture the outside 1/4 of the tire wore down quickly but the edge is still intact and 3/4 of the tire is fine. I think there much be a tire defect or some suspension issue.The other 3 tires are just fine. I'll be monitoring the new tire very closely. Tomorrow we spend the day at Hot Springs National Park!

Days 4 and 5 - Moving across Tennessee

Today and yesterday were traveling days. The next real stop is Hot Springs National Park (we will arrive on Thursday). However, we have made the best of both days. We got the RV window leak repaired on Tuesday and the kids invented a new card game that we played together along with some other card games. Today we are staying at Graceland, which is Elvis' mansion. We elected not to pay the sizable entrance fee and just enjoy the views from a distance. The whole square mile seems to be devoted to Elvis. I've never seen so many Elvis stores in one place. We really weren't staying here because of Graceland, they just happened to have a nice campground on the property and it was on the way.

I don't watch much late night TV, but I've seen Jimmy Fallon's "Thank You" segment a couple times. I've got two for him: "Thank You, Mr. School Bus Driver for passing me on Interstate 40 in Tennessee and reminding me just how slow I was driving today." "Thank you daughter, for reminding me that the sewage pipe I hook up every day really does contain some gross stuff. I needed that reminder."

Day 3 - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

What a beautiful day! We began the morning with a 2.6 mile hike to Laurel Falls. (Great recommendation by the park ranger.) It wasn't too difficult and great for families because the path is paved. We even saw folks pushing strollers. After seeing the 80 foot falls, we made our way to Clingman's Dome, which is the third highest peak east of the Mississippi at 6643 feet. (The top 2 peaks are only 4 and 40 feet higher and both are nearby). The coolest part about the summit is that the park service has erected an observation tower. Unfortunately, the kids only wanted to stay up there for about 5 minutes. Total distance hiked for the day: 3.6 miles. Total distance I had to carry Bria: 0.1 miles (on the steepest part of course). She claimed she just couldn't make it any longer.....Within 10 minutes she was running up the path.

Cross Country Trip - Day 2 - Great Smoky Mountiains National Park

Today was our first day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited National Park of all the US National Parks. The park is known for several things: 1) Salamanders, 2) The highest eastern US mountains, and 3) The history of settlement and creation of the park.
Salamanders - I never knew that salamanders could reach 2 feet in length! The Hellbender Salamander is not unique to this park, but is in large numbers here. Apparently, the variety and number of salamanders in the park make this a Salamander lover's paradise. There is at least one species that is only found here.
History - The land was originally inhabited by the Cherokee Indians but the US government drove the Indians from this area to Oklahoma in the 1830s. The ranger told us that of the 14,000 Indians that were driven from the land, only about 10,000 actually survived the trip. The trip is known as the "trail of tears". The regional European descendents began moving into the park and cultivated the land until the 1934, when several conservation groups in Tennessee and North Carolina purchased the land and deeded it to the US Government. Unfortunately, 1,200 people were kicked off their property to create the national park.

If you are ever near the area, the park is a great destination. The town of Gatlinburg feels much like a tourist region, but the park has some amazing views and nice waterfalls. I highly recommend the ranger talks. We took a one hour hike with a ranger today and he gave an excellent educational talk/hike. My favorite fun fact of the day was the story behind the "dog hobble bush". In the early 1900s locals used to hunt the black bear with dogs. The black bear would run through thick brush filled with the "dog hobble" bush. The bush's leaves have sharp pointed edges that wouldn't bother the bear, but would cause the dog's to hobble because it would scratch up their nose and face.

Cross Country Trip Day 1 - Berryville, Virginia to Gatlinburg, Tennessee (419 miles)

Bailey, Brandon, Bria, and I left Berryville, Virginia around 9 am and arrived at the KOA in Gatlinburg around 5:45 pm. I'm glad this was one of the longest driving days, I wouldn't want too many of these days. As soon as we arrived, we set up the RV and grabbed something to eat. However, just when we could have gone outside and burned off some energy, it started raining. Needless to say, all that stored energy came out when I tried to put them to bed. Maybe I was too ambitious thinking that my patience was sufficient to hand three kids alone for 21 days......My hat goes off to the single parents or military spouses that do it full time.

There is one issue that I am going to have to repair on the RV. The window is not sealed properly and water is slowly leaking into the bunkbed area. Hopefully a little caulk around the window will do the trick. We'll find out......

Day 6 (2 days until departure)

Only 2 more days and we'll be taking off. Here is a link to view the first portion of our route:
First 13 days - Berryville, Virginia to San Antonio, Texas

After posting pictures of the RV we used in 2007 on my last post, I thought I would post some pictures of the RV we are using in 2014. Bria thought she would be funny and pose for the picture upside down.