September 26, Thursday - on the road again!

     It is always fun to start a day not knowing exactly where you're going, or where you'll end up.  Today was one of those.  After a leisurely 9:30am start, we drove north on US 61 skirting the Mississippi River, though not really seeing it.  It was more of the same Arkansas scenery we had come to expect, until we reached the area around Wilson.  From then on it was cotton fields!  And, they were full of cotton.  At one point we saw a very long tree-lined driveway, and at the end, about a quarter of a mile off the road, was a Plantation manor home that could have come right out of "Gone with the Wind."
     After a lunch break and shopping in Blytheville, we switched over to I55 into Missouri and then I155 across the river into Tennessee.  Speaking of Blytheville shopping - Our RV uses diesel fuel, and the price when we left Boothbay was $3.85/gal.  Our highest price was in NY State, $4.29/gal.  On average, we have been paying about $3.90, and the only time we went under $3.79 was outside Dallas where we had one fill up at $3.65.  Until today.  Kroger in Blytheville, Arkansas - $3.46!  Take note - if you're going on a long trip, and going anywhere near Arkansas, fill up there!  Gas prices are similarly low!
     The reader might recall we were reading a book back on September 5 called "As Texas goes....how the Lone Star State got hijacked" by Gail Collins.  Though we normally don't care for "political" books, we tried this one as we had lived in Texas and the beginning was fairly humorous, with some good "truths".  Unfortunately, that didn't last long, and it deteriorated into just another sarcastic tome making ridiculous points out of nothing.  We stopped listening to it, and it simply reinforces our opinion of "political" books. 
     Instead, we started listening to "The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton.  It's a British mystery that jumps back in time from the present (1998, actually) to the World War I period.  It's a bit slow, and it gets a bit confusing at times, but it sure does help pass the long days when we are basically just driving.
     Meanwhile, back to Tennessee!  We got on US 51 north, and headed through rolling hills with a lot of trees into Kentucky, where our route had us continue on US 45.  Interestingly, we saw a number of signs stating that this would be the new Interstate 69 corridor, like we had seen in Texas after leaving Nacogdoches.  The roads were all in decent shape, either 60 or 70mph most of the way, and had very little traffic.   

     We had decided to go visit the area in Kentucky (and down into Tennessee) called "The Land between the Lakes" - essentially a very long peninsula bordered by the Tennessee River on the West, and the Cumberland River on the East.  The TVA had dammed off the river on the north side for hydroelectric purposes and flood control, and this created two lakes - Kentucky Lake on the West, and Barkley Lake on the east.   With the waters now at the same level and with canals between the two, the whole system became part of the navigable river network started under F.D.R.'s Presidency. 
     Instead of taking the direct route to the east side of Barkley Lake, we decided to drive down what we thought would be a scenic route called "the Trace" through the peninsula (which is about 35 miles end to end).  At the northern end there is a community called Grand Rivers.  It contains among other things a huge marina, an RV park, beautiful lakeside walkways, and a theatre (theatrical kind, not movie!).  We stopped briefly to give the dogs a break and short walk, and we snacked.
     What came next, though, really surprised us.  We expected to be on a beautiful scenic highway through this U.S. National Park reservation.  Instead, we could have been driving down the middle of Southport Island for nearly 20 miles, with only a few spots where one can see the water.  No houses, just trees and roads leading to campsites that can't be seen.  Quite disappointing.
      The one big exception, though, was crossing over an ancient bridge over a waterway connecting the two rivers/lakes.  It looked very scenic as we approached it.  Then Jim had to drive over this antique structure, narrow with crumbling concrete on both sides of it.  Passing cars coming from the other direction wasn't fun, and we were glad there weren't any RV's coming towards us!

     After leaving "the Trace" and the island, we headed north and arrived at the beautiful Kentucky Lakes/Prizer Point KOA.  In addition to being a campground, it's also a very large marina that rents a variety of water "vessels".  Our campsite is literally right on the water - big, spacious, and with a spectacular view.  Temperature is down in the 70's, and Dudley and Rosie love it here!