We awoke to rain, and our side door is still leaking. We decided not to stay another day as the area is quite damp, and the towering trees don’t help this. So, we drove straight to Providence Canyon State Park.

We arrived at 2.30pm hoping to camp, but there was only tent camping there. The providence State park is a series of canyons and they even refer to it as a mini grand canyon. But surely that makes it just a mini canyon…

We did a two hour walk around the canyon and down into it. The trail was mucky underfoot, and we sludged through what looked like a red clay, but Mike said it was a sandy silt. The canyons towered over us, a gradient of colour as the layers changed from a deep red at the top, to a light yellow at the bottom. It was really impressive, but I don’t think you could compare it to the immensity of the grand canyon.

The camping for RV’s was a 7 mile drive from the canyon, at the Florence Marina State Park. As we checked in, there were big black double decker bugs flying around. But these were to be the least of my fears. 

We found our camping ground, set up, and had our dinner (Spanish omelette with salad.) Then we went for a walk to the marina. I wasn’t going to take my zoom camera, as I didn’t think I would need it to take photos of boats in the marina. But we made that mistake one other time when we saw a snake, and I had to take photos with my phone. “Always take the camera,” Mike said. And we were glad we did.

Then when we saw the sign. Beware of Alligators. I had no idea we were in Alligator country, the lady at check-in said nothing about them. Perhaps you are just supposed to know. But we never do advanced research so we know nothing.

I looked into the lake of the marina and saw what looked like a log floating on the surface.

“There’s one,” I said, semi-joking.

“Don’t be silly,” Mike said.

I got my camera and zoomed in, and yep, sure enough, a gator (as the locals call them) lay on the surface, sunning himself.

I snapped a few photos, but was keen to move on.

Then we saw another one, closer this time, and it was swimming. I snapped some more photos, and got a video of it swimming, kicking myself that I still haven’t managed to find a decent tripod.

We don’t do much (any) advance research of where we stay, so little surprises like this are a real treat.

When we got back to the camp, we saw a couple who had been looking for gators in a different location and they hadn’t seen any, so we directed them to where we saw them. That’s just typical. I reckon if we had’ve gone looking we probably wouldn’t have seen them either.

The camp host said they’ve occasionally had them walking through the campground, but not often, so that put my mind at rest a bit.

A very exciting day. We are going to Florida tomorrow. Probably more gaters there.

Today was a another day of driving. It was a 40 minute drive to chattanooga to see the choo choo, but unfortunately we didn’t see it. But we did go to the Maple Street Biscuit Company which specialises in biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Biscuits in America are similar to scones. I chose the mushroom gravy, and while nice, it was very spicy. Mike had a egg waffle thingy.

It was a 3.5 hour drive to our next stop at Chattahoochee Bend state park, but it somehow took us 6 hours. Falling asleep in a Walmart carpark for 45 minutes didn’t help. So we didn’t arrive and set up camp until after 6pm.

We are camping in the forest, massive tall trees all around us. There is a bush walk right from our door step, so after a quick dinner of salad wraps, we ventured into the forest. The forest floor was carpeted in mulched pine needles and even though it was damp, it wasn’t mucky.

We walked for about an hour, listening to the sounds of the forest. Woody building his home, and squirrels rustling up and down trees. 

Mike stopped to point out a tree trunk that was all scratched up. “This looks diseased,” he said. 

“Maybe it’s be scratched up by a bear,” I said. Right at that moment, something big darted from the bushes. I screamed, Mike laughed. We had frightened a deer!

On our way back, we saw the deer again, just off the side of the path. It was just a Bambi. We stopped to watch him as he ate. Then he spotted us, and looked at us curiously, wondering what we were. He’d eat a bit more, then look at us again. Then we noticed his mother not too far away. Neither them seemed to worried by us. I managed to get a good close up shot.

It was after 8pm by the time we got back, had showers, and got to bed.

Today was a day of driving.

The morning was the usual. Orange juice, followed by coffee, followed by pineapple, followed by…Oh that’s right, that awful cinnamin flavoured granola we bought. Neither of us thought we could stomach it this morning, so Mike got out the cooker and made bacon and eggs.

We stopped at a visitor centre to ask about walks. He said we needed to watch out for ticks, they are everywhere. They carry disease and will drop out of the trees on you, he said. Make sure you spray poison all over your clothes, he said. Yikes. As if I wasn’t already scared of ticks!

We drove for most of the day, even though it was only 233 kms. We left Kentucky and are now in Tennessee, not too far from Chattanooga. You know the song. We saw a campground on the way called Skull Island, and that’s where we are!

It’s a weird name for an island but there’s some interesting history behind it. In the 1800s there was a town in the valley. Chattanooga was prone to flooding so in the 1930s, they decided to build dams to stop the flooding. The people living in the valley were told they had to move as their town would be flooded. They also had the option to move their dead from the graveyards which some of them did. But a lot of graves remained and when they built the dam and flooded the valley, the bones all rose to the surface and landed on Skull Island. Hence the name.

We chose a pleasant camping spot overlooking the lake and had a pleasant nights stay.

Not much else to report today. We did do a Walmart stop as I needed a few more things.

We had a nice sleep in the carpark on the side of the road. In the morning, a man commented that we were a long way from home. How did he know we were from New Zealand? Then he commented on our number plates. “Are you from Michigan?” I told him we were from NZ and he was even more impressed.

Today we visited Mike’s sister again, and caught up with his nephew, Tony.

Just after lunch we headed to Cumberland Falls which was a 2 hour drive. It’s like a mini-Niagra falls and quite a few people were there.

We found a lovely camp ground about ten minutes away from the falls, surrounded by tall trees and forest. We were surprised it wasn’t full.

I was sitting in the van offloading the last few days of photos when a subaru towing a teardrop campervan sped through the campground. Shortly after, a banging crashing sound. Did they just crash? 

Mike and another couple ran over to check and the car and caravan had got over a ledge. Apparently they had driven ten hours to get to this campground and must have been quite tired. They’d gotten out of their car and forgotten to put on the handbrake and the car and caravan rolled over the edge. They were lucky a picnic table was in their way and stopped them going over the edge of a cliff. Even more lucky was that nobody was camping there. They poor cat was in the car when it went over.

That was our excitement for the day. Oh, and we were robbed. The washing mashine took our $1.50 and didn’t wash our clothes.

It would have been nice to stay for a couple of days, but there weren’t many hikes around the area.

We woke up to heavy rain, and a leak drizzling down our side door. We duck-taped a towel to try and stop it, but it just drenched the towel. It might need new rubbers or something on the window.

Mike disconnected the power and water from our van in the pouring rain. We need an umbrella.

Today it was just a short drive to catch up with Mike’s family in Kentucky. First stop was Campbellsville to meet up with nieces Kayla, Sissy and great nephew, Greyson who is four.

Next stop Walmart, to buy umbrellas. It hasn’t rained since buying them.

Next stop, Greensburg, to catch up with Sister Ro, and nieces Mel and Rose, and great nephews, Killian (four) and Aspen (12).

Killian kept us entertained with his constant chatter and shenanigans. He was hilarious, like a mini Eddie really.

It was nice catching up with the family and a we stayed for Pizza. Tomorrow we’re catching up with nephew Tony.

We’re camping in an RV park on the side of the road, which seems a little weird. But there are five other Rvs here and I think they possibly live here. But there is power, water, and sewer on our site which we can connect to. Most of the campgrounds have this where you can hook-up on your site. Means you can stay for long periods and not have to worry about topping up water or emptying your black tank as it’s connected during your stay.

We are absolutely loving camping in Rodger. Even though the layout is a bit weird, it actually works and the bed is really comfy. The toilet right next to the kitchen is still a bit creepy, but Mike might be able to put a barrier around it or something.

Today we left Red River Gorge and headed towards Greensburg Kentucky where Mike’s sister lives. We drove for about 2 hours, then stopped at a Walmart to get even more stuff! We needed an axe to make kindling, and we also needed more food. While we were there I also saw an airhorn I needed to scare bears, two more towels, some pyrethrum to spray on our hiking gear as everyone recommends it to repel ticks.

Yesterday we were at red river gorge, today we are at Green river State Park camping. It’s really expensive at $45 per night, and really busy. It’s a Friday night and all the weekenders are here. As we drove in, we saw all the heads turn to look at our van. This is becoming quite common and Rodger certainly attracts interest.

We had a nice view of the lake until a big caravan came and parked right in front of us. We cooked bacon and eggs for dinner (the bacon here is soooooo delicious) and did our laundry.

That’s all folks.

Today was an exciting day. It started with a narrow and dark tunnel. We stopped just outside of it, and Mike got his tape measure out to make sure we would fit. While he was doing that, a similar sized campervan drove on through, so we felt a bit happier about that.

Our first stop today was the Gladie visitor centre to get some info on walks in the area. As we were talking to the lady, a guy came in and asked if that was our van out front. Wondering what we’d done wrong, we said yes is was.

‘Cool van,’ he said. ‘We’ve got one similar.’ He pointed to their 1987 Doge Ram, which they’d renovated. We’ve had so many people compliment our van. I thought there would be lots of them about, but it’s quite unique.

The first walk we did was up to a tower rock. It was just a short walk, but the rock was impressive.

After that, we stopped at the next major walk. A group of walkers had just completed it and I asked one of the ladies if it was worth doing. ‘Nah, it’s a bit boring,’ she said. ‘But there is a really nice walk to a waterfall just over there. Just follow the creek for a couple of miles.’

The waterfall walk wasn’t marked on any of the tourist maps, on all trails, or even sign posted. But we followed her instructions and it was the most beautiful walk we’ve done yet. Perhaps that’s why the locals like to keep it to themselves.

After that, we stopped at Whistlers Arch. The arch was nice enough, but it’s not what impressed us. Mike called me over to look at a red lizard and that was when we saw it, sunning itself on a rock. A venomous copper head snake. I cursed myself for not having bought my zoom camera to get a decent photo!

Our next stop was down a rutted potholed gravel road. I do worry about breaking Rodger, but Mike too it slowly. And it was well worth the drive. A short walk from the carpark took us to a lookout over a mini grand canyon but with lots of trees. It was stunning.

People are so friendly here. A man we met at the campground has invited us to stay at his place in Washington DC if we go there.

To finish the day, we headed back to the same campground and cooked tofu noodles for dinner. 

We are now in Red River Gorge and it’s a gorgeous day. We set off for a couple of hikes from the campground, trying not to worry too much about the bears and ticks which we’d been warned about at the campground. It seems like snakes might be a worry too, with four venonous types here. Mike reckons it’s too cold for them. Mike has no idea.

Today we did five walks.

The first walk was just over an hour and took us alongside a stream to a trickling waterfall. The second walk from the camp took us to a mini arch. On the way Mike pointed our some fresh bear prints. That was a little concerning, then Mike said it was probably dog prints. But dogs aren’t allowed up here….

After our walk, a man came over to our van and asked if we were The New Zealanders. Seems word has gotten around the town that New Zealanders are about. But he just wanted to compliment us on our van. He said he loves the character and retro style, as do we.

We drove into the gorge today looking for hikes to do. We stopped at a local shop and asked for directions, and while they were showing us on the map, one of the girls showed us a photo of a copperhead snake that she’d found in her bathroom that morning. EEK. Now I am really worried about the big gap in our van coming from the engine. I think I’ll get Mike to fix it asap. 

We bought a 3-day pass for $7 which allows us access to the gorge and we can also camp in there for free at designated spots. Inside the gorge, we turned off down a potholed dirt road. Rodger’s soft suspension made it a very uncomfortable ride. Rodge did not dodge the potholes too well. We parked up and hiked about 40 minutes to Grays Arch, which was basically a big arch. 

After that walk we did a smaller walk which took us to two mini arches with neat rock formations.

Our fifth walk for the day was the skyridge walk and my favourite walk. This time we were above the trees overlooking rocky outcrops, similar to the Blue mountains in NSW. We walked across a large arch, then followed the trail through the woods until we were under the arch. Lot’s of neat rock formations along this walk.

It was 5pm by the time we’d finished, so we headed back 30 minutes to the same campground as the previous night.

We tried to light a fire but we had no kindling, so that was a massive fail We need to get an axe. So we cooked bacon and eggs on our grill, and a baked potato in the microwave. When we learn how to light fires properly, we’d like to do some cooking over the fire.

We had a great night sleep in Kincaid state park. Mikes fix seems to have worked and the tank is no longer leaking but we found another problem.

As we left camp this morning it started to rain. No big deal, we thought. We’re in a campervan, we’ll stay dry. But then Mike turned on his wipers and nothing happened. Well this can’t be good.

He popped the bonnet to have look but couldn’t see anything obvious. But when he closed the bonnet, they started working! Weird.

So we’re driving down the road and it starts raining heavier, and the wipers decided to stop again. We arrived in a small town not too far away and we found a garage on the outskirts.

We opened the door to the garage and a thick haze of smoke enveloped us. Three people sat there staring at us like we’d just parked our spaceship out the front.

I said hello and explained our wiper problem to them. They continued to stare blankly. Then Mike spoke and they seemed to understand him but no one made a move to help us. I guess it was chucking it down with rain and we’d clearly crashed their smoko.

After a while, one of the guys got up, put his coat on, and went outside to take a look. He fiddled with a few things and voila, the wipers were working again! He didn’t want payment, so we thanked him and were on our way.

We drove for a good hour with the wipers working, then one of them stopped. Thankfully it was on my side and Mike’s was still working. Just as well too as it began to chuck it down, fork lightning cracking in front of us.

Then my phone started making a scary noise. I looked down and saw it was a tornado warning in the area and to find shelter asap. But we were in the middle of nowhere!

After about 15 minutes we arrived at the red river gorge visitor centre and waited there with a few other people also seeking shelter. We also got the information we wanted on the hikes in the area.

We are camping at whittleton campground and plan to do some hikes over the next few days in the gorge.

The previous evening I had noticed a damp spot on the floor. There was a leak coming from our water tank. We’d put a cup under where we thought it was coming from and turned off the water pump.

This morning when we woke up, it was even wetter and the cup had overflowed. It looked like it was leaking at the filter, so the first job of the day was to find a hardware store.

Thankfully there was one not too far away. Mike bought some plumbing tape and started on repairs in the Main Street. He had to empty the tank, take off the filter, wrap some tape around it, and wait until we could fill up again to test it.

The USA doesn’t have free dump and water stations around the place like in nz, so we’d have to wait until we found a camp.

It was a long day of driving today with not much to see. We stopped at Walmart again and bought an inflatable canoe ( ironically the wordle for that day).

We were heading for a campground just outside red river gorge when Mike saw a sign to Kincaid lake state park. Do we diverted off onto a windy narrow road for about 20minutes. There was nobody on the booth so we just went in and chose a spot.

There were lots of RVs huddled together in one spot, but we went around the corner and there was nobody. The spaces were too small for RVs so we had the place to ourselves.

Our campsite was surrounded by trees and very beautiful. We also had electric and water hookup. We filled our tank and so far no leaks! Let’s hope mike’s fixed it.

We had chicken fajitas for dinner (cooked in our microwave) and it was satisfactory. We were too tired to light a fire so we just went to bed.