Week 124: to the Land between the Lakes: More ups and downs into Kentucky

August 9, 2017

The dew is heavy this morning, our tent is soaking wet. We pack up, have our oatmeal and coffee and set out along the Cumberland River. A couple of zigzags and a couple of hills take us to Dover. Right at the junction is a nice coffee shop where we find French toast with strawberries and pecans and a nice quiche.

We pass by Fort Donelson National Battlefield, but the visitor center is closed. A little further is a Dollar General where we stock-up of tonight’s dinner. The shopping in Cumberland City was pretty poor yesterday and if Dover had been the same we would have been down to our “emergency meal”. Not too bad, but better left in the bottom of one of our panniers.

We enter into the “Land between the Lakes”, a narrow peninsula of rolling hills between the Cumberland River on the East and the Tennessee River on the West. Both have been dammed and form long narrow reservoirs. The whole area is part of a National Recreation Area with several campgrounds and no towns. The Woodlands Trace Scenic Byway is narrow, winding and full of ups and downs, but there is very little through traffic. There is a Welcome Center at the southern entrance where we stop to get information about camping options. The Wrangler Campground sounds good to us since it has showers.

We stop at the Bison Range where a herd of bison is indeed grazing. There are several calves. A little further is the turn-off to our campground. The road is even narrower and has a couple of steep hills. The campground is huge, but mostly empty during the week. Every site has a horse staging area and there are stables provided. The guy at the entrance is very friendly and lets us pick a site with good shade. Rachel’s senior pass is paying off; we get a good discount on the fees.

Tent pitched, shower and a cold coke with some snacks. We move a picnic table into the shade and read our books.