More Exploration

Our walk this morning took us around the campground again. It looks like a golf course, except for having trees. Actually, we're thinking country estate.

We wanted to find the Turkey Creek Nature Trail, so we drove to the Resource Manager's Office and Visitor Center for the lake. It turns out that a new Visitor's Center is under construction, but we talked with some nice folks in the office across the street who gave us some maps and chatted with us about the lake and surrounding area. They said that they see deer or wild turkeys or squirrels and such every morning when they come to work.

New Visitor Center is still under construction.

The Turkey Creek Nature Trail is a half-mile loop. It starts just up the road from the Visitor's Center and is paved. We didn't see any interpretive signs, but it's a nice quiet walk in the woods.

We drove further down the road to visit the dam and power plant.

Some birds were wheeling overhead in the thermals rising from the dam area.

Along the highway (TN 263) we saw a sign for an overlook and stopped to check it out. Much to our surprise it turned out to be the far end of the Bearwaller Gap Trail. The trailhead is just outside our campground. It's an out and back trail along the shores of Cordell Hull Lake. We're planning to hike it tomorrow. Usually a six-mile hike leads to a point out in the wilderness, but this one ends at Tater Knob Overlook, just off the highway. Some hikers use a shuttle system and hike the trail only one way.

We collected firewood today, and tonight Ken built a campfire. We seldom have a fire, but this seemed like a good place to sit by a fire and cook marshmallows. We've seen a lot of campfires on our walks. This evening we spotted a real example of modern camping: a campfire and an outdoor television

Here's a sign by the boat ramp: the Corps' effort to encourage boaters to wear lifejackets. Convinces me!

We drove in to town today to pick up some groceries. On Main Street we saw the Second Edition Thrift Store. Of course I had to stop and check it out, and we donated some things we had accumulated. I found a Donald Westlake novel I haven't read. He's one of my favorite writers of comic crime caper novels.