Bandy Creek Campground, TN
August 3, 2021
Bandy Creek Campground
The drive through southern Kentucky into Northern Tennessee was filled with scenic farmland
We noticed that there seemed to be quite an abundance of storage businesses around here
"You who do not know what will happen tomorrow, what your life will be like. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears." Yep, we're in the Bible Belt!
We spent a morning and early afternoon at Pickett Memorial State Park in Tennessee
The picnic area where we parked was quiet pretty
Took a couple of hikes with lunch in between
Being early in the day at an uncrowded park on the hiking trails has lots of perks. Such as having practically the whole park to yourselves. But there are also downsides. Such as running into spider webs--several times. We managed to avoid this one and to catch a picture of its occupant--the spined micrathena spider.
The sun was shining through the misty canyon in such a beautiful way, I had to take many pictures...
..of the same thing...
...from several different perspectives...
I couldn't help myself...
...it was so pretty
This is Hazard Cave--basically a big rock overhang
I imagine it must be gorgeous here when the rhododendrons are in bloom
It was starting to get a bit muggy, but we went a little further to see the natural bridge
After lunch, we took another hike in the park
We checked out the natural bridge over the river
The otherwise pretty river had some water plant that looked like giant furry noodles. I imagine it would feel pretty unsettling to swim amongst them.
Onward to our final destination--Bandy Creek Campground in Big South Fork Recreation Area
An exceptionally nice forested view outside our deck
The light was streaming in so nicely in our "living room"
My awesome personal chef :)
They take bears pretty seriously in these parts
Saturday was bike riding day
Biked some fairly sketchy jeep trails near our campground, but the fat tires did great
A very picturesque old farmstead
In the afternoon we took some gravel roads to a mountain bike trail
Candidate for world's smallest cemetery--right along the trail
As mountain bike trails go, this was probably a yawner for some. But it was pushing my comfort zone with all the tree roots and rocks and such.
But the payoff was some pretty dramatic scenery!
Look around
Look around
Sometimes I just have to take a picture of dinner
Making good use of the mini chainsaw
Had to sit pretty far back for this one!
When ordinary bellows just won't do
On Sunday we took a drive to Colditz Cove
It started out as a pleasant enough forest, but nothing all that spectacular
And then it started getting really lush. With the overhead canopy of Hemlock, it felt like we were in a large greenhouse.
Look around
I really liked this park (can't you tell?)
And of course, one picture of the gorgeous waterfall just isn't enough
This looks like it would be a fantastic swimming hole
Look around
A brightly colored mushroom
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