4-13 to 4-16 Parksville Lake Campground

Camping in Cherokee National Forest

We had no access to the internet for the past four days so I am a bit behind on my blog.

Friday April 13, 2018

After spending the night at Chester Frost Park we moved down the road 70 miles to Cherokee National Forest. It has a RV Campground with electric hookups and restrooms with running water and a shower. It’s suppose to be cold and rain all weekend. We travel on the off seasons and we never know exactly where we’re going to be or when so we don’t make reservations. This year we noticed that a lot of the parks require you to have a reservation this includes some of the National Forests and National Parks. The other day when Larry knew it was going to rain he made a reservation for Saturday and Sunday. We had planed to stay around Chattanooga today considering they were having a car show Saturday but the chance of rain was pretty high so we decided to move on. 

Camping at Parksville Lake Campground

After lunch we decided to go for a motorcycle ride. In 1996 when the Olympics were in Atlanta, they had the Canoe/Kayak Competition on the Ocoee River. The center is located 11 miles from the campground. The drive to the center was gorgeous, it was on a two lane highway with curves and went along the banks of the Ocoee River. A great motorcycle ride. We saw people whitewater kayaking down the river. There were a few launch areas along the highway. We stopped at one that had a huge parking lot. It had a ramp for handicap people to launch their kayaks. There was a cool wooden bridge that goes over a dam that is used by the TVA. We walked around a bit and watched a few people kayaking down the river. It looked like they were having fun.

Kayaking on the Ocoee River

Whitewater kayaking

Look at the rapids on Ocoee River

We drove another 2.5 miles to the Ocoee Whitewater Center, where the Olympics took place, now it’s a visitor center. It is also used for day use, you can swim, hike and picnic. While there we picked up reading material and maps of Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. The gentleman that was working was very helpful. He explained how the water flow of the river worked. The TVA has a water release schedule that creates an Olympic whitewater venue. The local outfitters lead rafting trips in this area and five miles section of the Ocoee River. The local outfitters pay the TVA for the revenue they lose while the water is release to create the wastewater venue. It was a very pretty facility.

The bridge that went to hiking trails at the Ocoee  River Whitewater Center

Ocoee River at the center when the gates are closed

After dinner we walked around to locate the hiking trail by the campground. We found it and walked a half mile of it. We spent the evening relaxing.

Saturday April 14, 2018

Last night when we went to bed it was still warm so we left the fan run all night. By morning it finally cooled off. It was a little nippy but it was comfortable. I made biscuits for breakfast and then we went on a hike. The hike was for 4.5 miles. It was a beautiful hike along a mountain creek. The trail went up and down hills and through a forest. While hiking we met a hunter and Larry asked him what he was hunting. He said it was turkey season and he saw one but it went up the hill and disappeared. He said it was early in the season and they were still with the hens so he didn’t expect to see too many. It was a moderate trail and at times it was very challenging. While climbing up the hill you heart got pounding. We were glad we didn’t wear a jacket considering it was very humid. The wind came up a little so we were glad when we got a little breeze to cool us off. The hike was very peaceful and you had pretty views of the mountainside.

The creek we hiked along

The trail we hiked up

By the time we got home we were tired. We setup our chairs and relaxed. After relaxing for a few minutes we barbecued some pork chops for our lunch. When we finished our lunch we went back outside and read.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying our campsite. 

 

Sunday April 15, 2018

The rain came in last night and stayed around all day. We ended up not doing too much. We did a couple of walks around the group and RV campgrounds. The rain completely stopped around 6:00 so I went outside and finished up my steps. Even though it rained all day we still had a wonderful day in Cherokee National Forest.

Rainy day of camping

Monday April 16, 2018

We woke up to the temperature in the 30’s and it wasn't suppose to get out of the 30's so we decided we would stay another night. The next place we are going won’t have power and we have power here. We spent the day keeping warm.

After breakfast we decided to take a walk. We were walking around the RV campground, it started to sprinkle. By the time we got back to the Minnie it was snowing. It didn’t last long. We spent the rest of the day inside keeping warm.

Cold Day