Friday November 11th, 2022
Our return trip was somewhat unremarkable. There was a big shift in the weather, turning wet, windy and cold. We drove mainly two lanes back to Michigan and routed through northern Louisiana, central Arkansas, western Tennessee/Kentucky snd southern Indiana. We scored a free campsite in northern Louisiana at the Corney Lake Recreation Area. This was especially great as many of the state parks in Arkansas didn’t have camping and I was running out of options and daylight. We didn’t get anytime to explore as it was getting dark and starting to rain. I got to use my new mini air fryer for the first time. It was a great stop for the night, thank you Lord!
Saturday November 12th, 2022
Got a very early start. Headed diagonally across Arkansas toward Memphis, then up State Hwy 51. I choose this road as it had lots of dots on it, indicating a scenic road. Not sure who deemed it such, but it failed to deliver. We landed at Reelfoot State Park. The 15,000 acre lake was created by a series of violent earthquakes in 1811-1812 that caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for a short period of time, creating Reelfoot Lake. It is obvious that this area is a very popular tourist destination. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures of our return trip. i think the cold and dark had something to do with that. This area received several inches of snow the night before.
Sunday November 13th, 2022
Cold and sunny start to the day, 32 degrees. We headed into Kentucky and toward the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area. This area is the largest inland peninsula in the US. The following is from Wikipedia:
During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Tennessee Valley Authority as part of his New Deal. Specifically, the Authority was to construct a series of dams for both flood control and generation of electricity throughout the rural Tennessee Valley. The project would provide much needed jobs for men in the area, as well as provide electricity to a large area that lacked it. With the US entry into World War II, the project was also needed to satisfy electrical demand from the aluminum industry for the war effort. The site of the last damdownstream on the Tennessee River was to be Gilbertsville, Kentucky. The resulting impoundment, completed in the early 1940s, resulted in Kentucky Lake.
Dams raised the water levels, creating lakes where there were once rivers
Because the project would result in flooding of some of the low-lying land on the western side of the area, the TVA exercised eminent domain, condemning some of the properties and forcing the removal of approximately 800 families from their homes.[4] As a result, entire towns, including Birmingham, Kentucky, were flooded and are now underwater.[5]
Some residents were outraged about these actions, while others were happy to sell their land and start a new life in a less remote area.[6]
The plan called for a new dam and the evacuation of residents from the entire former “Between the Rivers” area, not all of which was to be flooded. The area was to be developed as the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, to produce a multiple-use approach to recreational lands.[citation needed]
The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed a dam on the Cumberland, producing another lake. It was planned to be at the same elevation as Kentucky Lake, and the two rivers were to be connected by a canal that did not require locks.[citation needed] This project was intended to lessen the shipping distances for goods going from the Cumberland Valley to ports on the Gulf of Mexico, thus increasing their profitability.
The dam on the Cumberland, resulting in Lake Barkley, and a canal were completed in the 1960s. The lake was named after Alben W. Barkley, a Kentucky politician who had served as Vice President under President Harry S. Truman.
The road through the Tennessee portion was renamed from State Route 49 to “The Trace.” This was short for “Buffalo Trace,” as both Native Americans and later European-American settlers followed paths, and later roads, developed from the seasonal migration paths of bison).
Several of the You Tubers that Mike follows had ridden ”The Trace”, so we wanted to check it out. We will try to come through this area again and spend a night or two.
We kept rolling and ended up at Martin State Forest outside of Shoal Indiana. This park consists of 7800 acres. Very hilly wooded area. There was enough time to go for a walk and do a little exploring. The best find was the 100 foot Willow Valley Fire Tower. Because of the height and snow on the steps, I didn’t make the climb, The campgrounds are primitive, only $13 per night. The vault toilets were new. Overall a great stop. Definitely will return and get to the top of that fire tower.
We will arrive back in Grand Ledge tomorrow. We have had great traveling weather the entire time and look forward to the winter season in Grand Marais.
