So Many Miles Not Enough Internet PT 2

After Rocky Springs I headed North towards Meriwether Lewis Campground. The day was nasty and just got nastier as I drove. Finally had to pull over at Cypress Swamp because the rain was coming down so hard you couldn't see the road.

Nothing to make you realize just how dangerous the roads were like having a corner's van pull up next to you  and waits out the rain with the rest of you.Rain finally let up and I made it to a visitor's center where two lovely older ladies were. I was their only visitor for the day.

 
Can't tell you where it is but it is but the town where it is had a Wal Mart so I could add to my pantry a key ingredients. The rain wasn't stopping and it was getting dark  so I stopped at Jeff Busby Campground where I had been told I could at least get a signal for my phone. 

 


When I first got there it was me and one other person who had a tent set up. They were gone within a half hour. Woke up the next morning to several RVs and Trailers. But I decided to stay one extra day. 

Was told I was a true camper because I made my breakfast outside the van. LOL. 

I also walked the Little Mountain Trail it was a mile long loop. Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest difference in a new life you never expected. 
Stopped in Alabama and ate lunch before heading to Meriwether Lewis Campground. Beautiful place.

 

Camp host Bruce was nice. The number one rule here he said was to have fun. lol. When it finally decided to stay nice I walked the trails.  If you are like me and have a knack for getting turned around or miss markers. The best thing I ever started doing was taking pictures of the trail map, interesting mainly to me landmarks. I walked from the campground to Meriwether Lewis' grave site and then walked the old trace. The first half of the hike wasn't bad other than a few flooded spots. It was when I got on the old trace trail things got my heart sped up a bit. 

 Remember I HATE bridges and this photo is deceptive as to how high it really is but it is part of the trail so I had to walk across it. Just past this there is a nice picnic area that you have to walk through to get to the next part of the trail. 

The next bit of the trail was slightly over grown but from what I could tell they had trees marked that needed to be removed for safety reason and it is still early in the year for hikers. I was the only one on the trail the whole time.  What is neat about this part of the trail is that ever so often you would be greeted by a sign that told you what a particular tree was. 

 


Great for those of us that learn visually and tactically.

I finally made it to Meriwether Lewis' grave site from the trail you see this

What you don't see is the sign that says Pioneer cemetery. Don't ask me why I didn't make the connection that where there is one grave site there should be more. Might of been the hike and the nice sunny day. But it wasn't until I saw 

 this grave marker that I realized that I was in a grave yard. lol 

on the other side of the grave yard is the Grinder House where he was found dead from a gunshot.  wound.

 

From there I hiked the old trace back to I had hoped to the campground at some point the trail didn't follow the map whether it was due to the rain or that someone had moved the markers. I did start to panic until I remembered I had my backpack which had food, water, light, and fire striker so even if I had to do a night in the woods so be it.

Once I realized that I was able to focus on the photos I had taken and found where I should be going. I still missed the turn to the campground but once I got back to that bridge I knew where I was and was able to find my way back to the campground.

 camp never looked so good. 

In all it was a nice long hike and I found a bit of myself that had been lost. Being around and in nature is very recharging.

From here I drove to Hopkinsville, KY to see C which is another chapter in my life book that probably won't make it to the blog. A girl has to keep some secrets lol. 

Jo