Monday, April 16, 2012

Reelfoot Lake


Having decided to upgrade our camping sleeping gear we needed to try out the new digs.  We went from a small 2-man tent and air mattress to a 6-man tent measuring 12ft x 7ft with a vestibule and cots.  The first weekend of April was promising to be sunny and warm so we headed north to Reelfoot Lake.  The lake was created during the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 when the ground subsided dramatically.  Today it is home to great fishing, boating, scenery, and wildlife.  This trip was during the wrong time of year, but the lake is best known for its large numbers of nesting bald eagles.

Unexpected Surprise…Covington, TN

We passed a store on Hwy 51 near Covington, TN called Stockdale’s with signage indicating it was “America’s Rural Outfitter”.  We had to stop.  This store was dog friendly so Dutch got to join us as we tooled around the aisles. There was lots of stuff for the farm and a whole section for horses.  Not needing a saddle, we headed back up the road.  It’s because of this stop, really, that we decided to check out the rest of Covington; after all it is the birth place of Isaac Hayes.  It is also the site where the controversial Confederate cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest made his last public address to the 7th Tennessee Cavalry in 1876. The Nature Center & Veteran’s Memorial (751 Bert Johnston Ave) has a plaque and canon commemorating that event.
We parked at the town square of Covington and found that it was full of cute shops that were actually open.  When exploring rural areas you get used to seeing old courthouse squares surrounded by Monday through Friday business offices placed between long ago shut down storefronts.  We grabbed Dutch and stepped out onto the street to find that the courthouse had music playing and the current selection was The Doors….odd.
He also owned a football team by the same name.
We walked around snapping photos and happened upon an old “Clarence Saunders:  Sole Owner of My Name” painted sign in a back alley of a shop that faces East Court Square.  This was very exciting to us as Clarence Saunders was the founder of the modern grocery store with his first store in downtown Memphis not far from where we live.  The store was called Piggly Wiggly!!  When he went bankrupt he lost the rights to the store name.  Deciding never again would he lose control of his brand he created another chain of stores called "Clarence Saunders Sole Owner of My Name Stores".  Clarence Saunders was something of an eccentric genius worthy of further reading, and local Memphian Mike Freeman wrote “Clarence Saunders & the Founding of Piggly Wiggly:  The Rise and Fall of a Memphis Maverick” that you can purchase directly on Mike’s website.
Around the next corner we encountered Bukaroo Hatters and were intrigued but did not step inside.  Their website says that they make custom made cowboy and fedora hats.  We did however step inside Upscale Resale with Dutch in arms.  We always ask if it is okay to bring Dutch inside and most small private owned businesses are fine with it.  The shop was full of resale antiques, newer restored furniture items, and crafts.  A few more pictures of cool historic theaters and then we moved on towards Ripley Tennessee.
Between Covington and Ripley we passed through Henning.  We had visited Henning on a previous road trip so we did not stop this time, but it is worth mentioning.  You can visit the boyhood home of Alex Haley who was the author of Roots (200 South Church Street).  The previous road trip to this area was due to a visit to Fort Pillow State Park which has lots of nice hiking trails.  This is the site of an engagement during the Civil War that is still generating controversy today.  Confederate forces under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest reportedly massacred African American Union soldiers who had surrendered.   It is amazing to walk around this park and see the large earthwork fortifications.  It is difficult to comprehend how humans in 1861 were able to move so much earth to make this fort.

Ripley

The main purpose of a stop in Ripley is that a young teenager from Nutbush Tennessee named Anna Mae Bullock went to work for two years as a domestic in this town.  We missed the short drive over to Nutbush to see Anna Mae’s original hometown.  She later became better known as the fabulous Tina Turner.  In Ripley there was a very well painted town square.  The most interesting site was the art deco Lauderdale County Courthouse.   We then quickly moved on towards Dyersburg because by this time we were all getting very hungry.  Eighties beefcake stuntman turned actor Miles O’Keeffe was born here.  He is probably most famous for his role as Tarzan or for his part in the MST3K spoofed “Cave Dwellers”.  Joel asks ‘How much Keefe is in this movie anyway?’ to which Tom Servo answers “Miles O’Keeffe”.

Dyersburg

"You gonna eat that fry?"
The first priority when entering Dyersburg was finding food.  We quickly pulled out a phone app and started looking for options.  We decided on BBQ and hit Hog Heaven (1320 Shelby Drive).  We were not too impressed but we are picky about BBQ after living in Memphis and Kansas City the past 4 years.  They did have very good sweet tea and very nice servers.  No outdoor space so we copped a squat on the curb to eat outside with Dutch. 
Shane was most excited about seeing the final resting place of General Strahl at the Old City Cemetery.  We drove around trying to locate it for some time, and finally found it at the corner of Liberty Ave. and Court St. just east of Hwy 51.  Shane actually had no idea who General Strahl was but just wanted to see the large cannon at his gravesite.  It was cast in 1820 and was originally a main deck gun on the USS Independence during the Mexican American War.  We were saddened by the obvious vandalism shown by gravestones that had been toppled over and the sign warning against this crime. 

A short stop at the Kroger on Hwy 78 for camping supplies and then we moved on to our next stop.  A brief detour on State Route 182 and a turn into the Lakewood subdivision we found the Lenox Bridge at its new home.  The bridge was constructed in 1917 and is the last remaining hand-cranked swing span pony pratt bridge in the country.  We aren’t sure what all that means except that, according to the plaque, when a steam boat sounded it’s whistle four men would rush out onto the bridge, and using a large key inserted into a receptacle, would begin cranking away.  This action would swing open the bridge allowing the vessel to pass by.  The bridge was relocated to this park for preservation in 1988.

Tiptonville

Remember theses prices??
Tiptonville is the birthplace of Carl Perkins, “The King of Rockabilly” and the museum with his boyhood home can be found on your way into town.  You may not know who he is, but be assured his influence on Rock and Roll is immeasurable.  He is most famous for writing “Blue Suede Shoes”.
Son of a sharecropper.
We drove a few miles to the end of Route 22 near the Kentucky border to a small confederate grave site and a marker commemorating the surrender of Confederate forces at Island Number 10 which has long been washed away by the Great Mississippi.  This event opened up the way for Grant’s siege of Vicksburg and eventual Union control of the entire Mississippi River. 

On to a quiet night of camping by the lake…

Always have a backup plan.
Just east of Tiptonville is our final destination for the day…Reelfoot Lake.  We had visions of camping the night by the lake in the peace and quiet of rural Tennessee and thought that during Easter Weekend the Reelfoot Lake State Park would be almost empty.  We were so wrong.  We pulled into the State Park and found it packed with happy families carrying fishing poles and grilling burgers and obviously all the lake front sites were taken.  We almost gave up on the idea of camping and were dreading the long drive back to Memphis, but then Shane remembered he saw another campsite on the other side of the Lake.  So we drove the 8 miles to the North Shore of the lake to Airpark Area Campground.  The Inn located on the site appeared to have been closed for years, but the campsites were perfect.  We didn’t have a view of the lake but we had a secluded primitive campsite which we wanted for a restful evening.
So much for 'rest and relaxation'.
Shane agreed to set up camp if I would go hunt for firewood.  I didn’t realize how long I was gone until I got back to camp and realized that Shane wasn’t there.  Shane was actually out hunting for me because he was scared I had fallen onto our new ax in the woods somewhere dying a slow painful death.  Chopping wood for a fire seems fun at first until you are exhausted and covered in sweat.
Campsite set up and fire going, we started on dinner.  We had an upgraded tent and wanted to also upgrade dinner so we had steak and veggie kabobs.  The new tent provided for a much better sleeping arrangement although Kevin still had difficulty due to the howling of some terrifying creatures in the night.  At least Dutch and Shane were rested.
Reelfoot Lake is well known for its large number of nesting bald eagles that are best seen during January and February.  We did at least see one bald eagle soaring high around the lake.  If you aren’t into camping there are multiple cabin rentals around the lake that you can investigate.
After breaking camp we had a convenience store breakfast at a Little General Store with a sign reading "No Open Carry", (as in keep your gun concealed or in the car) on the window to make us feel safe.  We then headed a tad west for a trip home via a different route for new small towns to explore.

The long road home...

We weren't brave enough to walk it.
Hornbeak, Troy, and Obion provided small town charm; we didn’t expect much from these small communities except great scenery on our drive back to Memphis.  The town of Obion formerly had Hwy 3 connecting it to nearby Trimble to its south.  The bridge was out, and appeared to be so permanently.  Luckily, this lead us back onto Hwy 51 where we spotted from a distance what appeared to be a rather large Confederate flag.
Take that Madison County
Indeed, Trimble is home to (according to the two gentlemen landscaping around the site) the largest Confederate flag in the state of Tennessee.  It is located near Pierce cemetery just outside of town.  You truly can’t miss it.  The highlight of Trimble was located in Parks Plaza by the water tower, a wooden covered bridge built ca. 1904.  It represents only one of four historic bridges in TN and the only one in the western portion of the state. 

Recessive genes in Tennessee

A case for false advertising.
Next, our trip brought us to Kenton, home of the albino squirrel.  Supposedly, only 6 communities in the US have significant populations of albino squirrels.  Kenton is at the top of that list.  We were quite excited to arrive at the town park boasting to be “Home of the Albino Squirrel”, nearly half an hour walking around yielded a distant view of only one boring grey squirrel.  Before giving up, Kevin opted to tour around town hoping our luck would change.  It seems the squirrels prefer the hustle and bustle of town to the quite of the park, we spotted several frolicking about.  And yes, there were true albinos.

King of the Wild Frontier

Anachronism
'Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three'
It’s not easy to top albino squirrels, but a short drive into Rutherford comes close.  This small town boasts being the last home of frontiersman and folk hero Davy Crockett.  Located at 219 N. Trenton St. is a reproduction of his home, constructed of salvaged timbers from his actual cabin.  During his stay here he reportedly killed over 100 bears and even more daunting a task stood toe-to-toe, as a Congressman, against Andrew Jackson.  He lived at this home until 1835; he would die at the Alamo March 6, 1836.  The museum containing artifacts from that era was closed due to the Easter holiday, but his mother’s gravesite is located on the premises.

I can’t drive, um, 31

Oddly specific.
Our last stop is Trenton, TN famous for its speed limit signs warning not to exceed 31 mph.  The only evidence as to why this prime number was chosen comes from an anecdote from the roadsideamerica.com website stating that some decades ago the mayor and aldermen couldn’t decide on 30 or 35 mph so they compromised on 31.  Trenton also boasts the world’s largest teapot collection, which the town celebrates with an annual spring Teapot Festival.

Leaving Trenton we headed toward Jackson, TN.  The area around Jackson has several sites worthy of a stop, which he had done before, but we headed on home to Memphis.  Besides it was getting late and Dutch was exhausted.
     

No comments:

Post a Comment