Time Distortion & Two Dams

 Location: Joe Wheeler State Park; Rogersville, Alabama

Day 3 of 4 

The tow here was only about 75 miles on pretty decent roads. There was a short stretch of shoulder-less road with a steep ditch on each side. I knew about it when I was planning my route and was prepared for it. A lot of RV'ers believe they should travel on the backroads (blue highways) all the time. I never have fell in with that crowd. I always want to tow on Interstates or roads with wide shoulders in case I have a breakdown or flat tire. I will definitely get off on blue highways when I'm exploring with just me and Freedom. To each their own (taught to me by a female full-time RV'er many years ago, RIP, Malia).

Tucked into a nice wooded campsite.

This campground is a state park located near the river. Not as close as my last campground, but I can see it out my back window. There are 4 campsite loops and 3 of them have been recently rebuilt. Of course, I'm staying the older one. The three new loops are out in the open with no trees and the campsites are new concrete pavement. My loop is tucked in the woods with old asphalt pavement and some turns that would stop some of the bigger RV's. I usually don't like a lot of trees over Liberty2 due to things like limbs, pine cones, ticks, ants, etc falling on her roof, but I'm OK here since no heavy storms or winds is predicted during my stay. 

Yep, that's Freedom and Liberty2 just hanging out.

There is a path leading from my campsite down to the river. I followed it for a little ways before it disappeared due to be overgrown. 

It's quiet and peaceful around here.

I've only been on this trip for 10 days but time distortion has already set in. It's nothing new to me and I have experienced it since I began my RV travels nine years ago. When I travel, it is usually pretty quick with average stays of 3 or 4 days only. I am literally seeing brand new things on a daily basis. My mind has very few periods where it can just kick back and relax. I call it being on "fast forward". When I think back to the campground I stayed at 10 or even 5 days ago, it seems far in the distant past. I can remember every detail of the campground, but I have to focus and think on it. I haven't researched it find out what it is officially called or why it happens. I think it is because my mind is having to absorb so much new information (sights,sounds,smells) in such a hurry, it pushes the older memories to the back, quicker. Often, in our lives, we repeat the same things on a daily basis, such as taking the same route to work, that our mind can slip into "neutral" until something new happens. Here is something to think about: Try to think of something that was a brand new experience yesterday or the day before. If you can think of one or two things, then you're lucky, since most can't name even one. But, with the way I travel, I'm seeing new things almost constantly. There will be less exploring at the next campground, so it will give my mind time to catch up and properly file away the memories. Oh well, maybe I'm going crazy or how my southern mother would say, "touched in the head".

Even something as common as laundry is something new, in a new town. 

There are two dams near this campground. They are on the Tennessee River and only separated by about 15 river miles. These two plus the Pickwick Dam at my last campground are needed to provide enough water to cover the shallow, rocky stretch of the river known as Muscle Shoals. I saw the first dam, Wheeler Dam, on day 1 of my stay here. I arrive in the early afternoon and had time to drive around the dam before eating at a fancy restaurant named Taco Bell. I was lucky to get in the way I was dressed in shorts and a tee shirt and without a reservation also. Fine dining at its best.

This is Wheeler Dam. It has 11 turbine for making electricity. Notice how close the fisherman is to the structure.

The water was rough in this part of the lake. That is the dam in the background.

This shows how rough the water was. I asked a local fisherman if this was normal, he said No, it was because of the wind ahead of a storm. 

Today's exploration will be to the second dam, Wilson Dam. It's time to do the 3 S's and get moving. Let me modify that to 2 1/2 S's since I don't shave much anymore. Ya'll can guess at the other 2 S's or ask an x-Navy or Coastie. 

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe, I'll Cya down the road.