Chattanooga, Trail of Tears & another Dam

Location: Harrison Bay State Park; Harrison, Tennessee

This campground is located about 15 minutes north of Chattanooga on a bay of the Tennessee River. It is an old campground from an era when RV's were much smaller. I had a heck of a time getting into this small, steep and curved pull thru campsite. It will be even more "interesting" when I try to hitch up with Freedom on a steep incline while Liberty2 is somewhat level. But since this was the last campsite available in this very large campground, I can't complain. It's location is pretty good in that it is close enough to explore Chattanooga but far enough away as to be in the country. This is my second exploration of Chattanooga with an RV. The first time was several years ago during my first year on the road. I tried to get into that old campground I stayed in back then, but it was slap full just like this one. It will be OK though, it always is.

Since there was a late check-in time at my current campground, I had to kill a few hours before hitching up. The temperature was nice so I took an early morning walk about the campground. That is Liberty2 in the left side of the picture. You can see how most of the RV's are set up in a permanent condition. 

This was also on the morning walk. There were maybe 6 or 8 of these multiply berth docks around the campground for the residents to keep their boat handy.

This is the slope I will be fighting with to get Liberty2 hitched up when I leave here in a few days. 

At least I was able to find a semi-level spot to set up.

I'll be here for 5 days and today is day 2 of 5. I took a quick trip about 30 miles north of here to the place where a lot of the Indians began their "trail of tears" trip. It was a ferry crossing back then so it was also a gathering spot of many tribes. Of course, the U.S. Army was in the process of rounding up the Indians to force them off their lands. There was a treaty signed two years prior to the start of the "trail of tears" which gave the Indians 2 years to voluntarily leave their land and go to places in Oklahoma. When the 2 year period expired, President Van Buren ordered the Army to forcibly remove them. That began the "trail of tears" for the five "civilized tribes". The sad thing was the reason for their removal. It was because a lot of non-Indians wanted their land and the Federal politicians, primarily, President Andrew Jackson, found a way to take it away from them. The Indians may have gotten at least a partial last laugh though when oil and gas was discovered on their Oklahoma Indian Reservation land. It's too much to get into in a blog post so I'll try to do a one word summary. The Indians owned a lot of land, some people wanted it, they lobbied Washington politicians to take it from the Indians and sell it but the Indians didn't leave quick enough so the U.S. Army forced them to move to Oklahoma to live in what was thought to be continuous poverty on the reservation system but then oil is discovered on the new lands. That's as close as I can get. It was worth the trip. If anyone passes through Cherokee, North Carolina, it is the home of the best Indian Museum I've visited. Or at least it was nine years ago.

The welcome center was closed for the holiday but the information wall was nicely done and had some good information. I was the only one there for the first 10 minutes or so before a few other people showed up. I was surprised that other came since it is located way off the beaten path. 

Another take-off of The Wall in D.C. These are the names of the people, from this area, who died on the trip. Least they be forgotten.

I've skipped ahead a couple of dams on the Tennessee River but was able to see the Chickamauga Dam located near Chattanooga. The cranes in the picture are being used to build larger locks for the dam site. I disappointed I couldn't get a good view of the work. I have one more TVA dam to see on this trip to the rally and another one on the return trip back home.

Although I couldn't get a good look at the contruction, this is a good view of the lock work, dam and powerhouse. You can see from the white water at the powerhouse that they are producing electricity. Looked like at least 3 turbines were working.

Tomorrow will be another exploration day and I'll be repeating some exploration from years ago. It should be a good day. 

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