Exploring Middle Tennessee

 Location: Longbranch Campground; near Lancaster, Tennessee (about 30 miles east of Nashville)

It feels good being back in a basic Corps of Engineers (COE) campground. What a difference from the last three weeks of TVA, County and State Parks. For those thinking about RV'ing, look into COE's. A good, free source to find them is Allstays. They are a great fit for my style of traveling since all I really need at a campsite is electricity. Yeah, yeah, I can get by without it but I'm not boondocking in weather with 90 degrees and 90% humidity. I also need a source of water and a place to empty my waste tanks, neither one needs to be located at the campsite. Oh, and they are cheaper than other campgrounds. With the senior pass, they are about three times cheaper. As a comparison, my last campground was a TVA and cost $45.00 per night while my current one is costing me $15.00 per night. Granted, the TVA campground had amenities that would be nice for families with children, but since I travel alone, I don't need them. That was a little long-winded just to say I like COE's. Sorry.

Nice campsite but while walking around the campground, there are others that have better evening shade. Yep, that is a water spigot at the site, but since I use my fresh water tank and pump all the time, I only used it to fill my tank.

This campground is just downstream of the Center Hill Dam which created the very nice Center Hill Lake by damming the Caney Fork River. The Caney empties into the Cumberland which empties into the Ohio which merges with the Mississippi. So, the dam helps control flooding on all of those rivers but it's main flood control purpose is to reduce flooding in Nashville. It is also a 3 turbine hydro dam and has been producing electricity for decades. One thing that is a little different about it is it has a "fuse plug spillway" which I wanted to see but the closest I could get was from a boat ramp across the lake. Oh well, no big deal, I was probably the only one interested anyhow. 

Center Hill Dam. The power house is on the right with 2 of 3 turbines producing electricity. There are two waterfalls in this picture. One is in the middle lower left near the waterline and the other is on the left side of the dam emptying into what looks to be a small stilling basin. It would be interesting to know if both were present during construction or did they show up later. But, there is no one around to ask.

This is the upstream side (lake side) of the dam. It is a really pretty lake that snakes upstream about 30+ miles. It would take many trips to explore all of the shoreline by boat. These large lakes are everywhere up in this part of the country along the Tennessee, Cumberland, Caney, etc.

From on top of the dam looking down at the campground area.

This is the best picture I could get of the "fuse plug spillway". If the water level rises too much, before it goes over the dam it will go into the fuse plug. When it hits the plug it will erode away the soil embankment within 30 minutes and allow water to go around the dam. It's not a very common way of doing things, but should work.

There wasn't anything specific I wanted to see in this area. The main draw, besides the dam, was supposedly a county fair nearby. Apparently, my research was wrong or it was for a county in some other state since there wasn't one and the town I thought it was in wasn't even the county seat. I lost count of how many strikes that was, I was out. I am a little disappointed but not too much since, there is always something to see in an area. So, I've driven over 100 miles just cruising the area to "see what I could see". There is some pretty country around here with the large Center Hill lake being the main attraction to the area. 

This is one of the back-roads I explored. That is the Caney Fork on the right. The road had washed out or sloughed off in the recent past. About 15 mph to avoid bad areas. It was a pretty day to be exploring.

Sedimentary rock formations like this is everywhere alongside the roads. There should be lots and lots of fossil, etc in between all those layers. It would be nice to have a Geologist on staff so RV'ers can ask questions. Just kidding,

Some of the exploring roads. Nope, didn't hear any banjos playing. Just nice scenery on a nice day for driving around.

That's Center Hill Lake several miles from the dam. 

This was taken from another COE campground on the lake. I checked it out for the future. I won't be going there, too small, even for my new smaller RV. 

These house are overlooking the other COE campground I checked out. There is probably a story behind who owns them and how they were built so close to the lake. But like so many other questions, no one to ask.

Over the last few weeks I've while driving on several different types of roadway surfaces, I noticed Freedom having a rhythmic hop in her step. One problem that could cause that was a tire or two being out of balance. Since I needed a few things at Walmart, I checked in at the Auto Service Department to have them check and re-balance her tires. Sure enough, two were moderately out of balance and the other two were minimally out. Once all four were balanced, there is a big difference in the quality of her ride. And since Freedom is a her, she immediately told me, "I've been trying to tell you but you wouldn't listen". Hmmmm,,,, reality, uh?

Tomorrow is moving day and I'll be heading into central Kentucky to another COE campground. It is strange though, the campground website says check-in time is 6:00 pm. We will see how that works out because I'm sure I'll be early, it's just a matter of how early.

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