Still headed east and we made it to the South Cumberland State Park in Monteagle, TN. We are used to parks that are typically on contiguous space. This park is not like that at all and it’s a good thing that I mapped us to the actual campground as opposed to just the park in general. We were staying in the Foster Falls campground, which is probably a good 15 miles from the main entrance and on the opposite side of the road with a town or two thrown in the middle. The Foster Falls campground, I believe, is the only campground that allows RVs/trailers in this particular park. There are no hookups and gas generators are not allowed. It was nice being the only RV around and the campground was pretty empty the couple of days we were there. We went and checked out the campground’s namesake, the Foster Falls. It was a short walk to the overlook from our site.
It rained most of the night and continued the next day. So, instead of spending a day hiking in the rain, we decided to check out nearby Ruby Falls. It’s the tallest and deepest underground waterfall open to the public in the US. The waterfall is inside a cave at Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. The waterfall is 145′ tall and is 1,160′ deep underground. I like waterfalls and caves. This one combines them both, so, how can you go wrong. You start the tour going down 260′ in an elevator. Then the guide provides some history on the cave’s discovery. They’ve done some nice work with the lighting and audio as you walk through the cave until you get to the waterfall. The cave itself isn’t that great as far as the number of formations, but the waterfall totally makes it worth it.
We also drove into Chattanooga and visited the Chattanooga Choo Choo. this was once the terminal station in the center of town and was slated for demolition. That is until some local business owners got together and saved it in 1973. It’s a cool place that has the old train cars, a few shops, restaurants and hotel rooms. One of the train cars has been turned into an escape room with a train robbery theme. At one time you could spend the night in a converted Pullman Car Room, but those are currently closed.
Lunch at the Frosty Monkey 
We headed down to the Peace N Peas Farm or otherwise known as my friend Fran’s Place. Diablo took up a good potion of their driveway, but we were able to make him comfortable and still give them access to their garage.
It was great to visit with friends and see a couple of the infamous start from their barn. When the pandemic hit, Fran and some friends began having Zoom happy hours and her friends asked to see the animals. Mambo, the mini donkey, didn’t seem to mind “being on camera”. So, Fran thought hey, why not try to make a little cash and liven up somebody else’s Zoom calls. She set-up a website and started offering farm animal Zoom bombs. Mambo and some of the chickens have even been dressed up to add a little something extra. Well, soon Mambo will be out of the limelight and back to just hanging out in the pasture with his horse pals.
It was good to catch-up, but we were excited to visit the grand daughters and headed out the next morning.
Mambo 
Ava the 5 month old Goldendoodle
We were staying at the Deep Creek Campground in Hubert, NC, near the grandkids at Camp Lejeune. The girls came over and we quickly found ourselves in the pool. We had all three for the whole weekend while the parents took a much needed mini vacation. All three loved the pool and we spent a few hours a day in the water. It was a little rough with the 2-year old and I think it was the longest she’s been away from both mom and dad. But over all, I think she had a really good time.
She loves archery 
When you want to stand out on the trail
We also went to the North Carolina Aquarium. Little Xav really liked the sharks and launched into her own rendition of the “Baby Shark” song. And if, you’ve never heard that song consider yourself lucky.
Hi Guys! I love reading about all your adventures. Grandkids are adorable. Safe travels!
Thanks, we are enjoying being with them!