Another journey ends

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As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And now my New Mexico 2007 sojourn must also wrap up.

The last few days have been an enjoyable way to finish an exciting and informative trip. I’ve had several RVing “firsts” in the past few days.

The first was in Vicksburg - when I pulled into the campground where I planned to stay only to learn they were FULL (didn’t have reservations). But as it turns out, they were nice enough to recommend another park very close by, and even called to make sure they had room for me. They had plenty of spots and it turned out to be a MUCH NICER place.

The 2nd “first” was my first night staying in a Wal-mart parking lot. Thursday I met a friend for dinner who lives between Birmingham and Gadsden, AL. The closest campgrounds were about 25-30 miles away SO… I tried out Wally World camping. When I rolled in, there was a rig from Ontario, Canada. I had a nice talk with the couple and learned they often stay in Wal-mart parking lots when traveling. I parked next to them and checked in with folks at customer service to make sure they were RV friendly. Then I picked up supplies for the last couple of days. This morning when I got up at 6:30, my “neighbors” were GONE. I didn’t even hear them start up and leave.

My 3rd “first” was Friday morning when I rolled into my campground at 11 am (EST - since I was on CST, it seemed like 10 to me). Got set up and headed out to play tourist in Chattanooga, TN.

Vicksburg was quite interesting. I took a driving tour downtown, visited one of the churches with Tiffany windows, and drove through the Vicksburg battlefield. That took ALL afternoon and I had to rush at the end to get finished. It was quite a sobering visit.

Thursday was an easy day driving from Vicksburg to north of Birmingham.

Friday was a short driving day and an afternoon and evening exploring Chattanooga. I did the usual tourist things here - Ruby Falls, Rock City, and the Chattanooga Choo Choo. I also visited Point Park (a NPS Civil War site) on Lookout Mountain.

Saturday I plan on a laid back morning and head for the mountains of NC when I break camp.

Thanks for “traveling along” with me the past month. I appreciated all the comments and encouragement.

Until next trip Chessy and I bid you adieu!

Bruce

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Photos

Vicksburg Court House Museum
This was the court house during the Civil War. It has since been turned into a museum.

First Coca-Cola bottled
This was where Coca-Cola was first bottled. He had a soda fountain and decided to figure out a way to bottle Coke so it could be made available to folks in rural areas. It was first bottled in 1894.

Vicksburg battlefield
Cannons lined up at Vicksburg.

Ruby Falls
After you take an elevator down 260 feet to the caverns, you walk about 1/2 mile to get to the underground falls. They do a "light show" and illuminate the falls with different colors during the 6 minutes you view the falls.

Rock City
This is the overlook at Rock City where they claim you can see 7 states. I'm quite sure it was too hazy today to see all seven states.

Point Park
On Lookout Mountain. It overlooks the Tennessee River and Chattanooga.