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Buggy Parking, Dr. Seuss and Music City


October 1-31, 2017 — This was a busy travel month that took us from northern Indiana to Ocean Spring, MS. We traveled in zig zag fashion across Indiana and then headed south through Kentucky to Tennessee to visit family. After spending several days in Nashville we drove east to the Smokey Mountains then south to the Gulf Coast. We had initially planned to slowly move south through Alabama but cold weather in the forecast changed our mind. We paid for camp sites for 13 nights and had 18 nights of free stays. Paid camp sites this month were at a National Lakeshore, National Seashore, National Park and Army Corp of Engineers with the most expensive site being $11 a night with electricity. Free stays included a family driveway, Cabela’s, Walmart, a Casino, Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Host sites. We are ready for some downtime after all those miles and will stay on the Gulf Coast for a few weeks.

Beautiful campus in South Bend, IN

Lafayette, IN auto manufacturer that produces 1000 cars a day. Free and informative tour. Highly recommended!

What a cool gallery at the Fashion Mall in Indianapolis. It featured original artwork by Dr. Seuss that he allowed to be sold following his death. Amazing and very expensive artwork!

Inside view of the Indiana State Capitol in Indianapolis, IN.

Vintage hardware store in Wakarusa, IN. The store features a floor to ceiling wall of a 1000 wood drawers that hold all types of hardware. The store has much early 1900’s charm.

Put the outside TV to good use on a Sunday afternoon.

Just over the Indiana border in Buchanan, Michigan is Lowery’s Meat and Grocery. Unreal how much meat this little store sells everyday. We bought hamburger, pork chops, bacon, and breakfast sausage. Great prices and quality product. The bacon was especially good. Definitely make a trip there if you are in the area.  

The Walmart store in Goshen, IN has covered horse and buggy parking.

Beautiful country store front in Middlebury, IN.

We’re hiding in the woods at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Very cool museum in Elkhart, IN. Interesting that the “MH” in the title stands for “Manufactured Home” and not “Motorhome”. Well worth a stop. 

Vintage travel trailer at the RV/MV Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, IN. 

Newmar plant in Nappanee, IN offers free tours where you can watch gas and diesel motorcoaches being built. A gentleman in our tour group was able to see his new $959,000 King Aire on the assembly line. That’s just a bit outside our price range for a new RV!

Sunset in Elkhart, IN.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Princeton, IN. 5500 employees produce the Toyota Sequoia, Sienna, and Highlander vehicles. Toyota offers awesome free tours but plan ahead and make a reservation as the tours fill up fast. 

Army Base in Fort Campbell, KY. We were able to visit here thanks to a family member that is a Gulf War Veteran. 

Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, TN. Beautiful COE campground.

Sunset at Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, TN.

Full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. Centennial Park, Nashville, TN.

Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville, TN. The stadium crew were setting up for the Tennessee Titans to play a Monday Night Football game against the Indianapolis Colts. Fun watching all the activity going on. 

Two kids playing in the sand at Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, TN.

Daytime photo of Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, TN.

La Bat Tower in Nashville is the tallest building in TN at 617 feet/33 stories. Holy tall building Batman. Too bad there isn’t a public observation deck as it would provide a great view of the city.

Music City Walk of Fame Park in downtown Nashville, TN. 

The General Lee at Cooter’s in Nashville. Fun little stop for all you Dukes of Hazard fans. 

A beautiful winery and vineyard in Cookeville, TN.

Loved Dollywood! It was our first time going there but certainly not the last. 

Elkmont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Nice spot! Warning signs everywhere about bears being present but we failed to see one. 

Harrisburg Covered Bridge in Sevierville, TN. Built in 1875 and still in use today. It was so cool that we had to cross it twice!

Intarsia wood art by Judy Gale Roberts. We had the pleasure of receiving a personal tour of her studio in Seymour, TN. Love her work!

Dolly Parton Statue in Sevierville, TN.

A Marvelous mural in Maryville, TN.

Beans beans the musical fruit; the more you eat the more you toot! Bush’s Visitor Center and Museum in Dandridge, TN. Home of the original Bush’s Brothers cannery. A little known secret is that the recipe for their famous beans originated in our home state of Wisconsin. 

Ice Cream freshly made at the Blue Bell Creamery in Sylacauga, AL. Yum yum!!

Walkway at the Davis Bayou National Seashore in Ocean Springs, MS. It was damaged by Hurricane Nate a few weeks before we arrived. Sad.