Everyone knows what 2020 was like. You felt like you were living through a sci-fi movie. To make it even more stressful, it was a presidential election year with strong emotions and beliefs on both sides. That is why I took the first opportunity to escape the craziness and hit the road in my RV and enjoy a stress-free six weeks visiting part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail then on to Pigeon Forge for some cool fall weather and some great photo opportunities!
The Journey Begins
On August 19th, I hit the road at 6:00 am so I could be through Tampa before the rush hour for those that are not retired. While there was lightning in the distance, there was no rain! Because almost every trip I take, it rains the day before I leave when I am loading up the RV, and then the morning I leave. I hate driving in the rain! Mainly because I don’t trust the other drivers. After 31 years in law enforcement and investigating many accidents, I learned that some people don’t understand the concept of braking distance, especially on slippery surfaces with reduced visibility. But that is another story!
Shortly after getting on I-75, my trusty co-pilot Bandit, a Corgi, detected the storm ahead and started to crawl behind my feet. It was completely dark out except for flashes of lightning in the distance. For a while, I was thinking great, I am going to be in an accident before I leave the county. So much for stress-free! I was able to get Bandit calmed down and situated in his dog bed. Fortunately, the rain didn’t last long and the rest of the trip was uneventful. At least until I got to my stopping point for the day at the Cartersville KOA in Cartersville, Georgia around 4 PM. I was happy with the first day of travel and noticed I was getting great gas mileage. Shortly later I realized that I forgot to fill my 40-gallon freshwater tank. But that didn’t matter, I had full hookups at my site.
On the way to the KOA, I started to get weather alerts for an approaching thunderstorm. So I didn’t waste any time getting my RV set up at my site. It was the quickest setup I ever did. I sat down in the RV and then the skies let open with pouring rain and cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning at the same time. I figured I would watch TV and relax for a few with an adult beverage. I turned the TV on and nothing. I quickly ran outside to make sure that I flipped the circuit breaker was turned on. It was. When I got back inside, I went to use the water, and nothing (I was hooked up to the water), I turned on the air conditioner, but nothing! Bottom line, one of those lightning strikes took out the power and water (supplied by a well, powered with electricity). About 3 1/2 hours later, the power was restored. I had air conditioning and water but the lightning strike fried my TV and Apple TV, despite being hooked up to a very expensive power surge protector. I fixed some dinner and watched TV using my iPhone and AT&T’s TV NOW (doesn’t count against data on my AT&T phone).
It rained throughout the night. Before falling asleep I started thinking, “I hope my slide closes”. I don’t know why I even thought about that because I have never had a problem with my slide. I guess the power surge got me thinking.
The Next Morning
I slept well with the sounds of the rain and decided to sleep in some since I didn’t have a long drive day. After breakfast, I started breaking things down so I could hit the road and get to my destination, Georgetown, Kentucky. When I went to pull in my slide, guess what? Yup, no power. I checked the circuit breaker and there was a trouble light but it was for the CO2 and smoke detector. I replaced the fuse and that worked. However, I didn’t have an extra 30 amp fuse to test the slide fuse. I checked with the front office to see if they had any in the store or other supplies but they didn’t. They did have some mini fuses that I needed for something else, so I grabbed them and the KOA host told me I could just have them since the storm fried their electronics and they couldn’t ring my sale up anyways.
I explained my situation about the slide and they kindly called a nearby RV Dealership, Open Roads Complete RV who said they did have the fuse I needed. So the camp host drove me, a complete stranger, to the RV Dealership. I was so appreciative of her kindness. I explained to the service department about my situation and I asked for an assortment of different fuses, so I would have extras. When they came back, they handed me an assortment and said don’t worry about paying. I could have the fuses. Another act of kindness. They further explained that if the fuse didn’t work, they could talk me through the manual override to get the slide back in and they would fit me in for service if I needed it. Fortunately, the fuse worked and the slide worked perfectly.
I was on the road again and headed to Whispering Hills RV Park to meet up with some friends. The drive was smooth and very enjoyable. I listened to some music and photography podcasts throughout my drive. When I was about an hour away from the campground, I saw something in my peripheral vision. It was some rubber molding that came loose from the RV and was flapping around. I pulled over and temporarily secured it until I got to the campground. Luckily it was an easy fix.
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail
This trip was actually a last-minute plan because I was supposed to meet up with friends in Arizona and it was going to be another attempt to make it to the Page, Arizona area and photograph Horseshoe Bend and some other nearby areas. But, due to some unfortunate circumstances beyond my control, I had to scrap those plans and decided to meet up with some friends that I planned on joining in Pigeon Forge on my return trip from Arizona. Luckily I was able to get a reservation for two weeks but due to the Labor Day Holiday and increase popularity of RVing during the pandemic, I was not going to be able to get into my Pigeon Forge Campground (Pigeon Forge Jeyystone) earlier than my reservations. A search for campgrounds in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina resulted in finding only one spot available at the Clinton-Knoxville North KOA. I had previously stayed there last year on the way to my Fall New England trip.
I had just recently started drinking whiskey and bourbon, so I looked forward to visiting some distilleries. The two big ones in the area are Wild Turkey and Woodford Reserve. Unfortunately, we discovered that due to COVID-19, Woodford Reserve was completely closed to the public and Wild Turkey tours were limited and already booked out for several weeks. As a result, we found two other alternatives, Bourbon 30 Distillery Spirits, and Wildside Winery.
Bourbon 30 Spirits
This distillery was a nice find. The staff was very friendly and informative with each of the tastings and you have the opportunity to do a premium experience and create your own blend and bring some of your creation home with you and bottled with the name you give to your special blend. It’s pricey ($175) but my friends were going to do it. We were told by our tasting host, Brian, to come back on Friday and there would be a cookout with Cajun food. This was perfect we could enjoy some lunch then make our blend. But when we returned, there seemed to be some confusion, and the owner apologized and said they didn’t have anything planned. So we left to get something to eat and that is when we discovered Wildside Winery. I did leave with a couple of bottles of their Straight Whiskey Bourbon Blend. On my next visit to the area, I will definitely return to Bourbon 30 Distillery Spirits which is also a veteran-owned business that also helps veterans through employment.
Wildside Winery
This was a great find! It was a very quaint atmosphere with a friendly staff. They also host a variety of events throughout the year and they are part of Harvest Hosts. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, I wasn’t a member. Otherwise, I would have stayed there before going to Pigeon Forge. We purchased some cheese and crackers to go along with our flight of eight wine tastings. They were accomodating about trying more than eight.
We loved it so much, we came back a second time and shared a bottle of wine with some cheese and crackers. On this visit, we had the opportunity to talk with the owner while enjoying some more wine tastings. I purchased seven bottles of “Bourbon Blues” and one bottle of “Fearless”. The Bourbon Blues was quite unique. When tasting it at room temperature and chilled, it was like drinking two different types of wine. When served at room temperature, you could pick up notes of the bourbon barrel and when served chilled, it tasted like sweet red wine. Bourbon Blues is a bone-dry blueberry wine aged to taste in a bourbon barrel. Fearless is a delicious blend of Concord & Niagra grapes and is considered one of their most popular wines.
This trip was just going to be an opportunity to relax and see some different sights after months of things being closed down due to COVID-19. While many things were opening up, I didn’t have any specific plans. Since I have a Class C RV without a tow vehicle, I was limited and reliant on the kindness of my friends and their vehicle that tows a fifth-wheel RV. It was during this trip that I decided to start looking at a travel trailer that I could tow, so I could be self-sufficient on my trips. While I could drive my Class C, hooking up and breaking things down gets to be annoying and with my site, it took a while to get level. Also, as mentioned before, I travel with my dog, so I don’t want to leave him in the RV where it could get very hot.
Notable Restraunts
Whenever I travel, I always prefer to eat at non-national chain restaurants. Listed below, are some notable favorites in the Georgetown area.
Galvins
During our stay in the area, we ordered take-out and dined-in at Galvins. I thought the atmosphere was great and the service was outstanding. Some of my favorites were their chicken wings, nachos, and Philly cheesesteak sandwich.
Red State BBQ
Red State BBQ has some great food with a friendly staff. The appearance outside looks like a small roadside dive next to a shady motel. However, the food is worth a stop! Since it was our first time, they gave each of us a packet of their homemade beef jerky which was really good.
Babes BBQ
This restaurant (no dedicated website other than Facebook) was about 2.5 miles from Whispering Hills RV Park. They have limited seating and parking and during my visit, they had limited hours. I talked with the owner who stated that their business has suffered from COVID-19 and road construction which reduced some of their parking. I had their pulled pork sandwich with french fries and BBQ Beans. The sandwich was so loaded with pulled pork, I ditched the bun and enjoyed the pork!
Photo Opportunity
As mentioned earlier, it’s really not convenient not having a vehicle to go out and explore on your own. I didn’t intend on doing much in terms of photography, but I never pass up an opportunity for a scenic landscape photo. When driving around with my friends, I spotted a classic scene of an old barn with some rolled bales of hay on rolling hills. Whenever we passed by it, the weather was not right. So I figured I would grab the picture on my way to Tennessee. Unfortunately, there was rain in the forecast for nearly every day after my friends left. On my last full day, the weather cleared up. So being determined, I decided to hike the 2.5 miles to get the photo and get lunch from Babes BBQ located on the opposite corner of the intersection.
Along the way, I began to question my decision to hike alongside the road. The only shoulder was on the side going with the traffic, which meant on this country road with trucks and cars going 55 mph, I had to walk with my back to the traffic and constantly looking back. Then at one point, I had to laugh when I saw a sign that said “Blasting Zone Ahead”. I decided to eat first since Babes BBQ closed early and I did not want to be rushed while taking my photos. After a great lunch and my nerves calmed from the sketchy hike, I walked across the intersection to get my photo. I wound up doing a long exposure panorama. Being satisfied with shots, I decided to try and see if I could get an Uber or Lyft ride back to the campground, but as I suspected, there were none available.
So the journey back to the campground began. Luckily this time I was heading towards the oncoming traffic, so it was not as stressful. When I saw Amerson Farms Market, I was very happy for a few reasons. I could get on a safer road, I could stop for a drink and I was a few minutes down from the campground. While I was at Amerson Farms Market I grabbed a few things for the RV Trip (some great beer cheese along with some apple butter and pumpkin butter. When I went to the register to pay, the owner laughed and said when I saw you walking up the drive with my backpack, he thought I was another “crackhead” wanting to use their phone but then remembered me from a few other visits during the week. He informed me that not too far away was a bad area and was shocked that I hiked to where I did. He said boy that road is dangerous! So with the photo, I have a good story to go with it.
Area Attractions
The Ark Encounter– Is located about 30 miles from Whispering Hills RV Park. While I did not get to visit The Ark Encounter since I lacked a vehicle and my friends had already been there, they highly recommend it. It will definitely be on my next trip.
Wild Turkey– Call ahead about making reservations for their tour and tastings.
Woodford Reserve – Call ahead about making reservations for their tour and tastings.
Mammouth Cave National Park– Is located about 142 miles Southwest of Whispering Hills RV Park. I had planned on stopping on my way to Tennessee, but the weather was not that great so I added it to my list for the next visit.
