Relocating

 March 22-23, 2026

Reed Bingham State Park site 8

Adel, Georgia

Our GTC Spring Caravans have always been very flexible with a drop-in, drop-out policy as sometimes life can be complicated.  Saturday night we had a delicious pot luck meal for our last night at Noccalula Falls Campground.  If I were being perfectly honest, I should have said the two-legged had a pot luck dinner.  I was NOT invited.  I have a reputation of helping myself that is not appreciated at all by Momma and Dad.  But from all the lips smacking and ooohs and aahs, everyone enjoyed the meal that once again had lots of variety.

Sunday morning was travel day with some heading for destinations by themselves while others continued on to the next caravan destination - Chattanooga. 

There they go.....on the road again....

We, sadly, bid everyone farewell as we are heading home to get Momma to a wound specialist.  She had radiation in December to get rid of skin cancer just above her ankle.  Unfortunately, even with a variety of pills and ointments, the last being a small tube with a cost of $311, nothing has worked over the last three months to heal the painful wound.  The doctor said it is time for a new intervention...a wound specialist.  So our route has taken a southern turn.

In the meantime, the caravan gang has met up at Holiday Travel Park, kicking off the first night with another shared meal as they greeted some drop-in friends.

Steve and Tina

 

Kathy on the right joined the group with her husband Greg
 (not pictured)

Being a very social group, happy hour was enjoyed as they gathered near site 121.  Then they moved into the clubhouse for another shared dinner

followed shared stories and games.

I even received a special "We miss you" photo from my ball playing buddies.  

Meanwhile, our day of travel turned into a challenging, stressful trip.  About 40 miles from our destination for the night, traffic slowed to a painful crawl with a top speed of 10 mph.  Unfortunately, that crawl lasted for a good 30 minutes.  We finally found ourselves rolling along at normal speed when the next 'shoe dropped'.  With 6 miles to go, the Ram began loosing power and the check engine light lit up on the dash.  'Now what?'  We continued on after saying a prayer that fortunately was answered, allowing us to pull off I-75 and head to High Falls State Park.  There are two campground areas but registration is located in a third area.  Momma had been told, 'If you go over the bridge, you've gone too far.'  As they neared the bridge, Momma spotted signage to turn left and she said,  "Turn left.  There's the bridge that we aren't to go over."  Dad didn't quite hear all that Momma said and proceeded across the bridge.  Ooops!  As it turned out, there was a church with a large, empty parking lot that was perfect for getting us turned around.  As we turned ...right..now that we were heading in the opposite direction after crossing back over the bridge, we came upon a building labeled 'Trade Post'.  Hmmm?? is that where registration takes place or do we continue further? y Luckily, Momma went inside to check it out and even though there was no signage identifying that this was the registration site, she was able to get registered, receiving a map to our site and gate code info.  We headed for the Riverside Campground Area and Dad held his breath as he wasn't certain the Ram had enough power to traverse the hilly road towing the fifth wheel.  "Dad, quit holding your breath or you will pass out and we will drop off this narrow, winding, hilly, one lane campground road.  Then we will really be in a pickle!  I've got it covered. My paws are crossed."  

After successfully reaching our pull thru site and getting set up, Momma and Dad decided to grab some fuel.  The Ram must have liked being fed as the engine smoothed out so they traveled a couple more miles to take advantage of a recommendation from Louise to enjoy a southern dinner at Buckner's Family Restaurant where food is served family style on a lazy susan in the middle of the round table.

Black eyed peas, ham, fried chicken, creamed corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, stewed tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn bread and rolls topped off with peach cobbler made for some tasty eating.  So it seems Momma and Dad were happy and full and the Ram was happy with it's full tank, purring nicely, although the check engine light was still displayed on the dash.  I was disappointed when they returned and forgot to give me my dinner time dog treat....but they got the hint when I gave them a reminder to hand over my dental bone treat.

Today we traveled further south to Reed Bingham State Park

which had nice signage for their registration building.  Dad's mind was busy as we traveled, puzzling the Ram's 'issue' that appears to have resolved itself as the check engine light is no longer lit.  But there was definitely an issue.  The Ram acted starved for fuel so.....a lift pump issue?  or an injector going bad? or ???  The Ram will be getting a check up and the codes read to see if there is a chance of determining what exactly took place.

Meanwhile in Chattanooga, some decided to enjoy the views from the Incline Railway.

It's called Look Out Mountain

And the day continued, gathering in the clubhouse once again for some social time and shared snacks

while Momma and Dad located an afternoon snack in Adel, Georgia

as well as some diesel at $4.62 a gallon.

Tomorrow we should arrive home while the GTC Caravan Gang will experience more adventures in Chattanooga.

I'm Chloe

Game Day

 March 20, 2026

Noccalula Falls CG site A12

Gadsden, Alabama

Today was game day....and not just for me.  I'm loving our site here as there is plenty of green to run on and chase my ball.

And luckily for me, I am getting pretty good at inviting others to play ball with me.  I sure like our travel buddies!!

The two legged enjoyed the wonderful weather that was a perfect temperature for being outside with some outdoor games.  The first game was bean bag baseball.  Even though the red team started of with a run in the first inning, they didn't pull off a win.

congrats on scoring a run

The game ended with a total of 15 runs:  5 for Team Red and 10 for Team Blue

The smiling winning team.

The next game was a real challenge as the corn hole boards were a tad slick which made it challenging to keep a bean bag on the board.  They tended to slide off.

It really didn't matter what the bags did as it was just so enjoyable to be able to be outside in such comfortable weather.  Especially after experiencing the frosty couple of days in Pine Mountain.

As darkness came upon us, several purchased tickets to the Lantern Show held at Noccalula Park 

while others gathered around the fire back at the campsite.

I just snuggled inside the rig, resting up from all the outdoor fun today.

I'm Chloe

Noccalula Falls

 March 19, 2026

Noccalula Falls CG site A12

Gadsden, Alabama

Today was catch up day for everyone.  Some caught up on laundry.  Some caught up on grooming with a visit to the barbershop.  Some caught up on stocking the pantry with a trip to the grocery store.  Some explored the downtown shops.  And Dad caught up on Ram repair with a mobile tech who arrived this morning to change out a leaking hose.

  

The Ram is all repaired and ready to roll once again.

The youngest members of our group took off on a 4 mile exploration, bonding with our surroundings, as they traveled nature's path using stamina and agility taking them behind the falls and beyond.

suspension bridge

It was a challenging adventure that led to a successful conclusion, even though there might have been some doubt that they would ever find their way home.

The evening drew to a close with several gathering around the fire pit while others gathered around the table for a couple of rounds of Fast Track.

I wasn't invited to the fire, but I was able to invite myself to observing the gals teaching Reba the rules of the game of Fast Track.  She's a quick learner being on the winning 2 to 1 team.

I am sure enjoying traveling with this group of friends who have become my family of travelers.

I'm Chloe

Travel Day to Noccalula Falls

 March 18, 2026

Noccalulu Falls Campground site A-12

Gadsden, Alabama

There you go again, changing the clocks from Eastern time to Central Time.  If you go by clock time, it was a real short trip today, but coming from ET into CT it really was an hour longer than the clock would lead you to believe.

The trip here only had a couple of notable incidents.  The first was a bit of a wait being held up by a flagman.

The second incident made us relieved to be heading west instead of east.  An 18 wheeler had tipped over and the trailer broke open to dump the load in the median.  Traffic in the east bound lane was backed up for MILES.  Momma said she felt sorry for all those vehicles tied up.

Two gals were working the check in desk at this campground and with the 'if your site is empty, you are welcome to come in early policy', 

there was plenty of time to check out the falls.

At times during the year, when it gets dry, there isn't much of a flow over the falls.  This happens to be a great time to see lots of water action.

Upon arrival, Dad and Tim peeked under the hood of the Ram and they were finally able to locate the leaking/dripping hose.  The office staff were able to recommend a mechanic who has scheduled the hose replacement for tomorrow morning.  Sounds like an easy repair.  Only time will tell.

I'm Chloe