Rock Island State Park - Rock Island, Tennessee (June 2026)

Rock Island State Park is less than an hour away from the previous campgroun, so we took our time arriving for our next camping adventure. 

On the way into Rock Island State Park

Sign at Rock Island State Park

We followed the check-in procedure at the previous Tennessee State Park. We drove to our site and set up Rosie, our Airstream trailer. After unhitching our truck, we went by the park's Visitors Center to get a campground map. There we learned that this park wants campers to check in first then head to their sites. 

Rosie in our site at Rock Island State Park

Speaking of our site, it was one of the few in this campground that had very limited shade and was in full sun during the afternoon. We were thankful that our site had reliable 50 amp electrical service and that Rosie's two air conditioners worked to cool off the trailer. 

Waterfall in the park

There was a significant amount of poison ivy around our site and the campground. We didn't remember that from the first time we camped here. 

We were thankful that the park provided usable WiFi service in the campground. Our iPhones had trouble finding a usable cell signal. We were able to use the "WiFi Calling" feature on our iPhones to talk to our family members. 

Another waterfall in the park

The building we call Rapunzel's Tower

We drove to Franklin, Tennessee one morning. There are a couple of stores there that Becky enjoys visiting. I read a story about the best ice cream stores in the region and one of the highlighted shops was close to Franklin. It took much longer to get to that shop, but we saw the historical district of that community and the ice cream was good. 

Suzy enjoyed seeing the historical district of Franklin, Tenn

The main reason we were in this campground was to rest and Rock Island is a perfect place to do that. 

We were puzzled while walking around the campground to hear sounds typically associated with a basketball court. We ended up walking across a parking lot to find basketball and tennis courts hidden down a steep hill. 

Selfie in Rock Island State Park

We were scheduled to camp in this park for another week but the weather forecast for home and the park convinced us to leave early. Temperatures were mostly in the low to mid-80s during the afternoons while there. The temperatures were predicted to rise into the high 90s with triple digit heat indexes for both the park and at home. We didn't want to hitch-up, drive in and unload Rosie at home with temperatures that high, so we left while the temperatures were still decent. Our plan was to camp south of Birmingham, Alabama, then to arrive home during the morning hours the following day. 

I had it in my head that we wanted to get to I-24, drive towards Chattanooga then get on I-59 and hit I-65 south of Birmingham. Apple Maps kept arguing with us over this route. We should have listened to Apple Maps because I-24 was stop-and-go traffic and the road condition of I-59 was horrible for about 50 miles. I should have listened to Apple Maps. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had very little shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we had to use leveling tools to correct a left to right lean
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection
• There was a dump station in this park 
• The trash dumpsters were near the dump station. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There were several bathhouses in the campground. The bathhouse closest to Rosie was outdated but clean
• The park provided WiFi service. We measured 21.27 mbps download and 15.22 mbps upload speeds
• AT&T provided maybe one bar of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were unable to pickup any TV stations using Rosie's antenna 
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Sign directing traffic into the campground

Rosie in Rock Island State Park

Fall Creek Falls State Park - Spencer, Tennessee (June 2026)

We have visited Fall Creek Falls State Park a handful of times both in Rosie, our Airstream trailer, and during our tent camping days. In fact, I remember the old restaurant in the park and its legendary seafood dinners on Saturday nights. 

Sign at Fall Creek Falls State Park

The new lodge

The new restaurant at Fall Creek Falls

The old restaurant was replaced several years ago with a new and much more modern one. We ate there twice on this trip, but I missed the seafood night. 

The last time we camped in this state park, we could not find the campground office and ended up going  straight to our campsite. This time we called before we arrived and asked how to check in. They said they didn't have a formal check-in system and we should drive to our campsite and park. I didn't know we checked in properly last time we camped in Fall Creek Falls State Park. 

Rosie at Fall Creek Falls State Park

We had to hurry to set up Rosie before the rain started. According to the weather app on our phone, we had about an hour before the rains started. I was optimistic and opened the main awning. As expected, a heavy rain storm with wind started and I had to bring in the awning during the storm. 

We were surprised by the number of kids in our camping loop. Many of the children were on motorized bikes which we had to dodge while on our walks. 

We were also surprised by the number of tent campers in this campground. We remembered how miserable tent camping could be during thunderstorms. 

Another surprise was the number of sites with campfires. We must be spoiled by military FamCamps where there are few campfires. The smoke from the multitude of campfires kept us inside Rosie during the evenings. 

We learned about a Mennonite community near Fall Creek Falls State Park. The park's Visitor's Center was able to give us directions to their produce stand. We bought peaches, squash, tomatoes, cookies and banana bread. All were delicious. 

Visiting the area we call "The Swimming Hole"

Fall Creek Falls

We were able to see multiple deer while camping in this park. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground. They were separated from each others by separate entrances from the main park road 
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had a little shade
• Most sites in this campground had some space on both sides. Our site was in the “A” loop
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to lift one side of Rosie more than five inches correct a side-to-side lean. 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There were trash cans throughout the camping loops 
• There was a bathhouse in all of the camping loops. The one near Rosie was inadequate for the number of tent campers in that loop. It quickly because dirty and wasn't maintained 
• The park provided WiFi service. We averaged 8.78 mb download speed 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch only PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were only the ones from PBS
• There were restaurants and shopping about 30 minutes away 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Driving thru the park

Junior Rangers

Another water fall in the park

A trail in the park 

Poole Knobs COE Campground - Nashville, Tennessee (June 2024)

It is easy to see when a campground was well thought out and designed to enhance your camping experience. Many Corps of Engineers (COE) easily fit the “ Well Designed” label, but not all. 

Poole Knobs COE Campground had us scratching our heads as to its design. People from the region love this campground and it is full every weekend during camping season. Still, Poole Knobs campground defied typical design principles and left us wondering if the designer ever visited any campgrounds. 

For example, our site was across the road from the water front.  It could also be described as the “hilly” side of the street. How hilly was our site? According to the Compass app on our iPhones, our site was 20 feet higher than the road. Our site was a pull-through and the entrance had a six degree slope. The exit had a scary 14 degree slope. Add to this mix that the entire site was loose gravel and you have a fair picture of our site. 

Yes, that was a steep hill going into our site

Our site wasn’t unique. We saw a handful of sites that were as steep or worse.

How were the restrooms/bathhouses? Again, we need to talk about the park's design. There were three restrooms in this park. Interestingly, all three were not close to any RV camping sites and were uphill walks from the camping loop. There was a scary 20 degree slope on gravel to one restroom. The camp host suggested we simply drive to the restrooms. Since the road in the camping loop was one-way, that meant you had drive around the entire campground to get to the main restroom. On the positive side, the restrooms were clean and maintained. 

We had to take it easy at this campground because of my back issues. That was OK because this was a great park for hikes. 

We watched as the campground mostly cleared out on Sunday morning. As we drove around the camping loop headed to the restroom, we wondered if a better campsite was open for the remainder of our time there. The camp host gave us a choice of two sites. We choose a somewhat flat site across the street from our first site. 

New site across the street from the old one

We had not planned to switch sites during our visit, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. We quickly hitched-up Rosie, our Airstream trailer, and prepared for the move. We talked about a strategy of using Rosie's breaks to halt a slide on the gravel slope if needed. It was time to test the theory. 

Becky went down to the road to stop any traffic. We used radios to communicate that the road was clear. I very slowly started down the hill and the truck started to slide on the gravel surprisingly fast. I was able to manually apply Rosie's breaks to stop the slide. That happened twice. I turned wide onto the road as I left our old site to avoid the ditch. We were glad that we safely exited our first site. 

This was another park with an amazing amount of bird activity. It was fun to use our Merlin Bird App from Cornell University to identify the many bird calls. 

There was also no shortage of mosquitoes in this park. We had to remember to dress appropriately to fight off the mosquitoes. 

After thinking about the problems with the design of this park, it is fair to ask why is it a popular park with locals?  First, they know which side of the street to reserve. In fact, they know the best sites and would never be caught on the wrong side of the street. Second, we noticed that most people stay in this park less than a week. Most RV holding tanks can store a weeks worth of waste. Third, the park was wonderfully cool from all of the shade trees. If we return to this park, we will follow the lead of the locals and choose a better site. 

The lake

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• We found one loop in this campground
• Both of our sites were a pull-throughs
• Both of our sites had shade
• While there are some closely spaced sites in this park, both of out sites had some space on both sides
• Both of our sites were paved with dirt and loose gravel. We needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie in both sites
• Our sites had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our sites had water connections
• Our sites did not have sewer connections
• There was a dump station in this park. It was a challenge to pull your sewage tote to it
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Catchy, Charge, Comet, Court-TV, Cozi, Dabl, Get, Grit, H&I, ION, LAFF, MeTV, MeTV+, MeTV Toons, MY-TV, Movies, Outlaw, Retro and Start
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

The old site showing the 14 degree gravel slope

Selfie in this park

Tree covered roads in this park

Daily visitor

Rosie in our new site

Cumberland Mountain State Park - Crossville, Tennessee (June 2024)

We had a first at this campground. Our assigned campsite was paved with asphalt, but it was difficult to back into. The site was narrow and had deep drop offs on both sides. When we extended the steps, there was less than six inches of pavement to step onto. We worried about safety exiting Rosie, our Airstream trailer, without twisting an ankle or breaking a leg. 

Sign at entrance to Cumberland Mountain State Park

Then we looked at the leveling bubble we use to help us decide which leveling tools to use. The bubble was all the way to one side meaning we had a very pronounced side-to-side lean. 

We were able to safely raise one side of Rosie six inches. Unfortunately, the level bubble didn’t move. We looked at the trailers on either side of Rosie and they appeared to be leaning also.

We felt the site was unsafe because it was too narrow and the slope was unacceptable. We called the office and as soon as we told them our assigned site number, the park staff person said she would find us a better one. 

She did! Our new site was at the end of a loop and backed into the woods. It was a significantly better site! The new site's pad was wider so we didn’t worry about injuries when exiting our trailer and we were able to level Rosie. Plus, it had a great view. Yes, it was a better site. 

New site in Cumberland Mountain State Park

We saw the loop's Camp Host while moving and explained what we were doing. When we told her the site we were moving from, she volunteered that was one of two sites in the park that was nearly impossible to level and people reserving those sites frequently asked to move sites. 

Our site was surrounded with woods

While setting up in our improved second site, we watched a trailer attempt to park in the second site mentioned by the camp host as impossible to level. It didn’t take long for that trailer to move to another site. 

A two year-old toddler in a site near Rosie fell in love with Suzy, our Yorkie dog. She was able to pet Suzy when we passed her site on a walk. Her grandmother said the little girl kept saying she loved Suzy and spent the day looking out their trailer's window calling for Suzy.  I think Suzy liked her, too. 

We found a walk around the lake. That walk became part of our morning routine while in the campground. 

Selfie along the walk around the lake

Another morning routine at this park was looking for the trash cans the raccoons visited during the night. There was a trash can at every site. The lids were held on with bungee cords to keep the raccoons out, but some people failed to secure their trash cans at night. Somehow the raccoons were always able to find the unsecured trash cans and scattered the contents on the ground. It always reassured us to double check the bungee cord on our trash can every night. 

We were awakened in the middle of a night by what sounded like gunfire. It didn’t take long to determine that we were hearing fireworks. We asked the camp host the next morning if she knew why we heard fireworks during the park’s quiet hours. She said that there was a farm near the park that frequently used fireworks late at night. Then she added that the farmer also had a cannon that he was fond of shooting at 3 a.m.

I had an accident while in this park. We were riding our bikes one morning, as we normally did. I turned too quickly onto too steep a hill while in too high a gear. My bike came to a sudden stop and started tumbling over. I was able to catch myself before hitting the pavement, but I injured my back. I ended up having to be very careful after that. 

We enjoyed listening to the many birds in this park. We have an app on our iPhones that identified the birds around us by their calls. 

Becky's watercolor sketchbook painting of Rosie's site

Becky's watercolor sketchbook painting of the bridge in this park

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park
• There were trash cans at every campsite in this park. Bungee cords were used to hold on the lids and keep raccoons out of the trash 
• There was a bathhouse in our camping loop 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were unable to watch any over-the-air TV stations at our site using Rosie’s TV antenna
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

The iconic bridge in this park

At a local restaurant

On our morning walks

Fall Creek Falls State Park - Spencer, Tennessee (June 2024)

The story of this camping adventure has to start with loading Rosie, our Airstream trailer. We store Rosie in a lot on a nearby military base. It was very hot and that limited our times to mostly the cooler early morning hours. I went to the base one hot afternoon to do the needed maintenance on Rosie before all trips. Since we were leaving in a few days, I turned on Rosie’s refrigerator using the propane option. 

Normally, we can feel the temperature inside the refrigerator start to drop when we switch it on. It was too hot inside Rosie and I could not notice if it was working. We decided to take another load of supplies to Rosie the next morning. I was glad to see that the refrigerator was cold and ready to use. 

We had one more load to take to Rosie on Sunday morning, the day before we left on another camping adventure. While driving to the military base, Becky asked if I thought we had enough propane gas in Rosie’s tanks. I told her that the spare tank was full and we normally get about two years out of the active tank. Becky asked if I ever changed tanks before and I said multiple times on our first trailer and once on Rosie. She did some quick math in her head and said that we were probably due to run out of propane in the current tank. 

That could have been an omen because the refrigerator was 25 degrees warmer than normal when we arrived. Yes, the propane was empty. I switched over to the second tank and relit the refrigerator. While Becky loaded our supplies inside Rosie, I removed the empty propane tank so I could get it refilled before we left the next morning. 

Searching for an open place that refills propane tanks on Sunday mornings was a challenge. I was able to find one and returned to Rosie with a full spare tank. I recorded when we changed propane tanks and refilled the spare tank in our Rosie maintenance list and marked on our calendar when to start checking the tanks. 

The propane crisis was over and we were ready to leave the next morning on another Rosie adventure.

We normally use multiple navigation devices when we travel. It was curious how our Garmin RV GPS, Apple and Google Maps differed on arrival times. The estimated arrival times were an hour apart as we approached the park. Maybe one of the units was confused as to where we were going. 

We stopped on the way at Noccalula Falls in Gadsden, Alabama. It rained a few days earlier and we hoped that the water going over the falls would be more impressive than out last visit there when the water level was a trickle. The view was worth getting off the Interstate to see.

Noccalula Falls near Gadsden, Ala

The first order of business when arriving at a campground is to check in at the office. We could not find the office and went directly to our campsite. Our campsite neighbors told us they arrived the day before us and couldn’t find an office either. We did notice a tag on the site's number post that had our name on it and the dates of our visit. It appeared that we were already checked in. 

Our site in Fall Creel Falls State Park

Our site was far from level. It was a pull-through and had an incline steep enough that Rosie bottomed out going in. Looking at the scar marks in the road and our campsite, Rosie wasn’t the first trailer to bottom out there. We were able to use our leveling tools to get close enough to a comfortable “level.” We were glad we were able to park Rosie. 

Rosie in Fall Creek Falls State Park

Fall Creek Falls is a nostalgic park to us. We tent camped there several times while our children were small. The park has several hikes labeled as “strenuous.” We decided that we would avoid those this time, but we knew we did all the trails when our children were with us.

The Falls

Speaking of children, we were amazed at the number of families with small children camping at Fall Creek Falls. It was great to see young families enjoying their camping experiences in state parks. 

We enjoyed watching the fireflies during the evening. They made our evening walks more interesting. 

We had to go into town for an errand while camping at Fall Creek Falls State Park. Our GPS navigation systems all agreed that the shortest route was traveling over a mountain. We consider that route to be a GPS fail. That was a very slow road with too many twists and turns. We asked a letter carrier if she knew a better route back to the campground. She gave us great directions that went around the mountain. We had looked at the route the GPS thought was the best way to our next campground. It included going over another mountain.  We found an alternative route that was about 45 minutes longer, but went around the mountains. We elected to follow our own path and to ignore our GPS systems. 

We were concerned about leaving our site. We could not back out of the site because we bottomed out pulling in. We had to go forward, but there were several deep rain erosion ruts going that direction. The solution was to cross over to our neighbor's site and use their exit. That idea became more feasible when the neighbors left the day before. The plan worked and we were able to exit the site without problems. 

Riding our bikes in this park

We enjoyed riding our bikes, hiking to the falls and the many sights at this campground. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground. They were separated from each others by separate entrances from the main park road 
• Our site was a pull-through 
• Our site had shade
• Most sites in this campground had some space on both sides. Our site was in the “D” loop
• Our site was paved with dirt and gravel and we needed to use leveling tools to lift one side of Rosie more than five inches correct a side-to-side lean. We also needed to lift the front end of Rosie more than I’ve ever seen by extending the front jack to correct a strong front-to-back lean in Rosie. We will avoid this loop and sit (D-191) when we return to this park
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There were trash cans throughout the camping loops 
• There was a bathhouse in all of the camping loops. The one near Rosie was clean and maintained 
• The park provided WiFi service. We averaged 4.78 mb download speed 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch only PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were only the ones from PBS
• There were restaurants and shopping about 30 minutes away 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Rosie seen from the main road

Scouting the other ridge

More falls

Becky by the falls

Becky and Suzy on the swinging bridge

Edgar Evins State Park - Silver Point, Tennessee (October 2022)

We were looking for some campgrounds to enjoy the leaves changing colors and the online reviews of Tennessee's Edgar Evins State Park were very positive. The location was good so we were convinced to give it a try. There were a few reviews that weren’t glowing, but those could easily be dismissed as cases of hard-to-please people. 

Sign at the entrance to this park

You cannot talk about this park without focusing on what makes it unique. Each site was on a substantial elevated wooden deck that went out over the steep slope of a hill. Some of those sites had water views. We were able to reserve a lakeside deck and were excited about camping in this park. 

Then we arrived. 

The decks appeared to be much smaller than we imagined as we hunted for our site. Also, some sites had sharp inclines guaranteed to bottom out your RV as you backed in. 

An empty deck site

We found our site and it had only a slight incline. The only effect from that slope would be that it would be harder to release our trailer’s weight equalizer bars when we unhitched. 

Our site was rated for RVs up to 31 feet in length. I think they used a fisherman’s measuring tape to determine that. There were multiple complications that made backing into our site a challenge. First, there was no shoulder on the side of the narrow access road beside our site, only a rocky cliff. That limited being able to maneuver as we backed into our site. Second, there were two substantial concrete columns on either side of our site. Those probably added structural integrity to the decks and helped protect the wooden sides to the sites, but they made backing in more tedious. Third, there was only a tiny space to place our tow vehicle next to Rosie, our Airstream trailer, on our deck.  What could have been an area to park our truck on outside our site’s wooden deck was too washed away and at too much of an angle down the hill to feel safe. 

Truck and Rosie in our site

Well, we were able to successfully park Rosie and squeeze our truck beside her on our platform. Things were looking up, but there were a few nervous conversations about our plans to safely pull Rosie out of this site when it was time to leave. 

Several of our camping neighbors asked us about our plans for the big Halloween celebration over the weekend. That was the first we heard about it, but it was easy to see that this was a big deal among those in the park. 

As predicted, the campground was full for the weekend. We were able to get to a store and buy some candy to give out to the children who were on a trick-or-treat mission. 

Rosie with her Halloween decorations 

Our neighbor's decorations

We felt that we lucked into being in this park at a great time to enjoy it. Many sites were decorated for Halloween and we enjoyed seeing the children in their costumes. 

The temperatures dropped below freezing our first two nights in this park. Rosie’s heat pumps and furnace kept us warm and cozy. 

This wasn’t a campground that we wanted to ride our bikes in. Most roads in this park had steep inclines and scary declines that would have made riding our bikes very difficult and not very safe. 

The hills in this park

The leaves were changing colors

The marina across the lake

Our verdict was that this was an interesting place to camp. It was also a white-knuckle experience backing into and leaving our site. We recommend people wanting to camp here call the park directly to learn the size of the decks and if it has a slope at its access that could bottom out your RV. 

The lake

Looking at Rosie from beneath the deck

By the way, we didn’t see any huge fifth-wheel units nor large motor homes in this park. There were a few sites that could accommodate larger rigs, but most sites appeared to be designed to fit campers less than 30 feet in size. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground.  All sites were a wooden deck that jutted out over a hill
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with wood and was level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site did not have a sewer connection
• There was a dump station in this park. It was up several steep hills and not easy to reach
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. You had to walk up some steep hills to get there
• There were several bathhouses in the campground. The one closest to Rosie was clean and warm
• We were confused about WiFi service in this campground. WiFi units were on poles around the park. In fact, one was next to Rosie. It didn’t work and I found only one while walking around the campground that actually worked. I was able to use a marginal WiFi signal from the marina across the lake while standing outside Rosie 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were unable to pick up any TV stations using Rosie’s antenna 
• Plan on a drive if you want to go to restaurants or shopping
• This was a pet friendly park 

Selfie at the visitors center

Saving our Yorkie from the monster