We left our friends this morning having packed up in sub-freezing temperatures. We are travelling west towards Tennessee this morning.

Our early morning route took us through the Natahala National Forest along the Natahala River, a mecca for white water rafting.

Nantahala National Forest

The Nantahala National Forest lies in the mountain and valleys of southwestern North Carolina, the largest of North Carolina’s four National Forests. “Nantahala” is a Cherokee word meaning “land of the noon day sun,” a fitting name for the Nantahala Gorge, where the sun only reaches to the valley floor at midday. The Nantahala National Forest was established in 1920 under authority of the 1911 Weeks Act. This act provided authority to acquire lands for national forests to protect watersheds, to provide timber, and to regulate the flow of navigable streams.

As it turns out, we are also following the Trail of Tears as we discovered when we stopped at the rest area at the historic town of Andrews.

Fort Delaney
Located in present-day Andrews, Fort Delaney consisted of a palisade, blockhouses, a small hospital, a blacksmith’s shop, and quarters for officers and enlisted men.  In June, 1838, North Carolina troops stationed at Fort Delaney arrested hundreds of Cherokees from the nearby communities of Konahete, Daseti, and Little Tellico.  Detainees camped around the fort before soldiers marched them west to Fort Butler (present-day Murphy) and then to deportation camps in Tennessee.  Cherokees from more distant communities rested at Fort Delaney on their way to Fort Butler.  Around 1,500 Cherokees passed through Fort Delaney on their forced migration west

An amusing incident, maybe for us… just as we reached the Tennessee border, there were a couple of trucks parked in the median with lights flashing and men walking down the road with lassoos… trying to catch the donkey wandering down the road.

Once we got into Tennessee we were in the Cherokee National Forest which gave us a spectacular drive along the Ocoee River. The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton. Three power generating dams operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority are operated along it.

We stopped in Cleveland, TN for my quilt shop fix before heading to our campsite at Harrison Bay State Park…. where the temperature is now in the balmy upper 40s and we could finally unwinterize.

Our campsite is right on the lake. We did get the chairs out and had lunch outside in the sun followed by a long walk around the campsite, exactly what we came here to do.

Ready for Christmas… we have never camped this close to December.. it’s fun seeing Christmas popping up in other people’s campsites.

I sincerely hope this turns into a spectacular sunset. This was taken from the van. … and it did!!!