Mountain Lakes Resort, Langston, Alabama

 Mountain Lakes Resort . . .
We arrived at Mountain Lakes Resort for a free 3 night stay and a tour of their campground with it's many amenities.The first full day was scheduled for our tour and high pressure sales pitch which we expected. But for 3 free nights we thought we could handle this. The sales pitch was a turn off for us as was the price and yearly maintenance fees. You might guess that we turned it down and of course the sales people were not too happy with us.

Our campsite just feet from the waters edge

Campsite view

I must say the campground was nice. Many activities were planned for the weekend - jams, country music concert with Tequila band and a craft show. This place was right on a large lake with boating docks, two large pools, run down tennis court and basketball court, a general store and even a church. Nice place if you are family oriented. But it is way out in the middle of nowhere and so far away from our home that I couldn't see us using it very much especially knowing that we are not full timers. The wifi was skimpy and weak and leaved a lot to be desired. There was no cable TV. The laundry house was not very clean.

We rented a golf cart

Club House

Watermelon eating contest

 

All in all, it was a disappointment to us. But we did get to spend some time with our new little pooch in a small enclosed environment. We took her out a few times and she was a big hit at the campground, although we were afraid to let her down on the ground. She has not had all her shots yet. Since we needed to get her into our vet, we headed home instead of venturing further down the road.

Chattanooga, TN Adventure and our New Family Member

The Old Abandoned Cargill Flour Mill on the Tennessee River

Chattanooga Boondocking . . .
We set out for Chattanooga Tennessee on Sunday. Arriving late in the day, we stayed at a Walmart on Gunbarrel Rd. This was a great place to stay with security patrolling the parking lot all night. We felt safe. There was a variety of restaurants and shops to go thru, so our time was well spent.


Southern Belle . . .
The following day we went downtown into Chattanooga. We had previously been here to tour Rock City and Ruby Falls which are both great side trips, but this time we wanted to experience some other venues. Much of the day was spent riding the Southern Belle, a riverboat, docked down on the Tennessee River. A long lazy ride down to the dam and locks, past beautiful homes, parks, old mills and Civil War battle sites, while we were entertained by a musician and story teller. He told stories of  many Civil War Battles that went on here. A very enjoyable and relaxing experience.

The Southern Bell Landing

Back Deck of the Southern Belle

Locks on the Tennessee River

Our entertainer on the upper deck

Another view of the Cargill Mill

Raccoon Mountain . . . 
We spent two nights at Raccoon Mountain Campground and Caverns, a nice place sitting amongst the trees and located at the entrance to Raccoon Caverns. Our tour thru the caverns lasted about 45 minutes and it was beautiful and cool down there with all kinds of nice rock formations. There is a longer tour which encompasses crawling thru the tight fitting rocks. This is for the more adventuresome folks and I'm assuming younger crowd as well. I'm much too claustrophobic to try this one.

Raccoon Mountain

Our Lexie parked at Raccoon Mountain

The Restaurant, Gem Mine and entrance to the Caverns

Old Gondola that was used for taking hang gliders to the top of the mountain in years past

Rock formation inside the cavern

Rock formation above pool

Chattanooga Choo Choo . . . 
A visit to the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel was in our schedule - a beautiful old restored train station with numerous train cars used as hotel rooms. Very much impressed with the beauty and grandeur of this historical place. We were hoping to get a lunch here but the dining room was not serving today.

Sign on the hotel

Me and the train

Dining Room

Lobby area

Passenger car used as a hotel room

A little military history

Our New Baby, Sweet Pea . . . 
And of course before we departed we found our little "Sweet Pea", a little 3 mth old yorkie poo. This is a pic on her first night with us. The campground hosts lent us a large box to put her in for the night, but she ended up in our bed. What can I say . . .

1st night - all alone in her makeshift bed, Sweet Pea

3 mths old - so small and so sweet

Good Night and Sweet Dreams!