I was tired from not being able to sleep in the cold. I got ready and ate a bit before packing everything. I tied the tent footprint, the flat material that goes under the floor of the tent to keep it dry and protect it, down on the Jeep hard top for the slow drive out in order to dry it quickly.
Last night, while shivering in the cold, I had to decide how the rest of the trip was going to go. Do I head west through AR and have more sleepless cold nights, or do I head south into AL to get out of this latitude and have a warmer night of sleep? I decided I was going south to try a different route. I might as well. I ended up choosing to head to Birmingham, AL, based on map calculations. Which park I was going to, I hadn't decided yet. There was Talladega Nat'l Forest, Tannehill State Park, and Oak Mountain State Park, based on when I got in the area.
The winding drive back to the highway was really nice from a different perspective. However, I didn't realize before taking off that the grommets on the tent footprint would whip against the hard top, and I could hear it, so I slowed down and pulled off after a mile; after all, I needed it to be mostly dry, as I was not packing it back up for the trip, but folding it loosely to let it continue to dry on top of everything else. I pulled off to fold up the footprint when I saw a ranger in a pickup go by with a surprised expression on his face.
I headed south on I-65 towards Nashville. I would liked to have stopped here to see some things, but I needed to make sure I got to a campsite for the night. Plus, when I got close to Nashville, my phone stopped charging before it was done. I stopped on the north side to get gas, eat, and look for a Sprint store somewhere. I found one and got directions to it. By the time I got to the store, it was charging again after they plugged the phone in... I went back to the Jeep, and it was charging fine. I don't know... It might be getting too hot to keep charging.
I had to get back on the road and keep going. It's a pretty drive through TN, with cut and blasted hillside walls and pine trees to see.
Shortly after I crossed into Alabama, I pulled off to go to a rest stop, where there is a Saturn rocket on display.
I did my thing and forgot about it, so I didn't get to look it over more closely. Whoops! That might be for another trip in the future. I continued on, crossing the Tennessee River, which Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge borders on its north banks. It's a good-sized river, running over 650 mi within the Tennessee Valley. It used to be called the Cherokee River, from the Cherokee village Tanasi.
Continuing onward, the hills seemed to level out and give way to flat land, and occasionally, I would come up on a hill, and I would give just enough gas to keep the motor running where it was without downshifting with cruise control, which would blow my gas mileage if it happened all the time.
I had decided that based on my location and the time, that I would go to Oak Mountain SP just south of Birmingham for the night. This is AL's largest state park at 9,940 acres. I turned off at Hwy 119 and headed east, and then turned right onto Oak Mountain Lake Rd, which took me right by the edge of Lunker Lake and down a concrete "water crossing!" I pulled off behind a group of people fishing to find out if I could indeed camp here in this park, as I ran into an unoccupied station of sorts a ways back, but didn't see any camp sites, just the boat ramp areas. They said to go up a little further. I stood by the lake front for the lake view and enjoyed the light glowing in the view from the setting.
Crossing the water crossing was fun, and I'm sure would be a lot more fun in the mud! (I know there's only about 3-4 inches of water, but come on; it's the first time I have crossed water like this in my Jeep, and I know I can Youtube videos of completely underwater jeeps crawling on river bottoms - let's not spoil the moment) Past the water crossing, I made my way through winding roads within a forest, just like Lake Catherine and Mammoth Cave. The climb up was a bit steeper, though, which added to the fun!
Finally, I got there and found the entrance still open, thankfully. I counted myself lucky to have a campsite on a Saturday. I set up camp, which happened to be not too far from the shower facilities. I gladly took advantage of the showers. By the time I was done, I was ready to eat and sleep. One drawback about my campsite was that there was a street light close by! Another lesson learned - ask for a site away from lights! However, I had my trusty eye mask for such situations!
I was sleeping well, having this dream. (earlier today on I-65, I saw what looked like a rocket contrail in the sky) I dreamed of a global or major war with missiles. I could see one lift off from far away, and as they started striking near me, I could feel myself and one other person lift upward silently towards the sky as though on a ship prepared for such a moment. I remembered waiting for a while before returning to survey the damage. The damage included abandoned cars and buildings, and I carefully noted the vegetation that had survived, hoping that we had not lost the ability to grow food. I segued into another important dream I have since forgotten. Anyhow, the temperature for the evening was perfect for a long night of sleep that I badly needed.
