Breckenridge Lake RV Park

Last year, we met up with my parents in Chattanooga for a quick weekend camping trip to spend time with them and enjoy the fall leaves. This year, we made plans to meet up with them just South of Crossville, Tennessee at Breckenridge Lake RV Park.

The RV park is about a 2.5 hour drive from our home in Spring Hill. We got a late start, which put us getting to the park after dark. That made backing into our campsite a little interesting - but with some lanterns, flashlights, and help from my dad, we backed the trailer in and got everything hooked up. Once we had the camper set up, we headed over to my parents' trailer to eat dinner and visit a while.

Our site at Breckenridge Lake - right behind the campground office.

Breckenridge Lake is actually a nice, well-kept campground. There aren't many amenities, but that also means you aren't paying an arm and a leg for a site. There is no cable TV, but they do offer free wi-fi. For recreation, you are a short drive from Crossville, TN, and an even shorter drive from Cumberland Mountain State Park. If you do stay at the campground, keep in mind that they don't take credit or debit cards - only checks or cash.

The next morning, after walking and feeding the dog, I set up my outdoor coffee bar to make coffee without disturbing the rest of the family. Once my coffee was brewed, I enjoyed some outdoor quiet time before everyone else woke up.

Once everyone was up and ready to start their day, we headed back over to my parents' camper for breakfast together. After breakfast, we set up the hammock behind our campsite and enjoyed some down time.

The view from the hammock

This year, our fall was unusually warm. Typically, October 21st is usually right at the peak of fall color in Tennessee. Because of the warm weather, peak color was delayed - but there was a trace of color beginning to show in the trees.

For the majority of the year, my parents spend their time traveling around different parts of the country serving as mobile missionaries. They spend several weeks on-site at a Christian camp or college, doing maintenance and construction projects. One of the organizations they serve is CBM (Children's Bible Ministries). A few years ago, CBM purchased and began renovating an old church camp in nearby Ozone, Tennessee. While they were in the area, they wanted to visit Camp Ozone to see how the camp was progressing and see if it could possibly be a project they serve on in the future. After lunch we drove over to the camp and spent an hour or so walking the grounds and talking with the camp director.

Just South of the camp is Ozone Falls State Natural Area, featuring the 110 feet Ozone Falls. Normally, Ozone Falls is pretty impressive. However, due to near drought-like conditions, Ozone Falls looked more like Ozone Trickles. After visiting the top of the falls, Haley, Aaron, and I took a sort trail down to the base of the falls.

What was left of Ozone Falls, after a drought-ridden summer and fall.

Haley doing a little exploring

Aaron looking at the disappointing trickle that was Ozone Falls

After visiting the falls, we headed back to the campground, swinging by Cumberland Mountain State Park on the way - just to see what it's like. Back at the campground, we had dinner together and enjoyed a campfire by the campground's community fire pit.

The next morning, we packed up camp and enjoyed a simple breakfast together. We then said our good byes and headed off in opposite directions - my parents back to South Carolina, and us back to Spring Hill. All in all, a short get away, but it was nice to see my parents again before they head off for their 11 month mobile missionary trip up to Alaska and back.

Men's Retreat 2016 at Montgomery Bell State Park

For the 3rd year in a row, our church (New Song Christian Fellowship) held its annual Men's Retreat at Montgomery Bell State Park. And of course, I opted to camp in the park campground instead of staying in the park inn. For the past 2 years, I have been able to get a campsite on the creek. You can read about last year's rainy weekend here: Men's Retreat at Montgomery Bell.

That Friday, I got off work early and headed out to the park to give me enough time to check in, get set up, cook dinner, and then head to the Friday evening worship service at the Inn and Conference Center. Unlike last year, Aaron was able to join me at the retreat. However, he had a mandatory cross country practice after school - so he caught a ride out to the park with some friends. This year, I reserved site 106, which was a lot roomier than the site I reserved last year. I arrived at the park around 3:30pm and quickly backed the trailer into the site and got things set up. That gave me plenty of time to have a relaxing dinner and head to the 7:00 worship service.

The guys that Aaron got a ride with didn't reserve a site in time, so I offered to let them "squat" on our site - which is completely legal. Each site allows 1 tent along with the RV, and a total of 8 people. After service, we headed back to camp, and the guys set their tent up (in the dark) between our trailer and the creek. After a few hours around the campfire, we all turned in for the night.

The morning worship service was scheduled for late in the morning to purposely give everyone the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Lord and have a relaxing breakfast.

Our campsite on Saturday morning - with the guys' tent set up behind our camper.

The creek behind our campsite offered a great place for some quiet time with the Lord.

After a relaxing morning, we all headed back to the conference center for our Saturday morning worship service. As with all our services, our morning session started out with a powerful time of worship.

Aaron had a cross country meet in nearby Dickson, TN. This particular meet was the championship meet for the Mid State Cross Country Association, so it was not a meet that could be missed. Because of that, we had to leave the worship service early in order to get to the meet.

Despite being in the middle of October, it was actually a pretty warm day - with temperatures in the 80s by the time Aaron ran.

Aaron, with the rest of the Summit High varsity team at the starting line.

...And they're off!

Aaron charging up the last big hill on the course before heading to the finish line.

Despite the sun and warm temperatures, Aaron actually did pretty well. After the meet was over, we grabbed some quick lunch and headed back to camp.

By the time we got back to camp, the men's retreat was over, and the guys had cleared out their gear and headed home.

After a long-hot day at the meet, we decided to relax a little...

Aaron getting in some "chill time" after his meet.

After relaxing around camp for a while, we decided to go on a short hike before dinner. We hopped on the blue-blazed Wildcat trail at the back of the campground and headed toward the iron ore pits and Cumberland Presbyterian birthplace memorial.

The Cumberland Presbyterian Memorial Chapel

A replica of Rev. Samuel McAdow's home, where the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded some 200+ years ago.

After our short hike, we headed back to camp to cook dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed some time around a small campfire before heading in for the night.

The next morning, we got up early, showered, had a quick breakfast, and packed up camp in time to head out to join our Church for Sunday morning prayer and Worship service.

Montgomery Bell State Park is probably our most frequently visited state park for good reason: It's within an hours drive from home and is probably one of Tennessee's nicest parks. It's perfect for a quick retreat and a relaxing weekend.

2016 Wild West Adventure - New Mexico and the Journey Home

This summer, we took a 2-week family vacation out to the wild, wild west. To read about our 1,500 mile, 4-day trek from Tennessee to Arizona, check out this post: 2016 Wild West Adventure - The Journey West. To read about our 5-day Arizona adventure, check out this post: 2016 Wild West Adventure - Arizona.

After 5 fun-filled days packed full of Arizona adventure, it was time to start heading home.

Day 10

Monday, June 27th arrived with an early start. We got our camper road-ready, and after a quick breakfast, we hitched it up to the truck and headed East.

After a non-eventful 6-hour drive, we descended into the Rio Grande valley and arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Our home away from home for the next few days was the RV Park at Isleta Lakes, part of the Isleta Resort and Casino.

The Isleta Resort grounds are located just inside the Isleta Pueblo and are owned and run by the Isleta Native American Tribe Council. The RV park is right on the Rio Grande Bosque. A bosque is an oasis-like ribbon of vegetation located along rivers and streams in the arid American Southwest.

The campground is actually quite nice. It has free and unlimited cable and wi-fi, and a well-stocked camp store. The grounds are extremely secure with a guard station and guard checking everyone entering and leaving the grounds.

The main reason for staying at Isleta Lakes instead of the Albuquerque KOA, was its proximity to the Albuquerque Airport and the towns of Los Lunas and Belen. While in the Albuquerque area, we planned to meet up with family from Belen, plus Haley had to leave us early to get back to her job at Starbucks. Isleta Lakes is only about 10 minutes from the Albuquerque Airport, about 10 minutes from Los Lunas, and 20-25 minutes from Belen.

Some of the family we were planning to meet up with were Lea's sister and niece. They, along with their good friend and house-mate M.K. were spending some time in Santa Fe. We all decided to meet up while in New Mexico to visit and do some upkeep on the family cemetery plot in Belen.

After we got settled into our campsite, Dana (center), Jillian (far left), and M.K. (not pictured) drove up from their hotel in Los Lunas to visit with us and see Haley before she left the next morning. 

We tried to enjoy the cooler evening air, until the Rio Grande mosquitos drove us inside. After several hours of catching up, Dana and crew headed back to their hotel, and we turned in for the night.

Haley's vlog - Day 10

Day 11

The next morning, I got up early enough to get in some quiet time before dropping Haley off at the airport for her flight back home. After dropping her off, I headed back to the campground for some breakfast. After breakfast, we all headed down to Belen to meet up with Dana and crew at the Our Lady of Belen Cemetery.

Belen, New Mexico is an old railroad town with a lot of history. It was originally founded in 1740 by a group of Spanish colonists. It lies along the Rio Grande River with a Mesa to the West and the Manzano Mountains to the East.

Several generations of Cordovas (Lea's maiden name) are buried at the Lady of Belen Cemetery. With the strong New Mexico heat, wind and dust, cemetery plots can quickly fall under disrepair if they aren't regularly maintained. Lea's father is buried in a family plot located in the old section of the cemetery, where maintenance is left to the family. While we were in the area, we wanted to take the time to clean up the family plot and pay our respects.

After measuring the size of the plot and making a quick trip to Lowe's to get supplies, we spent an hour or so straightening up the brick border, installing weed barrier, and filling in the area with temporary mulch. We really wanted to fill in the area with gravel, but we didn't have enough time to order the material and have it trucked in. That will be a project for another time.

Ruben's (Lea's dad) headstone

After we finished, we grabbed a quick lunch and stopped by to visit Lea's Auntie Rosie and Uncle Henry. They now live in the house that her dad lived in. We then headed back to camp to get cleaned up for our "family reunion" dinner.

Lea and Dana had contacted all of the family still living in the Albuquerque area and planned a reunion dinner at Teofilo's Restaurante in Los Lunas.

The family: Starting from the right and going around the table: Lea's cousin Cindy with her grandson, Lea's Uncle Joe, Dana, Jillian, M.K., Aaron, Lea, Lea's Uncle Toby, Lea's Auntie Rosie, Lea's Uncle Henry, cousin Jason (Toby's son), and Cindy's husband Eric. Henry and Joe are Montoya brothers that married Cordova sisters.

Another picture of the crew after dinner.

After a great dinner of incredible food and wonderful fellowship, we headed back to camp and turned in for the night.

Day 12

The next morning, after some quiet time and a quick breakfast, I headed down to Los Lunas to pick up Dana, Jillian, and M.K. and drop them off at the Albuquerque airport for their flight back to Boise, ID.

Once I got back to camp from dropping everyone off at the airport, we decided to explore a little of the Albuquerque area. First stop was Sandia Peak.

The top of Sandia Peak sits at 10,378 feet above sea level, and the only way to get up there (besides hiking) is to ride the tramway. The tramway has been operating since May of 1966 (50 years) and takes passengers up 4,000 feet in a distance of 2.7 miles. At some points during the journey, the tram cars are dangling almost 1,000 feet above the jagged and rocky ground.

Personally, I am not a fan of heights - especially standing in a big box, dangling from a cable hundreds of feet above the ground. Needless to say, I was a little nervous on the ride up to the peak and didn't take any pictures. However, once we reached the summit, the views were definitely worth the nerve-wracking journey to the top.

Looking South from Sandia Peak toward Los Lunas and Belen. You can see the green ribbon of the Rio Grande Bosque in the distance.

Looking West over Albuquerque

Panorama from the top of Sandia Peak.

One of the tramway cars making its ascent up the mountain.

Ski lift on the Eastern side of the mountain with Monte Largo in the distance and South Mountain on the horizon.

Some of the wildflowers on top of the mountain.

Sandia Peak is located within the Cibola National Forest. In the 1930's, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) completed numerous projects on Sandia Peak, one of which was a storm shelter for the Kiwanis Club. We decided to hike a short trail along the crest of the mountain that leads to the Kiwanis Cabin.

Stopping along the crest trail to soak in the view.

A pasture along the trail. It's amazing how different the climate is atop the mountain. You would never find this much green down below.

Aaron and Lea at the Kiwanis Cabin.

After spending a few minutes at the cabin, we hiked back to the tram port and caught the next tram car down the mountain.

For some reason, I wasn't as nervous going down as I was going up - so I took a few pictures along the way. The car going down and the car going up meet half-way along the trip. The descending car actually helps "pull" the ascending car up the mountain. 

Our guide easing our minds as he explained that the car swings as we pass over the tower.

Once we got to the bottom of the mountain, we headed to Old Town Albuquerque to look around and hopefully find some traditional New Mexican food to eat.

At the entrance to Old Town is a statue of Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, the founder of Albuquerque. Believe it or not, Albuquerque was founded in 1706 as a Spanish colonial outpost.

Once we parked the truck, we were able to find Hacienda de Rio Restaurant with authentic New Mexican cuisine, right on the old town plaza. The food was great, with some awesome chili. After we ate, we walked around old town to burn off some calories and see what "old" New Mexico was like.

On the North side of the town plaza is the San Felipe de Neri Church. This church was originally established in 1706. The original building collapsed in 1792. The current building was built in 1793, with other additions added throughout the years.

The 2 towers were constructed in 1861. On the West side (left) is a 2-story convent that was built in 1881.

New Mexican courtyard and well.

Chilis drying in the sun.

Decorative fountain in the middle of a cafe.

After our leisurely walk around Old Town, we headed back to the campsite to get ready for our journey back home.

Day 13, 14, and 15

The next morning, I got up early to finish packing up all our gear and hook the trailer up to the truck. Before I headed outside, there was a brief rain shower. When I went outside to begin hooking up the trailer, I was greeted with this:

Thank you New Mexico, for the beautiful send-off!

Once everything was hooked up and packed away, we hit the road for our 3-day trip back home.

After several hours of driving, and some nasty Texas thunderstorms, we arrived back at the Elk City / Clinton KOA. We even landed in the exact same campsite we were in two weeks before.

The next morning, we headed out early and arrived at the North Little Rock KOA in Little Rock, Arkansas in time for dinner.

After our last morning on the road, we hopped on I-40 and headed East for one more long push home. Late that afternoon, we pulled into our driveway - safe and sound - and thankful for a wonderful 2 weeks on our Wild, Wild West Adventure. Until next time...