Land Between the Lakes

A few weeks ago Steve and I took a much needed vacation. We realized that we have been very busy this summer and had a few really nice trips, but none where it was just us. We had been talking about going camping for a while and decided it would be the best "just us" getaway. We headed to the Land Between the Lakes, which is about an hour and a half from downtown Nashville. We stayed at the Piney Campground on the Tennessee side of the park. We were lucky enough to get a lakeside camping spot; the water was just a few feet from our tent!

We arrived on Friday night in just enough time to get caught in a downpour. The sky cleared up quickly though, and we set up our tent, cooked dinner and went for a quick swim in the lake. The next morning we got up with the sun and decided to go for a nice hike. We were the only people parked at the trail head and the only people out in the forest. Plus, all the rain made mushrooms pop up everywhere. Since Steve is a photographer he of course had his camera, the full camera bag, and a tripod. I only carried a bottle of water. It was worth it. The man took some pretty great pictures.

LBL is huge, about fifty miles from top to bottom. After our hike, we had a picnic lunch out by the south entrance gate. Afterwards we drove up north and caught a show at the Planetarium. The first half of the show was pretty juvenile, but the comfy seats and air conditioning provided me with a nice snooze. The second half of the show was simply the planetarium director pointing out various constellations that could be seen in the summer night sky; a nice refresher as we'd both forgotten where to look for some of them. After our star show we continued north for a tour through the Elk and Bison Prairie. I loved this! All these amazing animals were hanging out right outside my car window.

On the way back to the campground after our visit with the Bison I drove my car into a ditch and popped the tire. Being the amazing boyfriend that he is, Steve changed the tire, put on the donut and tried to reassure me that everything will be OK. And it was. We were able to pick up a new tire on our way home the next day. Even with the donut, we got back to camp in time to grill up a steak dinner, take another dip in the lake and watch the stars.

Do I want to go back to LBL? Yes. I really want to try to go back in the fall when it isn't so hot and muggy. Also, the campgrounds were filled with families in RVs on summer break (some neighbors weren't so considerate). I would like to go back when things are a lot calmer.