Kentucky - Land Between The Lakes – Home to the Best Shower In a Campground
Posted May 14, 2018
April 27, 2018
Click on the photo above and you will see the video on DTube.
The video was taken at the Nickell Branch Campground, where I stayed three nights, I mentioned it was noisy from so many bass boats passing by that weekend morning. I found out later, a bass tournament was being held that weekend and therefore, this much boat traffic was not normal. Also the wild mustard I mentioned is actually wild rocket. I’ll discuss wild edible plants I’ve found on my travels in future blogs.
This National Forest, is one of my favorite places I've visited over the past 4+ years of traveling around the US and Mexico. I've spent 6 nights here now in two different campgrounds and intend to stay a few more days, as there is much here to intigue me.
The first three nights were in the Smith Bay Campground. Camping here is only $7 for three nights. It rained the second day starting in the morning and continued all day, all night and into the next morning. It was a long time to be cooped up in the car. When the rained stopped I took a walk to another campground, Birmingham Ferry, about a mile and a half away. This campground is also situated on the banks of the Kentucky Lake formed by the damming of the Tennessee River. A rain storm passed over when I arrived at this campground making me take shelter in the vault toilet for about 30 minutes. I noticed almost all the campers in both campgrounds were either wild turkey hunters or bass fishermen with their bass boats, equipped with outboard motors. No one here interested really in viewing nature, smelling flowers, listening to birds, hiking, or being in a peaceful place, but more interested in the animal resources it supplies and a place to socialize with friends by the campfire, consume beer, eat what they killed, and play loud music, in general, have an outdoor party. More than likely they like being by the water, I suppose. It seems big bodies of water attracts the human animal more than any natural feature. Humans love to swim, motor boat, fish, and sit on their chairs and socialize with each other. I’m kind of a human anomaly around these parts, interested in engrossing nature, using all my senses, basking in all the wonders around me, observing, smelling, tasting, feeling , and listening. I want to learn about the plants, the ones that can give me life and sustenance. I don’t want to kill the animals, just want to be able to get that brief glimpse of their existence and learn the names we gave them. I want to be able to know the plants and animals around me like I know the inanimate things we all use in our daily lives. Funny how we know the words trees and plants, but not much else specific about them, so that is what gives me happiness and feeds my brain.
The campground was very peaceful, with the morning air rich with the songs from more colorful birds than ever I'd seen in one place. The song of the common male robin, letting any nearby females know he is single and looking for a mate to continue his species, was prevalent overhead. I'd seen robins thousands of times, but never before noticed this mating call.
When in nature, stop, open up, forget your worries and problems and use those senses, which make us human. We are an animal that has the ability to delight in such simple beauty that nature gives us. Try it out. With so many unfamiliar bird species around me, I was able to identify the Eastern Bluebird and the American Goldfinch for the first time. Also common were Northern Cardinals, Common Grackles, and American Crows. One morning one feisty male Canada Goose strolled on the grassy area near the shoreline, being aggressive with another male and two females. Identical in look, the male can be distinguished from a female by its deeper and louder honking sound. Also it was common to see vultures flying overhead almost anytime one looked up. Occasionally I'd notice a pair of American Black Ducks, while walking along the shore, and would be startled into fleeing to another spot. The tall Great Blue Heron was another common site as well I'm my daily shore strolls.
Here I explored some hiking trails and muddy forest roads that led me to a couple of cemeteries, with tombstones from the late 1800s. The roads would be a path through hardwoods and less common pines to another shore on the lake. Since I have the time, I cannot resist a path off the road, or a path that branches. I have to explore them all. You won’t find unless you seek.
Having taken a daily bath or shower for granted all my life, finding a clean shower is quite a luxury. I think my record streak is somewhere between 11 and 14 days without a shower. And the winner for Best Shower in a Campground goes to... Hillman Ferry Campground, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky! What makes a great campground shower?
Requirements
A strong steam of continuous hot water.
A clean floor. I hate dirty shower floors, don't you?
A roomy area away from the shower stream that doesn't get the floor wet where one can undress and dress. Generally the shower curtains don't stop all the water from either spraying or draining into the neighboring dressing area.
Hooks for clothes away from the spray of the shower.
A bench or shelves for ones bath items and clothes.
A shower that is coin operated and one pays by time in use or where one pays a minimal fee with no time limit. Both also require one doesn't have to be camped in that campground in order to have permission to use it
A place to keep ones soap and shampoo while actually showering. It's also nice to have a hook for ones wash cloth.
It is in its own private room and not in a community area within a bathroom.
It is heated during cold months.
For this shower I paid $2 at the entrance gate. This shower met all the requirements for excellence, but i wasn’t sure if it was heated, but probably not. It wasn’t necessary at this time of year.
Ice here was only $2 for 10 lbs. or $4 for 22 lbs. tax included. It was that better quality tubular style clear ice instead of small cubes or crushed ice There is a small general store for simple provisions. I would also fill up my water containers in the campground at a community spigot up the road from where the showers are located.
On one of my walks I came across another adventurous traveler, Frank, a young man I'm guessing in his late twenties, from Pennsylvania. He had a great spot on a concrete pad overlooking the lake. I stopped, having seen him the day before, when he drove by my campsite at the Nickell Branch Campground where we first exchanged a few words. I could tell he was an explorer in life just by his look and the crazy custom paint job on his vintage Ford Fiesta Hatchback. I needed a conversation having not exchanged words with anyone for over a week and discovered he was on a travel adventure where he was hiking some mountains over 14,000 feet in Colorado. He showed me his gear of ice axes, ice crampons that went on his new snow boots, and his three wheel bicycle, that one sort of reclines in, low to the ground, with legs stretched out in front to the pedals. It was equipped even with a little trailer. He let me take it for a spin and it was definitely a vehicle that would require some experience getting used to for safe operation. We enjoyed sharing some stories of our near death hiking experiences. I saw him again the next day when we bid each other goodbyes and safe travels.
On some of my future blogs, I’ll tell you about some of the animals I’ve seen and how to identify some wild edible plants. I’m a permanent traveler, with an insatiable wanderlust. I’ve been traveling now for four years and four months. Here is my story, so follow if you are interested.
https://steemit.com/travel/@wanderingagorist/hi-i-m-the-wandering-voluntaryist-chris-greyson
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