BlaZeJeep
New member
Well I wasn't sure I would make a trip report on EXPO of the short one day trip my wife and I made, but after reading the sticky on what constitutes an adventure, I think if fits. After reading many trip reports from Moab, CO, AZ, CA etc. I wasn't sure if it was worth reporting our little one day trip to KY/TN, but here goes anyway.
My wife and I…well really I was thinking of a trip to Land Between the Lakes National Park in Ky to see the fall foilage and snap a few pictures. I had recently been to LBL "Turkey Bay" off road park on an ATV trip with some friends, and after doing some research, realized there was quite a few trails through out LBLNP accessible by a stock or near stock 4x4. In my research I also found info on Fort Donelson, a Civil War Fort/museum in Dover, TN just south of LBLNP. Looked interesting so we planned a one day trip to Ft. Donnelson museum/battleground and on the way back home check out a few trails in LBLNP.
We had done a few mild off road day trips in my lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee to a local state off road park, and my wife was amazed where the old Jeep would go. Her only complaint is the Jeep is old, smelly, no AC and a little rough around the edges. So a 6 hour trip(3 hrs each way, plus a few trail runs) in the Jeep wasn't gonna happen. In June 2012 we parted with our old trusted minivan for a 2007 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4with less than 50,000 miles. So far the 4Runner has been great and couldn't wait to try out the new Mastercraft Courser AXT 265/70/17's (265/65 original) on the road and trails.
Crappy cell phone pic of the 4Runner
The weather was beautiful as we parted south towards Dover, TN for the 3 hr. drive. We arrived at Ft. Donelson around 11am and visited the museum and enjoyed a short video on the history of the fort and the battle February 16, 1862 in which Ulysses S. Grant's Ironclad ships attacked the fort from the Cumberland River. A complete history of the battle can be read here: http://www.nps.gov/fodo/planyourvisit/thebattleforfortdonelson.html
This is me and my lovely wife over looking the Cumberland River and the Confederate gun positions
On the right edge of this pic is where the Rebel Army saw Grant's Ironclad ship's rounding the bend of the river
After we spent a few hours learning of the history of the area and the battle, we headed back north on "The Trace", which is the main road that runs north/south in LBLNP. After checking the GPS we headed off The Trace to search out a few of the trails. The color of the leaves had already peaked, and the colors are showing that winter is just around the corner...
The trail/road we checked out were mild but provided nice views of the area
A little tighter 2 track with some mud/rocks
From there we headed north on The Trace to the Elk/Bison preserve. A paved road circumvented the preserve and after a nominal fee, we entered to find some up close views of the bison...
Also a few nice Elk...
This big boy was using this Jeep as a rubbing post...
As dusk approached we decided to head north to Grand Rivers, Ky to Patti's Settlement Restaurant, and their famous 2" thick pork chops. The food was awesome, the 2" thick pork filet mignon was incredible. With our bellies more than full it was time to head back home to Indiana. It was a great get away day for us, and will definetly be back to LBLNP for a little more exploration.
My wife and I…well really I was thinking of a trip to Land Between the Lakes National Park in Ky to see the fall foilage and snap a few pictures. I had recently been to LBL "Turkey Bay" off road park on an ATV trip with some friends, and after doing some research, realized there was quite a few trails through out LBLNP accessible by a stock or near stock 4x4. In my research I also found info on Fort Donelson, a Civil War Fort/museum in Dover, TN just south of LBLNP. Looked interesting so we planned a one day trip to Ft. Donnelson museum/battleground and on the way back home check out a few trails in LBLNP.
We had done a few mild off road day trips in my lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee to a local state off road park, and my wife was amazed where the old Jeep would go. Her only complaint is the Jeep is old, smelly, no AC and a little rough around the edges. So a 6 hour trip(3 hrs each way, plus a few trail runs) in the Jeep wasn't gonna happen. In June 2012 we parted with our old trusted minivan for a 2007 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4with less than 50,000 miles. So far the 4Runner has been great and couldn't wait to try out the new Mastercraft Courser AXT 265/70/17's (265/65 original) on the road and trails.
Crappy cell phone pic of the 4Runner
The weather was beautiful as we parted south towards Dover, TN for the 3 hr. drive. We arrived at Ft. Donelson around 11am and visited the museum and enjoyed a short video on the history of the fort and the battle February 16, 1862 in which Ulysses S. Grant's Ironclad ships attacked the fort from the Cumberland River. A complete history of the battle can be read here: http://www.nps.gov/fodo/planyourvisit/thebattleforfortdonelson.html
This is me and my lovely wife over looking the Cumberland River and the Confederate gun positions
On the right edge of this pic is where the Rebel Army saw Grant's Ironclad ship's rounding the bend of the river
After we spent a few hours learning of the history of the area and the battle, we headed back north on "The Trace", which is the main road that runs north/south in LBLNP. After checking the GPS we headed off The Trace to search out a few of the trails. The color of the leaves had already peaked, and the colors are showing that winter is just around the corner...
The trail/road we checked out were mild but provided nice views of the area
A little tighter 2 track with some mud/rocks
From there we headed north on The Trace to the Elk/Bison preserve. A paved road circumvented the preserve and after a nominal fee, we entered to find some up close views of the bison...
Also a few nice Elk...
This big boy was using this Jeep as a rubbing post...
As dusk approached we decided to head north to Grand Rivers, Ky to Patti's Settlement Restaurant, and their famous 2" thick pork chops. The food was awesome, the 2" thick pork filet mignon was incredible. With our bellies more than full it was time to head back home to Indiana. It was a great get away day for us, and will definetly be back to LBLNP for a little more exploration.
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