On Thursday we visited Harper's Ferry.
Originally named Harper's Ferry after an 18th-century ferry owner it gained fame in 1859 when abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the U.S. armory. During the American Civil War, the town became the northernmost point of Confederate-controlled territory, and changed hands several times due to its strategic importance. On October 16, 1859, the abolitionist John Brown led a group of 22 men (counting himself) in a raid on the armory. Five of the men were black: three free black men, one freed slave, and one fugitive slave. Brown attacked and captured several buildings, hoping to secure the weapons depot and arm the slaves, starting a revolt across the South.
Lieutenant Israel Greene was ordered to take a force of 86 Marines to the town. U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee was assigned as commander. Lee led the unit in civilian clothes, as none of his uniforms were available. The contingent arrived by train on October 18, and after negotiations failed, they stormed the fire house and captured most of the raiders, killing a few and suffering a single casualty. Brown was quickly tried in Charles Town for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, murder, and fomenting a slave insurrection. Convicted of all charges, he was hanged on December 2.
We ate lunch at the Rabbit Hole on the deck since the weather was very nice today.
The Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet here at Harpers Ferry offering a few great opportunities for photographs. A bridge across the river is also a passage for the Appalachian Trail. Along the chain linked fence railing on the bridge hundreds of couples had written their names on padlocks and attached them to the fence.
Anyway, now we can honestly say we have hiked the Appalachian Trail even if was only for a few hundred yards.
On Thursday we drove through the Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive

On Sunday we departed for Summersville which proved to be one of the best stops during this trip as there were many things to do nearby. The campground has a huge lighthouse for no apparent reason as it is not on any body of water.

We visited Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park where a historic battle took place during the Civil War. We continued down a dirt road that seemed endless through the Gauley River National Recreation Area. The road was treacherous to say the least and one we probably should not have done alone. The views were great as we followed the river for what seemed like an eternity.
Once back on the paved road we continued the loop around Summersville Lake to Gauley Bridge, a small town at the far end of the lake. Shortly thereafter we came upon Kanawha Falls next to an old power plant. Just a few miles further down the road we happened upon Cathedral Falls. It had started to rain so the pictures were not great at this time.

Today we visited the New River Gorge National Park, the newest National Park in the system. Our first stop was at Canyon Rim Visitor Center where they had a lot of information about the area. From there we proceeded down a very steep road to the bottom of the gorge and crossed the river via Tunnew Hunsaker Bridge and back up the other side to the main highway.
Hawk's Nest State Park offered a great view of the river below with the railroad along the river. Babcock State Park was a nice surprise as it offered some of the best pictures of an old grist mill along the river. .
Summersville Lake is one of the best fishing places in the USA as many sportsmen flock here for the great fishing grounds. The shores lined with high bluffs made of rock and offer great views in many places along the lake.

We traveled a few miles out of the way to visit an old Ghost town named Thurmond. It was once a mining town with many people and business along the river. Today only a few people live in the area.
Brooks Falls was a great place although it was several miles out of the way at the end of a dirt road. It offered several great views of the falls along a great boardwalk.

On Thursday we took off for Townsend Tennessee stopping in Bristol to take a quick look around the town. We spent the next four nights at Whispering River Campground alongside the Little River.
We drove the Foothills Parkway between Townsend and Pigeon Forge. We saw several turkeys, including babies. On the way back we stopped and picked strawberries fresh from the field.

Friday we drove to the Sugarland Visitor Center, stopped at Christmas and Collectibles and the Apple Barn.

Sunday we drove to Gatlinburg in the late afternoon. Since we have been here so many times we just walked up and down the streets and then left.
We drove to Cades Cove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park returning on a dirt road back to Townsend. Along the way we saw an owl that I was able to get several good pictures of. It is nice having a Jeep that we can travel the dirt roads through the mountains and forge the creeks when necessary.

On Monday we arrived at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia for the last three nights of this trip. The park is atop Lookout Mountain and offers a variety of viewpoints overlooking the canyon below. There are several waterfalls at the bottom of the canyon but we chose not to hike to them because we would have had to hike back up the mountain and that is a little strenuous for us old folks.