Willow Grove Campground

 We headed to Willow Grove Campground on Dale Hollow Lake for a few days to hike, swim and canoe. Arrived there Wednesday evening, set up camp and put the canoe in the water. Made a quick trip to the marina to get bread and ice because Somebody forgot the bread and cooler. Beautiful sunset, lots of stars. Saw one shooting star.

Thursday we hiked the Accordian Bluff Trail to the Bluff.  We got tired of the spiderwebs and heat, then went canoeing. When we flipped the canoe over we found a frog had taken up residence. Craig chased him from one end to the other, jumping in and out until he finally stayed out. Got lots of reading time in, and a couple walks around the campground. When the sun set we did a little night fishing. And Craig caught two. Lora got lots of casting in. 

Friday we hiked on the lakeshore to Accordian Bluff. The lake level was way down which made it easy to go around the inlets. Saw and eagle, a hawk, herons and an osprey. Lora found a nice fishing lure on the rocks at the point. On a walk around the campground and boat dock Lora found a nice fishing lure.  Did some more night fishing and Lora fished with her newly found lure and caught a really nice tree limb.... Saw a shooting star and enjoyed the peaceful night.

Saturday we walked to the marina and admired all the boats, houseboats and cars that carried all the people to get on those boats and houseboats. More reading, and swimming. Then an afternoon thunderstorm brought on a nice nap. Temperature cooled and we got another hike in on the Bluff trail. More night fishing and another beautiful sunset. 

Sunday we walked the campground, loaded up the canoe, went swimming one more time, packed up and headed home. Got there in time to have dinner with Nicholas and Amy, Mitsi and Paul, and Mom, who fixed dinner with banana pudding for dessert.  

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Lily Dale Campout

Another great time at Dale Hollow lake. Dad, Mom, Marco, Natalie, Mitsi, and the girls join us for a weekend at the lake. Actually it turned out that we joined them at the lake as they started Friday. Lora and I brought the canoes and met them at the campground. It just happened to be an ungodly high temperature weekend. We spent all the time in the water.

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Mitchell Creek - Dale Hollow Lake

Lora and I headed to Dale Hollow Lake for a couple of days. We put the canoe in at Mitchell Creek Marina, which is one of the nicest on the lake. The owners were very friendly too.

After getting the canoe loaded, we headed down Carter creek going in and out of all the inlets. We saw lots of water fowl and one big turtle. There were ripe blackberries just waiting for Craig to spot them. We managed to save some for our oatmeal for breakfast the next morning. We only saw a couple of boats out today. After exploring Carter creek we headed over to our campsite on Mitchell Creek, campsite #1. It is just across the creek from the Marina.

We set up camp, gathered firewood, did a short hike, and did some swimming. And waited for one LOUD motorboat to run out of fuel. That night we got to listen to three different types of owls. Lots of stars. We scared a doe on our hike.

The next morning we packed up, loaded the canoe and as we scooted the canoe into the water Lora screamed and danced with Mickey Mouse as he scurried out from under the canoe and all around her feet before running off into the bushes. After getting our pacemakers restarted, we explored all of Mitchell Creek. We were blessed with two different streams with cascades, two American Eagles, five Otters, a deer, and many water birds.

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Dell Hollow Dam

Lora and I joined Mom and Dad on a campout at Dale Hollow Dam campground.  We got there in time to do some visiting before lunch.  After lunch we walked along the Obey river up to the dam. This was the first time I have ever camped under a dam.  After our walk we got the canoes and were going to float on the Obey river.  We backed down the ramp, Dad got out and Dad disappeared. We found him as usual laying on the ground.  The ramp was a little slippery.  After we got the canoes unstrapped, we hear the warning horns from the dam.  We pulled the car up the ramp to see what the river would do. It rose and it rose and it rose.  I had no idea it would raise about ten feet.  It was even over the fishing dock. If we would have been out on the canoes, we would have to have gotten out down town and got a ride back.  So plan B.  It started raining so we went back to the camper.  It quit later and after dinner we went for another walk.

Later we desided to have a campfire.  We drove up to the office to find out where to get the wood. Dad walked up to the office.  The guy inside closed the door and shut the blinds right there in front of him.  Pretty rude he was.  We had passed some fire wood for sale on the way in so we just drove there and got some. Then we went to the lake to look at the boat ramps there.

The next morning we desided to go to the lake for a canoe trip.  It was safer.  So we put in at the Pleasant Grove Recreation Area.  It is a nice ramp and they have a walking trail that goes around the island and across a suspention bridge.
 
We paddled for a couple of hours going down Kyle Branch and put in four miles.  On the way back to the ramp it started raining lightly and then quit again.  We headed back to the campground and had lunch then it was time to go.

Another great campout and visit.

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Dale Hollow Lake - Star Point Marina

Lora and I went to Dale Hollow Lake for an overnighter.  We put in at the Star Point Marina on Jouett Creek.  Our reservation was for campsite #29 Jouett Point.  We paddled out following the lake shore out to our campsite.  After setting up camp we headed across the lake going through the gap by County Line Island and headed up the East Fork of Ashburn Creek.  There were lots of boaters and jet skiers out today!  We saw lots of wildlife including deer, turkey, waterfowl, fish, and turtles.

It was a good night sitting around the fire watching the boats go by.  The next morning we woke up to the crows overhead crowing.  We got up and after breakfast we got loaded up knowing that we had until noon before the rain came in.

We headed across Jouett Creek and went up the shoreline exploring up to Muddy Branch.  Then we headed back to the Marina.  We miss calculated by about twenty minutes which yes, we got really really wet!  We made entertainment for all of those boaters at the marina as we paddled by in the downpour.

We got in 10.6 miles the first day taking 3.2 miles to camp.  The second day we got in 6.8 miles.

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Hendricks Creek - Dale Hollow

We went to Hendricks Creek Marina to start our overnight adventure.  We fell for the whole Resort thing and planned on eating lunch at the Marina.  No grill there, so we went back to the border for a hamburger at the Border Grill which is a gas station on Hwy 62 on the Kentucky side of the border.

After getting our food we headed back to Hendrick's Creek Marina.  You have to store your trailer on top of the hill and park your car at the bottom.  Never had to split the rig up before, so it took a little while to actually get on the water.

We made it to the first inlet before we ate our lunch.  From there we canoed all the inlets on the West side down to the main lake and then paddled West to Natty Branch and explored all of that river.  Then we headed back across Hendrick's Creek and further East to campsite #12, Anderson Point.  We put in 7.5 miles and crossed the border four times.

When we got to the campsite there was a houseboat just West of the camp and around to the East about five houseboats.  We thought it might be a noisy night, but we never heard anything from any of them.  After we set up camp and ate, we took a walk around the cove and out to the next point to the West for a view of the sunset.

We sat on a tree that was down while we waited on the sun to set.  After a little while a pontoon boat went by really slowly while checking us out.  A little while later she came back by and stopped.  She wanted to know if we were staying here and we told her where we were staying.  Her husband was behind her in a house boat and they wanted the spot.  So we met Mike and Terri.  After a visit and pics of the sunset, we headed back to camp.  We got a fire going and later went down to the water and laid on towels looking up at the wonderful star display.  Got to see some meteors and some satellites as well.  Some time in the night we heard owls talking to each other.

After breakfast the next morning we packed up camp and went exploring again.  This time we went East and explored all of Pusley Creek.  We got to see a few deer, a barred owl, and several other birds.  There is quite a selection of water craft out on the lake as well.  We stopped by to visit with Mike and Terri on the way back to Hendrick's Marina.  We got in 9.8 miles and crossed the border five times.

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Noel Island- Dale Hollow Lake

Lora and I headed out for the weekend.  The weather is finally getting back to where one can sleep in a tent.  Wanting to stay cool we headed back to Dale Hollow Lake.  We launched out from Lillydale recreation area.  We paddled around Phillip's Island and along the shore line on the far side.  Finally we paddled to Noel island and set up camp.  We got some beach time in.  After dinner we hiked around our island and then paddled back to Phillip's Island and hiked some more.  We paddled back and enjoyed the evening around the campfire.  We watched meteorites on through the night.

That night we found that Noel is very popular with the fishermen as we got to hear them talk all night as each group pulled up along  side the bluff we were camping at.

The next morning we went back to car and dropped off camping items.  Then we took the shore line back down to County Line Island.  We circled the island then spent the afternoon at the campsite on it.  Later that afternoon we headed back.

Dale Hollow is a very clear and pretty lake.  No houses on the shore.  You can get camping information at their site Dale Hollow.

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Dale Hollow Lake - Big Goat Island

Lora and I decided to do a canoe camping trip at Dale Hollow Lake. We made reservations for campsite #8 Big Goat Island.

It was a beautiful day for being on the lake. We put in at Willow Grove boat ramp. The first place we paddled to was our campsite to make sure we knew where it was. They mark the campsites with an orange marker that is supposed to stand out. Basically you look for an outhouse and go with that. We found our orange marker in the middle of a bush on the beach. We checked out the beach with a little swim. After that we canoed around Big Goat Island and over to the main coast by accordion bluff.

There were alot of boats out and few operators that knew nothing about the rules of boating. We even had one ski boat do a loop around us.

We explored the coast and inlets and did a lap around Geiger Island which has campsite #13 on it. We headed back to camp after that.

We set up camp and gathered firewood. We had another couple stop by in their boat asking about the campsite. They were going to spend a few days here in a couple of weeks. After a swim, we enjoyed our dinner and then walked around the island to watch the sunset. After that we got our fire going and enjoyed watching the stars and looking at the full moon reflecting off the water.

We got up the next morning and after breakfast we headed out for a day of paddling. We went to Clark Island to check out the campsite #6 then went to Graveyard island and checked out campsite #9 and hike across the island. We had a house boat speed up so that they could pass in front of us. What is up with that? From there we went to Hendricks Creek and paddled into Kentucky. We checked out campsite #12 and were heading to #11 when we stopped for lunch.

During lunch we listened to the sound of waves and jet skis and thunder.....THUNDER? A black cloud was heading toward us. We headed towards an island and then changed coarse as the closest shoreline we could get up on was on the mainland. We got caught and our tiny ship was tossed. The only thought we had was what a lighting rod we were out in the middle of the lake in an aluminum canoe. We made it to shore and set up a tarp to watch the rain pass by and calm down the old nerves.

After the storm went by and after emptying out the canoe, we paddled back to the boat ramp. After loading up the car we took another swim. It was a great weekend on a beautiful lake. We got to see ducks, geese, woodpeckers, turtles, fish, eagles, vulchers, deer on little goat island, and got to hear a screech owl and horn owl at night.

We had to stop and get us a Sonic Blast after all that paddling.

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Dale Hollow Lake Eagle Watch

According Bluff Trail 7.5 miles
Day one: 4 miles
Day two: 11 miles

Lora and I decided to attend the Dale Hollow Lake Eagle Watch put on by the Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They take you out on a barge to see the bald eagles of Dale Hollow Lake. It's a three hour ride they do for free. The Friends of Dale Hollow Lake serve refreshments while your out on the water.

After we got to the lake we found out that the Tennessee Trails Association were doing a four mile hike after the tour. This is a beautiful lake and has the largest small mouth bass record.

We all got on the barge and we headed out. They had a small spotter boat from the Kentucky State Police that helped out finding the Eagles. It didn't take long and they had us hooked up. We got to see five different eagles and a couple of hawks while we were out.

After the trip, we ate lunch and then joined the TTA for a hike on the Accordian Bluff Trail starting on the Willow Grove side. We hiked two miles in and then back out. After saying good-bye, Lora and I headed to the Cove Creek primitive camping area. They have 34 primitive camping areas, most of which you need a boat to get to. Yes, we did have a few concerned citizens about us camping out in "this type of weather?" We had a great time sitting by the campfire looking at the stars and listening to the owls talk. We were only disturbed a minute by some young teens that drove down to the ramp to be loud and then drove off. Sometime in the night a ranger or police drove through. I told Lora it was one of the rangers loosing a bet on us.

The next morning we went back to the Lillydale Recreation Area and hiked the Accordian Bluff Trail the opposite way so that we could get the whole trail in. We only got a few inlets over from the campground when we saw our first Eagle. As we were watching it fly, another eagle flew up. Soon another eagle joined them and they started flying off across the lake. Another eagle flew up and was circling around where the others had come from. It was amazing just to watch them fly. As we hiked on another eagle was circling around.

We continued down the trail which goes along the side of the lake. When we stopped for lunch, two red tail hawks flew over us and circled for a while. After we started down the trail again we saw a large Great Horned Owl. He would fly a little ways down the trail and then wait for us to catch up, then fly again. We continued. About half way down the trail there are two out houses off the side of the trail. They are on top of a ridge and we were trying which committee decided to place these here. There is nothing around them.

Finally we got to the place where we hiked the day before and we headed back. On the way back we got to see the owl again. We also had three different red headed woodpeckers put on a show for us. When we thought we had been blessed enough for one day, a Bald Eagle flew in and landed in a tree right next to us. Wow, what a hike. We got to see another hawk and another eagle on the way out.

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