Reelfoot Lake

Since I first moved to Tennessee back in 91 I've heard tales of the majestic Reelfoot Lake. It's someplace that I've wanted to go to for years, but just never had the opportunity to do so. That changed over the recent MLK Jr. Holiday.

The wife and I are hiking enthusiasts. We've made it a habit to go hiking once a week. Usually we go to Meeman-Shelby. But we decided to do something "wacky" on our long weekend.

The drive up was pretty nice. We took Highway 51 up from Memphis to Dyersburg. When we hit Dyersburg is when the fun started. We got lost.

The signs pointing our way were a bit confusing and misplaced. Some signs seemingly pointed to nothing, but at the last minute the road would become visible and I'd have to veer over. We ended up wandering about several small towns and finally made our way back onto Hwy 51. We arrived at the lake around 3 hours after we left the house. It turns out that the ride up would be the best part of the trip.

The visitor center was okay. There were some interesting things up in their gallery and they had a small nature center where you could hold snakes. After using the facilities and taking a stroll through the swamp, we decided to tackle the Keystone Trail after our lunch.

After our feast of tuna salad and crackers and apples we headed to Keystone.

What we found left us in disappointment.

The Keystone Picnic area is nice. There's a rather newish shelter complete with bathrooms and several picnic tables set next to the lake. However, the trail itself is pitiful. There is no trail head marker, nor are there any markers on the trail in any form. It looked like the locals use it as their dumping ground. I saw all sorts of trash and even one spent shotgun shell.

We wandered through the muddy and stump laden path until it curved into the lake. We snapped a couple pictures and headed out.

The path is billed as Reelfoot's only lake side path. Though it went along the lake, you couldn't really tell. There was very little in ways of scenery. It was all very dreary and grey.

Maybe I messed up by going in the winter, but I can definitely say I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed that something that was supposed to be awesome was not and I'm disappointed in how State Parks are falling to pieces. We as citizens should support these parks and help them become something everyone can enjoy and be proud of.

Regrets and might have beens

I am a young man. I hopefully have many years ahead of me, maybe even more than I have behind me. But in my short 30 years on this great planet of ours I have done things, or rather not done things that has left upon me much regret. A friend of mine once said "You don't regret the things you do, only the things you don't do." He couldn't have been more right.

As I hope you all know by now, I love traveling and experiencing life. It's what drives me. However, I didn't always have this philosophy. I used to be nothing more than a couch potato, lump on the proverbial log. I would waste hours or days playing video games or sitting in front of the television. I now look back at that period of my life (roughly 1993-2001) and mourn those lost years. I say "Man, I should've gone outside more. I shoulda earned more merit badges. I should've traveled more and visited family. I should've endeavored to learn more about the world and life when I had more time to dedicate to that pursuit."

One of my biggest regrets is not knowing more about my home state.

I relocated to Nashville Tennessee from San Diego California when I was 10 in 1991. I have lived in Tennessee ever since except for the five years I spent in Japan. In those 15+ years I learned and experience relatively little of the Volunteer State. I've been places. I've eaten my fill of BBQ and listened to my fill of country and blues music, but that's about it. I haven't even seen Rock City (Southerners will get the joke). As I ponder my future and look away from my home. I truly regret not doing more when I had the chance. I feel as I have thrown away major parts of my life. I'm vowing to change that.

Sitting in my living room, talking to my mom, we marveled how my uncle learns about each place he lives/lived. When we visited him in Hawaii we didn't need a tour guide, he knew just about everything there was to know about the big island. He always explores his area and dedicates to memory all aspects of it. It is really cool. As we talked, I became a bit envious. I realized that he lived in most places only a few years whereas I have lived in Tennessee for nearly 20. I feel embarrassed when people ask me stuff about Tennessee and I can't answer. At that moment I decided to make up for lost time.

I am currently writing a "bucket list" so to speak of places I want to see and things I want to do, not only in Tennessee, but in the South in general, before I depart this great land for parts unknown.

The list so far:
Reelfoot Lake
Ghost River
Ghost River Brewery
Lookout Mountain
Rock City
Ruby Falls
Lazy Magnolia Brewery
Sun Studios

I'm sure the list will grow and I'm hoping I can mark some of them off soon.

My advice to you all is to get out there. See and do! Don't waste you time, energy and money on crap games that at the end of the day don't really matter a bit. You should show that you actually lived life and that your horizons are broad. Good luck and keep traveling.