Stovepipe in Knoxville

Hello everyone!  I found out about this place from a post someone made on rv.net, I'm glad to be here!

My wife and I did a lot of backpacking in the mountains over the years.  Particularly the Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Creek wilderness area.  Kids came along and we were unable to go for awhile.  A few years ago we took the two boys (aged about 2 and 3 at the time) tent camping at Cove Lake.  We had an absolute blast and after watching the pop-up next to us all weekend I decided that we HAD to have one.  Found a well cared for used one a few weeks later and we've been seriously hooked ever since!

We've mostly kept to the state parks up to this point but as the boys get older (now almost 5 and 6) we are branching out a bit since they can hike, bike, fish, etc.  If I recall correctly, as of this month, we've camped at the following places with the pop-up:

Norris Dam State Park (east and west)
Cove Lake State Park
Rock Island State Park
Standing Stone State Park
Natchez Trace State Park
Panther Creek State Park
Cedars of Lebanon State Park
Big Ridge State Park
Fall Creek Falls State Park
Jellystone in the Smokies
Lockn music festival in VA

There are a few private campgrounds we'd like to hit this spring and summer in addition to checking out some other state parks we've not been to yet.  If things go as planned, we'll be upgrading to a travel trailer fall of 2016.  That will be mind-blowingly awesome as the biggest annoyance with the pop-up is the time it takes to prepare for a trip and load/unload/set everything up.  With the travel trailer we'll keep it ready to go at all times, all seasons.

I'm looking forward to participating in the discussions here.  I've already read over a ton of threads, there is some good information here for sure.  Thanks for having me!

Cheers!

(Edited to add Fall Creek Falls)

Welcome to the forum. You will really enjoy the step up from popup to travel trailer. You've camped at a lot of the places that folks here camp. May have even run into a few and not known it at that time.

Welcome. I think I'm the one that told you about this site.

We ARE a good bunch of people. I have two daughters, now aged 7 and 10, but soon to be 8 and 11 (as they quickly remind me).

We camphost a lot, months of May, June, July and August of each year. May and August are at Natural Tunnel, just over the Va line by 17 miles. Come visit us.

Thanks for the welcomes!

Next weekend will be our third trip of the year. We hit Norris east mid-March followed by Norris west Easter weekend. It's hard for me to sit in a office when the weather is so beautiful, I keep day dreaming about camping. If it was up to me I'd be out every weekend!

ARE... you Roger Daltrey? I had to ask. Your pic looks a lot like the rocker!

A couple others you should try when in UPPER East Tennessee are Davy Crockett Birthplace SP and Warriors Path SP. We are going to DCBSP next weekend for our first outing of the year.

Tennessee_Nomads wrote:ARE... you Roger Daltrey? I had to ask. Your pic looks a lot like the rocker!

You totally busted me! When I'm not touring with The Who I spend my time camping in east Tennessee in a pop-up.

Actually Daltrey has been my avatar on the internets for longer than I can remember. Something about the bewildered look on his face seems to fit.

Tennessee_Nomads wrote:A couple others you should try when in UPPER East Tennessee are Davy Crockett Birthplace SP and Warriors Path SP. We are going to DCBSP next weekend for our first outing of the year.

Those are on my list for sure, particularly Warriors Path. Hoping to pull the trigger on that one this fall! It's my understanding that that one is a rather enjoyable one for kids.

Both are actually fun for the young'uns... DC has a pool and a playground, fishing on the river and its bike friendly. Warriors probably has more to do. Lake rentals, pontoon boat, canoe, paddle boards (I think they're called) , disc golf, and horseback riding are good options. Both are good destinations.

Welcome stovepipe. ...I'm from Clinton, Tn and regularly camp at Cove Lake, Big Ridge and some of the others you mentioned. I highly recommend Bandy Creek campground at Big South Fork. Several here camped in popups, including me. I am on my second travel trailer.

chuck wrote:Welcome stovepipe. ...I'm from Clinton, Tn and regularly camp at Cove Lake, Big Ridge and some of the others you mentioned.   I highly recommend Bandy Creek campground at Big South Fork. Several here camped in popups, including me. I am on my second travel trailer.

Funny you should mention Bandy Creek, that is actually a place we've been talking about a lot lately. A lady I work with raised three daughters, regularly took them there growing up, and swears it is a slice of heaven. We've spent a fair amount of time at Big South Fork over the years. A buddy of mine used to work the Charitt Creek Lodge back in the late 90s and we got to stay there for free on a number of occasions, hiking the local trails. We've also hiked the Honey Creek trail during cold and warm months, excellent any time of the year. Bandy Creek looks perfect, can't wait to drag the pop-up there, thanks for the recommendation.

I hope you can join us this weekend at Panther Creek.