2026 Oct 13, 14, Trip with Travel Lady to Dover, Land Between the Lakes, Reelfoot Land and Patti's Settlement

Day 1, Tuesday,  October  13, 2026 

 We started the day with a trip to Lawrenceburg and stopped at Hardie's for breakfast, where I ordered a sausage, egg, and biscuit. Hubby ordered a pork chop biscuit with gravy. $10.94

We met another couple from Columbia, TN, who were also going on the same trip. We got a text from our guide that our bus was having problems and had to be replaced, so they were running 30 minutes late. 

So we sat and talked to our new friends. 

We arrived at the church where we parked overnight for our trip and waited with others for the bus Starship Atlantis. 

Around 8:30, everyone boarded the bus, and we began our journey. We stopped in Waynesboro to pick up a couple.

Our first stop was the Patsy Cline and Chat Akins rest stop in Holladay, TN, around 10:30 A.M., to use the restrooms.

We arrived at the Visitor Center in Stewart County, Dover, TN, at 11:47 A.M., where we were welcomed with a buffet-style lunch that included BBQ, Turkey, green beans, creamed potatoes, and rolls, with iced tea or water. After we finished our meal, we walked through the museum, which had Civil War memorabilia from Dover. We saw quilts, photos, riverboats, and American Indian artifacts, and a full-size map of Dover from the winter of the Civil War. We saw a replica of Joe's Country Store, a replica of the Home of Thomas and Julia Cruthers, and a portrait of William Harrison Scarborough, a portraitist and miniaturist. 

Around 1 P.M.,  we rode through the Fort Donelson Battlefield National Park. Fort Donelson National Battlefield played a crucial role during the American Civil War because of its location on the Cumberland River. 

Around 1:45 P.M., we arrived at The Home Place 1850, a working farm with historic buildings, programs, and gift shops. I bought three postcards: National Recreation KY. TN, Golden Pond Visitor Center & Planetarium, and The Homeplace 1850s Living History Farm for $1 each; I also bought a bottle of Grape Prepel for $4.

Everyone walked through the gift shop, used the restrooms, and walked through the displays; then we gathered in the classroom and were divided into two groups.

Our group walked through the park, stopping to visit a couple of homes and see how people would have lived in the 1800s. 

We saw the American Guinea Hogs, Pinkey and Blake, basking in the sun. 

We saw the Dominickers' chickens and their rooster, Obadiah. I said Obadiah was from the Bible, and our guide said yes, but sometimes the kids think she says Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars. Fun Fact.

Our last visit was to see Cinnamon, the therapy horse, and Todd the mule. Our guide ran to get a couple of apples to feed them.

Sarah, our guide, held up the two apples and called Cinnamon and Todd. They recognized her and came running for those apples, which they enjoyed. 

A couple of kids were nearby; one patted the horses, but the other was afraid. Our guide said they get visitors from all over the US and other countries. We thanked her, walked back to the building, used the restrooms, and boarded our bus. 

At 4:30, we rode through the Elk & Bison Prairie National Recreation Area, Caadiz, KY.  

We saw several male and female Elk and several bison crossing the road.

A herd of bison lay in the grass, resting near the water, while others stood in the middle of the road, blocking cars.

Our next stop was Patti's Settlement in the 1880s. We visited the gift shop and walked around outside, where we saw several great places to take photos. One was the water wheel at the Grist Mill, an enclosed area with umbrellas and the words Pattie's, the pumpkin display, and the GB Duck Toy Emporium; we saw a kids' play area, a bright yellow Crosley, and a Rooser rocker, Lots of birdhouses, a manager display, polar bear and pig displays. We saw a chapel, a life-size chess game, an old car, and Calvin's Swine Moonshine.

Around 6 P.M., we were taken to the dining room where we were served a choice of pork chops, chicken, or Salmon with the fixings. Before the food came out, they brought us strawberry, whipped butter, and bread shaped like a flower in a ceramic flower pot. 

We were served a variety of drinks, then a house salad. I chose Raspberry vinaigrette while Hubby chose Thousand Island dressing.

Hubby chose a thick, juicy 16 oz center-cut pork chop, charbroiled and seasoned with Patti's seasoning sauce, served with a large baked potato. 

I chose Salmon broiled over an open flame, served over a bed of rice pilaf with a large baked potato. Hubby and I only ate the meat because after the bread and salad, we could only eat the meat. 

Dessert choices were  Bill's boatsinker pie, a dark double-fudge brownie topped with coffee ice cream, piled high with whipped cream, covered with chocolate syrup, and topped with a cherry.

Sawdust Pie: coconut graham cracker crumb with pecans in an egg batter, baked in a flaky pie shell. Topped with a banana slice and whipped cream. We got ours to-go. 

In the gift shop, I bought minies of Horton Hears-a-Whoo elephant, the Grinch, Cindy-Hoo-Loo, and Max, the Grinch's dog. $43.63

Once everyone finished dinner, we headed to our hotel, Patti's Settlement Hotel. We were in room 202.

Day 2, Wednesday, October 14, 2026 

We had breakfast at the hotel around 7 A.M. I ate scrambled eggs, sausage with gravy, and apple juice.

We loaded our luggage onto the motor coach around 8 A.M. and began our day's adventures.

Our first stop was at the Reelfoot Lake Visitor Center around 9:30 A.M.

We had 30 minutes to use the restroom, visit the R.C. Donaldson Memorial Museum, and shop (which features a variety of displays bout the nature center )

Several of us walked outside to see the rescued bald eagle and red-tailed hawks, then walked down the boardwalk to the lake, where we saw cypress trees, turtles, and great blue herons. 

At 10 A.M., we all gathered in the interpretive room where Ranger Madlyn Cox and Ranger Joah Winford gave a demonstration with the Barred owl, the Mini Screech owl, and the American kestrel.

We ate a family-style lunch across the street at Boyette's, which included fried fish, white beans, coleslaw, hush puppies, French fries, onion rings, Iced tea, and a variety of pies for dessert. The food was great.

When we finished eating, we walked back across the street and boarded the bus with our guides, Coy Hussey and Shane Morrow, who filled our heads with information about the park. 

We rode several miles throughout the park, where we saw one of their bald eagles in the middle of the road eating roadkill from a raccoon. We saw egrets, Great Blue Herons, and White Pelicans. We stopped for a group photo in front of a large, croppie. (fish) 

We thanked our guides and dropped them off around 2:45 P.M. at the Visitor Center. 

Then we began our journey home, but first stopped at our golden nugget, Rusty's TV and Movie Museum of Cars, which took about 30 minutes. 

Back on the road, we stopped at Love's and bought a bag of Cheetos, nuts, a cheese stick, and a couple of drinks. 

Our next stop was to drop off a couple in Waynesboro, then head to Lawrenceburg, where most people got off. We got off here. Then the bus took the remaining passengers to Florence. 

We stopped at Krystal to use the restroom and purchase three double Krystals, which we ate on the way home. $13.86

We arrived home late. Another great trip in the books. 

Photos

Day 1

9336-9337 Loading on bus Lawrenceburg, TN 8:11 A.M.

9338-9342 Holaday, TN 10:20 A.M.

9343-9345 Traveling to Springfield, TN 

9346-9375 Visitor Center, Dover, TN, and lunch 11:47–12:38 P.M. 

9376-9410 Fort Donelson Battlefield, Dover, TN 1:04–1:20 P.M. 

9411-9486 The Homeplace Working Farm and Living History Museum, Dover, TN  1:43–3:18 P.M.

9487-9536 Land Between the Lakes Elk and Bison Prairie, Grand Pond, KY 4:18–4:49 P.M.

9537-9621 Patti's Settlement at Grand Rivers, KY, including dinner 55:14–6:50 P.M.

Day 2 

9625 Breakfast @6:56 AM

9626-9629  Patti's Inn and Suites, Grand Rivers, KY 7:17–7:44 A.M.

9630-9737 Reelfoot Lake Visitor Center and Park, LAKE County, Tipptonville, TN  

9739-9765 Rusty's TV & Movie Car Museum, Jackson, TN  4:15-4:2PM

2019 Feb 25-26, 🚌 Adventures at Reelfoot Lake, & Paris, Tennessee

After being cooped up indoors for weeks due to the rainy weather, Hubby and I decided to take a trip.
The Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers overflowed into nearby fields, roadways, and people's homes, forcing people and animals to seek higher ground.
You could see the flooding for miles in Alabama and Tennessee.

It was the last week to take the bus tour to see Eagles nesting at the nearby Levee along the Mississippi River, so I booked two tickets.
It takes over three hours to drive to Tiptonville from our home, so I booked a cabin at Sportsman Resort, located along Reelfoot Lake, for one night.
The south area cabins of Reelfoot were flooded, so we stayed in the north area cabins.

We arrived in Paris around 11:30 A.M., stopped at Dinkins Mobile Homes, and walked through several homes.
One of the mobile homes was a woman busy cleaning, so we began talking. She was a widow with three grown sons and several grandchildren. She told us a story about taking three of her grandchildren on a trip to Fort Myers to visit family.
She said, 'The grandkids kept saying," Are we there yet? "' I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.'
She showed us where all the electrical lights were along the walkway.
We asked her about things to do in Paris, and she said Paris Landing, Tennessee Wildlife Refuge, and the Eiffel Tower.

First, we stopped at the Eiffel Tower Park to take a few pictures and use the restroom at about 12:45 P.M.
At 1:15 P.M., we ate lunch at a local restaurant, Southside Cafe, where Hubby and I both ordered a catfish plate: a baked potato, white beans, a catfish fillet, cornbread, and a salad.

Catfish plate 

We traveled along US Highway 79 to Paris Landing Park, where we saw the Big Sandy River, a man fishing, and flooded roads. 2:20 P.M.
We backtracked to Paris Landing Visitor Center, where we saw four barn owls and two bald eagles in cages outside.

While we were at Paris Landing Visitor Center, two park rangers from Reelfoot Lake put a recused Bald Eagle into one of the cages outside because the eagle's cage at Reelfoot Lake was flooded.

Bald Eagle at Paris Landing Visitor Center

Inside the Visitor Center, we saw exhibits featuring turtle shells, coyotes, big cats, and raccoons, along with informational pamphlets.
2:30PM-3:08 P.M.

We arrived at the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge at 3:35 P.M., and it closed at 4:00 P.M., so we didn't have much time to visit.
We walked through the museum and outside, but did not see any animals or birds.

The sunset we saw while traveling from Paris to Tiptonville

We arrived at Sportsman Lodge after 6 P.M.
We stayed in a one-room Fishman cabin that had just enough room for a small table, futon, countertop stove, microwave, bed (with bed springs), satellite TV, and a bathroom. If you want to rough it, this is the way to go.

The neighborhood dog slept in a chair on the front porch. I'm not sure what kind of guard dog he was, for I never heard him bark. He sure was friendly.

We didn't get much sleep because we could feel every movement the other person made, and the bedsprings screeched.

You could walk outside our cabin just a few feet, and there was Reelfoot Lake.
The sunrise was beautiful, with the lake in view.

Sunrise over Reelfoot Lake 

We ate breakfast at Sonic in Tiptonville. I ordered Texas toast with sausage and cheese, and Hubby ordered a hamburger and a corndog.

We rode to historic downtown Tiptonville, where we saw the schools, cemetery, churches, and several landmark markers,

Carl Perkins' boyhood cabin 

We stopped to take pictures of Carl Perkins's boyhood home.
We rode to the Reelfoot Lake State Park Visitor Center, where we saw a live barn owl, rattlesnakes, copperheads, and birds. There were several displays and activities for children, and outside was a flooded walkway and owl cages.

Cypress Boardwalk and Scenic Cruise are all flooded. 

Barn Owl at Reelfoot Lake State Park

At 10 A.M., about 20 people loaded onto a school bus.
Our guide was a Park Ranger named Jerry Lewis, but I am not sure of his last name.
He said we are traveling along the Mississippi River levee to see bald eagles.
The levee road was above the water, with floodwaters on both sides.

The bus stopped one time, and we saw a couple of bald eagles nesting.
Almost everyone got off the bus to stretch their legs and view the eagles.

When the tour ended, we started at home.
We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Dyersburg for lunch.
Hubby ordered a roast beef plate. I ordered a kid's pinto beans, carrots, cornbread, and an onion plate.
We split a bowl of hot peach cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Scarlet Macaw 

We stopped at the five-mile drive-thru Safari Park Zoo in Alamo. We bought a bucket of food to feed the animals. You have to be careful feeding the animals, so I only feed the small deer.

After finishing the drive-thru, we parked and walked through the petting zoo.
We stopped at McDonald's in Savannah, Tennessee. Hubby ordered a hamburger and fries. I ate peanut butter crackers and a banana.

Flooding on the Tennessee River at Savannah, TN 

We arrived home around 8 P.M., both worn out from all the traveling and the sleepless night before.