As we were preparing to leave the campground in Goodlettsville, Kevin received a call from his dermatologist’s office in Indiana.  The pathology report for the skin cancer he had removed on Nov 1, the day we left on our trip, came back after 14 days.  We had been lulled by two weeks of silence into believing all was well.  Not so.  The path report showed squamous cell carcinoma and they said more needed to be removed.  Kevin’s immediate response was to tell them, “We’re on a trip for a few months, so I’ll have it taken care of when we return.”  As a hospice nurse, you can guess how I felt about that!  After we chatted, he called her back and got an appointment in Richmond for Tues, 11/21 to have it taken care of.

With four days before we had to return to Indiana, we decided against heading to the Memphis area.  Instead, we went to a free National Park Service Campground on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  There are three free NPS campgrounds on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  This one is part of Meriwether Lewis National Monument.  It meant dry camping –no power, water, or sewer–but we felt prepared for that and looked forward to the natural setting and less crowded campground. We got a late start due to a prescription snafu (sending my prescription to the Kroger in Connersville rather than the one in Goodlettsville), and we had quite a long wait while it was transferred and filled.

Despite taking the fastest route to the campground, we pulled in after dark.  This is always a challenge.  We have developed the skills needed to set up in the dark with little difficulty, but getting into a wooded campsite in the dark can be risky.  The pitch of a road and angles of trees are not easily read in the dark.  As we pulled into the paved campsite, the road unexpectedly pitched to the right.  The trailer, of course, tilted in that direction.  A tree was leaning out into the campsite on that side.  The awning motor and front end of the awning hit the tree and bent with an excruciating sound.  The trailer became wedged against the tree.  Our attempts to free the trailer damaged the awning more and it was ultimately destroyed, pulling completely off the side of the trailer in the back.  After commiserating, we went to sleep.  We would further assess the damage in the daylight.

Tree 1
Awning 0

The awning was a complete loss.  We had left our ladder at home, so getting the trailer in safe travel condition was our next challenge.  Thankfully, Heath, the National Park Service Ranger, came by the following day with a ladder and helped Kevin get the remaining parts of the awning assembly off the trailer and offered to haul the awning wreckage away in his truck.  Heath is a great guy and we are thankful for his cheerful help.  After he left, Kevin noticed numerous scars and gaps in the bark on this tree, documenting how frequently it had been struck by previous RVs over the years. While that helped Kevin feel somewhat vindicated, the whole event put quite a damper on our arrival.

An impressive storm came through on Saturday evening.  Sitting in a small trailer in the middle of woods on top of a hill is really not where you want to be when that happens.  Despite our run of bad luck, no tree branches fell on us, we did not blow over, and we survived the storm.  Following the storm, a cold front came through.  As the temperatures dropped, we found our propane heater was not working, so we truly did rough it.  On our last morning there, we awoke to an inside temperature of 36 degrees!  (At least it was 10 degrees warmer than outside.) We crawled back under four layers of blankets fast!

On Monday, we drove back to Goodlettsville to leave the trailer while we drove back to Indiana to keep Kevin’s dermatologist appointment and to trade a few things we decided we didn’t need for a few things we forgot to pack.  We took the scenic route, up the Natchez Parkway which is a relaxing, uncrowded, wonderfully smooth road with beautiful wooded scenery.  As we drove, Kevin listed all the issues we have had with the trailer, from the malfunctioning tongue jack to the LP gas leak to the destroyed awning.  He asked, “But do you feel the least bit stressed about all of it?”  I smiled and answered, “No. Not really.”  We said almost in unison, “A bad day camping beats a good day working.”

Blessings!