If you have never been to Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee then you should definitely go and check it out. I went there on one of my mixed vacations as a thought of adventure. I really wanted to see some waterfalls and as it turns out, Fall Creek Falls is pretty famous for being one of the busiest state parks in Tennessee. Why? They have four-five different areas that have all different waterfalls. They have a huge area of campsites and its full the minute I decide that I want to go there for my vacation spot. Luckily I kept my eye on the website and found one spot that opened up for me at the last leg of my trip. So with everything in plan I make me way through Atlanta, Virginia and stop in Tennessee. Now the drive to get to the park is about an hour of back roads where you go fifty miles per hour. I really did think that I was going to get lost or never make it to the state park just because of how confusing it seemed. I even had to turn around three or four times since the directions weren’t well laid out.
Once I got to the park and found the check in area I realized that I had to check in the next day since the person who sits in the booth was gone after five p.m. So I go to my campsite and find that I love the location. It’s in the corner, the deer graze in the field that I am next to and it’s out of the way of everyone else. Wonderful spot to stay for a few days. So I back up my car, set up my area and settle down with my set campfire and start chowing when I realize that the neighbor’s dog is begging for attention. The family has all gone inside the RV and left the poor dog to sit out here waiting. Cautious that I don’t******off my neighbors I say a quick hello and a pat on the head and I turn around to go back to my book and campfire when the door swings open. My first thought is that this guy is going to throw a fit and yell and scream for petting his dog. I turn and look at the guy standing there waving his arms. "Come on". Stunned I stand there staring at him. He was serious....wasn’t he? I asked "are you sure?" twice before I even took one step towards that RV.
He insisted continuously until I made my way into a family bustle. Everyone had a paper plate full of potatoes, mac and cheese, some bread, and banana pudding as a dessert. They told me to eat as much as I wanted and to make myself at home. Being cautious and watching to make sure I didn’t make anybody bristle up I grabbed little bits and a small soda and sat down on the couch. They quickly start asking questions and I tell them about my traveling and I got the usual responses about how brave I was and how they wished they did what I was doing when they were my age. Everyone seemed to be in tune with what I was saying and I managed to keep up the conversation but, I knew that they were trying to just be neighborly. After I had my dessert and some laughs we then decided to go sit around the fire and have some company. Mostly I listened when it came to that and it wasn’t as interesting as I hoped but I did enjoy the company and just thankful that they shared some food with me. Not everyone has the courage to invite a stranger into their "home" and with today’s world anything is possible.
Really the night went nicely and eventually we all decided to retire for the night. We both had a long day the next day, I was hiking and they were driving back home, so we all said our goodbyes and made our way to our campsites. Sometimes good ol fashion company and a hot meal is all you need to provide to a fellow traveler. So thank you strangers for doing that for me.
