travel day to Florence Alabama

Thursday we woke up to rain .... rats! We had planned to move today but were re-thinking that idea if it was going to be wet and nasty. The rain quit right after I got out of bed and then the sun peeked out so we decided to head out as it looked like it was going to be a nice day after all.

We got on the road around 9:30 and headed north on SR 15. We were staying off the interstates today and our route took us through the Mississippi countryside before skirting a little east and into Alabama before turning north again.
We passed through the small town of Hackleburg Alabama which was all but wiped out by an F5 tornado last April. There are hardly any trees standing and it was sad to see the driveways leading up to empty foundations knowing that one year ago someones home had stood there. There were several people killed by the tornado and there is still a solemn feeling you get when passing through the town. The residents are rebuilding though and we saw new houses being constructed as well as a new drug store going up. The temporary drug store is a mobile home in the parking lot so I am sure the town is looking forward to the new larger building. This area was also home to a large Wrangler Jeans factory and stories have been told of blue leans raining from the sky miles away after the factory was destroyed. Makes one all the more aware of their surroundings while traveling in an RV. We always make it a point to know the name of the county we are staying in as well as nearby counties since most watches and warnings are listed by county name. Another good idea is to find a safe place to go ahead of time should a warning be issued for the area around your RV park.

We arrived at McFarland Park in Florence a little before 3pm. This is a city park right on the Tennessee River and they have a full hook up RV park with in the park itself. We checked in and was told to take any available spot and the camp host would come by and write down which site we were in. One thing good about having Rudee following in the Dakota is I can park the rig and we can easily tour the campground to find the best site.
They have a mix of back in and pull through sites that can easily accommodate big rigs. We selected site #102 which is a long back in site overlooking the river. There is a side street and play area between us and the water but we still have a nice view out the picture window :-).

There is a site next to us for Rob and Jany who should be here before noon on Friday. We are looking forward to our week here even though the weatherman says a cold front is moving through. They are predicting high winds and storms Friday and then colder temperatures for the next several days. We have our weather radio plugged in and our route to the cement block bath house all mapped out. Hope we don't have to use it! I'll keep you posted.