Day 183: We Visited An Elephant Sanctuary

Autumn

time of year

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The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee — Elephant Discovery Center, Hohenwald, TN

The Elephant Sanctuary exists to provide captive elephants with individualized care, the companionship of a herd, and the opportunity to live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their well-being and to educate the public of the complex needs of elephants in captivity and the crisis facing elephants in the wild. They also help fund other conservation efforts (ex. Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which we also donate to) and sanctuaries around the world and partner with other organizations that aim to improve elephant welfare around the world. There is no access allowed to the rescued elephants but you can watch the Elecam live from your own home anytime you want.

We were able to have quite a long talk with the woman in charge who shared her extensive knowledge on their elephants and the sanctuary. The Elephant Discovery Center is very well done, and provides information about the care of the elephants, history of the sanctuary and about the elephants themselves. This is a must visit if you’re ever in the area.

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Eiffel Tower Park, Paris, TN. This tower is in a great kids park. It was raining when we were there so we didn’t do much but It has several play grounds, disc golf, a splash pad and a pool with a fancy slide.

http://paristn.gov/departments/parks-recreation/parks/

6.8

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Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tiptonville, TN. The most seismically active area east of the Rocky Mountains is in the Mississippi Valley, which includes Tiptonville and Reelfoot Lake, and is known as the New Madrid seismic zone. Reelfoot Lake was formed by a series of over 2000, including three very large earthquakes, estimated between magnitude 7 and 8 from December 1811 to 1812. When the earthquakes occurred the forest sank 10’ and created this 11 mile long, 5 mile wide lake. It currently averages about 5’ deep and is home to a population of bald eagles. We walked along the Cypress Boardwalk Trail, which was magical on this grey day, and visited with the rescued raptors. We had hoped to do the Black Bayou Trail but it was very muddy from the day’s rain.