OLA: Driving the Natchez Trace Parkway

Fall colors at the New Trace

Not only Bill drove. I drove 10% of the Natchez Trace Parkway!

Fall colors at the Old Trace

We were in Tennessee last year, making our way back to the Northwest from our first winter in Florida. We only visited its largest cities: Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis. This time around, we passed through in the opposite direction….towards Florida for our second winter! We found the drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina so memorable (and the blog post is one of the most popular) that this year, we chose to drive the Parkway. Besides we wanted to cover Mississippi and it leads there!

Falll colors at the lake in Natchez Trace RV Resort

                                        

The Natchez Trace Parkway (the Old was started in 1801 while the New began in 1930) gently winds among low hills from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, crossing Alabama at its northwestern tip.  This All-American Road, like its sister Blue Ridge, is maintained by the National Park Service, to commemorate the original route following the ’traces’ of bison and other game. In essence, it was the original path of the earliest Americans on the move (much like us)! Parts of the Old Trace is preserved and an added bonus was the fall colors draping its sides (my favorite season!).

them ol' cotton fields back at Donnivan Slough

Improved communications (steam boats, stagecoach lines, and railroads) and the development of ports along nearby rivers made the route obsolete as a means of commerce. As a result, no major population centers were born or developed along it. Thus the Trace and its alignment between Nashville and Natchez come down to us today almost completely undeveloped and unspoiled as an unhurried forest lane, with the exception of the cities of Tupelo and Jackson, Mississippi which developed later.

native-American ceremonial mound at the Trace

                                                                       There are many hiking trails in this quiet forest lane. Clear streams, little falls, shallow swamps, gentle meadows, pretty trees, and wild turkey are abundant. At Donivan Slough, I was fascinated by the cotton fields that almost look like acres of pock-marked snow.  Then there were the native-American burial mounds, bigger and higher (though not in special shapes) than the ones we saw at the Mounds National Monument in Iowa.  There was even a grave site of 13 unknown Confederate soldiers.  And near the Northern Terminus at milepost 444, a 155-ft. double arch bridge commands the intersection of the Parkway and Tennessee 100 at Birdsong Hollow.

155-ft. double-arch bridge over Tennessee 100

Tuscumbia, Alabama

Despite being rendered blind and deaf from a high fever at the early age of 19 months, Helen Keller, through the dedication of her beloved teacher Anne Sullivan, was able to graduate from Radcliff, cum laude. She went on to write 14 books and was a sought after inspirational speaker until she died at age 88 in 1968. A moon tree, from a seed carried in the Apollo 14 space flight to the moon, is growing well on the grounds of Ivy Green, her birthplace and childhood home in Tuscumbia, Alabama, a short diversion from the Trace.

Helen Keller's birthplace and childhood home in Alabama

 My mother was the Principal of the Philippine School for the Deaf and the Blind for years, having been sent by the government as its scholar to the Central Institute for the Deaf in Missouri. As a matter of fact, my sister Julie is now Executive Director of a nonprofit school called the Philippine Institute for the Deaf which we founded in her honor.  Thus I was so interested to make the short diversion to the Museum of the First Lady of Courage. She was my mother’s heroine. And my mom was mine!

Elvis Presley's birthplace and boyhood home in Mississippi

Tupelo, Mississippi

Another draw to the Trace is Tupelo, Mississippi which is the birthplace and home of Elvis before he headed for Memphis and stardom. Gospel singing influenced the star’s music so much that the church which he attended as a boy and teenager was relocated to the site of the home and museum, only one block from its original location. We were surprised that the Elvis landmark had so many more visitors than Ivy Green. I guess pop music and rock n’ roll has a wider appeal than rising above one’s handicap! But I enjoyed holding young Elvis’ hand for a photo!

flock of wild turkey fleeing from Bill's camera

We were not able to complete the Trace. But we promised ourselves that when we cross the Gulf States again, plying between California/Arizona and Florida for snow birding, we will complete the southern portion around Jackson, Mississippi most especially to see the unique Windsor Ruins, the patches of red clover, and yellow wildflowers on a river bend!

Jack Daniel’s Distillery 

the natural spring from where Jack Daniels comes from 

Two weeks ago, I wrote that 95% of bourbon-making is in Kentucky. Well, a day when I was not feeling well, Bill went to Lynchburg, Tennessee to tour the only Jack Daniels Distillery. Daniels started working at the general store owned by the man that owned the still when he was only 7 years old. He bought it for $25 when he was only 13!  One morning he went to work early. Not able to remember the combination to the safe, he kicked it in frustration, breaking his big toe.  Gangrene set in and eventually resulted in his death.  (The lesson is: ‘Don’t go to work too early!’ ) The company now has 400 employees in a town of 500 in a dry county in Tennessee!   

13 gravesites of unknown Confederates on the Old Trace

                                                                          Next Stop: Atlanta and Macon, Georgia

OLA: Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit

an RV  flat tire on I 71, just 30 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky

I looked up the meaning of ‘unbridled’ (from this state slogan) in dictionary.com; it has two. The second meaning says: free from restraint.

As soon as we left Cincinnati and, as we were approaching Louisville, the right front tires of M’A ‘turn blew out (she has 8 in all, 2 in front and 6 at the rear, on 2 rear axles!)   It was such an unfamiliar booming loud noise and I got really scared (for once?).  Luckily, Bill was able to steer the 20,000-pound rig to the shoulder of Interstate 71.   In about an hour, our Good Sam road assistance was there to ‘unbridle’ us and we continued on to Diamond Caverns Golf and RV Resort further down in Park City.  

The original meaning is: horse bridles removed. Kentucky is where majestic horses run 'unbridled' in fertile pastures.

grass with a tinge of blue...

Churchill Downs, where the annual Kentucky Derby is held,
shown on its 360 degree screen

It is known as the ‘Bluegrass State’, literally because of bluegrass that is great for livestock especially thoroughbreds native to the state (saddle bred) who run ‘unbridled’ on the fields. Bluegrass is a perennial species native to Europe, north Asia and Africa, but not North America. Colonists brought the seeds with them and native Americans call it white man’s grass..  I spent many hours foolishly looking for grass that’s blue (so what else is new?). The name derives from both its dark green blades and blue flower heads which appear only when the plant is allowed to grow to its natural height of 2 to 3 feet.

the entry to Churchill Downs guarded by Barbaro a Kentucy Derby Winner 

This land makes the breeding of high-quality racing horses possible.   Churchill Downs, now a World Heritage Site, is in Louisville and is North America’s longest operating horse racing track. The famous Kentucky Derby is held there first weekend of every May and this year saw its 137th. We toured the grounds and imagined Derby Day when 120,000 people spill out of its 54,000 seat grandstand, with its famous twin spires and millionaires’ row, onto the grass lawn inside the mile long dirt track.  $150M is wagered through its 3,000 windows. We toured the back barns where 1,500 future champions are being trained and stood in awe at the many testaments to past and current champions and the sublime walkway of those who have passed on. A showcase miniature horse named Winston and a retired champion named Risen Warrior bid us goodbye.

Winston, the miniature horse, and Risen Warrior, retired champ

Frozen Niagara in Mammoth Cave National Park,
longest cave system in the world

North central Kentucky is famous for the Downs, the Derby, and many horse farms. But in the south central part of the state is the world’s longest cave system in over 50,000 acres of the Mammoth Cave National Park. 394 miles of connected underground passageways were formed by the ‘unbridled’ waters of the Green River.  If you remember, in Rapid City we saw the second longest, Jewel Cave National Monument (154 miles), and the fifth longest, Wind Cave National Park (135 miles). The third longest is Optymistychna in the Ukraine (144 miles) and the fourth is Sistema Ox Bel Ha (139 miles) in Mexico.

Carol sanitizing her shoes on 'foam-ations'

The System was formed about millions of  years ago under a ridge of sandstone and shale, making it very stable and dry, though not as gorgeous in formations. We took the easy (I can’t do strenuous tours anymore!) Frozen Niagara  tour, so named for the waterfall that comes through a hole on the cave roof and alternates between a trickle and a downpour depending on water activity above. A huge flowstone with draperies looks like frozen falls. Unfortunately, I was singled out (not for being pretty, sigh) but for having been in another cave system only 2 months earlier, wearing the same pair of shoes! White nose syndrome has killed millions of bats and I had to be sanitized through the ‘foam-ations’.  At the end, all of us had to go through it.

one of the one=car river ferries

Driving through the scenic byways of Kentucky was also pleasant. The Cordell Hull Scenic Bywaygoes down to the border of Tennessee at Tompkinsville where we found an Old Meeting House that was built in 1773 during the religious upheavals. Every day the old game of rock marbles is still played at a unique ‘Marble Dome’ in town. The Duncan Hines Scenic Byway goes around and inside the Mammoth Cave National Park, crossing the Green River on 3 points via small ferries, through pretty treed landscapes, many historic cemeteries of families who once lived on the park, and antique stores full of treasures.

the old Marble Club Super Dome, still in daily use today

Next: Riding Kentucky's Unbridled Spirit, Part 2

Visiting Elvis in Memphis

It rhymes!  And Memphis rocks! We went to Graceland, Sun Studio, Beale St. , the Gibson Guitar Factory, the FedEx Forum, the Hernando de Soto bridge, the Pyramid Arena, and the Elvis Presley and B.B. King Welcome Center.  We had planned on going to Tupelo, about 1 ½ hours away, Elvis’s birthplace and where he stayed for 13 years before moving to Memphis. However, M’A ‘turn’s front air conditioner failed in the blistering 97 degree heat and we had to proceed quickly to Camping World at Little Rock.

At an estimated population of over 670,000, Memphis is the largest city in the state of Tennessee and the nineteenth in the United States. So, despite the RV problem, we still had a lot of fun taking pictures of places, especially those around Graceland:  Elvis’s plane named Lisa Marie, his blue El Dorado convertible, The Elvis Presley Boulevard sign, and Heartbreak Hotel.  We did not take the tour of the mansion though since I had been there before and we had time for only one tour.

We took the tour of Sun Studio where the blending of Blues and Country music came together in the big bang of Rock N' Roll. We actually preferred the Gibson Guitar Factory Tour but they cancelled the last tour of the day.  Our tour literally rocked.  The tour guide, El Dorado, told the stories while playing outtakes from sessions.  We saw loads of memorabilia and heard the story behind the launching of the careers of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, & Elvis Presley. 

El Dorado told us how the highlight of the studio’s history was made one December night when the four stars chanced upon each other and jammed together for the first time without knowing that the microphones were live.  He played for us part of their horsing around that that night.  This historic event is memorialized in the rollicking play, Million Dollar Quartet which Bill and I saw in Seattle some two and a half years ago (everybody danced on the aisles and atop seats). Finally, we were allowed to have our pictures taken with the original microphone Elvis used!

The Beale St. district is the place to be at night.  After being disappointed at the Gibson Guitar Factory Showroom, we took a photo of the FedEx Forum, home of the Memphis Grizzlies.  Then we had beer and chicken tenders at the B.B. King Blues Club. You see, we were waiting for 5 PM when the famous Peabody ducks walked the red carpet at the lobby of The Peabody (a famous hotel in the district) every day from their home at the rooftop.

Then we went to see the Elvis Presley and B.B. King Welcome Center where a huge colorful egg adorned the entry. Larger than life statues of the two Memphis sons stood inside.  From the Welcome Center you can see the graceful Hernando De Soto Bridge, a through arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between Arkansas and Tennessee.  It is named for the 16th century Spanish explorer who explored this stretch of the River where his body is believed to have been buried.

Next to the Welcome Center and bridge is the 20,142 seat Pyramid Arena.  Standing at 321 feet (98m, about 32 stories) tall and with base sides of 591 ft, it is the sixth largest pyramid in the world behind the Great Pyramid of Giza (456 ft), Khafre's Pyramid (448 ft), etc. It is also 16 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Although originally built for the Grizzlies, the team abandoned it in 2004.  Since that time, the Arena has not been used for sports.

But we had to proceed quickly to Little Rock because more hot nights will make me lose more beauty sleep.  And that, definitely, cannot be!

Next Stop:  Little Rock, Arkansas

Simply Listening to Music in Nashville, Tennessee

Or so we thought.  We were surprised to find that the Music City and the towns close to it offered so much to see and do! We did listen to a lot of country music, catching the end of the 2010 CMA Music Festival.  But we also drove by the Grand Ole Opry (although it has been under repair for flood damage). We also toured Andrew Jackson’s The Hermitage and chanced upon The Parthenon, the only full-size replica in the world of the Grecian architectural wonder! And there were also lots to see in the neighboring towns of Columbia, Spring Hill, Hohenwald, and Lawrenceburg, Tennessee!

Let me get off to a rockin’ start with the CMA Music Festival.  We caught the last day of it! Taylor Swift was on a 13-hour autograph signing event inside Bridgestone Arena where her fancy RV was parked amongst the thousands of cheering fans (me included). In front of the CMA Music Hall of Fame was a huge tent where Martina McBride was holding a Country Stars’ Auction. (When we went back after the Festival we saw that underneath the tent was the MusicWalk of Fame, a la Hollywood's.). And nearby was the Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge where Bo Bice was unceremoniously, but graciously thrown off soon after getting on the mechanical bull (the challenge is for 8 seconds). 

Outside the Bridgestone Arena were more country stars performing on the Chevy Stage in 30-minute intervals.  At the Riverfront Park were even more stars performing! All these for free! Every night, however, at the big L P Field on the other side of the river the greats performed to sold-out seats.  All around the four blocks (between 5^th and 1^st Avenues were the Sports Zone, Family Zone, and Fun Zone where many tents and kiosks offered all sorts of free stuff: Blue Bell ice cream, Texas BBQ, Jack Daniels whiskey, New Orleans Creole cookin’, McDonalds fudge sundaes, Mello Yellow, Coke Zero, and Ocean Spray ice-cold drinks.

 

We had  great food, great music, and great fun!  Unfortunately, it was a blazing HOT Sunday at 95 degrees with the famed Tennessee humidity and, by 5 PM, I couldn’t stop my meltdown.  First we sought refuge at a cowboy boots store. Then we went to the air-conditioned public library on 6^th Avenue. We understand some people were rushed to the hospital for heat strokes.  But we survived and came back another day for the non-CMA Music Festival highlights of The Music City!  

Tennessee produced three US presidents, Jackson, Polk, and Johnson.  Having been to Washington’s Mt. Vernon, Jefferson’s Monticello (and Poplar Forest), Madison’s Montpelier, and Monroe’s Ash Lawn Highland, we were amazed at the beauty of The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home.  The legacy of America’s 7^thpresident was the annexation to the Union of Arkansas and Michigan.  But The Hermitage must be another, especially the Greek-inspired tomb and memorial to his wife.  She died just weeks before he claimed the presidency, presumably from the stresses of the campaign. The opposition tried to use the scandal of their marriage (done before her divorce was finalized) to break his overwhelming popularity as the general who turned the tide of the War of 1812 with his triumph at the Battle of New Orleans.

Columbia, just minutes south of Nashville, has the ancestral home of James Polk, 11^th president of the US.  Polk only served one term but won the Mexican-American War for the Union and his legacy became the annexation of the rest of the West.  He died just three months after the end of his term.  He was sickly from the start but, being a workaholic, it is generally believed that the hard work he put in may have cost him his life.  See how he aged in these two pictures that were taken only 2 years apart during his term and are now hanging in his Columbia home! 

On the way to Hohenwald, we drove by Spring Hill when we saw the sign Carter House. It is not the home of a US president.  The house is on the site of the Battle of Franklin and the house is the most bullet-riddled house of the Civil War! All of over 1,000 bullet holes are quite visible on the farm office building which was painted red to highlight the holes. Spring Hill is also the town where the Saturn manufacturing plant once proudly stood on the Saturn Parkway.  It is now a GM plant.  What will it be next?    

Hohenwald is the closest town to our campground, Natchez Trace Wilderness Preserve.  And that is the town where Meriwether Lewis died under mysterious circumstances (syphilis or suicide or murder?).  A monument that is incomplete stands above his burial site and near the roadhouse where he died. It is incomplete to symbolize a life that was cut short, a life that could have been so much greater.  After all, he discovered the West for America.  The monument is one of the attractions of the Natchez Trace Parkway which connects Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, and features many highlights along the scenic drive.  We hope to cover more of it in the future.

Finally, Lawrenceburg is where a thriving ‘Old Order’ Amish community in the Etheridge area gave me a lot to think about. The Amish are a very traditional sub grouping of Mennonite churches. They are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt modern convenience. They began with a schism in Switzerland led by Jakob Ammann. In the early 18th century, many Amish immigrated to Pennsylvania. Over the years, the Amish churches have divided many times over doctrinal disputes. The 'Old Order' Amish, a conservative faction that withdrew from the wider body in the 1860s, are those that have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs.

We enjoyed marveling at their crafts, their produce, and their way of life.  The Yoders Homestead Market was a delight!  I bought so many things for my pantry there!    A 2008 study suggests the Amish in the US and Canada have increased to 227,000. I understand that the fastest advancing community in the country is Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We are bound to encounter many more of them in such places as Iowa, Indiana, and Kentucky where we will again visit them and partake of the wonderful products they have to offer.

Before we forget, Lawrenceburg is also the hometown of Davy Crockett.  A monument for him stands in the middle of downtown and a state park, named after him, stands at the outskirts of town. In and around Nashville is a wonderful place to be. And our NTWP is a good place to camp.  We had a lake which we toured on a pontoon boat (and saw lots of Canadian geese enjoying the calm waters), a sandy beach for volleyball, swimming, etc., Saturday concerts at the great hall, and a health spa to boot! I wonder how our next stop and campground will be... 

Next Stops: Memphis, Tennessee and Little Rock, Arkansas