Outrunning Ol' Man Winter

After the fourth warmest January on record, Ol’ Man Winter has finally shown his face in the South, and it’s not a pretty sight.  Arctic air is bringing some of the coldest temperatures to the region thus far this season.  And we’re caught right in the middle of it!

After a drive through Tupelo, Mississippi, yesterday morning, with a look at the Elvis Presley Birthplace, we headed on to Memphis, Tennessee.  We arrived yesterday afternoon and made plans to visit Graceland, Sun Studio, the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum the Gibson Guitar Factory, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel and Beale Street.

Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum and Chapel

Elvis Presley Birthplace

We had picked a campground near Graceland that offered shuttle service to the downtown attractions.  We had it all planned.  Well, you can probably see where this is going.  We knew that the weekend was going to be cold, with a few showers, but it seemed to be manageable, and we went to bed last night with plans to catch the shuttle first thing this morning.

It was dark and gloomy this morning, and I suggested that we see Graceland today and spend a sunnier Saturday downtown.  Then, for some reason, I decided to look at the weather forecast.  The forecasted temperatures had dropped about ten degrees since I last looked!  We are very conscious of temperatures below freezing because of our water lines and tanks.  Freezing temperatures can wreak havoc with water lines when they are not well-insulated.  We have successfully weathered temperatures down to about 26° as long as it warms up during the day, but I don’t like to push it.

The low for Memphis was predicted to be 25° tonight and 17° on Saturday, with the high reaching only 32°.  Snow was forecast for Monday.  That made me more than a little nervous.  Tim humored me, and we pulled out the map and weather forecasts and started looking for a warmer spot.  Arkansas, where we had planned to go next, was even colder, and areas south of us were not much better.  We finally settled on Vicksburg, Mississippi, and left Memphis, hoping to return when the weather improves.

It was not a particularly fun drive.  We started out on the interstate in the rain with trucks whizzing past us.  We exited onto the back roads, which were much more peaceful to drive. Except, we learned just how poor Mississippi really is.  It was so depressing to drive by mile after mile of decrepit houses, rundown towns and abandoned farms.  We couldn’t even find a place that was open for lunch.  On the other hand, maybe we needed this little dose of reality after all of the beautiful places we’ve been.

We finally made it to Vicksburg where we found the temperatures to be much warmer.  It probably won’t even drop below freezing until tomorrow night.  We’re not going to be making any firm plans for the next few days and will wait and see what Ol’ Man Winter has up his sleeve.

Tonight’s also another first.  We’re staying at a campground at one of Vicksburg’s casinos. Neither Tim nor I are particularly fond of casinos.  In fact, I go out of my way to avoid them. We won’t be visiting the one here, but the campground is actually very nice and just what we need right now.

Shiloh

It’s been more than a week since we visited a battlefield, so we rectified that today with a stop at Shiloh National Military Park in Shiloh, Tennessee.  Shiloh was one of the four original military parks in the country and was established in 1894.  We had previously visited two of the original parks, Gettysburg and Chickamauga and Chattanooga, where we had learned about the legislation that had created these parks.

The bloody, two-day Battle of Shiloh in 1862 is often considered to be the first major battle of the Civil War.  Here along the Tennessee River, Confederate forces were unsuccessful in preventing a Union advance into the Mississippi Valley.  What I found to be most interesting about Shiloh, however, was not the battle itself, but some of the stories.  Here, for example, Federal surgeons set up one of the first field hospitals of the Civil War.  By focusing medical services on the battlefield, patient care was vastly improved and the death rate was lowered.  It was also at Shiloh that John Wesley Powell, who would go on to explore the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, lost his right arm.

Like many of the other Civil War parks throughout the country, Shiloh offers a battlefield tour, through the major sites of the battle.  We drove the tour route where we saw the many monuments erected by the states that participated in the battle. 

Confederate Memorial

Iowa Monument in the Background

Mortuary Monument to Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston,
Who Was Struck by a Stray Bullet

Smaller Monument Are Scattered Throughout the Battlefield

The visitor center at Shiloh also has the distinction of showing the oldest orientation film at a national park.  Produced in 1956, the film is a bit dated, to say the least, even if it was an award-winning production in its time.  National Park Service interpretation has come a long way, and a new film will soon be offered at Shiloh.

We ended our tour with a catfish lunch before making our way even farther south into Mississippi.

Visiting a Battlefield and Eating Catfish Along the Tennessee River

On the Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile scenic byway that extends northward from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee.  The Natchez Trace, which is administered by the National Park Service, parallels a historic road that linked the Mississippi River with the valley of the Tennessee River.  The modern Natchez Trace Parkway was begun in the 1930s, although a few sections were not completed until 2005.  

We picked up the parkway just south of its northern terminus near Nashville, and enjoyed our drive through the countryside.  The lack of traffic was especially appealing after the rush of Nashville.  A number of sections of the original trace are visible along the way, and one can just imagine the Ohio River valley farmers who turned an early Native American trail into a clearly-marked path.

Sites of Interest on the Natchez Trace Are Marked

Original Segments of the Natchez Trace Are Visible

We were able to see a few remaining vestiges of the historic trace, including the Gordon House.  The Gordons ran a ferry across the Duck River from 1801 until traffic on the trace declined after the steamboat became the preferred method of travel.

The Gordon House

The grave of Meriwether Lewis, one of the two co-captains of Lewis and Clark Expedition, is located along the trace.  Lewis died here in 1809 of two gunshot wounds, and it has never been determined who inflicted the wounds.  The State of Tennessee erected a monument in 1848 to commemorate Lewis’ life.  The design is a broken column, representing a life cut short.

Meriwether Lewis Monument

My favorite contemporary element of the Natchez Trace Parkway is a dramatic, double-arched bridge that was completed in 1994.  It’s a beautiful, soaring structure and one of only two post-tensioned, segmental concrete arch bridges in the world.  The bridge received the Presidential Award for Design Excellence in 1995 and was the first thing we saw when we turned onto the parkway.

Double Arch Bridge

Nashville Highlights

We’ve been in Nashville for several days now.  We went out to dinner with Jenny and Zack on Friday night and saw a bit of the East Nashville neighborhood where they live.  Zack and Jenny cooked an amazing dinner for us on Saturday night, and we were able to meet their very cute children, Josh and Maggie.  East Nashville seems to be a wonderful place to live, with a wide variety of historic houses and neighborhood shops that you can actually walk to.

After taking some time off and just hanging around the campground, we decided it was time to finally venture out and explore Nashville.  We decided to take the easy way out and sign up for a tour, since it included a complimentary pickup.  Because I’m not a huge fan of bus tours, I have to admit I was a bit relieved when a mini-bus, not a motorcoach, showed up.  A tour with only thirteen people was much more manageable.

The tour actually gave us a good overview of Nashville, and our guide provided an almost-nonstop commentary on the history of the city, the music industry, the recent flood and points of interest along the way.  We drove by Vanderbilt University where Zack works, and saw such landmarks as the State Capitol, Bicentennial Mall and the Parthenon, which was built in 1893 for the Tennessee Centennial and is a full-scale replica of the original in Athens.  

Tennessee State Capitol

The Parthenon

Naturally, a significant focus of the tour was music.  It was interesting to drive through Music Row, which is home to most of the studios that are the heart of the music recording and production industry in Nashville. One of the highlights was historic RCA Studio B, where Elvis and other artists recorded more than 35,000 songs.  We also made two stops, first at the Ryman Auditorium and then at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

RCA Studio B

GuitarTown

Tim and I had originally thought we would attend a performance of the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman last Friday, but the show was sold out, likely because Keith Urban was scheduled to appear.  The Ryman Auditorium is considered to be the “Mother Church of Country Music” and was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974.  It would have been really cool to see a performance in that space.  Going to a show in the new Grand Old Opry House is not nearly as appealing to me.

Ryman Auditorium

Immediately following Friday’s show, construction began on the Ryman’s stage, which is being upgraded after many years.  We were still able to tour the auditorium today and see the exhibits, but for some reason, photographs were prohibited inside.

Since moving to Montana in 2006, I’ve become a fan of country music, so it was a lot of fun to go through the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and actually learn a little about the history of country music and the many performers from the early years to today.  The Gold Record Wall and the Hall of Fame were pretty neat, but I especially loved seeing the boots.  I’ve never seen such a collection of cowboy boots in my life.  They were true works of art.

Tim enjoyed seeing the guitars on display, as well as the ones housed in the archives.  The facility houses the Frist Library and Archives, and many of the artifacts and recordings are visible through the glass walls.

Country Music History on Display

These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

Gold Record Wall

Elvis Presley's "Solid Gold" Cadillac

The Hall of Fame

It was a good day, and I’m glad we were able to see at least some of the highlights of Nashville.  

Reunion in Music City

I’ve said on many occasions that one of the best parts of this trip is the opportunity to get together with family and friends who are scattered throughout the country.  Tonight was one of those occasions.

I couldn’t be anywhere in the vicinity of Nashville and not see Jenny.  So Tim and I drove to Music City today and spent the evening with Jenny and her husband Zack.  Jenny worked for me while I was in Miami and was the most amazing assistant that anyone could ever hope for.  She left Miami about a year before I did, and it’s been about seven years since I last saw her.

We had a great dinner at Margot Café and spent the evening reminiscing about our years in Miami.  We had fun there, but we are both so happy that we no longer live there.  Jenny looks great and hasn’t changed a bit.  She and Zack have two children, and we will meet them tomorrow night.

I’m so glad that Tim was able to meet Jenny and Zack and get to know them.  It was a special evening.

Jenny, Zack, Tim and Sarah

The Buttermilk Pie Was Almost As Good As the Conversation

Chickamauga

We arrived in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, vicinity last night and set out this morning to visit Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.  In 1863, Union and Confederate forces clashed here in some of the bloodiest fighting of the Civil War.  The Union’s goal was to capture Chattanooga, a key rail center and the “Gateway to the Deep South.”  Although the Confederate army was victorious at Chickamauga in September, Union forces were victorious in renewed fighting in Chattanooga two months later and seized control of Chattanooga.

At the Chickamauga Battlefield visitor center, we learned that Chickamauga and Chattanooga was the first, and largest, national military park in the nation.  It was also the model for most national military and historical parks to come.  I had never given it much thought before, but I probably would have guessed that Gettysburg was the first park.  

The 1890 legislation that authorized four national military parks (the others were Shiloh, Gettysburg and Vicksburg) can also be considered the beginning of the Federal government’s role in the preservation of historic sites.  The legislation set forth four goals – preservation, education, commemoration and access.  This was also new to me, as I don’t recall this legislation ever being mentioned in any books I’ve studied on the history of historic preservation in the United States.  It goes to show you that there’s always something new to learn.

Commemoration is a major part of the experience at the park, and the driving tour took us by many of the countless monuments erected by state governments in honor of the military units that fought here.  Between 1893 and 1910, more than 1,400 commemorative features had been installed here.  It was interesting to see the variety of monuments on the battlefield and the ways in which the various states chose to commemorate their fallen troops.

Florida State Monument

Georgia State Monument

Alabama State Monument

2nd Ohio Infantry Monument

33rd Ohio Infantry Monument

Preserving Traditional Ways

Cades Cove is the most heavily visited destination within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and we did experience the traffic this morning.  It’s a beautiful part of the park and well worth seeing, however.  The area is known for its collection of historic pioneer churches and cabins, as well as its wildlife.  We didn’t see a bear, but there were wild turkeys and deer, whose presence caused major traffic jams.



Cades Cove



Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church

We stopped at one of the churches and walked through the historic cemetery.  My favorite stop, however, was the visitor center where a sorghum molasses making demonstration was taking place.  Talk about bringing back fond memories of food!  I love sorghum molasses, especially with butter on hot biscuits.  That’s what my grandmother used to serve for breakfast when we visited them in North Carolina.


The demonstration here showed the traditional way of making sorghum molasses.  The sorghum stalks were being crushed in a mill that was being turned by a mule walking around in a circle.  The juice was then extracted and then boiled and evaporated into syrup.  Of course, I had to buy a pint.  I just hope the glass jar never breaks in the RV.  I can’t imagine the mess that would make.



The Mule Powers the Mill



Boiling the Syrup

Touring the Cable Mill historic area around the visitor center provided insight into the way the early settlers of the area lived.  Those who lived in Cades Cove were largely self-sufficient.  It must have been a difficult existence.

Cable Mill, a water-powered grist mill that still grinds corn into cornmeal, is the only building on its original site.  Interesting farm structures represent a typical mountain community and have either been relocated here or reconstructed.  All structures are log, with the exception of the frame house.



Cable Mill



Smokehouse and Gregg-Cable House



Cantilever Barn



Corn Crib and Gear Shed



Two-Pen Barn

The National Park Service is developing a long-range management plan for Cades Cove, and I can’t quite imagine the challenge that this area poses.  Preservation of historic structures which are being defacing with graffiti, traffic control and the reintroduction of native plants are just a few of the issues that must be addressed.



Graffiti Is a Constant Threat



Education Is One Way to Combat Graffiti



Native Plant Demonstration Plot

Our drive back through the park over Newfound Gap Road was almost as pretty as yesterday’s drive.  It was a bit more hazy, but there was less traffic, and the drive was more relaxing.  Tim and I both agreed that the visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park was definitely worth it

View from Newfound Gap

Land of Blue Smoke

We said good-bye to Chris, Skip and Skip’s mother Betty and set our sights on Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It was a beautiful day for a drive.  What I hadn’t counted on was how crowded the park would be.  Yes, I know, it’s Thanksgiving weekend, and Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited of all the national parks.  But, the leaves had already fallen, so I thought it might have quieted down.  Not the case.

Betty, Tim, Chris and Skip

Even though the park had way too much traffic for our taste, it was still beautiful.  Bright blue, clear skies enabled us to see for miles.  The Cherokee, who were the original inhabitants of this area, described the surrounding mountains as shaconage, meaning “blue, like smoke.”  The mountains do appear to be blue, and the views of distant mountain ranges were just beautiful.  Even the streams and waterfalls were still flowing freely.



Mountain View



This Photo Has Not Been Photoshopped,
The Mountains Really Do Appear to be Blue



Waterfall Beside the Road



Babbling Brook

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is known for its diverse collection of plants and animals.  There are more tree species here, in fact, than in northern Europe.  The park has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.

The cultural heritage of the park is a major draw for many visitors.  Because the park was created from mostly private lands, numerous homesteads remain.  It is mostly the log buildings that have been preserved, and the park contains one of the nation’s largest collections of log structures.  I can especially relate to these log buildings because my grandfather preserved the one-room log cabin from his family homestead not far from here in Boone, North Carolina.

Yesterday we drove as far as Cades Cove and camped there last night.  Our plan was to beat the crowds on the Cades Cove loop, which can sometimes take four hours to complete.  Keep in mind that the loop is only eleven miles, and you’ll understand why we wanted to get an early start in the morning so we wouldn’t be caught in “rush hour” traffic.

I Wonder What's Over the Side of this Mountain?

View From Clingmans Dome, the Highest Point in the Park