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

Camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Part 2

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The Smokies’ interior was a delight especially with most of the flowers  already in bloom. But there is another reason why it has become the top destination in the country.  All around the park, within a half to one hour drive from where you are camped are interesting towns with varied local attractions: The Biltmore Estates in Asheville and the last great Indian Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina and the tourist attractions in Gatlinburg, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, the heart of the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, and the city of Knoxville, Tennessee.  

The jewel of Asheville, North Carolina is Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately-owned home in the country with 175,000 square feet, featuring 250 rooms. It stands today as one of the most admired homes in America with English landscape gardens, vegetable patches, and orchards that cover approximately 8,000 acres. The stables have been converted into a first class restaurant and the winery and vineyards still produce great wines. We brought home cute stemless wine glasses for our evening cocktails!

From Asheville and right before reaching the Oconaluftee Visitor’s Center is Cherokee, North Carolina.  It is within the Cherokee Indian Reservation, headquarters of the Eastern Band. The city has many historical reminders of the Trail of Tears that began there when the Indian Removal Act forcibly relocated them to the west.  Now the city boasts of a bustling tourism industry with the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino lording it over the area. 

Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a beautiful touristy city in the foothills of the Pisquah National Forest.  The Park Headquarters at the Tennessee entrance to the Smokies is a short drive away.  Bill and I were so surprised to find almost all the tourist chains there amidst flowing streams, pretty flower beds, and green hillsides.  It even had a ski resort for winter time.  But guess how much a one-bedroom condo would cost??? $600,000! Quickly, it disappeared from our list of places for us settle down!

Pigeon Forge’s jewel is Dollywood and Splash Country, Dolly Parton’s theme parks! A resort city just 5 miles from the Smokies, it has a population of just over 5,000. Filled with many tourist chains like Gatlinburg, I do not think any child would get bored there.  I, too, would never get bored there!  It has three (yes, 3) outlet malls! And that’s where I found my wonderful ultra light, air-cooled Clark Bostonian sandals (for only $75) that I wear every day now!  I now know why Bill wanted to get out of there fast!

But the most interesting of the border towns to me is Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  Bill’s high school buddy Jim works as VP of Jacob’s Engineering.  The big firm continues to hold major parts of the decommissioning projects of the huge central production facilities of the Manhattan Project.   Los Alamos did the research, design, and final assembly of the A-bomb. But Oak Ridge produced all the materials that finally ended WWII. Jim showed us a building they were working on with a 43-hectare footprint and 5 million square feet in 4 floors.

Oak Ridge was where the biggest buildings in the world were ever built and where the biggest (and most significant) industrial projects in the world were ran.  He also toured us around the historic part of town and described for us how the whole town buzzed with activity during the time.  At the end of the day, he showed us a great documentary film, The Secret City.  It pulled together for us all the facts that we were hearing for the very first time and told us how indeed the secret was kept.

But that was not all.  Jim also brought us to a little lake in Knoxville where he and wife Carol are considering buying a new retirement home.  The sunset was glorious but the fishing was better.  A guy who just came in caught two big catfish in all of two tries!  I could see that Bill wanted to jump in with him but, sadly, he did not have a Tennessee fishing license.  Besides, it was already getting very dark and the next day we leave for the next wonderful stop in our cruise of a lifetime!

Next Stop: Nashville, Tennessee

  

Camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Part 1

After driving through the Blue Ridge Parkway, we finally reached the most visited national park in the country, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park!  The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest exactly through its centerline.  Out of ten campgrounds, we chose to stay at Elkmont near the Park Headquarters at the Tennessee side because one of Bill’s high school buddies lives near there.  Besides, that was one of only two that can accommodate our 37-foot rig.

In 814 square miles, the variety of elevations, the abundant rainfall, and the presence of old growth forests give the park many species of plants (100 trees, deciduous leafy trees in the lower parts and coniferous trees at higher altitudes, and over 1,400 flowering plants and 4,000 non-flowering plants) and animals (200 birds, 66 mammals, 50 fish, 39 reptiles, and 43 amphibians).  An additional 90,000 undocumented species are also estimated to live there.

We were not backcountry camping nor tent camping but, since there were no hook-ups and generators were not allowed, we lived primitively. Would you believe I survived?  This Part will cover the wonderful Park interior: the southwest side at Cades Cove, the southeast side at the park entrance near the Ocanaluftee Visitors Center at the North Carolina side, the northern park entrance at the Tennessee side, the center of the Park at the Newfound Gap, and the area around our campground.  Part 2 will be about the border towns.

Cades Cove is the most preserved and popular attraction in the park.  It is a valley with many historic log cabins, barns, and churches. Self-guided automobile and bicycle tours offer a good glimpse into the old Appalachian life especially at the preserved farm buildings near Cable Mill. But do you know what the highlight of this tour was?  Four bears (out of about 1,800 that live in the park) gamely gobbled the grass before us.  We also saw many white-tailed deer, turtles, and wild turkey!  

The Park Headquarters is witness to the heavy flow of visitors.  The highest number is recorded in July with June and August following closely.  But October is another bump because of the spectacle of fall colors. Near the Center is a short fully accessible hiking trail that ends at a small waterfall, a visitors’ delight.  Only 7 miles beyond is our campground where one hiking trail leads to the 80-foot Laurel Falls.  Another is the trail to the unique species of fireflies that all blink at the same time! Only in some parts in Asia does this phenomenon also happen. 

There is a farm museum at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center at Cherokee, North Carolina.  Near the Center is the northern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mile Post 469. There was the Mingus Mill, too.  But, guess what the highlight of the tour was?  Four elk, of the 110 that are thriving in the Park after being introduced in 2001, were grazing by the road side. Some local Carolinians who did not have a camera gave us their email address so we could send photos.  They could not believe there were elk in their state!

Newfound Gap, the center of the Park offers great views, including the dividing line between North Carolina and Tennessee, a part of the Appalachian Trail that runs through the Smokies, and the Rockefeller Memorial to the creation of the first federally funded national park.  That was also where we realized, when we were returning to our campground, that the clear views we photographed in the morning turned into smoky views at dusk (hence, the name).

The Newfound Gap Road that connects the two visitor centers (Park Headquarters and Oconaluftee) features most of approximately 850 miles of hiking trails that lead visitors to glimpses of many other park attractions.  Some of these are Mt. LeConte and its Alum Bluffs, the Clingman’s Dome, highest point, where an observation tower was built, and the Chimney Tops, dual humpbacked peaks.  The Smokies is truly a great park to visit! Our four days seemed too short a stay!

Next Stops:  Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Cherokee and Asheville, North Carolina