Lawrenceburg

As noted before we are at David Crockett State Park. It's interesting to see how the various parks compare. Earlier we were in Norris Dam State Park and it was as different from this as night and day. This park was dedicated in 1959. That is to say, before modern RVs and their larger space requirements. The roads are paved and so are the parking pads. Our pad is about average and we just fit. Water and electric at each site and a dump station on the way out of the loop. There are two camping areas, one at the bottom of the ill along the stream and another at the top of the hill in the woods. We're in the top camping area. There are many deer in the woods here and we see several each time in and out of the campgrounds. Last night it got to the mid 30's and a water pipe broke. It was a 4" pipe about 3'  down, so I don't think it froze but it meant no water all day. Some campsites have stone fireplaces that must date from the early days of the park.

Yesterday we went in to Lawrenceburg, which is right next door to the park. There is this statue of David Crockett in the center square. It's an old time town square trying to stay alive with various antique stores and junk emporiums. North of town is the growth area, if you can call it that, with the WallMart Supercenter and the more modern stores. Out of town, north on Rt. 43 can be seen elements of an Amish community. There are the usual buggy rides being offered and a great furniture outlet made out of an old motel. There are also a couple of shops that serve as both stores for the Amish to get some few things and an outlet for some of their wares. We bought a dynamite Walnut Spice Cake, great with cream cheese! For some reason, they had  a tractor parade on Saturday. It was passing the store just as we stopped. This is an interesting look at the Amish. There is none of the polish of Lancaster, PA. These are very ordinary, trying to get by, folks like the rest of us and they look just a little more out of place than they do in other enclaves I've visited.

Today, we finally had sunshine so we went back up the Trace to the Meriweather Lewis monument and burial place. What a tragedy. The man was only 35 years old and had the great accomplishment of the Lewis & Clark Expedition in his past and a bright future. Yet he died here in the wilderness in suspicious circumstances and we're left with the mystery. I've read "Undaunted Courage", the story of the expedition, and to lose this man before we had the full story is just unfathomable. Of course, all his papers were lost with him. A fascinating story. The monument is incomplete in it's height to commemorate his shortened life.

We had a chance to get a better look at the Natchez Trace on the way back up. Here's a shot of the Trace as it appears today.








We also had a chance to drive a section of the Old Trace. There is a 2 1/2 mile section of the old trace open to vehicles (no RVs) on the northbound section.  It is paved but narrow and trees close in on the sides. It's a chance to feel more of the experience.

Tomorrow, it's off to Shiloh. Stay tuned.

Is it Davy Crockett or Davy Jones?

It has rained for the last six days and it sure feels  more Jones than Crockett, but we are camped at David Crockett State Park, about 100 miles south of Nashville. On Thursday, we visited the Opry Museum which is right next to the Grand Ole Opry House. At first, it seems like the Country Music  Hall of Fame all over again, and then you realize that this display is about the people more than the music. There are extensive displays about the lives of Patsy Cline, Tex Ritter, Little Jimmy Dickens, Marty Robbins and others. They have an amazing amount of memorabilia from most of the performers, some things dating back to their early childhood. As well, they have some very sizable items, like Marty Robbins pickup and his stock car. Of course, lots of guitars and records and clothing. Also, they have recreations of stars rooms like Patsy Cline's living room and Marty Robbin's office. So it's different from the Hall and a worthwhile visit.

We then tried to get to the Opryland Hotel for lunch but the only way to park anywhere near it cost 18$ and I just got tired of being ripped off and we bagged it in favor of a Bob Evans around the corner.

We then did some shopping, stopping at Goodwill for some warm clothes for Diane and then back to camp.

We got away from camp on Friday to move South about 10:45 but ran into some mechanical difficulties that delayed us about 3 hours. I wound up replacing the power tongue jack on the trailer in the rain in the Opry Mills Mall parking lot. Long, sad story here but I'm still too close to it to laugh yet.

On our way South, I missed my exit on 440 and wound up miles West of where I wanted to be. So I figured out where I was and trekked cross-country to get back on route. Made to Rt. 100 just in time to stop at the Loveless Cafe, one of the Nashville must-see's. We stopped for lunch and had some of the best food ever. This is one stop that lived up to its billing. Then it was South on the Natchez Trace for about 75 miles to our new camp.

One of the things I've found about traveling with a GPS is the difficulty of either getting to an indefinite location or going on an alternate route. It's fine for going to a street address, but if all I have is a post office box, I'm out of luck. Same way if I want to use the Trace for the scenics and it wants to use the direct route, it's always recalculating. Using Street Atlas would let me do what I want (with some advance preparation) but using the laptop to navigate in the truck just takes up so much room. So it's back to maps on the lap and dead reckoning like we used to do before technology.

The Natchez Trace is a pretty road. I'm used to the Blue Ridge Parkway and I wondered how it would compare. It's not as hilly or curvy. The Northern section had a speed limit of 40 mph but when the road straightened some, it changed to 50 mph. The sides are mostly wooded but the grassy areas are broader, sometimes expanding into mowed fields with huge round hay bales. There are no vistas per say, but there are some overlooks with wider views of some of the valleys. We saw several flocks of turkeys foraging along the way in the late afternoon. The trees are showing some color change but there are only a few Maples for color with most being Oaks and Hickories in shades of yellow, orange and brown. Most of the Southern hardwoods are Oak and Hickory and we have stayed in wooded sites on this trip. It's pretty but somewhat disconcerting in the middle of the night when a nut or two falls on the roof. It sounds like somebody throwing rocks at the camper.

I'm learning that on an open ended trip such as this, we need to not try to schedule our activities and watch the weather and be willing to wait out an inclement spell. I think we pushed a little hard in Nashville, partly due to the limited availability of a campsite. We're going to sit out today, take it easy, maybe get some laundry done, and wait a little for the weather to improve. Sunday through Thursday is forecast to be much better. This campground even has a restaurant that serves dinner on Friday and Saturday and lunch every day, so we're going to see what they have for dinner tonight.

History and Music

Yesterday we went to visit Carnton Plantation. It was built in 1826 and was caught in the Civil War Battle of Franklin. The Confederates were at the front of the house, and the Federals were at the back (shown here). After five hours of fierce fighting, the battle was over and over 10,000 men from both sides were either dead or wounded. The Federals pulled back North and the house and grounds became a Confederate hospital. The family, father and mother, two kids and two help, lived in what was the old kitchen (called the first house) and 12 doctors and surgeons took care of 600 men in the house and grounds. The wounded stayed for 6 months. What is most notable is that the family embraced the wounded and cared for them for months day and night and then eventually donated two acres of land for a Confederate graveyard. It is the largest private Confederate graveyard in the South. This made the property the scene of visits and family explorations for the next 20 years as relatives of the dead sought information about the lost. The house still has blood stains soaked into the floor where operations were carried out. I've read about the battle of Franklin and the war in general and it's a remarkable story. But the feeling of actually standing on a spot where it happened and where you can visualize the effects on the civilian population is memorable. It gives a whole new perspective to the story. You just have to be here.

As we were preparing to leave, it started to rain, putting an end to our outdoor activities for a while. We had secured tickets for the Grand Ole Opry for the evening, so we headed back into Nashville. It turns out that even 4:00 on a Tuesday is rush hour in Nashville and we were engulfed in a slow moving traffic pattern for several miles. But we made it through with plenty of time and another tour of Opry Mills mall. We had dinner in the mall at Tony Romas.  The food was great, but they are sure proud of their beverages. Then it was on to the Opry House for the Tuesday night radio show. It was a two hour show with a 15 minute intermission. Since it was a live radio show, it included all of the commercials. Just like watching TV, there was as much commercial time as there was performance. But it was still great and we feel like we've had the ultimate Nashville experience.

Today is a day of R&R. It rained all night and it's still misting out. It's good just to lay back and be lazy for a little bit. I went out with the dog and saw this setup two sites up from us. A whole haunted house setup. It's not like they're going to be here through Halloween because there's a max 14 day stay and they have to be out before then. I have to admire the enthusiasm.

What time is it?

Well, we did a tour of Nashville yesterday. Went all over downtown. If you've been to Nashville, you know it's all hills. I'll bet I pushed Diane two miles up and down the streets in the center of town. We started out at the visiters center and then we went around the Ryman, into some of the shops, listened to some music at the bars and generally had a good time. Then we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame with its many exhibits. Right now, they're featuring an exhibit about Brenda Lee and a huge display of Hank Williams and his family story. We saw Elvis' gold Cadillac and piano and of course, the wall of gold and platinum records. The hall of inductees was very impressive.

At the visitors center, we were able to get tickets for the General Jackson Showboat. This is a dinner cruise and show on a rear drive paddle boat 300' long. It goes up and down the Cumberland river and past the night lights of downtown Nashville. They had an excellent music show tracing the flow of country music over the years and we had a great time. We had been watching the time while we were touring downtown, and we made sure to get to the boat at 5:45 to get our tickets and get in line for boarding. I went up to the window and got the tickets and we went to get in line and I asked the attendant where we should stand. He said "right here but we don't board for another hour yet". I said how can that be when we were told to be there at 6:00. He said "but it's only 5:00, now". Can you say time change? It never dawned on me that we'd be in a different time zone. So we cruised the Opry Mills mall for an hour and window shopped. Oh, well, I'd rather be early than late.

7 Points

This is the view that greeted us as we pulled back in to our site last night. We spent the day traveling from Norris Dam down I75 to I40 to here, the Seven Points Core of Engineers Campground. We are about 10 miles from the absolute center of Nashville. The campground is outstanding. The sites are large and fairly well separated and have elec. and water. Most have a second spot to park your towed vehicle or boat. The roads and parking pads are all paved and leveling is not a problem. Like Jordan, there isn't a bad site here. It's not as quiet as Norris. We're in the landing pattern for the Nashville airport and we often hear trains in the distance, but it's not bad at all and the beauty of the campground more than makes up for it. We are across the road from the lake. I would have gotten a lakeside site but they were all taken when I was reserving. When we pulled in yesterday at 2:00, there was a line of 6 or 7 rigs waiting to dump. After we got here, we decided to go out a find a Walmart to stock up on some things. So I used the Garmin to tell me where it was. When it came up, it didn't look quite right but I figured I'd try it out. Well, it took us about 20 miles away when there is one about 6 miles away. So we wound up on the south side of town and I had forgotten to save our campsite as a favorite. No problem, I'll just type it in. Sure enough, it says 7 points campground, a away we go. It lead us into a run down residential neighborhood nearer the center of town and said "here you are". So I said forget this, I'll use dead reckoning and get there myself. So I took us into the center of Nashville so Diane could see what the town looked like. Last night, there was a Titans game in town and the center of town was wall to wall people. So we ran around in circles a little bit and then hit the highway back to camp, just in time to watch the sun go down across the street. Our first stop will be in to the visitors center to get a view of what we might see. There's too much for one trip, so we've got to sort it out. Hard to balance sight-seeing and relaxing, but we'll manage, even if it means staying here a little longer.

Off to the Museum

Yesterday, we visited the Museum of Appalachia for their Fall Heritage Festival. This is a living history museum dedicated to preserving the artifacts of the cultural heritage of this area in their original context. It's the effort of John Rice Irwin and is very impressive. The festival adds the presence of craft vendors, music performance and living history demonstrations to the usual fare of the museum. It covers quite an area and draws thousands of people over four days each fall. We had a super time and just barely managed to miss a terrific rainstorm that came through just after we left.
We are staying at Norris Dam state park. It's a very pretty spot on top of a mountain and the campground is very quiet. Last night we had quite a thunderstorm blow through and it rained for a long time. Curley was looking for some place to hide as the thunder roared and the lightning flashed. Today is for resting.

False Starts

At last, we're out on the road. We got away from the house yesterday at 10:45 and pulled into WinnGray Campground at 3:45. The rainy morning had cleared by the time we left and we had beautiful weather the whole way. An overnite stop with full HU's cost us 30$. The guy that checked us in was great and led us right to a pull thru spot under the trees. Life is good! I got us all set up and walked into the camper and that's when Diane said "I think I left my pills at home", not all of them, we had the box full, just the bottle that we had scrambled to get on Tuesday that she can't live without. We wound up driving back to Burlington on Wed. nite to retrieve the pills, took a nap and then hit the road back to the campsite at 5:45 and got there at 9:15 this morning. Then we packed everything up and trekked on to Norris Dam State park arriving here at 1:00. So it can only get better. This park is on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. The campground is better than Grayson but not as good as Jordan. Still, it's gorgeous here and dead quiet. Plus three bars of signal so I can sit here tethered with my phone to let you all know what's going on. Tomorrow is the Museum of Appalachia Fall Festival and then Saturday is recovery day.