Good morning. Welcome back. Spice got me out for an early morning walk. We could actually see the campground as the sun was rising. As she and I walked away from the campsite, we hung a left turn up the hill to see where it would take us. The road led us up the hill to a switchback where the road continued to climb along the ridge. After a ways, we turned around and headed back for breakfast. Later, I found out that we had almost climbed to the summit of one of Mississippi’s highest points; 603 feet above sea level.
While Carol bundled up the inside, I grabbed the step stool, Windex and a couple of rags to clean the windshield. It seemed that on Monday, a couple of thousand ladybugs elected to commit suicide on the front of the RV.
Last night we studied the maps and decided to take US 82 west through Mississippi and southern Arkansas to Texarkana. This route will put us between I-40 and I-20 and should be a pleasant drive. If we stay on Rte 82, we will proceed just north of Dallas, south of Amarillo and into New Mexico.
Saying “adios” to the Trace, we were off on to real roads with real traffic. The road was good, four lanes and smooth (I like smooth). As I have said before, we enjoy seeing the various towns along the way. It is a segment of America that we miss, racing down the Interstates. We do lose the rest stops and we do have the opportunity to catch some traffic, but it is worth the trade off.
One of our first observations was that Mississippi is pretty level. Many of the fields we drove by were wet, evidence of last week’s storms. The ground is saturated and the water is just not being absorbed quickly. Along the Trace and in northern Alabama, we saw pines grown as a cash crop. Here in Mississippi, the pines gave way to cotton. Carol had never seen cotton being grown, as far as she could remember, so we stopped by a cotton field. We waded through the weeds along the road and trespassed into the cotton field for some pictures.
Crossing the Mississippi into Arkansas, flooding of the low lying areas is very much in evidence. We had heard on the radio that one of the National Wildlife Preserves was closed as all of the trails and roads were submerged. Half an hour later, we saw it as we passed by the entry to the preserve. We were west of Greenville, AR in the Ouachita river basin and everything along the road was either wet or underwater. Arkansas is like a runway model, not flat, just enough rise to give a tease of character.
Carol found a KOA in Texarkana. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. We made the left turn as instructed by Gigi only to find ourselves lost. As it turned out, the exit off of I-30 has been redesigned. Gigi was accurate for the old exit, but not the new design. A quick call to the KOA and we were back on track. It is a decent campground with only two drawbacks: the RR tracks pass within 500 feet as does the highway. Can you say “road noise”. But they did have a showing of “The Long, Long Trailer” staring Lucy and Desi. It is a great film for those of us who have time in an RV. We can identify with many of their misadventures.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
November 3, 2009 – Tip of the Hat to Jill
We spent an extra day in Nashville on Sunday. It was basically just to kick back, watch NASCAR/football, and take the dog for a long walk.
On Monday, we buttoned everything up and headed southwest. Our friend Jill had highly recommended the Natchez Trace Parkway, so we wanted to experience it. The Trace runs from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS. It actually begins some forty miles southwest of Nashville, but we all have some idea of where Nashville is. Few of us can locate the intersection of TN 100 and McCrory Lane, where the Parkway actually begins.
The Trace was everything Jill had said it would be. The only downside was “fall” had peaked a couple of weeks earlier. Combine that with a couple of strong storms and a lot of leaves were on their way to being mulch. All considered, it was a lovely drive. We stopped for some photos and took a couple of walks along the “Old Trace”. Being a parkway, the speed limits varied between 45 and 50 MPH, and there was very little traffic. The drive was relaxing.
Out of Tennessee, through the corner of AL and into Mississippi we drove. Tishomingo is a state park just inside of the MS/AL border. Carol and I had discussed camping in Tishomingo. The description of the park was very inviting, but it was still early in the day when we got there. Regardless, we went in for a look-see. My initial reaction was to stay, but if we stayed Monday evening, I would want to stay another day minimum. I was conflicted because we don’t have anything we really want to see between here and home, so let’s just head on home. I kept my thoughts to myself and asked Carol what she wanted to do. She was ambivalent, leaving the decision to me. We finished our tour and headed back to the Trace. For me, home had won out.
Back on the Trace, I told Carol about my thoughts on camping. She was in agreement. We both acknowledge there are many things we still want to see, but we don’t have the time remaining to visit areas the way we want to. So let’s just have an easy ride home. That being settled, where to go for the night? Carol found another campground about another 100 miles down the road. Jeff Busby campground has 17 campsites, but since Tishomingo was empty when we drove through it, we weren’t worried. Additionally, the campground has no services and no attractions. Why would you want to stay there? It was dark when we reached the campground. And, it was packed. There was no way to see where the campsite were or if they were empty other then to have Carol walk in front of the RV, flashlight in hand, making a visual search. We took the last spot available, an ugly little pull through, but it worked and it was only one night. You can set up really quickly when you don’t have to connect to shore power, run hoses for water and disconnect the Dakota. We just stopped, dropped the leveling jacks and we were done.
Then it was time to walk the dog, eat some dinner, read our books and go to bed. See you in the morning.
On Monday, we buttoned everything up and headed southwest. Our friend Jill had highly recommended the Natchez Trace Parkway, so we wanted to experience it. The Trace runs from Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS. It actually begins some forty miles southwest of Nashville, but we all have some idea of where Nashville is. Few of us can locate the intersection of TN 100 and McCrory Lane, where the Parkway actually begins.
The Trace was everything Jill had said it would be. The only downside was “fall” had peaked a couple of weeks earlier. Combine that with a couple of strong storms and a lot of leaves were on their way to being mulch. All considered, it was a lovely drive. We stopped for some photos and took a couple of walks along the “Old Trace”. Being a parkway, the speed limits varied between 45 and 50 MPH, and there was very little traffic. The drive was relaxing.
Out of Tennessee, through the corner of AL and into Mississippi we drove. Tishomingo is a state park just inside of the MS/AL border. Carol and I had discussed camping in Tishomingo. The description of the park was very inviting, but it was still early in the day when we got there. Regardless, we went in for a look-see. My initial reaction was to stay, but if we stayed Monday evening, I would want to stay another day minimum. I was conflicted because we don’t have anything we really want to see between here and home, so let’s just head on home. I kept my thoughts to myself and asked Carol what she wanted to do. She was ambivalent, leaving the decision to me. We finished our tour and headed back to the Trace. For me, home had won out.
Back on the Trace, I told Carol about my thoughts on camping. She was in agreement. We both acknowledge there are many things we still want to see, but we don’t have the time remaining to visit areas the way we want to. So let’s just have an easy ride home. That being settled, where to go for the night? Carol found another campground about another 100 miles down the road. Jeff Busby campground has 17 campsites, but since Tishomingo was empty when we drove through it, we weren’t worried. Additionally, the campground has no services and no attractions. Why would you want to stay there? It was dark when we reached the campground. And, it was packed. There was no way to see where the campsite were or if they were empty other then to have Carol walk in front of the RV, flashlight in hand, making a visual search. We took the last spot available, an ugly little pull through, but it worked and it was only one night. You can set up really quickly when you don’t have to connect to shore power, run hoses for water and disconnect the Dakota. We just stopped, dropped the leveling jacks and we were done.
Then it was time to walk the dog, eat some dinner, read our books and go to bed. See you in the morning.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November 1, 2009 – Ribbet, Ribbet One More Time
So it was cool and overcast Saturday morning. The campground had some evidence of flooding, especially the one low area where 12 to 18 inches of water accumulated. But since the rain had stopped and was forecasted to have passed (OK, it is a bad expression. You cannot forecast the past; you can only report what you believe happened. So let me change it.); the weather was forecasted to continue clearing (OK, that’s better); we decided to do make a touristy visit to downtown Nashville. Our first stop was the capitol building. Given that it was Saturday, parking was not a problem, but it also meant the building was closed. The capitol grounds have several statues of famous Tennesseans: Jackson, Johnson, Carmack and Sgt. Alvin C. York.
The capitol building sits on a rise, overlooking the city on all sides. Across the street, to the south of the capitol, sits the Tennessee War Memorial building. The structure is open in the center with plaques listing the war dead from WWI. In the mall area around the building, there are similar tributes to the Korean and Vietnam War dead. I could only assume the WWII dedication is within the building itself.
We left the capitol mall area and walked about 12 blocks to “The District”, an area of shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment. On the way, we walked by the old Ryman Auditorium. Originally built as a church in 1892, it later became a theater, hosting such notables as Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt. From 1943 to 1994, it was home to the Grand Ole Opry.
The district was just as advertised: live music pubs with country music and no cover; western wear stores; music stores; memorabilia and souvenir shops. The streets were busy with tourists and Georgia Tech fans, in town for the game with Vanderbilt. The music was already cranked up in most of the pubs. It was loud and not always good. We opted for a more traditional Saturday afternoon tradition and grabbed a couple of beers in a sports bar while watching college football.
Carol thought it might be fun to go to the Grand Ole Opry. Our campground is only a couple of miles away, so getting there would not be difficult. She went on line before we went downtown to see about tickets. I was skeptical. After all, it is Saturday, tickets could be scarce. Not to worry, she got two decent seats for the 7PM show. It was a great show. The GOO moved to a dedicated theater in 1994 when the Ryman Auditorium was renovated. As a tribute to all of the performers who had played in the Ryman, a three foot diameter circle was cut from the Ryman stage and placed into the stage at the new GOO music house. The GOO is the longest running, live radio show, still being broadcast on WSM and XM satellite radio. The show ran the gamut of C&W from Little Jimmy Dickens (who must be 80) to some Cajun, a little cowboy music from Riders in the Sky and finishing with Blake Shelton, a contemporary performer.
The capitol building sits on a rise, overlooking the city on all sides. Across the street, to the south of the capitol, sits the Tennessee War Memorial building. The structure is open in the center with plaques listing the war dead from WWI. In the mall area around the building, there are similar tributes to the Korean and Vietnam War dead. I could only assume the WWII dedication is within the building itself.
We left the capitol mall area and walked about 12 blocks to “The District”, an area of shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment. On the way, we walked by the old Ryman Auditorium. Originally built as a church in 1892, it later became a theater, hosting such notables as Enrico Caruso and Sarah Bernhardt. From 1943 to 1994, it was home to the Grand Ole Opry.
The district was just as advertised: live music pubs with country music and no cover; western wear stores; music stores; memorabilia and souvenir shops. The streets were busy with tourists and Georgia Tech fans, in town for the game with Vanderbilt. The music was already cranked up in most of the pubs. It was loud and not always good. We opted for a more traditional Saturday afternoon tradition and grabbed a couple of beers in a sports bar while watching college football.
Carol thought it might be fun to go to the Grand Ole Opry. Our campground is only a couple of miles away, so getting there would not be difficult. She went on line before we went downtown to see about tickets. I was skeptical. After all, it is Saturday, tickets could be scarce. Not to worry, she got two decent seats for the 7PM show. It was a great show. The GOO moved to a dedicated theater in 1994 when the Ryman Auditorium was renovated. As a tribute to all of the performers who had played in the Ryman, a three foot diameter circle was cut from the Ryman stage and placed into the stage at the new GOO music house. The GOO is the longest running, live radio show, still being broadcast on WSM and XM satellite radio. The show ran the gamut of C&W from Little Jimmy Dickens (who must be 80) to some Cajun, a little cowboy music from Riders in the Sky and finishing with Blake Shelton, a contemporary performer.
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