Cades Cove

Of course it kept right on raining. I decided to sleep in since I had a slow day planned. There was a break in the clouds and I got to organize my car but it started up again so I sat on my cot and read a book. Finally around 11 it cleared up so I decided to head out. The loop road is only 11 miles long but it took me 6 hours to do it all. This is the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountain National Park and when they established it in 1934, many people still lived here. They eventually all died off or sold off the land to the park service and Cades Cove preserves several old homesteads and churches. When I drove in traffic was stopped taking pictures of turkeys, majestic beasts that they are. At the first site I went to there was a bear cub in a tree. Of course, everyone there runs over to the base of the tree while you can hear the cub bawling and I am the only one left on the porch with the ranger. I was having flashbacks to the Tarryall disaster where all of us spent a morning treeing a cub up and down various trees and letting the dogs after it before mama bear came to the rescue. I am now more mature and cautious of wildlife. I then went to various churches. They had a Methodist church and 2 Baptists because they apparently had split over their feelings about the Civil War. They all varied in architecture and all had cemetery's out back. One was from a guy that served in the Revolutionary War. The saddest one was a headstone of twin girls who had died at birth. Some graves were from as recent as 2008. I think you have to have a tie to that place before you can be buried there. What really angered me was all the graffiti in the churches. None of it was vulgar but to write on the church walls is really tasteless.


I decided to do a hike to Abrams Falls. I started from another cabin so it ended up being 7 miles round trip. It was a nice hike even though the trail was pretty wet. The falls weren't very tall but they were powerful. I walked up to the base to get a picture. There was a sign saying "danger 4 people have died here!". They don't mess around. I ended up hiking behind this family half the way out and I caught up to them again halfway back and they would not move over! I was behind the slow dad and I was practically kicking his heels and he just kept going. That annoyed me. I was walking back to my car when these three hiker Nazis came up to me an warned me of a bear up the trail. They said they had turned around. I kept walking past them and they turned around with their mouths open like they couldn't believe that I would go on in the face of such danger.

About 5 minutes later I heard a noise up on the hill and I look and there's a bear up there. I started digging around in my bag for bear spray just in case even though she was the size of Max (well maybe a bit bigger). She continued on up the slope so I moved down the trail and when I had passed I turned around and she came back down and then 2 cubs followed her! It was so cool. I went to the visitor's center next and they had an operating grist mill. I finished out the road by stopping by a few more old homesteads. I was at a barn and a guy gets out of his car and walks over with his camera and says "what is it?" all excited like. I said "another old barn". I cannot believe the ignorance of some people. I am so grateful to have grown up in the country. Granted it's not as rural as some places I've been to but at least I was exposed to a different way of life than many people. I can't imagine going to a park and stopping in the middle of the road, getting out and stalking a white tail deer or a turkey through the woods to take a picture! They're for eating not looking at! What's sad is that the parents are ignorant and don't bother trying to educate their kids and read the signs that are provided to help you learn. Enough time on my soapbox though...
I ended up sitting in the porch of the last cabin on the road while everyone else drove on by. I was sitting there contemplating my trip when I heard a noise and there was a deer walking in front of me. I thought it was going to walk right in the cabin but it kept on going. It was very peaceful. I also ran into a major traffic jam because a bear was in a tree eating cherries. They had 3 rangers waving traffic on by! Craziness! As soon as I got back it started raining. I spent the night at a hoedown. The ranger puts on a program and they play the guitar, fiddle, dulcimer and banjo. They give the audience spoons, washboards and shake sticks so everyone plays around. It was pretty cool. When I was sitting outside my tent later in a mama deer and her three fawns walked through the campground. I've never seen so much wildlife in a park before. It was amazing even though I still want to see a grizzly and a moose. Not round these parts though.

Music City: Nashville, TN

I forgot to mention the campground I stayed at in my last post. I was tired after driving all day and forgot that I would be crossing into East Coast time so I lost another hour. I was supposed to camp at a state park but it was 20 miles off the interstate so when I pulled the off at that exit I saw a sign for a campground .3 miles down the road. There as no one around so I drove around looking for a tent site and it hit me that all these campers have satellite dishes and lawn ornaments and I'm pretty sure it's a trailer park not a campground. I ended up taking a site close to the main building (it said A-1 and had a hookup so I figured it was an actual site). I got my laundry done, charged up my stuff and took a shower so at least I got to use the amenities. The next morning as I was leaving (after another rain soaked night) I came across the manager and paid him the $10 and he looked at me in disbelief that I had slept in a tent in that rain. At least it confirmed that it was in fact a campground. Either that or I just paid a trailer park bum.
I was slow getting into Nashville because a semi had flipped which closed off one lane. My first stop was actually in Brentwood, the ritzy southern section of Nashville. I was wondering how many country stars' houses I had passed because they were pretty fancy. I went to the Agricultural Museum and it was very interesting. I recognized most of the implements because I grew up with them hanging on the walls of my house and perched in our flower beds as decorations. It had a couple buildings out back but the lawn was too wet to go back there. I next went to Fort Negley which overlooks downtown Nashville. It was the biggest fortification they had but was never challenged in the Battle of Nashville. I was disappointed in this site because it had fallen to ruin but in the 1930's the WPA reconstructed some stone walls and a visitor center so it would be preserved. I don't know why they couldn't recreate the fort because it seemed really cool. It's not much to look at a bunch of recreated rocks. Next I went to the Upper Room Chapel which is on the Vanderbilt University Campus. Basically it's just a chapel on the second floor. I planned most of my itinerary back in March so I forget why I put a lot of these stops down. It did have a nice stained glass window and I took a bunch of pictures before I saw the no photography sign. Oops! I then went to the Parthenon. There was an entrance fee and I had no clue what would be inside so I just walked around the outside and took pictures. Very random.

I drove downtown and tried to find free parking but feared getting caught in an illegal spot. I ended up at Fort Nashborough which is just a collection of 5 old buildings with a few exhibits on old life inside. What was funny is that it's located across from the Entertainment district so through the wooden fence you can see the Coyote Ugly saloon. Classy

I lucked out and found a meter with 30 minutes left on it so I threw in some nickels and dimes and set out. I saw the Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, Ernest Tubbs Record Shop, and other local color of Nashville. It is a huge city with lots of big buildings but it all looks very clean (unlike Memphis). While I was walking around I saw a big production truck blocking a lane and lots of security guards standing outside a door. I didn't get to see anyone famous but I assume they were shooting a music video.

Funny story. I knew my meter had run out and I was trying to check out at the cashiers with my postcards and this guy was asking for directions to the Ryman and the girl (who freakin worked there!) was flipping through a phone book and picking up the phone to call and ask. I butted in and told him where to go which then started a discussion about what's within walking distance of downtown. I guess because I was wearing cowboy boots he assumed I was a local (buying postcards?) but he listened and I shooed him out the door and ran back to my car. I stopped at Bicentennial Mall park which had a big water fountain that kids could splash in and the capitol overlooked it high on a hill.
I then drove over to the Opry Mills complex. Apparently the Opry is in the same parking lot as a mall. The oddest thing was that all the speed limit signs around the complex were 24 mph! I was trying to think of the significance but I couldn't. The Opry radio is 650 AM. It was never explained so now I have to figure it out. After that I had to head out because it was almost 4 hours to Great Smoky Mountains and I was going to cross over into Eastern time. I listened to Jack to direct me to the campground which is on a dead end road and he took me over a freakin massively switchback mountain (which was soaking wet from the rain but at least it was paved) and the road he told me to turn on was a dead end to a completely different section of the park. I then had to race over the Foothills Parkway and that linked me back up with the road I should have taken an hour ago. I was pissed because I was tired and hungry. Damn it Jack. He had guided me faithfully through Nashville, spot on, and I was lured into trusting him because I was tired. He's really not a country boy I'm realizing.

Little Rock and Memphis

I had a miserable night in Arkansas. The downside to the east coast is that when it rains, it does it for hours at a time, unlike in the West. It started around 7:00pm and continued throughout the night and into the next morning. The Bungalow held her ground pretty well but there was some leakage and there was standing water. It was also very muggy and then a thunderstorm rolled through so needless to say I did not sleep well. I had to pack my tent up in the pouring rain and I walked into the Central High School National Historical site looking like a drowned rat. I changed in the bathroom and emerged a new person. This was the most moving place I have been to in my life (Gettysburg is probably second). Jess and I went to the Brown vs. Board of Education site last year in Topeka and it was a powerful exhibit. However, this place had videos, images and quotes scrolled on the walls of what people were going though back then. It is unfathomable to think that only 60 years ago this was going on and it makes you stop and think how far we’ve really come. We all like to look back and look with disgust on the ugly thoughts and words people had but it’s hard to imagine what you would have done in the same situation. Central is a beautiful high school that is still in use today and the Little Rock Nine have benches engraved with their names out front. I think that this is a site every American needs to go to. I drove out to Pugh’s mill which is most famous for being in the opening sequence of Gone With the Wind.
It is stunningly beautiful. It looks like one of those mills that puzzles are made out of. It was never a working mill, some guy just decided to build it from scratch to commemorate the history of Arkansas. It was quite picturesque. I don’t know if it’s because it’s the first green, rainy state I’ve come to but I am in love with Arkansas.
I decided to get a move on into Memphis. It is right on the border, just as you cross the Mississippi. I walked all over taking in the sights. It is not a very picturesque town but it has a gritty, bluesy feel to it which I guess is why it’s famous. I saw the Peabody Hotel which was quite lovely but I wasn’t there to see the duck walk. I also walked most of Beale Street. What I didn’t realize was that after all the clubs, Beale street turns into the ghetto with barb wire fences and vacant lots interspersed with industrial buildings.
I wanted to see the Sun Studio though so I walked down it. It really was not a very impressive building but it had impressive things happen there so I took a picture. I went to lunch at the Beale Street Café and had fried catfish, ribs, coleslaw, beans, texas toast and fries. It was delicious! I love Southern food. I had parked by Mud Island which is accessible by monorail but I didn’t want to pay $4 so I walked across the pedestrian bridge.
It was a free park and it had a scale model of the Mississippi river running through it complete with topography and detailed explanations with a history of the river. It was a really neat concept to help explain the “Mighty Mississippi”. After that it was getting late so I headed out to swing by Graceland. After hitting traffic, I didn’t realize they charge $10 for parking and so I tried to do a drive by photo but it’s gated and filled with trees and sits back from the road so you really can’t see anything. I don’t like Elvis that much anyway so I left and went to the Crystal Shrine Grotto located at a cemetery. It was amazing! It was a cave filled with huge sparkling stones and there were a few different religious figures and scenes scattered around. I was expecting a little stone hole in the wall and I felt weird taking pictures at a cemetery but it was so cool. It felt like a treasure cave. It was 5:00pm by this point and I had to get to Nashville which is over 3 hours away. Traffic wasn’t too bad and I cruised on down I-40. I decided to pull over and camp about 40 miles outside the city because I wanted to get stuff done before dark. I saw lightening bugs for the first time in a long while which I loved. My tent is a huge wet mess so hopefully she’ll get some time to dry out.

Arkansas

I just want to take a paragraph and thank Jess, Meris and Melissa for being amazing hosts this week. They gave me food and conversation, two elements I have been sorely lacking on this trip. It's amazing how I met all of them at the Ranch and we have connected beyond that to form lasting friendships. Thanks, girls! Now you all need to visit in New York!!

So after saying farewell to Austin, I headed to Arkansas. I made a brief detour in Texarkana to see the half and half post office. What I didn't realize is there's a street that runs through town called state line and one side is Arkansas and one side is Texas. It was pretty neat. It rained on me most of the way which was novel considering I've been in the desert for the last couple weeks. It was so nice to be surrounded by green again. It makes me feel a lot closer to home. Now my trip is more about cities and driving longer distances every day since I have to make it home by August 9th. I grabbed a campsite at the Gulpha Gorge campground and while I was using the automated machine to pay this guy came in and said it wasn't printing receipts. It wouldn't take my credit card and I didn't have cash to try so he gave me $5 and it took it but it still didn't print my receipt. He went and found a ranger and told him they better not get me in trouble for not having a tag and that he would vouch for me. It was so nice.
I went into downtown Hot Springs. What's weird is that it is a National Park but it is the central part of the downtown historic district. It is the smallest National Park but it was really nice. It had stopped raining but it was cloudy and only in the 70's which felt nice. It was also so muggy that when I was hiking my glasses fogged up. I walked along Bathhouse row and at the Visitor Center you can tour an old bathhouse. It was so neat to read about how men and women used separate rooms and even elevators. There was a process you went through for the bath which was supposed to cure your ails. They even had a hydrotherapy room where they mixed electricity and water and surprisingly there are no reports of death. Another fact is that the men's bathhouse was ornate with stained glass ceilings and 30 rooms. The ladies bathhouse had 10 stalls in a cramped room. I would have thought ladies got more but I guess men are sicklier ;)

I also learned this was the boyhood home of President Clinton. There's only one functioning bathhouse and the rest are preserved as buildings. I went hiking around and there's places you can stop and fill up your bottle with the mineral water. It didn't taste that weird. I ended up on a trail that ended at a huge hotel on the sixth floor so I walked right in and got some ice for my water bottle and had to take the elevator down to the lobby.
I also did a drive up to a mountain overlook with an observation tower. I didn't pay to go up it but the road offered a pretty good view. I love this town. It's so lush and green and historical.

Texas

After staying up late posting all my last blogs, I was exhausted. I have now hit the muggy portion of the U.S so the air was a bit uncomfortable. I stayed in a ghetto campground with a nasty bathhouse. One toilet didn't even have a stall around it and the other two made funny noises. The shower had no shelf to put your stuff on and only one side had a light so this was where all the bugs were. I shower every chance I get though so I moved quickly. I then headed out to drive across West Texas. I stopped once but other than that I barreled on through and made it to San Antonio by 4pm. Melissa, my friend from the ranch, met me there and told me she got a campsite closer to downtown. I didn't realize it was a KOA and I was pretty upset when I found out. You see, I hate it when people take liberties with the English language. There's no need to spell campground with a "K"! For goodness sakes, kids go there. That's also why I don't support Krispy Kreme.
Anyway it was a raging inferno so I jumped in the pool, grateful to finally be submerged in water and not just dangling my feet. We headed out to downtown San Antonio to do the Riverwalk.

It was gorgeous. The town had an old west feel but also very tropical with the palm trees and ferns and flowers. The construction made doing the whole thing a bit challenging so we went on and off it. We found this AMAZING old playground that was all built out of wood. It reminded me exactly of my old elementary school's and I was devastated when they tore it down. I ran all over that thing in my skimpy skirt (it did have shorts underneath).
We also saw the Alamo but we were saving that for tomorrow. We decided to go to dinner at a place called Pico de Gallo based on the recommendation of a cashier. We couldn't find it based on her directions so Melissa found their number and called and the girl that worked at the restaurant was not at all helpful. I don't think she knew where they were. So we know we're at least in the right area and Melissa spends another 10 minutes trying to find a parking spot because she refuses to pay for parking. We found one and got out and wandered all over looking for it. we finally asked a street vendor and he said it was on the other side of the interstate. We walked around one building and there it was in big flashing neon lights. This is not the first time a situation like this has happened to me and I was cracking up. We walked in and they told us forty minutes to wait and we started second guessing eating there but then they called our name and we got in. Quite the journey.


I actually slept very well despite the heat because there was a lovely breeze. We had a lovely breakfast of cereal and milk thanks to Melissa's planning. Back we went downtown to tour the Alamo. It is smaller than I thought it would be. There were no pictures allowed inside but they did have some nice exhibits on the Bowie knife. We watched an amazing video detailing the history which really made me remember the Alamo. Off we went again to tour the Missions. San Antonio has four missions all within 10 miles of each other and they all vary in style and size. I loved them. It's amazing how they've stood the test of time. One had a wedding in it, two were open for viewing and one had a wedding but had no warning sign so I busted in apparently right before the bride was due and the whole church turned around and looked at me. After I turned around and scurried back out, we saw the bride coming around the corner. It was getting disgustingly hot by this point (I scalded my butt sitting down for a picture on the NPS sign) so we basically ran through the last mission and headed up to Austin.
The picture is of me scaling a window because I didn't want to go around. A family of Mormon's did not appreciate it.




After a lovely meal of cherries and cold tortillas with cheese and avocado (Delicious!) we went and jumped in the community pool. It was free! I couldn't believe it. Everywhere else I know charges you for stuff like that. That night we went to a Flashmob Austin mission. Melissa is in charge of this mob and the concept was to go to Barton Springs (a natural spring) and have a water fight between pirates and ninjas. I was a ninja of course because I wear a lot of black. It was so much fun. I've heard about flash mobs and it was so cool to participate in one and hear and see people's reactions to the craziness. Usually I'm just a flash mob of one. We went and got changed and we went downtown with a few of Melissa's friends to go dancing. Usually I don't enjoy dancing in public but I had a blast! I had one dress and the only shoes I had besides flip flops were my cowboy boots so I looked like a hooker I thought. We bounced around to a few different clubs. It was such a great atmosphere because they close the streets down so people just mill around in drunken abandon. My favorite part was at this one place when we were dancing around and I feel someone grab me from behind and this guy says "I like your outfit" and it turns out he was the DJ! It was quite flattering since the past few weeks the only attention I get from people is wide eyed disbelief. I had a blast having a night on the town and her friends are so much fun. The next day we went to Melissa's church where she gave an awesome speech about her recent trip to El Salvador. We went shopping around at SoCo (yeah I talk like a local now) and visited her sister, Vanessa. Then we went to the Alamo Draft House which is a movie theater that serves you dinner while you watch. We saw 500 days of Summer and it was a great movie. Not what you'd expect and kind of an odd way to tell a story but it was fantastic. As was my BLT. We went back to Barton Springs again to swim. It's always 68 degrees and it feels so good. It's an awesome place to relax. I felt like I spent a lot more time there than I did. Melissa sure can pack a lot in and I don't think I've ever eaten that much in my life. It's good though because it stored up my reserves for the next two weeks.

Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns

I was sad to leave Meris'. She's one of those people that, no matter how long you go without seeing them or talking with them, you can pick right up where you left off. My goal was to get to Carlsbad and it took me most of the day to get there. Jack took me all over the place. I think he wanted me to stay away from the Mexican border. I still had to go through a border patrol station though. I think they have them randomly around here. Despite my amazing tan, they figured I wasn't illegal and let me through. I decided to stop at Guadalupe Mountains National Park because it was right along the way and I can't say no to a National Park. It was surprisingly cloudy and cool. I think it's the highest point in TX but I couldn't see it thanks to all the clouds.
I took a walk over to an old stagecoach station but there wasn't much left. It was interesting to see all the different kind of desert plants. I went to an old farmhouse as well that was a little oasis in the desert. They had a spring that flowed at 6 gallons a minute. I wanted to get to Carlsbad by 3pm though because the last entrance by the Natural entrance was at 3:30. I was walking in at 3:20 so I just made it. I was a little put off at first because it reeks of guano. But once you descend past where the natural light fades, this entire world opens up and it is spectacular. I just couldn't stop looking up and around. It was hard to take pictures because they try to use just a few lights to highlight the striking formations. In a few sections, I was all by myself where I couldn't hear anyone else and it was exhilarating and creepy at the same time. The trail joined up with the Big Room tour and that was huge (duh).



It's amazing because when I was driving up to the Visitor Center I kept looking around wondering where the heck everything was. It's weird to think there's a whole world underneath me. They even have bathrooms and gift shops down below. That's the first time I've peed underground (well at least 1000 feet down). I spent time at the campground doing laundry and then I went back for the bat flight. The ranger that talked beforehand was amazing. He was like a stand up comedian. Then we heard a loud buzz come through the speakers and we all shut up and then thousands of bats flew out. I was kinda grossed out that I was in there with all those things. They all formed a massive line and flew off to eat half their body weight in insects. It started smelling like guano so I left and spent the rest of the evening catching up with my photos and blogs. I'm at about the halfway point I guess. It's been amazing so far and I can't wait to get to the East Coast and see a completely different landscape and feel that much closer to home and Max!!