Sunday 16 March 2014

Great Smoky Mountains to Hot Springs Arkansa March 10 - 14

March 10
We are in central Tennessee. Emma had some internet work to do so she visited  the MacDonald's in Murfreesboro while I drove the  short distance to the Stone River National Battlefield. Historic military sites hold no appeal for Emma but I was happy for the opportunity to see the landscape of this critical Civil War battle.


More than 81,000 soldiers fought over this land in January 1863. More than 24,000 were killed or wounded before Confederate forces abandoned central Tennessee and regrouped further south. It was sad and thought provoking to walk where so many had perished.


We circled around Nashville and heade southwest to Meriwether Lewis Monument.
This small park is on the Natchez Trace and commemorates the untimely resting place of a great American hero.


To get to the monument, Magellan lead us on a merry chase through some beautiful rolling Tennessee countryside. We were shuffled from one small country road to another. It was slow going but quite beautiful.

Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace is an historic trail taken by First Nations and early pioneers to go from Nashville Tennessee to Natchez on the Mississippi River. Meriwether Lewis was traveling along this route when he died in the small cabin below.


March 11
Our troubles with the hot water tank had gotten worse and we started the morning with cold showers. Quite an invigorating jump start to the day.

Maneuvering through freeways, we drove all the way into downtown Memphis. Once we found a place to park the RV we booked a city tour of this famous blues city.

Street murals added a flare of colour and fun to the City.



We loved Beale Street. This three block area is the historic centre of the Memphis blues scene.

Beale Street

Street musicians were playing, cool busking acts were happening and blues memormabilia was everywhere.
We sat down in Handy Park for half an hour and listened to outstanding music. 

 

Sidewalk plaques commemorated great blues artists and bands.Famous blues clubs and restaurants were everywhere.



Neat statues were sprinkled about the city.

Emma soaking up the sights.


Jim in two-fisted celebration. You get to walk around Beale Street with beer in hand. How cool is that? The bartender made the mistake of recommending two excellent ales and asked which I would like. He got my usual answer. Both. 


The restaurant food was also great and you got to listen to world class blues as you ate.

The Gibson Guitar Factory


The Fedex Centre is home court for the Memphis Grizzlies. This one hurt because the Grizzlies basketball team originated in Vancouver before it was moved to Memphis. I mentioned to our tour guide that many Vancouverites are still smarting from the loss of the Grizzlies. Big mistake!
Our tour guide found occasion to mention the MEMPHIS Grizzlies about 20 times as he showed us the sights of Memphis. Also known as home of the MEMPHIS Grizzlies.

Elvis Presley's Car

Graceland

Cool Old Memphis House

Sun Studio - Site of Elvis's First Recording Session

The Lorraine Motel

 Hernando De Soto Bridge over the Mississippi

 We crossed over the Mississippi into Arkansas. The terrain changed quickly and became very flat with few trees. There were a few wooded areas but for the most part land had been cleared for farming. We spent the night in a run-down RV park east of Little Rock.


March 12
The  terrain leading up to Hot Springs became much more treed and hilly. Hots Springs National Park is unique among national parks because the park is largely in the middle of the city of Hot Springs. The primary attraction is the hot water that bubbles out from the side of the mountain.


Over the years. many bathhouses were build to tap into the hot therapeutic spring water that flowed naturally from the mountainside.

Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs, Arkansas

The Maurice Bathhouse

Quapaw Bathhouse

Behind Bathhouse Row is the Grand Promenade where bathers would exercise before and after their therapeutic sessions.

The Grand Promenade

Emma and I arrived late in the day and just had time to tour around the outside of Bathhouse row. After a nice stroll along the Grand Promenade we went to Fat Jacks for supper. A local at the restaurant suggested we take Black Snake Road for a bit of a thrill.


Parking the RV in downtown Hot Springs was a challenge but getting out of town was worse.  It turned out that Black Snake Road was like a small goat trail over a mountain. Thrilling in a sports car no doubt but out of this world in a 28 foot RV. It was narrow and so windy we had to back the RV up twice to get around the mountainside switchbacks. We ended up on the other side of the mountain and had no choice but to retrace our path back up and over the switchbacks. Emma threatened to walk.

On returning to Hot Springs, we found the correct turn and ended up in the Hot Springs National Park Campground after dark.

March 13

It was a beautiful warm spring morning without a cloud in the sky. We decided to walk the two miles around the mountain to bathhouse row. Towels and swim suits in hand we set out. 




The walk was beautiful and, as usual, Emma set a brisk pace. I hustled along as best I could while trying to take pictures and commune with nature.





Emma slowly motored off into the distance.


After two miles we emerged from the forest onto the Grand Promenade behind Bathhouse Row.





Emma on the Grande Promenade

We went to the  Quapaw Bathhouse for a truly refreshing time in the hot springs. Inside this grand edifice, the hot springs were flowing into three large marble wading pools. Each pool was at a slightly different temperature and we lounged about for a few hours. You really got a sense of the grandeur of the place and what it must have been like during its heyday in the roaring 20s. Babe Ruth and other famous celebrities must have had a blast. We sure did.

Fordyce Reading Room and Lounge

After the Quapaw baths we visited the Fordyce Visitor Centre. This venue no longer has functional baths but all of the other facilities have been restored You get an excellent sense of the grandeur of the original bathhouse experience. Hot Springs was a popular vacation retreat for movie stars and professional athletes. At one time, the bathhouses were like medical rehab facilities with gymnasium, massage rooms, reading rooms, treatment facilities and baths.

Stained Glass Windows at the Fordyce Bathhouse


 After our bath experience we did the tranquil two mile forested hike back to our RV.


Our winter vacation to the deep south was at an end and it was time to pack up, head to Dallas and catch our flight back to Vancouver, BC.

On our 2014 winter vacation in the southeastern United States we visited six national parks,  three national seashores, one national monument, one national memorial, one national military park, one national battlefield, one National Preserve and seven National Wildlife Refuges. We saw 138 different bird species and 16 animal species.



Sunday 9 March 2014

Savannah to the Great Smoky Mountains - March 4 to 9

March 4
We headed north from Hainesville toward Savannah, Georgia. At Fort Stewart, we tried to get in and see a colony of Red-cockades Woodpeckers. Unfortunately, you need a pass to visit this military installations and passes were not being issued on Tuesdays. We stopped for the day at the KOA in Richmond Hills.

March 5
 In the cold grey dawn of a drizzly morning, I woke up to see a White-breasted Nuthatch climbing up a tree beside our RV.



We drove to Fort Pulaski National Monument. During the American Civil War, this large brick fort guarded the water entrance to Savannah. In short order, sections of the large brick wall were reduced to rubble by the new rifled cannons used by the Union Army. This event had a world wide impact and marked the end of brick walls as effective defensive barriers.

Fort Pulaski




In the 1930s, the US Government created civic improvement projects to employ some of the multitude of indigent Americans affected by the great depression. Restoring Fort Pulaski was one of those projects.



As we headed up the river toward Savannah,White-tailed Deer were casually browsing on the meadows that surrounded Fort Pulaski

 Savannah River

Savannah

 Parking a RV in a city is always a challenge and doubly so in the narrow streets of old Savannah. After driving around for half an hour we found a spot.

The cobbled street and historic waterfront buildings were worth the effort and, despite the rain, we enjoyed our perambulation around the town. We had dinner at the Shrimp Company Restaurant overlooking the Savannah River. I had shrimp and grits while Emma had a marguerita and bouilabaisse. Good times.

 River Boat on the Savannah

Stuffed and happy we piled into the RV and headed to South Carolina. We drove north on I95 then west on I26 before stopping for the night at an Orangeburg Walmart. 

 March 6
It was a truly miserable day with cold steady rain and a strong wind. We drove through the grey skies to Congaree National Park.

Congaree National Park use to be Congaree Swamp National Monument but the swamp part was dropped to improve its attractiveness to tourists. Technically, its not a swamp because there is no standing water year round, just most of the time.


The grey rainy day actually worked well with the ambiance of the park. We enjoyed an extended walk along the boardwalk and through the sombre winter forest.



There were no worries about crowds as we had the park to ourselves on this day. The quiet grey forest was beautiful in its misty serenity. Walking through the forest in our raincoats Emma and I looked like a couple of grey ghosts floating by.




The elevated boardwalk was an essential part of the experience otherwise it would have been a wet and muddy excursion.



Emma Beside the Congaree River


We drove to a Walmart in Columbia for the night.

March 7
I had booked a quick visit to the Columbia Discount Tire store. The Jacksonville outlet had contacted them to check and fix any problems that arose from our earlier tire purchase. The staff was very helpful and fixed a minor valve problem.

The weather continued cold and rainy as we drove along I26 toward the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When we reached the North Carolina Border the weather made a favourable transition into a warm sunny afternoon. The North Carolina visitor centre was closed but there were a few state maps left out to help us on our way.

At dusk, we stopped in Hendersonville at the Lazy Boy Campground. The owner was the sweetest senior southern belle and she made us feel right at home.

March 8
At last, a beautiful morning with birds singing under a warm, blue, windless sky. Life was grand as we drove up I26 then south down I40. Magellan tried to put us on the Blue Ridge Parkway but that section of the parkway was closed for the winter. Instead we drove through the Cherokee Indian reservation and entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the Oconahuftee Visitor Centre.


As we drove up the pass to New Found Gap the mountainsides were bathed in white from the bark of the bare poplar trees

West Prong of the Little Pigeon River

Emma beside the Little Pigeon River

Jim beside the Little Pigeon River



On occasion, my Muse Strikes Her Favourite Pose.


The top of the pass at New Found Gap has amazing views of the Great Smoky Mountains.



The Appalachian Trail  crossed the road at the summit of New Found Gap so we hiked along it for a few miles.


The Appalachian trail rose steadily and when we hit the snow line the trail became wet and slippery. Rather than press our luck we retraced our path back to the RV.


We were now in Tennnessee  as we descended the western slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains.





We exited the western entrance to the National Park and found ourselves in Gatlinburg.
How do you describe Gatlinburg? It was a traffic-jammed hodgepodge of carnival rides, food stands and tacky souvenir shops. It was jungle free enterprise run amuck. In jaw-dropping shock, we squeezed through this tacky, glitzy, tourist trap at a snails' pace.

We carried on to the Riveredge RV Park at Pigeon Forge Tennessee. This early in the season there were lots of spaces but the campground host assured us it is full from April through September.


March 9
It was another beautiful day as we traveled along Highway 321 and re-entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park on route to Cades Cove. Following Laurel Creek we ascended the western slopes of the mountains then descended into the beautiful isolated  mountain valley called Cades Cove.


This verdant valley was a favoured hunting ground of the Cherokee and later a secluded farming community in the 1800s.





We made several stops to enjoy the tranquil scenery.




Red-bellied Woodpecker






White-tailed Deer

Abrams Creek

At the far end of the Cades Cove Loop, we stopped to hike the five mile Abrams Falls trail


On this sunny afternoon, it was a very pleasant and easy hike. I was surprised to learn that this trail is considered to be one of the ten most dangerous trails in the US. This rating is due to the number of water accidents that have occurred over the years. Not to worry, we did not go swimming at the falls.












Abrams Falls is far from the largest falls we have seen but it was quite picturesque.




Cades Cove is a magical place and we had a wonderful time exploring it on this beautiful day.


It is hard to capture the special scenic beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains in photographs. Like the Grand Canyon it has a special beauty that you need to experience to fully grasp.