Category: Tennessee

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The Great Smoky Mountains

We’re always on the lookout for an easy overnight camp spots. In large towns and cities, it’s often a Walmart or Cracker Barrel car park. Stopping at the Walmart’s also makes grocery shopping quicker and easier, because we’re right there. State parks are also a favourite because they’re often hidden gems that provide lovely outlooks, hiking trails , dump points, power and water and they’re usually quite reasonably priced.

So that ‘s where we found ourselves on the way the Smoky Mountains, Hanging Rock State Park.

Of course we went for a walk around Hanging Rock park when we arrived, and discovered this amazing dammed swimming lake and building.

Everyone seems obsessed with rocking chairs here. Almost every venue we go to that provides seating, has rocking chairs.

The waterfall in the park is also a swimming hole that was obviously a popular spot with those in the know.

The following morning we drove to Guilford and discovered Greensboro Country Park, a 400 acre site, situated in the Battlefield Parks District. The park combines memorials, statues and information boards about the American Civil War, the battles and men who took part and a large lake, zipline, picnic and BBQ areas.

For example, this monument honours three of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence.

And this very impressive statue for Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) , appointed by Washington and a celebrated commander of the southern troops he is credited with securing the south from the British and enabling a Patriot victory.

The lake with its docked swan and duck paddleboats was lovely, as were the flowers.

We’ve become accustomed to the beautiful green trees and foliage that has been a staple of our walks since leaving the more arid areas America, but it’s always such a treat to see the wildlife. Like this deer, who stopped grazing to watch us.

And I just can’t resist the squirrels.

One thing we find while traveling as we do, is that we need to grocery shop fairly regularly. Luckily, there’s never too far between supermarkets. This morning, our supermarket was conveniently next to an amazing bakery. So of course we had to sample some of their wares.

Our dilemma? How to select a just a couple!

After lunch, and still in Greensboro, we walked around their arboretum.

It wasn’t particularly large, but it was very well laid out with some beautiful flowers and plants in bloom and sculptures.

Continuing on, we had a brief stop at Roanoke Springs and walked the canal and aqueduct trail. The canal was constructed by the Roanoke Navigation Company using slave labour, and ran between Roanoke Rapids Lake and Weldon, North Carolina. Construction began in 1815, was completed by 1823, but transportation along the waterway didn’t begin until 1834. There was a 90 foot elevation and almost 9 miles of rapids to overcome.

We drove through the park gate at Cades Cove in the afternoon after having had rain for the best part of the drive from Sweetwater.

We stopped at the information booth just as they were packing away for day so I grabbed an umbrella and hurried up to get a brochure and some information. The peak attraction at Cades Cove is an 11 mile (18km), one way loop road that travels past 9 places of interest, and several trail heads with stopping areas to pull off the road. Signs informed us that black bears and elk were common in the area. I scoffed. We hiked in numerous locations where bears were common when we were last here and only once saw one way, way up ahead crossing the road and disappearing up a hillside. The park ranger insisted they were very common. In fact, he offered to buy us dinner if we didn’t see a bear.

It appears we’re going hungry! Although it was still raining and after 4pm, we decided to do the 11 mile drive around the loop to see what was there, before heading to our camp site. A short distance into the drive we came to a stop behind a number of cars. We waited. And we waited. We noticed people in front were getting out of their cars. Then we twigged! There must be an animal. So, on with my jacket, out the door and up the road I went to find what had held up all the traffic. A mama black bear with not one, not two, but three baby bears!! I couldn’t tell you how many photos I took. I didn’t manage to get all four in the one picture because as we all know, there’s always one that has to be different.

The third baby bear was quite high up in the tree, until mama and two babies wandered into the forest. Then he scrambled down at a great rate of knots and took off behind.

This was now my very favourite place!

After our bear sighting, all the cars on the road, and there were dozens, had concertinaed up so we were in quite the procession as we slowly drove along. The rain had all but stopped so we detoured into Cable Mill Historic area.

On the way from the carpark we saw another two bears in a field of tall grass. They were quite away in the distance but it was comical to watch them. For a minute, you could just see the grass bending down, then up would pop a bear head, as he stood to get his bearings. Then he’d disappear again, and continue through the grass.

This site of heritage buildings was quite large. There were 5 buildings in the complex, the grist mill, the only one on its original site, a blacksmith shop, LeQuire cantilever barn, millrace and dam and smokehouse.

John P. Cable built the water-powered grist mill in the late 1860s, a saw mill in 1870 and also farmed the land. His son James took over the saw mill and it operated well into the 20th century. Large cantilever barns with counterweighted overhanging beams were common in the area, our brochure told us, because stock and equipment needed shelter from the harsh winters and they provided easy access for loading and unloading hay.

The house was built by Leason Gregg who purchased a small plot of land from Cable in 1879 and ran a store. Cable’s son and wife bought the property and house in 1887, but due to ill health, their sister Becky ran the farm and raised her nieces and nephews. She remained in the property until her death in 1940 at the age of 96.

As we were marveling at the ingenuity of the mill and the barn, we noticed that other people were making their way across the creek. It had to be another animal, so we followed along. A young buck elk was grazing in the forest, seemingly oblivious to the dozen or so people all taking pictures. Then, in the greenery, we noticed another two.

It’s so amazing to see these animals in the wild. We spent almost an hour at this site, including the gift shop. (There’s always a gift shop)! We’d had a long day and it was after 5pm but that didn’t seem to deter the constant stream of cars making their way around the loop road. We were about half way and the camp ground was at the other end, so we slotted ourselves into the stream of cars and slowly made our way to the camp ground.

We were up bright an early the following morning to get a start on the loop before the crowds. The skies were clear and the morning crisp but clouds still hung around the hills. As we drove along, the clouds became a little foggy which just enhanced the beautiful surroundings.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many of the people who lived in this area cleared portions of land for crops and livestock. So there are swathes of grassland, indispersed among the heavily wooded forests. Ideal grazing for the elk and white-tailed dee and it wasn’t long before we saw some deer in the grass. As you can see, they were not underfed.

The Loop trail at Cades Cove takes you past some of the remaining 80 historic cottages and buildings in the park, from bygone farms to churches and graveyards and an accompanying brochure provides historical information, in conjunction with sign boards at each site. We were surprised, at this early hour of 7am, how many cars were already doing the slow drive. But, apparently this is the most popular part of the Smoky Mountains.

We determined to stop at each of the sites, most cars didn’t. Our first, was the cabin built by John Oliver who bought land in 1826 and built the small house. He, and his family of 4 generations lived there for 100 years.

It’s a great example of the building style of the era. Felled trees were notched in the corners so no nails or pegs were needed. The open spaces between the logs were filled with mud to keep out the elements. The chimney, of local stone was also held together with a mortar of mud.

Next up, a primitive Baptist church. There are three churches on the loop and each has a graveyard. The Baptist church was established in 1827 but the original log cabin was replaced by the current, more elaborate structure in 1887. The other two, a Methodist church and a Missionary church, were built in 1902 and 1915 respectively.

Primitive Baptist above.

Methodist above

Missionary above

As we drove, the clouds hung like white cotton wool over the grassland between the trees. I’ve not gotten tired of these green forests.

As we determined to stop at all the sites , some of the buildings were near the road, but others, a distance walk, giving an opportunity to experience the surroundings.

Like this quite strange flower, butterflies, dragonfly, fungi and the wild turkeys who share the grassland.

Cades Cove is situated on the plains and the Smoky Mountains surround us in the distance.

The next homestead was owned by Elijah Oliver and his family who moved into this dwelling after the civil war (1865). The complex consists of the cabin, a springhouse to keep dairy products cold, by way of redirecting the stream to run under the building, a smokehouse, corn crib for grinding corn into meal, and a barn.

The next dwelling, constructed later in the 1880s was the only dwelling left in the park built in this way. They used 4 inch thick square-sawed logs with jointed corners and it was unique because sawed log houses weren’t built until sawmills arrived in the area during the early 1900s.

The cantilever barns are also unique and quite amazing. Similar to the one we saw yesterday, it has two log cribs supporting each end and an empty space in the middle to feed livestock. The lofts were used to store hay and the overhang for sheltering farm equipment. These types of barns were popular in southeastern USA, particularly in Tennessee, although their origins are sketchy. It’s surmised that they originated by taking ideas from several settler cultures including German, Swedish and Irish. It was also suggested that because governments of this era taxed on the square footage of buildings, if a large proportion didn’t touch the ground, it couldn’t be taxed.

The barn pictured here is a replica, but constructed exactly as would have been. The property, including the barn and other buildings, belonged to William Tipton and was built during the 1820s.

Not long after seeing the barn, there was another traffic jam on the loop road. It could only mean one thing! A bear! Many people just abandon their cars on the road to head down to the front of the queue to see what’s been spotted and sure enough, it was another black bear with two cubs. One just in front of mama bear and the rogue, right up the tree.

Not long after the bear sighting, we were lucky to see another white tailed deer and some elk, just grazing on the side of the road and not bothered about the vehicles.

Surprisingly, driving the 11 mile loop road and all the stops, hikes and sightseeing along the way, took us all day. We’d booked two nights at the campground and decided that since it was a long weekend, we would do a waterfall hike in the morning, then head out of the park and take in some of the neighbouring towns on our way to the other end of the Smoky Mountains.

As we’ve travelled, we’ve tried to fit in as much as we can because we know that we won’t be retracing our steps. Consequently, rain, hail or shine, we’ve headed out to see what we came to see. We woke to a very overcast sky and realised it had rained quite a bit overnight. Not to be deterred, we drove out along the loop for the third time, to the waterfall trailhead, half way along. It’s a popular hike and there is a large car park. There were already a number of vehicles parked and people were donning backpacks and hiking shoes, so we figured, they must know that the light rain which was falling would dissipate.

We wore rain jackets, waterproof shoes and carried umbrella’s just in case.

The trail was uphill and ran alongside a fast flowing creek and among the beautiful green trees and foliage we were accustomed to. Except for the ones that had lost their grasp on the ground and toppled over.

There were a couple of bridges, you get a sense of how dark it was in the trees with such a heavy clouded sky.

As we continued, the canopy opened up to let the light in and it was quite stunning. Notwithstanding the rain that hadn’t abated!

In fact, it got heavier, and darker. Then we heard rumbling. Surely it wasn’t thunder? We kept on, up the trail and soon after the rumble a flash. You’re kidding me? A thunderstorm? We started to rethink our decision to do the hike. All the while, the rain was falling and the thunder and lightening getting louder and closer together.

We had seen some people head out before us and they hadn’t returned so we continued on, until there was almost as much water pouring down the trail as there was in the creek! By now my waterproof shoes were so wet my feet were squelching. We’d brought out the umbrellas but even they weren’t helping and the thunder and lightening coupled with the now slippery, flowing trail convinced us to turn around.

This was the trail, not the creek!

On the way back, treading quite gingerly, we passed two people headed out to go fishing. Crazy! And all the while, the thunder, lightening and rain continued.

We’d hiked out about 3 miles so by the time we arrived back at Joey, we were very wet and glad to have a warm shower and dry clothes waiting for us. And wouldn’t you know it! By the time we were showered and changed, the rain had stopped and the storm passed. However, considering the amount of rain and the way it was gushing down the trail, we weren’t inclined to set out again. This was one waterfall we were going to miss.

Our plan was to drive out of the park and visit some of the surrounding towns, then head back into the park, after the Memorial Day long weekend, so we exited the park and joined the main highway to Gatlinburg.

Using Google maps on our phones for navigation has been fantastic because it gives live traffic information. As we neared Gatlinburg, the traffic got heavier, and heavier, until we were almost at a standstill. We could see on Google maps that the road was red for quite a distance. We could not have imagined the amount of traffic making their way to this town, at a snails pace. Until we arrived at the town and realised it was one big amusement arcade. There was benefit to the slow traffic procession though, we could sightsee along the drive without finding a park.

However, with this much traffic there was little chance we’d find a park, so we kept on until we exited Gatlinburg, deciding to stop at the following town, Pigeon Forge, where the traffic had eased. A walk through the town revealed it was similar to Gatlinburg with an amusement park through the town, including many tourist t-shirt and gift paraphernalia shops. There were dodgem cars, pirate swings, merry-go-rounds, large slides, to name a few, and large seemed to be the drawcard to encourage custom.

There were also large buildings, well painted and adorned with themed rides. This one was a boat ride around a “Jurassic Park” type canal inside a large warehouse. You’d almost think you were in Disneyland.

Always on the lookout for uniquely American items, we found these marvels in diversification.

If we had a coffee percolator I would have bought one to try.

Walking into the actual town of Pigeon Forge, beyond the tourist spots, we discovered the town was settled in 1783 and originally called “Forks of Little Pigeon.” We found a quite majestic town hall and a statue to a very clever dog called Bertie the Bird Dog.

We also learned that Pigeon Forge was the birthplace of Dolly Parton.

The following morning we discovered a very scenic river walk through town.

And an amazing highway lined with Disney-like themed rides, more mini-golf venues than you’d think would survive, experiences and food outlets.

This was a movie theatre that showed IMAX style movies.

And I bet you can guess what this was representing! We thought it was a ride or restaurant but it was actually a Titanic museum and exceptionally well done.

For anyone of a certain age, you’ll remember the Beverly Hillbillies TV show with Ma and Pa Kettle. Well this was a theatre restaurant themed show, complete with live goats and chickens milling around outside.

Notice anything odd about this building?

We think it was a museum, but very clever.

That night the rain returned, but by later in the morning, it had abated. A local told us that they can never rely on weather forecasts because Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg sit in a valley flanked by the Great Smoky Mountains. Sometimes the clouds appear out of nowhere, from the mountains and they get a drenching, and others, menacing clouds that look like a storm, don’t drop any rain.

Yesterday, we walked the length of the river walk alongside the river. This morning, there was flooding in a number of spots and the river was flowing incredibly quickly. This is the spot where the mural photo I posted earlier was.

Having spent our Memorial Day long weekend in Pigeon Forge, trying to evade the crowds, we decided to spend Tuesday at Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park, just for something different. You can’t beat a good theme park! We downloaded the maps and planned our day to maximise our rides. We hoped that waiting until Tuesday, it might be less busy. So, bright and early we drove Joey to the entrance gate and were ushered in to park in the RV spots. The area Dollywood is built on in Pigeon Forge, is quite undulating and we expected, as is always the case, that the RV’s would be parked in the back of beyond, far from the entrance. Imagine our surprise when we found the RV car park was with the tour buses, just up the hill from the VIP car parks.

Dollywood is on 165 acres and I swear the car parks take up more than half. They’re so expansive that there’s a trolly train with a dozen or more carriages to ferry people from the car parks to the entrance. We had a 5 minute walk! We were in the first few people to be admitted and armed with the map, made a bee line for our first ride.

We did the Mystery Mine, Blazing Fury, Daredevil falls and Tennessee Tornado in quick succession and didn’t have to queue for any. Then we had a breather to actually look around.

Dolly is everywhere! In fact, the souvenir booklet quotes her saying “going through Dollywood is like a tour through my life.” The park’s theme is butterflies and each season there’s a different festival. The current theme was flowers and food and there were a number of topiary sculptures throughout the park.

Much of the food was Southern style and involved different varieties of BBQ meat, macaroni with lashings of cheese, candied sweet potatoes, and lots of fried chicken but there were also sweet treats like funnel cakes, donuts, fresh, hot cinnamon bread which smelled amazing and chocolate or caramel dipped apples.

And THE biggest apple pie I’ve ever seen!

I doubted Dolly kept her figure eating desserts like these.

There is a bird aviary housing a number of bald eagles and several other birds of prey that they use for flight shows.

And a number of other attractions, like these simple but very effective umbrella’s. There’s a steam train that circumnavigates the park and like Disney, each area is themed, for example, Wildwood Grove, Show Street or Rivertown Junction.

We took in two musical shows, the Hall Sisters country singing quartet who also played violins, guitars and the piano and the Smoky Mountain String Band a trio of three men, the oldest, and funniest in his seventies and boy he could play the banjo! My only complaint was that their stint wasn’t long enough.

To round off the day, we visited the Dolly Parton experience, a visual extravaganza, detailing her life in pictures, video footage and music from her first outings as a 13 year old to her current philanthropic ventures. We even had a look through her tour bus. Neither of us are particular Dolly fans, or even country music fans but seeing her life through music and pictures from where she started out and her sheer determination, we can appreciate how much she’s accomplished.

All in all, a fun day was had. After our few days of crowds and shops though, we were ready to head back to the Great Smoky Mountains.

I have to say I never get sick of this beautiful scenery. These Mountains are truly magnificent, from their broad sweeping plains, to forests, wildlife and flora. We travelled through the middle of the mountains on the Newfound Gap Road, through Smokemont, then along the Blueridge Parkway that we loved so much last time we were here.

Our first stop was Laurel Falls, a 2.6 mile round trip, the first half of which was all uphill.

Although it was barely 8am, the trail was already busy so we hightailed it to falls and back in double quick time. Mostly because there were other sights to see and carparking, much less RV parking, was at a premium.

We drove through Newfound Gap, crossed the famous Appalachian Trail and hiked up Chimney Tops Trail. Another uphill trek, and one of the most popular hikes in the park, it gains 1,400 feet over 2 miles and has some spectacular views.

Continuing along the road, we came to this interesting sign, a little wary of how tight it might actually be for Joey to negotiate but we had no trouble. This was followed soon after by another tunnel.

We’re still loving these waterfall hikes and it’s the right time of year to view them. The weather is generally good, like Goldilocks porridge, not too hot and not too cold, but just right!

About half way through the park travelling south, we crossed the border from Tennessee into North Carolina and soon thereafter, Newfound Gap.

These mountains are truly spectacular. In the first picture below you can even see the road in the distance.

Further along the road, we came to Mingus Mill. A short walk along a beautiful trail led us to the Mill and aqueduct, built in 1886.

Running for 50 years, the mill ground wheat into flour and corn into meal for the mountain communities. In 1968 the National Park Service renovated it to be operational but more recent flooding from the water course has destabilised some of the supporting timbers so it is currently out of action.

Our next stop was the Mountain Farm Museum on the Oconaluftee River and the chance to see some more very well fed elk and deer that weren’t the slightest bit concerned about us.

The museum is a recreation of a late 1800s village where the structures have been relocated to this site and renovated. There is a farmhouse, barn, apple house, spring house and a blacksmith shop.

We exited the Great Smoky Mountains with a hint of regret, knowing that we would not return but having thoroughly enjoyed our few days exploring this beautiful part of America and seeing wildlife in its natural surroundings.

We officially hit the Blueridge Parkway and continued through North Carolina.

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Nashville to the Great Smoky Mountains

We knew we were headed across Tennessee to the Great Smoky Mountains, so we decided to head south in our hire car towards Chattanooga. There are several state parks in this area with waterfalls which we thought would be flowing after the rains here, so that’s the region we headed to.

First up, Dunbar Cave State Park, Clarksville. Although not a waterfall, it was a fascinating place with several miles of hiking trails. The cave is 8 miles (13kms) deep and until 2010, was open for tours. Archaeologists have dated artifacts and cave etchings found inside to between 1,000BC and 800 AD. It was a ceremonial space for Native Americans, mined for saltpeter for gunpowder during the Mexican American war, and after the Civil War, a two-story hotel was constructed. During the early 20th century it housed dances and concerts and in 1933 a swimming pool, bathhouse and tennis courts were built. By 1948 it was the venue for large music concerts by Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, but soon after in 1950, the hotel burned down and wasn’t rebuilt. The pool was closed in 1967 and the cave was purchased in 1973 and dedicated as a Natural State Park.

This is what remains of the cave that once saw so much activity.

The hike through the park was very pretty. Especially because we got to see an elk that was as interested to watch us, as we were to watch him.

As we’d come to expect here, the all foliage was a vibrant green.

Our hike finished with a walk around the lake and then it was on to Paris Landing State Park and a surprising find. Not only did we see our first woodpecker, we discovered they take in injured raptors that can’t be released. We often hear woodpeckers tapping at the trees but have not seen one ’til now.

Being a Saturday, were also lucky to catch the the Raptor feeding and park ranger’s talk about their current inhabitants.

We’d already visited the Parthenon in Nashville, so why not visit the Eiffel Tower in? Where would you expect to find it? Paris, of course! It’s 66 feet tall and was created as a university project. The Paris Chamber of Commerce installed it as a tourist attraction in 1991 after they celebrated “Paris USA”.

The town of Paris was quite lovely, with a large town square, ornate government buildings and a different take on their murals. Each one depicts an historical event that took place in the county.

Created to recognise entertainment in the region, it depicts several different activities and also local identities.

This is called “Journey Through Time” and depicts the importance of the railroad from the 1800s to “today.” According to the explanation, many local identities are also pictured here.

The note on this one just says 200 people and places.

Call me macabre but this one intrigued me. It’s not the sort of mural we usually see. It depicts a duel between Will Edmunds and Kenny Porter, the Governor’s son, on June 4, 1888. Edmunds was killed. Later the same day, Porter’s brother, Dudley was also killed in a duel by Alex White, after an argument about the earlier duel. In 1889, Kenny married Nell Edmunds, Will’s sister. Go figure!

Entitled “The Ring” This shows a jeweler making a ring for John Dewit Atkins and his fiancé Ella Gilbert, who wed in 1890. They are in the background, with some of the buildings in the town square.

The Eiffel Tower reproduction is a centrepiece of the town. However, it was now past 4pm and dark black clouds were settling in overhead so it was time to head back to Joey.

We had a thunderstorm overnight but when Sunday morning arrived, it was a clear, warm day so off we headed for part two of our sojourn without Joey.

I started the day with a very photogenic squirrel having breakfast.

They’re just so cute!

Today, we’d planned our waterfall route, The first stop, Old Stone Fort.

The fort, misnamed by explorers, is a prehistoric structure, dated from between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago and it’s not clear why it was constructed. The surrounding area is quite beautiful and well worth the hike.

For the rivers and waterfalls, and also the small things, like this fungus

The purple edges were almost glowing.

This one, that resembled the rings of a tree.

And these flowers which were quite tiny but in abundance on the trees and covering the ground, like confetti after the rain.

The first falls we passed were Blue Hole Falls, there was a lot of water rushing down but they weren’t high falls. This, was called Big falls and there certainly was huge volumes of water flowing over.

As we continued on, we passed the ruins of the Stone Fort Paper Company.

We ended our hike here, now on to Greeter Falls and the Blue Hole Trail.

Another beautiful hike through green forests, rock ledges, and water falls.

These falls too, were flowing at a great rate.

One of the things we love about our travels is that we haven’t been here before, so we have no idea what to expect. Every corner we turn or hill we climb reveals a new outlook. In this case, steep and very slippery steps followed by a slippery spiral staircase.

The first cascade was a teaser for this higher, more voluminous waterfall.

While it’s great to appreciate the impressive trees and waterfalls etc. I also love find those little, hidden gems along the trails, like these fungi.

While hiking along the trail, we met another couple and I notices she was taking photos of a group of fungus too. I pointed out the ones I’d photographed and we struck up a conversation, as we’re prone to do. They were interested to hear about our trip so far and our future plans and we were interested to pick their brain about other places to visit that they’d recommend. We must have stood on the trail and chatted for 20 minutes or more before we agreed we should continue our hike. So, when we arrived at the swing bridge we took each others pictures.

This trail was little more precarious, and making sure we were very sure footed. One slip and we’d be very, very wet.

There were a few cars in the carp park but we hadn’t come across anybody else, until we came to this end of the trail. There were a bunch of very tired and muddy teenagers with digging tools, ropes and other implements that I would not have wanted to carry along the trail. They were Eagle Scouts apparently, doing 5 weeks of weekend restoration work on the trail and the swing bridge to make it safer for hikers.

These guys were manhandling a very large rock along this slippery and very uneven slope to shore up the steps onto the swing bridge. Rather them than me!

Generally, I’m a big fan of a ring or loop hike. There’s always something new to see, no retracing your path. But, I also see the advantage of turning around at the end and walking back the way you came, which was the case here. Often we’ll see things we missed on the way out or get a better view. And often, I take just as many photos on the way back!

By the time we got back to Joey it was after 4pm and time to head on back. we’d meandered out along a scenic drive, taking advantage of the car and it’s frugal use of petrol, but now we had a two hour trip back to Joey.

We had the car until after lunch on Monday so planned a morning of activities. The mechanic was chasing up our part and he was confident he’d have us running again by lunch time.

We’d seen a large warehouse on our trips along the road the mechanic was on, called Lane Motor Museum, so we thought, lets give it a go for an hour. It opened in 2003 with the mission “to collect, preserve, document, and interpret an eclectic and technically interesting collection of cars or other transportation-related objects.” This was a passion project for Jeff Lane which began as a hobby, (don’t they all) and grew to a collection of over 500 vehicles. And he’s still collecting! Needless to say, our hour turned into all morning.

Every vehicle and each story attached to the vehicle was unique and fascinating and we couldn’t help being wowed!

As you can see, this was not your run-of-the-mill car museum.

Most of these vehicles were in running order, including this one which was demonstrated working.

The vehicles in the collection also spanned many decades, from the late 1800s to this one from 1984, and others more recent.

For almost every vehicle, we found the information fascinating and worth reading.

There were also weird gadgets, like this ThermaDor Car Cooler, or car air-conditioner.

Something we noticed was how many three-wheeled vehicles were on display, considering they never seemed to make a lasting impression. Even as recently as this 2020 model.

And then there are experimental ideas like this one.

Scams were also represented, like this endeavour by Glen Gordon Davis.

Can you imagine driving down the street in this little beauty?

This little car would suit anyone needing to get into a tight space, or who has difficulty parking.

If in doubt, just pick it up and move it.

You can see why found ourselves wandering around the museum for hours.

And i thought electric cars were a recent invention.

Skiing anyone?

The warehouse was packed with these vehicles, so much so that there were even some in the outside parking shed.

We spent a good 3 – 4 hours here and it was well worth the $10 each to get in.

We’d hoped to be on our way after lunch but it seems the part we needed was harder to source than anyone imagined. By the time we’d returned our rental car and got back to the mechanic however, he finally had some good news. They’d found not one, but two parts, so we now have a spare in case we need to replace the other one. We’d be headed off by lunch time Tuesday and on our way to the Great Smoky Mountains.

After touring through Carlsbad Caverns, we’ve bypassed any other caves because really, nothing could live up to their size or grandeur. However, we did decide make an exception to detour past The Lost Sea Cave. Located in Sweetwater, Tennessee, local information claims it is the world’s largest underground lake and is part of an larger system of caves called Craighead Caverns. However, the Guinness Book records it as America’s largest underground lake. It also has the very rare anthodite (cave flower) formations, and fossils from the giant Pleisocene jaguar have also been located in the cave.

This is the cave entrance tunnel and in itself, leads you to think you’re embarking on a great adventure. So, down we all trundled, into the dim cave light and were, well, underwhelmed. We couldn’t help comparing it to Carlsbad.

However, the history was quite interesting. During the Civil War, it was mined for saltpeter, necessary to manufacture gunpowder and there is graffiti etched on the wall which is scientifically dated and proved to be authentic from this period.

The cave was discovered in 1905 by a 13 year old boy named Ben Sands who crawled through a tiny space to reveal a large room filled with water.

These were the anthodite (cave flower) formations, quite small and not very many. They did appear crystaline and the greenish colour was not due to the light.

This was our first glimpse of the underground lake. Similarly to other caves with pools of water, it was crystal clear and still.

As we descended, we walked from the path to a tunnel, of sorts, with raised iron sides, to keep the water out.

This picture gives an accurate representation of the the light and how we viewed it. Then…

Another wow moment! This was not what we expected. And there were fish!

The water was so clear that the fish looked suspended above the bottom. We all climbed into a boat, like long raft with sides and sat along the middle facing outwards.

More fish! Wow! And then our guide explained that in the 1960s, the rainbow trout were introduced into the water. It’s so pristine that there is nothing for them to eat so each guided boat ride, the guides throw fish feed to them. This would be why they all come swimming up to the boats. Once the food is gone they disappear off.

The boats have small electric motors that are basically silent, so it’s quite eerie as you float around because it doesn’t look like you’re in the water, but you’re floating. We did a lap of the lake while hearing about the history and learning some facts about the water. The cavern is 800 feet x 220 feet but the full extent of its size still isn’t determined, despite modern diving expeditions with exploration and sonar equipment. Over 13 acres of water have been mapped to date, with no sign of the caverns underwater end.

We floated around the edge of the lake for about 10 – 15 minutes, then disembarked and made our way back up to the exit.

The tour lasted about 45 minutes and the cave trail was 3/4 mile long. Was it worth it for the cave? No, but the history was interesting and the lake was amazing and well worth the visit.

But, now it was time to get a wriggle on to the Smoky Mountains.

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Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville Pt. 2

After our sojourn to visit Oprah Winfrey and Elvis’s birthplaces, we rejoined the Parkway and took one of the walking trails.

A varied walk from lush green forests, to open grasslands it was an opportunity to stretch our legs.

And among all the greenery, there were small pockets of wildflowers and pops of colour.

We’ve discovered that America is a wonderful destination if you enjoy history. It’s not only travelling destinations, like the Natchez Trace or specific towns that provide historical information but across the country we’ve seen many signs that give historical information in a few short sentences. They’re similar to our Historical Markers in Australia. For the signs we see along the road we can rarely stop, and if we did we would never complete our lap, there are so many. We also notice that many of these signs, monuments and statutory are attributed to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

The above historical marker is an example. Today, we spoke with someone who told us that they are greatly esteemed in America, so it was about time we found out more about them.

They were founded on October 11, 1890 by four women, and now boast a membership of over one million women. There was a renewed patriotism at this time and women, being excluded from men’s organisations, sought a way to make an impact in society. As a result, Mary S. Lockwood, Ellen Walworth, Mary Desha and Eugenia Washington formed a female only organisation to perpetuate the memory of those who helped America gain independence, to preserve history, promote the “diffusion of knowledge” and to foster freedom, patriotism and liberty throughout America.

They raise money to maintain historical sites, including graves, headstones and monuments, contribute to restorations, memorials and commemorations and preserve historical archives and documents. They also provide scholarships, volunteer and support veterans past and present and provide awards and medals.

To become a member you must provide proof of descendance from an ancestor who helped America gain independence and provide their Revolutionary War service history between 19 April 1775 from the Battle of Lexington, which was the first major battle of the war and 26 November 1783, when British troops left New York.

So, now when we read historical markers like those here on the Natchez Trace Parkway, we can appreciate who was responsible for them. And, as we travel further north, we’re learning not only about the settlers and westward expansion but the ecology, geography and the original inhabitants of the land.

For example the Pharr Mounds

There are a number of locations along the Trace that have burial mounds like these, but this is the largest, and most important grouping in Northern Mississippi, containing 8 mounds. Some have been excavated by archaeologists and then returned to their original state.

They are deeply spiritual locations where members of the Chicasaw and Choctaw Indian tribes still come to remember their ancestors.

It wasn’t long that we passed from Mississippi into Alabama and another walk through the beautiful forest.

Shortly after, we crossed the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway on the Jamie L. Whitten Bridge. A navigable route from the Gulf of Mexico, for the early settlers however, the Colbert Ferry provided access across the waterway. Chicasaw George Colbert ran the ferry between 1800 and 1819 and also a stand that provided travelers food and lodging. He was one of many Chicasaw that owned plantations and used slave labour.

And shortly thereafter, we crossed another state line

During our last lap of America in 2008/09 we spent some time following the Meriwether and Clark history trails. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were appointed by Thomas Jefferson to undertake an expedition exploring the newly purchased Louisiana region. Lewis was Jefferson’s protege and personally chosen for the expedition. They began in May 1804, reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805 and completed the journey in September 1806. Meriwether returned with detailed documentation, maps and journals, having established the presence of Americans across the new land as a deterrent to European arrivals and had favourable encounters with at least 24 Indian tribes. The endeavour was hailed a great success. Meriwether was appointed Governor of Louisiana as a reward but it was a posting that caused him great depression. While journeying along the Natchez Trace in 1809 he committed suicide and is buried where he died at Grinder’s Stand.

This monument was erected over his grave in 1848, the broken column symbolising a life cut short.

After we visited the small Meriwether museum, we did another of the hikes through the forest.

Finally, we’d come to the the end of journey along the Natchez Trace Parkway and Gordon House, one of the last historical homes. Built in 1818 by Captain John Gordon, it was one of the most imposing homes in the region. Gordon and his wife Dolly had 11 children and ran a ferry across the river and a stand for weary travelers. Gordon died not long after completing the house but his wife remained until her death in 1859.

And just like that, we were in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music, Ryman Auditorium built in 1892 and the Grand Ole Opry launched in 1925.

It was great to see our Keith Urban front and centre.

This mural is painted on the Honky Tonk Bar. How many can you recognise?

Fun fact: The fellow on the barstool sitting between Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson is Brad Paisley. His image replaces Taylor Swifts, because she “shifted away from her signature country sound”. Effectively, the locals complained that a “pop” idol shouldn’t share the same space as “country legends”.

Our sojourn into Nashville, the capital of Tennessee was on a warm but overcast day that threatened rain. We left Joey behind, about a 40 minute bus ride out of town, so he could have a scheduled service. With the booking for 7am, we arrived in Nashville city centre before the tourist crowds and enjoyed our walk around the famous streets, sans tourists.

As you can see, even at 8am in the morning, the neon lights were ablaze.

Cowboy boot shops were prominent too, but don’t let the street frontage fool you. There were long racks with hundreds of boots lined up in this store! We also noticed that a lot of tourists(mostly women) wear fancy boots around and some are quite amazing. If I thought for a minute that I’d actually wear a pair, I would have been very tempted! But I was told by a local, “they’re pretty uncomfortable to wear all day”. He said most tourists buy them, take them home and don’t wear them again. So I left without a nice new pair of boots.

Our city walk took us down to the Tennessee river front, with the intention of walking along the boardwalk to Riverfront Park and the Nashborough Fort. However, we discovered a slight issue.

Unbeknown to us, they’d had a lot of rain here, which we had pretty much managed to dodge, and the river front was flooded.

So, we wandered back to the happenin’ part of Nashville.

There were guitars everywhere and I lost count of how many establishments had drum kits in the windows. We discovered, as the morning wore on, that all these establishments have live bands playing from about mid morning until well into the night.

Artists sculpture of Charlie Daniels “Reflections”

Nashville city centre is certainly a colourful and vibrant city, that comes to life once the tourists venture out. By mid morning, live band music was playing from most establishments and the streets were quite busy. It’s hard not to immersed in the music vibe.

This sculpture was in an Ariat store (they sell riding apparel and country clothing) and very well done.

it seems Taylor Swift wasn’t ousted from everywhere in Nashville.

At one point during our wanderings we came across this police officer/security guard who was exceptionally chatty and very happy to give us some hints and tips for visiting his city.

There was a lot of road and building works causing road closures so I asked him some directions. We learned that a man had detonated a car bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day 2020 which had decimated an entire city block. More than 50 buildings were either destroyed or damaged and the building works are ongoing to restore the city block that was destroyed.

But our friendly police man also pointed us in the direction of some iconic venues.

Chief’s, a music/bar/restaurant is quite famous and a must see, he said.

There are 5 floors in the venue and it’s open for anyone to wander through. So we did. The “stained glass” windows are actually stickers but in conjunction with the floor to ceiling artwork, it’s serious sensory overload. In the photo above, you’re actually looking at the floor and a wall. In the picture below, the ceiling is also covered.

The band were playing, people were sitting around the bar and it was barely 11 am! And this was the vibe everywhere! Numerous venues were serving food and alcohol and playing live band music. Including on the rooftops.

Determined to explore more than the country music scene, we took in some of Nashville’s food, the Capital building, learned about their push for women’s vote and visited their Parthenon.

Seriously, a heart attack in a jar!

And to go along with the milkshakes, a GooGoo. The “Home of America’s First combination Candy Bar”, according to the sign.

The novelty here is that you use a touch screen to customise your GooGoo biscuit by choosing the chocolate, nuts, caramel etc. You pay at the screen and it takes about 10minutes for someone to hand make it. We made a selection but at $12.95 for 1 biscuit, decided to give it a miss.

We walked around Nashville State Capital building which is situated upon a grassy hill, providing great views of the surrounding area. Like other state capitals we’d visited, they welcome the public, so we took the chance to have a look inside.

Although it wasn’t as ornate as Baton Rouge, it wasn’t any less majestic.

It was interesting to see the bust of David Crockett sitting in the company of Andrew Johnson and that his credentials were frontiersman and Militiaman.

As lunch time approached, we discovered the market and these interesting artworks.

After lunch we found out that our service was complete but that Joey had a leaky seal in the front hub that they needed to order a part for but they could finish it first thing the following morning, Friday. No worries, that meant another day exploring Nashville.

On Friday, we caught the same bus at the same early morning time then walked out past Vanderbilt University to the Parthenon. Apparently, for the 1897 world exhibition, Nashville movers and shakers decided to build an exact size replica of Greece’s iconic building. It was to be the centrepiece of the exhibition but also only a temporary construction built from wood, plaster and brick.

When the exhibition concluded, Nashville locals petitioned to stave off the demolition and it remained until 1921. By then, it was such an iconic part of the city that over the following ten years it was reconstructed in permanent materials. So, here it is, the Parthenon in Nashville.

If you ignore the wide expanse of lush, green lawn, you would easily think you were in Greece. It’s also not only to look at. They hold regular exhibitions, and give a variety of guided tours, including studies on the architecture.

Our walk back to Nashville’s city centre took us through the beautiful park that the Parthenon sits in, some stunning murals and a walk through the old Marathon Motors factory.

And I can never resist a cute squirrel photo!

Another lesser known fact about Nashville, it’s home to the Marathon Motor Works which began in 1907 and was relocated to Nashville in 1910. Although it lasted only 4 years, closing in 1914, it was the first factory to make automobiles entirely in the Southern USA and this was not surpassed until General Motors made the Saturn in 1990. In 1910, Marathon made 600 cars but also all the components. Today, there are as few as nine Marathon cars in existence.

The building now houses an eclectic collection of gift and souvenir shops, a micro brewery, a Harley Davidson apparel shop and a couple of art galleries/shops, however many of the original tools and machinery pieces are on display in the halls and there are information display boards detailing when and how the Marathon car was made.

As we walked back to Nashville city centre, we got a call from the mechanic. Grim news! No one could find the part they needed and being a Friday afternoon, everyone was going home. While they were confident they could locate a part, it would have to wait until Monday. So, instead of being on our way, Joey would be parked in their forecourt for the weekend and we were without transport. At least they hooked us up with power. We figured, if you’re given lemons, you make lemonade! So after some googling, we located a reasonable car to hire for the weekend, picked it up within an hour and drove it back to Joey. Now, to plan where to go on our unexpected extra weekend of sightseeing, with unlimited mileage.

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Natchez Trace Parkway

In keeping with our roads less travelled theme, or at least, choosing the roads in our atlas that display little green dots next to them, signifying a scenic route, we decided to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway.

It begins in Natchez, just over the Mississippi border and concludes 444 miles north, in Nashville Tennessee. It was relatively quiet and exceptionally green.

We saw these fences often and they were so clever! Rough timber planks alternatively stacked in a zig zag without any fixings.

The Natchez Parkway follows “the most significant highway of the Old Southwest,” to quote our mile by mile information brochure. It was a major pathway for the Natchez, Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians who were present in this region for 10,000 years. Once settlers began journeying westward, from the late 1700s it received so much traffic, by foot, wagon and horse, including being a major US mail route, that it’s now a defined, deep rut through the forests. Although we had a bitumen road to drive on that follows the Trace fairly closely. In fact, in some locations it is several feet deep, like a channel, but now covered in grasses and moss.

The Parkway is replete with history and abounds with flora and fauna. Not only was it a thoroughfare for the local Native tribes, but from the late 1700s, it was a major thoroughfare for traders (called Kaintucks) who floated crops, livestock and other wares down the Mississippi River on rafts, then, because the current was too strong to return via the river, sold the timber, and walked or rode horses home. It was a major route for General Andrew Jackson’s armies during the 1812 war, civil war battles occurred throughout the region and thousands of slaves were marched along its length from the early 1800s to the large slave market in Natchez. As the traffic became more pronounced, entrepreneurial settlers also built inns (or stands) to cater to travelers.

We began our journey in Natchez, a lovely town, steeped in history. Our early morning walk took us along the Mississippi River, through the historic “Under-the-Hill” area along the Mississippi River and around the town.

Some of the buildings still lining the “Under-the-Hill” road.

In the 1800s this region was the seedy underbelly of Natchez. The main Natchez town sits upon a hill above this area which borders the river. Described in 1820 as “the most licentious spot on the Mississippi River,” this was where any river boats landed and from 1811, where the steamboats docked. Taverns, gambling establishments and brothels lined the riverside to service the river folk and it was also the location of a slave market.

Today, a number of the buildings house small shops, and the outlook across the river to the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge, the tallest on the Mississippi River, is very scenic.

We saw these beautiful paddle steamers at a number of towns on the river. They are the ‘cruise ships’ of the river and offer multi-day voyages for tourists.

Natchez town atop the hill was established in 1716 as a French fort, beginning several decades of conflict with the traditional Natchez inhabitants, who, in 1729 succeeded in killing 229 men, women and children, the largest death toll by a native attack in Mississippi history. In retaliation, the French returned with a vengeance, decimating the Natchez through death, enslavement or exile. After the defeat of the American Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 accorded that Great Britain forego Natchez to United States rule, and in 1797, the American flag was raised at the highest point of the town, claiming Natchez for America.

Our walk around the town took us past St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Basilica, built between 1842 and 1859 and as one of the few churches we’ve noticed with open doors, we took a peek inside.

It was the most magnificent church, with stunning stained glass windows lining each side and beautifully molded and painted ceilings and frescos.

Continuing our walk around the town, we passed a number of antebellum mansions. As the area became home to more settlers and trade and transportation on the river increased, it became a hub of economic enterprise and a bustling trading port. Statistics from 1829 and 1830 recorded 383 steamboats, 10 keelboats, and 868 flatboats or Kaintuck rafts had docked at the port and there were 2,789 residents.

Rosalie, named after the original town fort, was one of the early mansions built in Natchez and completed in 1823 by wealthy cotton plantation owner Peter Little. While he and his wife Eliza did not have their own children, they founded the Natchez Children’s Home and remained together for 45 years, until her death from yellow fever in 1853. He died 3 years later but without an heir and also no will, the property was auctioned and bought by Andrew Wilson who was also childless. He adopted a daughter, Fannie McMurtry, however, who married and lived at Rosalie with their 6 children.

In 1838, and falling on hard times, two of Fannie’s daughters, Annie and Rebecca sold Rosalie to the Mississippi State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, but continued to reside at the manor, hosting guided tours until in 1858, at 101 years old and the last of the original descendants of Rosalie, Annie passed away. Today, Rosalie, like most of the grand antebellum mansions, hosts guided tours and is a wedding and accommodation venue.

Auburn, completed almost a decade before Rosalie, in 1812, was the first antebellum mansion built in Natchez. Constructed for Lyman Harding, Mississippi’s first Attorney General. Its architect was hired “to design the most magnificent building in the Territory.” Its most significant feature was the free-standing, 360 degree staircase, one of a mere handful in the USA. Auburn’s information states that it is owned by “every resident in Natchez” and “”one of the most significant homes in the nation.” Upon Harding’s death in 1820, it was purchased by Stephen Duncan, a wealthy plantationer and he added the two outer wings during the 1830s, a billiard hall and several outbuildings. It was bequeathed by his family, along with 203 acres, to the city in 1911. It offers guided tours, is a function venue and the grounds are a now public park available for free use.

Dunleith Historic Inn was built in 1856, with 22 rooms, a separate lodge and dairy barn. It is the sole remaining Mississippi antebellum manor comprising complete, encircling Greek Revival columns. The original property, situated on a plantation was completed in the 1790s for Job Routh but was destroyed by a fire in 1855. His daughter Mary and her husband General Charles G. Dahlgren built the current manor. it was subsequently sold to Alfred Vidal Davis who renamed it Dunleith.

The original horse stables, still remaining from 1790 are now a fine dining restaurant with an “English pub” in the carriage house. The manor is also a bed & breakfast and wedding and event venue.

Stanton Hall was built circa 1857 by Frederick Stanton, a cotton broker, and its design copied his ancestral home in Ireland. He died of yellow fever a mere nine months after its completion. Its upkeep was a strain on his heirs so from 1890 it operated as a College for Young Ladies. It was acquired by the Pilgrimage Garden Club in 1940, who operate it as a museum and event venue. Its blurb alleges it is “one of the most opulent antebellum mansions to survive in the southeastern United States.”

A couple of fun facts about Stanton Hall, it was the blueprint for Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, and its interior was filmed in the mini series North and South.

During our wanderings of Natchez we happened upon a brochure entitled, “Natchez, the Historic City Cemetery…the stories are as unique as the town itself.” Intrigued, that meant another walk around a cemetery.

Armed with our brochure, listing 26 separate graves to visit and having downloaded the QR code information on them, we headed up to the cemetery. It is situated high above the Mississippi River on undulating, parklike grounds with beautiful trees providing shade. Consequently, there is no need for raised crypts because there’s little likelihood of flooding

The stories we learned about some of the residents were fascinating. Here are just a few:

John Lee was buried in Catholic Hill and was known as the Chinese gambler. He resided in Natchez from 1925 and was buried in 1962. His clever inscription means “good fortune” and the dice, a seven and a one and the cards a spade and a royal flush are because he died on the 11th day of the 7th month.

A sadder and more bizarre grave belongs to Florence Irene Ford who died aged 10, in 1871. When alive, she was petrified of storms so whenever one occurred, she rushed to her mother. It’s reported that her mother was so grief stricken when she died that her casket was fashioned with a glass window at her head. The grave was dug down to provide an area so her mother could “comfort Florence during storms.” To provide shelter for her mother, two hinged, metal doors were installed. During the 1950s a wall was erected at the bottom of the stairs to cover the window and prevent vandalism.

Clarence “Bud” Scott was a famous African American musician during the early 1900s. He led one of the most popular dance bands of the era, even playing at Carnegie Hall in 1912. When at home in Natchez he frequently serenaded locals from the balcony of the Natchez Confectionary store.

Rufus E. Case was a plantation owner who instructed his heirs that upon his death he be buried sitting in his favourite rocking chair, facing Louisiana. He died in 1858 aged only 34 but his wishes were granted, hence the terraced tomb.

Finally, the grave of Thomas Paul Leathers (1816-1896) is far less colourful than the man himself. However, Captain Leathers began a career guiding and building steamboats on the Mississippi from 1836. Seven were named Natchez. He was a very accomplished pilot, completing 401 journeys between New Orleans and Vicksburg without an accident, quite the feat during this era. He was also a staunch Confederate, refusing to bow to the Union, and flying the “stars and bars” flag on all of his steamboats for many years after the civil war.

In 1870 he competed in what the information told us was “to become the most legendary steamboat race in history.” He was pitted against another noted steamboat pilot, Captain Cannon in his vessel, the Robert E. Lee. Touted as the most modern and luxurious vessel of the times, Cannon won in a record breaking 3 days, 18 hours, beating Captain Leathers by 6 hours and 36 minutes.

Even Leathers death at age 80 in New Orleans was bizarre. He succumbed to fatal injuries after a hit and run with a bicycle.

When we parked at the cemetery we noticed a large, inoperative oil rig At least, that’s what we assumed. When we returned it was pumping into a large holding tank and smelling distinctly of oil. I guess if liquid gold is discovered, it doesn’t matter that it’s in a cemetery.

Our final stop in Natchez was to visit “the Fork of the Road.” Yes, it was actually called this but there’s no pun intended. It was in fact, the location of one of the largest slave auction sites in the south and where many of the slaves that traipsed along the Natchez Parkway, were headed. There’s little left now, but a lovely green, grassed area that is at a fork of the road, so the history is told on several information boards.

They’re certainly worth reading to give a perspective of slave life. After having toured the antebellum plantations we chose, we were left with the feeling that life actually wasn’t that bad, if you were a slave, provided you worked hard and did what you were told. It could certainly have been much worse.

After reading through this information, we left Natchez with its beautiful church and manor houses, a legacy to these slaves, in a more somber mood.

Immediately beyond Natchez we joined the Parkway proper and, determined to follow the milepost guide, take time to visit all the historical sites. All 107 of them! Well, actually a few less, because picnic areas and layovers were listed and once we’d seen the actual furrowed, worn Trace among the trees and foliage a few times, we ignored those stops too. Suffice to say, the 440 miles was going to take a while if we were to fully immerse ourselves in the history.

Our first stop was Mount Locust Historic House. This recently restored cabin was undergoing further restoration work, so access to the building was closed, however, we were able to walk around the site and view the other buildings and grave site.

Built in 1784, it’s one of the oldest buildings still standing in the region. It began as a farm but due to growing numbers of travellers and kaintucks making their way along the Parkway, its owners the Ferguson’s, converted it into a “stand” to cater to the influx of travellers. As cotton crops became more lucrative, the property was expanded to include as many as 16 slave cabins and archaeologists have discovered at least 43 gravesites, only a couple with stone markers. The National Park Service began managing the site in 1938.

Just one stone marker was visible when we visited the slave grave site

The Ferguson’s grave markers were far more elaborate.

Our next stop was Windsor Ruins. Completed in 1861 wealthy cotton plantation owner Smith Coffee Daniels II, however, he died only weeks after its completion, at only 34 years old. His widow and children remained. It was one of the largest private manors built before the civil War in Mississippi and certainly a manor on a grand scale. It comprised 29 Greek revival pillars and stood 3 stories high. There were 9′ (2.7m) wide verandahs on the second and third floors and each columns diameter exceeded 3.5′ (1.1m) at their base and stood 40′ (12m) tall. It contained 23 rooms, an above ground attic and a basement. There were also two bathrooms with running water from a tank in the attic.

During the Civil War, the manor was used by the Confederates as a signal and observation station and later, a hospital. The family were permitted to remain on the third floor during its occupation. After the war, the family continued to reside in Windsor, and held many social and community gatherings, earning income from leasing their vast land holdings.

On February 17, 1890 a guest dropped cigar ash that ignited the third floor. It was completely destroyed, leaving only the 29 columns and the cast iron work. Today, only the columns remain on the site, however one set of the cast iron stairs is installed at nearby Oakland chapel at Alcorn State University.

We can only imagine how magnificent it was. All information about the manor was destroyed in the fire. However, in the 1990s, a sketch drawn by a Union soldier was discovered and it is the only image that remains.

There are no camping spots along the Parkway, so we digressed to the town of Vicksburg and a convenient Walmart for the night. Our morning walk uncovered another beautiful town, steeped in history and antebellum houses and discovered a 3 mile town walking trail that snaked up and down many of the streets and displayed information boards on each of the notable sights.

Our morning was grey and overcast so we noticed many of the street lamps remained lit. We’d seen many ornate street lamps throughout these town but these were quite unique.

I had to look closely, but the flames were actually real. Others we’d seen were bulb lookalike flames, these definitely were not. How fascinating, we thought!

Often, when faced with numerous information signs, we scan them quickly, take a snap to read later and take a picture of the building or site. Much of the information on signs in Vicksburg was just so interesting to read, we found our walk lasted several hours.

Take, for example, Governor McNutt House.

Built in 1826, Alexander McNutt purchased the property in 1829. In 1838 he was elected the 12th Governor of Mississippi and stood until 1842. He was renowned for his witticisms and comical yarns. However, few people were aware that he also wrote stories in the local paper about the adventures of Jim and Chunky, two ‘slow’ individuals who worked for the ‘Captain’. McNutt’s pseudonym was comically “The Turkey Runner”.

Duff Green Mansion was left undamaged during the civil war siege of Vicksburg because Duff Green, a wealthy cotton broker who built it in 1856, deemed it a hospital, open to both Union and Confederate soldiers.

Lakemont was built by Judge William Lake in 1835. He was a congressman from 1855 – 1856 and a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1859 – 1861. He and his opponent Colonel Henry Chambers, were constantly at odds, feuding and sniping at each other until, on October 15 1861, Lake challenged Chambers to a pistol duel. Unfortunately for Lake, he lost.

The front gate still showing it’s battle scar from being hit with a cannonball during the Civil War.

Fun facts: In 1856 Judge Lake’s daughter, Mary, married Duff Green, the wealthy cotton broker of Duff Green Manor.

Another ‘you wouldn’t read about it!’ fact: When Judge Lake was dying from the gunshot would after the duel, it was Captain Thomas Leathers, whose story is above, that held him until he passed. 35 years later, when Leathers was dying in New Orleans after being struck by the hit and run bicycle, it was Judge Lake’s grandson who held him as he passed and the grandson had no idea who he was or the connection.

The Warren County courthouse is built upon the highest bluff, overlooking the Mississippi River and was completed in 1860, only two months before Mississippi seceded from the Union. When the Union Army started taking pot shots at the building, the Confederates began housing their Union prisoners there, to stop it from being bombed.

Steele Cottage was built in 1829 with a brick cistern (still attached to the house today) that collected rainwater from the roof and provided running water to the house. During the civil war, the local newspaper (The Daily Citizen) editor and publisher lived here and when the Siege of Vicksburg (May – July 1863) happened, the paper literally ran out of paper. He was adamant that a copy would be published every day, so the paper was printed on wallpaper.

As we made our way back to Joey, parked adjacent the Mississippi River, we saw how easily the low lying areas of Vicksburg could flood. In 1927,the Mississippi rose 56.2 feet. A flood in 2011 reached 57.1 feet and in 2018, 55.8. In fact, some of the low lying streets are closed as I type this “for the duration of (a) high water event.” If the water level exceeds 50 feet, more streets are due to close.

To combat the flooding, A cement wall was built in 2012 and a levee wall in 2018 from 20 to 30 feet tall. To beautify the cement structures, murals depicting Vicksburg historical events are painted on them and they’re very well done.

The Miss Mississippi Pageant began in 1934 and has crowned four Miss America’s.

The Sprague was the largest stern wheel towboat ever launched. In April 1927 it rescued almost 20,000 people during the severe floods of that year. It was decommissioned in 1948, saved by the Vicksburg community and used as a floating theatre until 1974 when it burned down.

Vicksburg prepares for the arrival of President William McKinley on May 1, 1901. Famous for its production of quality cotton, an “arch of cotton bales” greeted him on arrival.

Famous musician and song writer Willie Dixon was born in Vicksburg in 1915. Over 50 years he wrote 500 songs and defined what we now call “the blues” and “rock and roll.” His songs have been performed by artists including, Etta James, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.

Gold in the Hills is in the Guiness Book of World Records as the worlds longest running melodrama. Written by J. Frank Davis in 1930, it was set in New York had a classic, good versus evil plot, following Nell Stanley, a farm girl who leaves her family in the 1890s for New York where her beau, John Dalton is framed for murder by the villain, Murgatroyd. There are can can dancers, and music and songs from the era. It began its run in Vicksburg on March 28, 1936 on an army corps barge that was altered to resemble a river boat and renamed the Dixie Belle. In 1948 in moved to the Sprague and continued its run after the Sprague burned down. In 2024 it was played by the Vicksburg Theatre Guild in the Parkside Playhouse, taking its record run to 88 years.

There are 32 murals in total and all are wonderfully painted with extensive information boards explaining the event.

Once we left Vicksburg, we headed back to the Parkway and took a 1/2 mile walk through a tupelo and bald cypress tree swamp.

Both varieties survive with wet feet. The bald cypress can live for thousands of years and grow between 100-150 feet tall. Tupelo wood is often used by wood carvers, its fruit the “ogeechee lime” is used in drinks and marmalades and the nectar it produces is vanilla flavoured and prized by chefs.

We’ve learned a lot about America and its history since we’ve been here. Travelling along the Natchez Trace, we’re learning more about the Indian tribes of the region. Many of the early land treaties signed between the local Choctaw tribe and the US Government were eroded away after the 1800s. In 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed and effectively transferred 10.5 million acres of land to the US Government. Between 1831 and 1834, thousands of Choctaws travelled over 500 miles (800kms) to “Indian Territory” having been promised “ample corn and beef, or pork” for the journey. Instead, they suffered through heavy rain, severe snow-falls and without adequate clothing, shelter and supplies, thousands of people perished during the journey. One Choctaw chief told an Alabama newspaper it was a “trail of tears and death.” Today, this forced displacement is called the Trail of Tears and we followed some of their journey along the Natchez Trace.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a continuous byway with entry and exit points along the route to adjacent towns. There are no modern conveniences on the Parkway, so if you need fuel, as we did, or shops or accommodation, you take an exit to as nearby town. What should greet us at the fuel stop but something that transported us right back home!

It was late in the day so we decided to find a spot to park Joey for the night and reconvene in the morning. What should we discover while Googling the town, but that it was the birthplace of a very famous American. Of course we had to visit the site!

Any guesses what town we were in?

Kosciusko, Mississippi.

While her birth house is no longer standing, the church that Oprah attended, a few hundred feet down the road was not only still there, but is still active today. It features a very modest sign that merely reads, “Oprah faced first audience here.”

Back on the Parkway, we learned that President Thomas Jefferson developed the Trace to allow wagons to transport supplies for soldiers. During the 1812 war, more than 6,000 soldiers marched along the Parkway and it was one of the first highways built by the US Government.

One of the most important commodities for journeyers along the trace was water, so springs that provided clean drinking water were crucial. After the 1811 earthquake that hit the region, four springs appeared and as word travelled, stands, campsites and even settlements began appearing. This area was known as Redbud Springs, but renamed Kosciusko in 1833 after Thaddeus Kosciusko, a Polish hero of the US revolutionary war.

What was evident along the entirety of the Trace, was its greenness. The trees and shrubs were all varying shades of pale to lime to darker green, and the grass was abundant.

But occasionally, as we walked along the trails, a pop of colour attracted my attention.

These were small flowering ground shrubs that were sparse in some areas but quite prolific along some of the walking trails.

These flowers were hard to spot at first, but then we noticed several full-flowering shrubs that were like marshmallows among the green.

The ability of my phone to take pictures like this, never ceases to amaze me! These blooms were so small and close to the path, you could blink and miss them but my phone captured them beautifully.

As we continued along the Parkway, stopping intermittently to read an information sign or take a walking trail, we noticed a buzzing noise that just kept getting louder. Eventually, it became so loud that we were raising our voices to be heard. At one stop, we started a conversation with another couple from Texas, who said the noise was cicadas. Of course! We told them that we have cicadas in some areas in Australia and they’re quite large and green. After a short time we saw one, smaller than ours and shades of brown, but in their millions throughout this entire region, even as far north as Nashville.

Apparently the weather conditions were ideal for these cicadas, in their millions, to shed their exoskeleton and begin their life cycle again. From here to Nashville and even beyond, we were never far from the humming drone of the cicadas and nor was Joey immune from splatting them as we drove.

Taking another detour off the Parkway, we headed to Tupelo and the birthplace of another very famous American. Any guesses?

Born in this little cabin, somewhat restored, on January 8th 1935, was someone who would leave an indelible mark in the music industry and is as revered now, as he was during his hey day.

Elvis Aaron Presley. Can you remember where you were when the world was shocked to hear he had died?

The small site houses his restored birth home, the Pentecostal church he attended, which was relocated from its location a block away and a small museum.

In fact, they still hold services in the church, which patrons are free to attend.

After our short sojourn in Tupelo, we headed back to the Parkway and continued our journey north towards Nashville.

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New Orleans to Baton Rouge the Plantations

We’d already discovered that there are about 70 plantation homes along the Louisiana Scenic route road, and a dozen that offer tours. We chose three that have different histories to Southdown Manor in Houma and learned a lot about the sugar plantations, the mansions, and the people who lived and worked there. Along the route we were very surprised to see how much water lay on either side of the roads. There were many, many, miles of swamps and effectively, unusable land.

Destrehan, the closest to New Orleans, is also the oldest plantation in the Mississippi Valley. We were greeted with a very warm and humid day and by staff and guides in traditional period costume, complete with petticoats and hoops. Wonderful when in the air conditioning of the gift shop. Not so, walking around in the heat and humidity. We were the first to arrive so had time to have a lovely chat with the guides who were very happy to pose for pictures.

The history of Destrehan begins with Jean Baptiste Honore Detrehan Sieur De Peaupre (1716-1765), an obvious Frenchman whose father was a counselor to King Louis XIV. He arrived in Louisiana and in 1745 married Catherine de Gauvry, moved into her family home and together had 7 children. After his death, Jean Baptiste’s youngest two sons moved in with their elder sister and her sugar plantation owners husband, Etienne DeBore. In 1776 Etienne bought them their own plantation with their inheritance and ten years later, the youngest, Jean Noel married Celeste Robin de Longny. Her father contracted Charles Paquet, a mulatto slave (someone with African and European ancestry) and master builder to construct a French Colonial style house which began in 1787. This would be Destrehan.

Charles Paquet

The plan of the house and the contract

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and like many of the plantations, it moved from growing indigo to sugar, becoming the top sugar producing plantation in the region. As one of the wealthiest and influential plantation owners, Jean Noel was appointed to the Orleans Territorial Council, tasked with creating Louisiana’s government. They take great pride in showcasing the original document signed by Jean Noel, President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison (who would become the fourth US president). It’s kept in a dimmed room below the house in a climate controlled, sealed case. No photos allowed!

Sugar production was also much more labour intensive than indigo, requiring double the manpower. Destrehan’s slave population grew from 49 to 100 with the change to sugar and by 1861, managed over 200 slaves. The dwellings they called home were very much different to the opulence of the manor and several slave dwellings have been relocated from the plantation to the grounds.

These divided cabins would have housed two families with two rooms each. One as a kitchen, sitting room and bedroom and the other, a second bedroom. There was one chimney in the centre with a fireplace in each side and timber shutters covered the windows. Bedding was stuffed with the Spanish moss we’d learned about earlier and while this house displayed an original bed, because the inhabitant was capable of making it, most slaves slept on the floors and they were often dirt, not brick as this depicts.

The list on the wall details the name of every man, woman and child slave on the property, in the hope that their contribution to Louisiana’s history is forgotten.

Our guide regaled us with interesting stories about the house and its inhabitants, including a period tea box complete with a block of tea. No tea bags or even loose leaf tea here! It weighed about 1 lb. or 1/2 kilo and you broke a small piece off to steep in boiling water in a tea pot.

We learned about Marguerite, a slave who was purchased with her two children as the plantation cook and laundress and how formal and tedious the cooking and provision of meals was for the family. As is routine for this era manor, the kitchen was a separate building away from the house. Firstly, to stave off any fires destroying the house and secondly, because it was considered extremely gauche to have cooking smells wafting around the manor. Once cooked, the food was carried to the butlers pantry (a room making a resurgence today to keep the mess from cooking hidden away) in the house and kept warm over coals. Meals were traditionally many courses which only the adults eating at the dining table. The children ate in a separate room next to the butlers pantry and were then whisked away by childminding slaves.

It was Marguerite’s job to tend to the whim’s of the family. She was the chief cook and the one who was present at the dining table. She delivered the food, and cleared the table after each course. That required removing every piece of tableware, cutlery, plates, glasses etc. and removing the top tablecloth to reveal a fresh, crisp tablecloth underneath. Then the table was reset for the next course. There were numerous courses, sometimes, as many as 7 so that’s seven times this ritual was performed for every dinner. The meals were often sumptuous displays of the wealth of the household, including “meat, fish and fowl,” breads, cheese, freshly churned butter and cream, fresh vegetables and fruits picked form the kitchen garden. Imagine completing this task for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, sometimes for many extra guests, and having to wash all of these extra table cloths and dishes ready for the following day. Not to mention, preparing and cooking the food in the first place. Marguerite, and her children remained slaves during their lives.

Our guide then took us upstairs to a loft room which shows how the house was built and explained details of its building. It measures 60 ft. x 35 ft. and is surrounded by a 12 ft. balustrade gallery. The house was completed in 1790 with a double-pitched roof and using Louisiana Cypress, which, due to its ability to survive and thrive in swampy conditions, makes it incredibly hard wearing and durable and not subject to the wood rot that infects other timbers. It is one reason why so many of these plantation homes remain in such good condition.

Our tour completed, we were free to wander around the grounds, read the information in the slave dwellings about their lives and enjoy the shade of the 200+ year old oak trees.

I couldn’t resist this little fellow, considering he posed so nicely!

Next up, a trip over the mighty Mississippi river to Laura Plantation and the story of a Louisiana Creole family.

This house and the tour are unique because Laura actually lived in the house and wrote her memoirs in her later life, entitled Memories of the Old Plantation Home & A Creole Family Album and written by Laura Locoul Gore in 1936. Of course, we are relying on her memories of events, written many decades after they occurred, but it still gives a different insight into life at this plantation, especially considering its female biases.

We were on the last tour of the day and again, were the only two, so were able to ask numerous questions. I wondered if we received more candid answers than during the Destrehan tour when we were tacked onto a bus group of about 20 people.

The 12,000 acres which comprised the Laura plantation was amassed by Guillaume Dupare by 1804 and the homestead completed in 11 months. It is raised off the ground on brick columns which created a large underground cellar.

Louisiana Cypress made the structure and it was bricked and plastered inside and stuccoed and painted outside. The house was 24,000 square feet and the separate kitchen another 2,500 ft. The house served as a business headquarters and a venue for large and lavish parties and social gatherings.

Four generations of Locoul’s lived at Laura, who was herself born on the plantation in 1861. But much of her life was spent among various other homes in New Orleans’ French Quarter. In fact, she moved away from the plantation in 1891 when she married Charles Gore, living in his home town St Louis, Missouri. It is because of the manuscript she penned, which wasn’t discovered until 1993, well after her death, that the history of the plantation is so detailed.

After Guillaume’s death in 1808, his wife Nanette Prud’homme ran the manor and the plantation and was the first of four generations of women to manage the plantation. Laura’s grandmother Elizabeth, also outlived her husband and ran the plantation for a further 47 years. She left the property to her son Emile (Laura’s father) and her daughter Aimee. She returned to France having no inclination to run the plantation and Emile renamed it after his daughter Laura. Upon her departure in 1892, it was a condition of the sale that the business remain known as the Laura Plantation.

While we visited the “big house” much of the tour revolved around the slaves and their stories, as remembered by Laura in her memoir.

The four remaining slave cabins are original and were build during the 1840s. By the civil war era, the 1860s, there were 185 slaves that lived and worked on the plantation. When the emancipation was signed in 1866, the majority of slaves remained and continued living in these cabins. Some of their descendants still lived in those cabins until 1977.

The first register of slaves was undertaken in 1808 and there are 17 names on the inventory. Some were born slaves in Louisiana but there are also 5 other African nationalities listed. The inventory provides a name, age if known, skill set and cost of purchase. Historians have pieced together the lives of some of these slaves and in conjunction with Laura’s memoir, their stories are recorded.

Betsey was 29 years old, 5′ 2 1/2″ tall and bought for $550 in 1824. She came from St. Dominigue (now Haiti) and she was a washerwoman, cook and seamstress. It’s assumed her work a a domestic was not suitable because in 1826 she was sold on to his mother-in-law, Nanette Dupare for $600 as only “fit for the field.”

Cyrus Denelin was a “good blacksmith.” Consequently, he was the most expensive slave purchased by the plantation. He was purchased in 1840 at the age of 24 for $2,000. After the civil war, Cyrus started his own successful blacksmith shop and Raymond Locoult was a witness to his marriage.

Sam O’Brien, 23 years old, and 5′ 9″ was sold to Nanette Prudhomme Duparc for $825. he spoke English and struggled on the French-speaking plantation. He escaped but was caught and branded with VDR (referring to his owner) after a poster advertising a $10 reward was published in 1824. He then remained on the plantation and was listed on subsequent inventories in 1829, 1852, 1855 and 1860, but without an occupation. Considering his worth was listed as only $300 in 1852 it is assumed he was a field or menial worker. A plantation journal of 1864 records his death of smallpox.

After three tours around very different plantation homes, we were amassing knowledge of life on the plantation for both the owners and the slaves and it was clear how very different their lives were. Although some slaves were able to manumit from slavery, their lives were manifestly different from the privileged few who owned and lived in the “big houses.”

The last antebellum plantation mansion we visited was Nottoway, an imposing Greek revival/Italian style built for John Hampton Randolph (of THE Randolph’s) in 1859. 

Today, it is a resort venue for weddings, and conferences.  It has 2 restaurants and the bedrooms in the house have had modern ensuites added and are used for accommodation.  There are extensive gardens, beautiful trees, a pool, games room, tennis courts and gym, many utilising the existing buildings.

Our tour was of the main plantation manor and again, we were the only visitors.  The land Nottoway sits on had been a tobacco plantation from 1718 operating with 17 slaves.  John Hampton Randolph arrived in Mississippi in 1820 with his family because his father was appointed as a federal judge by President Monroe.  He married Emily Jane Liddell in 1837 and together they had 11 children.  John realised how lucrative sugar had become, so to increase his wealth, in 1842 he moved his family to Louisiana, bought 1,650 acres of land that would become Nottoway and where cotton had replaced tobacco, replanted sugar cane.  He built a sugar mill in 1844 and tripled his income.  By 1854 he had acquired 7,116 acres of land and managed 176 slaves.  In 1855 he added to his holding with an additional 400 acres of Mississippi river frontage and had the house built, naming it Nottoway after the county in Virginia where he was born.

Similarly to the other manors we’d visited, cypress logs were used extensively throughout the house.  After felling we learned they were cured in the river for 6 years and then dried.  The bricks used were hand made by slaves on the property and 40 carpenters, masons and plumbers were hired.  The house was completed in 1859.  By 1860 they had also built 42 slave cabins, a bathhouse, hospital, schoolhouse, greenhouse, stable and added a steam-powered sugar mill and meeting house which was also used as a creche to mind slaves’ children while they worked.

When the American Civil War began, John’s 3 eldest sons left to fight for the Confederates and as the fighting neared Nottoway, he moved 200 slaves to Texas to grow cotton while his wife and the youngest children remained behind in the hope that this might save it from being ravaged during the war.  His plan worked, because although some of the grounds and buildings were damaged, the manor was spared.  The only damage Nottoway received was a canon ball shot that became embedded in a front pillar and remained there until 1971 when it fell out.

When the war concluded, he returned to Nottoway with most of his slaves who had few other choices for work but by 1875, with sugar cane losing value, he reduced his land holding to 800 acres.  He died at the property in 1883 and his wife Emily, sold the plantation in 1889, dividing the $50,000 received between her 9 remaining children.  She died in Baton Rouge in 1904.  The property then changed hands several times, until the most recent inhabitants, Stanford and Odessa Owen.  They resided in Nottoway from 1949 until he died in 1974.  In 1980 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places but unable to maintain the extensive house and grounds, Odessa sold the plantation to Arlin Dease with the stipulation that she be able to reside in the house until her death.  When she died in 2003, Dease restored Nottoway then sold it to Australian health care billionaire Paul Ramsay in 1985 for $4.5 million.  It was Ramsay who spent in excess of $15 million converting it into property to the resort destination we see today.

The interior was incredibly opulent with period antique furniture and fittings.  Even the guest bedrooms had the traditional 4 poster beds.

At the conclusion of the hour-long tour, we were able to wander around the grounds at our leisure, and we didn’t see another sole.

Continuing along our roads less travelled, we followed the Mississippi river, arriving at Donaldsonville (there are a lot of towns whose names end in “ville”). Where we had an interesting walk around the town.  We learned that they were Confederates during the war and like many of the small towns we’ve visited, they are proud of their history and their town.

The church was quite beautiful. Founded in 1772, on orders by King Charles III of Spain, the first stones were laid in 1876 but it wasn’t completed for 20 years.

We wandered around the crypts and tombs in the cemetery noting that they, too were all above ground.

We had parked a distance from the main town and walked through the suburbs, new and old to reach the town centre. On the way back I couldn’t resist taking snaps of this interesting domicile.

We guessed this was their security device.

We had one last stop on our journey through Louisiana. Baton Rouge and the state capital building.

As we drove in, we passed one of the 29 locks of the upper Mississippi River, the Port Allen lock. It is the largest free-floating lock of its kind and also one of the busiest.

We drove over the Huey P. Long bridge, opened in 1935 to commemorate the Governor, who was also assassinated in the same year.

We headed for the CBD and the State Capitol Building which is situated among beautiful parklands adjacent the Mississippi River.  They also have the most adorable squirrels and this one posed every so nicely for his photo.

They also have, as we’ve discovered at each of the State Capital buildings we’ve visited, a replica Liberty bell.

The capital building is 137 meters tall with 34 stories. Two separate lifts whisk visitors up 27 floors to an observation deck with 360-degree views of the city.

We were also able to wander around and enjoy the grandeur of the halls of power, so to speak.

Including the Senate chamber that was in session but had broken for lunch.

Our last stop in Louisiana was the historic town of Natchez. Settled by the French in 1716 it is the oldest non-native settled region on the Mississippi River and where we picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway, all the way to Nashville, Tennessee.