Tag: Gulf of Mexico

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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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The Gulf of Mexico and Beyond

We’ve always been fans of a pioneer village because you can gather so much history about a region in one place. Google is such a wonderful tool that we didn’t have in 2008 when we were here, so a quick Google gave us a list of interesting places to visit along our roads less travelled and that’s how we found ourselves in Gonzales Pioneer Village.

The village was tucked away down a narrow lane, then a gravel road but we were pleasantly surprised when we entered. It had been raining all morning, so the girl in the office hadn’t opened any of the buildings because she thought noone would arrive. We explained that the rain wouldn’t stop us, so we paid our entry and she opened all the buildings for us.

There were 17 heritage buildings in all, each one having been removed from another location within the Gonzales area and donated to the village during the 1980s and 90s. Consequently, the buildings are also from different eras. The Presbyterian church for example, was relocated from Hamon, 9 miles south of Gonzales and like much of the village, was used for a variety of things, including a community centre and a hay barn before deteriorating and needing propping up with timbers and then being donated to the village.

The Greek Revival Muenzler house was built in 1892 and relocated to the village in 1989. The furnishings are original and came with the house.

This camera from the late 1800s was a wonderful find and in fantastic condition.

The Gates house was built in 1856 by Samuel Hardin Gates who received a land grant in recognition of his actions during the Runaway Scrape at the Alamo in 1836. Much of the timber was replaced when it arrived at the village but it was renovated using original techniques so the timber joiners are mortise and tenon, the joints half-lap and the entire structure is held with pegs and square nails.

The Knowles Townsend log cabin was built circa 1850s and relocated from fifteen miles away in Nixon. Archaeologists are able to date the timbers used and found that most of the “cutting dates” fall between 1867 and 1869, the oldest timber used can be dated to 1691. It is surmised that Artemis Knowles built the house as a temporary structure while his actual house was under construction. It’s a “double pen, central chimney” style cabin that was unusual for south Texas.

The furniture is a collection of pieces from the same period. Apparently the children slept in the loft so they were safer from wild animals and Indians, which also explains why the steps are so steep and narrow.

There was a schoolhouse, a printing shop and a broom shop which belonged to the caretakers grandfather and contained all the tools and equipment he used to make brooms during the late 1800s. It was relocated from San Antonio. The corn used for brooms is specially grown for the purpose.

While I found the buildings interesting, the memorabilia inside them was often more interesting. For example the print shop contained an original linotype printing press which was an innovation in the late 1800s, enabling a 90 character line of type to be selected at once. Before this, each letter was selected by hand.

The schoolhouse had original desks, complete with ink wells which were the same desks I remember when I first went to school in Sydney.

The washer and wringer were hand operated. Washing was put in the tub and spun using a crank handle then each item was fed through the ringer to press the water out. My grandmother used one of these when I was little. If I could send a note back to my 3 year old self, it would be “don’t put your thumb in the wringer when grandmar is wringing the clothes!”

It took us about an hour to look through all the exhibits and we learned more about the local history. We said goodbye to their resident potbelly pig, Penny and headed off.

One thing we know Texas is famous for are their longhorn cattle and I’ve been hoping to get some photos the entire time we’ve been in the state. A short distance out of Gonzales, we finally saw some and were able to stop on the road.

They’re the most amazing cows. I can’t imagine how annoying it must be to have two feet of horn poking out either side of your head to get caught in things.

We were also well past the dry, desert-like terrain we’d become accustomed to seeing in southern Texas, passing miles of lush green pastures, waterways and sugar cane.

After Gonzales our road less travelled took us through Yoakum, Edna, Bay City and Freeport until we joined the coastal scenic road, with 45 miles to Galveston.

This road traverses a narrow land spit between the Gulf of Mexico and West Bay and like many of the regions we’ve travelled through, its was unexpected.

We had a brief stop and walk along the beach at Quintana’s Bird Sanctuary, and found they have a foolproof way of deterring people from going into the sand dunes! And I thought rattlesnakes preferred hotter, more arid regions.

We had planned to stop at Gavleston for the night but after driving the 12 miles to Galveston Island State Park and discovering they were full, we decided to take the ferry and stop on the other side.

Galveston beachside was another place that surprised us. There were many houses built on stilts, right on along the coast. Being aware that this region has suffered a number of hurricanes, we marveled at how unconcerned these people were, stilts or not, building so close to the water. We discovered the most recent hurricane to hit Galveston was in September, 2008, when we were in America last. Luckily, we were in the New York State region. It hit as a category 2 with a storm surge of 20 feet (6 meters), certainly enough to engulf many of these residences.

It’s obviously a popular seaside destination, with amusements on the jetty’s, numerous large hotels, restaurants and even show rides.

Before we decided on this route we confirmed that Joey was able to go on the ferry, and found that it was a free service. We arrived as the returning ferry was about half way across the East Galveston Bay so didn’t have long to wait. The ferry is “free-wheeling” so unlike ours that traverse the Murray River by cable, this one travels under its own steam to the other side. The water wasn’t calm and our ferry certainly rolled about a little. Our docking was also skew whiff, so the driver took a second go at lining us up before letting the ramps down. It was already 6pm when we docked and the road we’d chosen along the intercoastal waterway was almost 80 miles, with only a couple a minor towns along the way, so we parked by the ferry terminal for the night.

The following morning we took a walk to a small inland village, popular with fisherfolk who were already out in force and managed to capture some of the water birds.

Most of the drive was indispersed with seaside houses on stilts but as we drove we started to see the results of category 4 Hurricane Ida that hit this part of the coast in August, 2021, with winds of 150 mph. It was one of the most severe hurricanes to hit Louisiana.

We were also surprised to see how very close the road was to the water and how little there was between them

And this house? Enough said!

As the name implies, the intercoastal waterway traverses a number of waterways. The bridges that span them certainly don’t give you a run up before heading for the skies! They are very steep up and very steep down!

The terrain was also more reminiscent of the Texas we’d seen previously with oil wells and electricity infrastructure.

And then all of a sudden we were in Louisiana.

The first thing that struck us was the French on the sign and as we started learning about Louisiana history, we realised their French ties are still strong. The second was that once we left the coast it got decidedly warmer and more humid.

We travelled towards St Martinville, stopping at some of the smaller towns along the way to appreciate their 18th and 19th century homes.

We were also in awe of the magnificent trees growing along the streets and among the houses.

In Broussard we were introduced to Arcadian history and began to get a better understanding of the strong French influence even today. This region of Lafayette is considered “Cajun Country” a term that came from the French “le Cadiens” which was Americanised to Cajun. In the 1600s almost 18,000 French-speaking Cathlolic people settled in Acadie, now Nova Scotia, during its Spanish rule. When the region became English ruled, they refused allegiance to the British crown or the Anglican Church so in 1755, were ejected. They scattered among numerous locations, but a number made their way to Spanish ruled Louisiana and settled between 1765 and 1785 in regions along the Vermillion River.

In St Martinville, we also learned about the Native Attakapa Indian tribe who inhabited this area and were christianised and civilised by missionaries.

At the outskirts of the town we discovered the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic site, named after the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Evangeline which detailed the Acadian expulsion and relocation to Louisiana. It is dedicated to the diverse people who inhabited the region, a true melting pot of cultures, including Acadian, French, Spanish, Creole, Native Indian and African peoples who each brought their own culture and heritage to the region. French was the main language and remains very strong today.

They even had two horses and two long horned cattle.

Our next stop was the Living History Museum and Folklife Park Vermillionville, so called because it lies on the banks of the Bayou Vermillion. During the early 1800s the land was a sugar cane plantation but as the settlement grew it became the town of Lafayette. The village represents the different communities that lived in the region.

We were there on a Sunday so there were people in period costume in some of the houses who explained life at the time. A band began playing at 1pm for the afternoon and the restaurant was open, serving a buffet of local delicacies.

There were numbers of information panels throughout the houses that explained numerous things about the era, including who resided in the dwelling, how it was constructed and where, and how some of the implements were used.

For example, this is a wall panel that’s been laid bare to show its construction. The walls are a mix of Spanish moss and mud, a technique used by the Indians and called bousillage by the French.

Armand Broussard House (above) was a plantation home built circa 1790 and is an authentic French Creole style of the period. It’s one of the oldest buildings in southwest Louisiana and considered a large family home of the period.

Attakapas Chapel was Catholic and a reproduction based on two different churches in the region from the 1760s and 1770s. Enslaved people were baptised catholic by law (Noir Code) and both enslaved and free coloured people sat in different areas of the church.

The forge, also a recreation from the era, represents a blacksmiths shop with a large, open indoor space and earthen floors to dampen sparks. Blacksmiths were important members of these communities and often individual plantations had their own blacksmiths who fashioned everything from wagon wheels to tools, nails, cookware and horse tack.

Boucvalt House was a village dwelling from the late 1800s. This house is French Creole with some Victorian features, for example, there is no central hallway. It also had an authentic early gramophone.

We also had fun pulling ourselves across the lake on la petit Bayou ferry (guide rope ferry). This method was used to cross reivers and bayous before bridges were built. It was actually quite hard to pull across so I can’t imagine how tough it would be with any current or across a wider river although the guide ropes are intended to prevent it from being swept downstream.

Rope Ferry

I found the Beau Bassin House particularly interesting because the interior displays are tools of the textile trade. The loom is an original 200 year old Cajan loom, used by Arcadian women to weave wool, flax and cotton and became renowned for the intricate designs they wove.

The quilt was made in situ and by hand using a small and incredibly neat running stitch by the lovely lady in period costume, sitting at the back. It took her three years and is supported on a traditional frame from the era. We had a lovely conversation about quilting, sewing, knitting and crocheting and she told us about her grandmother who taught her to quilt.

She also explained how the moss, which hangs from almost every tree in Louisiana, was collected, washed, combed and used in pillows, quilts and stuffing for furniture.

We spent a very interesting 2 hours at Vermillionville but it was time to move on. Since leaving the regions of National Parks we’ve missed the wide open spaces and hiking so we decided to spend the night at Lake Fausse Point State Park and do some of the hikes the following morning.