Cliffside Restaurant View of Canyon
Arkansas Motorcycle tree Triple Oak Gift Shop (Handmade Turkey Calls)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Ozark Mountains and National Forest 4/28/2008
On Sunday 4/27 we left Little Rock and went about 70 miles west. We stopped at Russellville Arkansas. The next morning we drove the car up Rt 7 towards Harrison Arkansas. This was the northern part of a National Geographic suggested drive that was to introduce us to the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas (Thanks again Joanne). This region of the state is pretty desolate and poor and we encountered very little active commerce, as we know it, other than the Triple Oak Gift Shop, where I bought a hand made turkey call. The mountains are very pretty. We had lunch at a very good country restaurant called the Cliffside Inn. Named for it's location which is hanging over what is called the Arkansas Grand Canyon. The burgers and fries were exceptional. After we left the Cliffside we circled west and south and ended up in the Buffalo River Valley. Elk have been reintroduced into this area but we were not fortunate enough to spot any. We met the caretakers at the campground we happened upon, who told us that the Elk have been in the field almost every night for the past few weeks. This was a very pretty place with a lot of recreation potential. Canoeing, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, etc. The park was tent camping only. The ride gave us the flavor we were looking for and was pretty much what I expected the Ozarks to be. Pretty virgin country. We had a great day.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Memphis to Little Rock 4/25/2008
On Friday 4/25 we moved on to Little Rock Arkansas. On Saturday we visited the Bill Clinton Library. Most of you know that neither of us are Clinton fans, but I have to say that the library was done real well. The displays are very very nice and the presentation of his years in office were impressive. We were lucky enough to have the model replica of the White House on special display during our visit. \This model is a work in process that has already had 40 years of work.
The Little Rock Earth Day was also being celebrated on Saturday so the crowds were large and the parking difficult. Little Rock is a real nice town, especially when compared to Memphis.
Enjoy the pictures.
The Little Rock Earth Day was also being celebrated on Saturday so the crowds were large and the parking difficult. Little Rock is a real nice town, especially when compared to Memphis.
Enjoy the pictures.
Catching Up Memphis,Little Rock, Ozarks, OK City
We are now in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I found that if I don't post things in one or two days it's easy to forget the days, what we did, or even where we were. I will catch up tonight I hope. When we were in Russellville Ark. the Wi-Fi wouldn't connect to Vista so that put me further behind.
After we visited Graceland on 4/23 we went downtown to see Beale Street (The Jazz Club and Restaurant area) and the Peabody Hotel for the daily walk of the Ducks. This is a 60 or 70 year old tradition where a Duckmaster marches five ducks, that have spent the day in the lobby fountain, across a red carpet into a waiting elevator where they are taken to their Penthouse on the roof of the hotel. This traditional daily routine draws quit a crowd and was a crowd pleaser.
Our plan then was to meet my cousin Susan, who lives in Germantown a suburb of Memphis. Susan showed up on schedule and then we were totally surprised by the appearance of Steve Graham, another cousin, who lives in Kentucky and Colorado. Then Steve's cousin David and his wife Kathy showed up. What a surprise. We all went to the World Famous Rendezvous Restaurant for some Memphis dry rubbed ribs and had a fun night catching up and getting to know new friends.
The next day Steve, Susan, Eileen and I went downtown in the pouring rain and visited Mud Isle. The island is in the Mississippi and has a museum that features the history and life of the Mississippi River. It was very informative and interesting. Outside the museum is a scale replica of the entire Mississippi River Valley. It is designed to show the watershed for the Mississippi both East and West and then you can walk the entire river from it's mouth to the Delta. Along the way it shows the towns and where the various rivers join the Mississippi. It was really cool and is even detailed enough to show the different elevations along the way and the meandering of the entire river throughout middle America. Memphis was interesting but not the city where I would want to live. It is often featured on the TV show COPS. On Friday 4/25 we left Memphis and headed to Little Rock.
After we visited Graceland on 4/23 we went downtown to see Beale Street (The Jazz Club and Restaurant area) and the Peabody Hotel for the daily walk of the Ducks. This is a 60 or 70 year old tradition where a Duckmaster marches five ducks, that have spent the day in the lobby fountain, across a red carpet into a waiting elevator where they are taken to their Penthouse on the roof of the hotel. This traditional daily routine draws quit a crowd and was a crowd pleaser.
Our plan then was to meet my cousin Susan, who lives in Germantown a suburb of Memphis. Susan showed up on schedule and then we were totally surprised by the appearance of Steve Graham, another cousin, who lives in Kentucky and Colorado. Then Steve's cousin David and his wife Kathy showed up. What a surprise. We all went to the World Famous Rendezvous Restaurant for some Memphis dry rubbed ribs and had a fun night catching up and getting to know new friends.
The next day Steve, Susan, Eileen and I went downtown in the pouring rain and visited Mud Isle. The island is in the Mississippi and has a museum that features the history and life of the Mississippi River. It was very informative and interesting. Outside the museum is a scale replica of the entire Mississippi River Valley. It is designed to show the watershed for the Mississippi both East and West and then you can walk the entire river from it's mouth to the Delta. Along the way it shows the towns and where the various rivers join the Mississippi. It was really cool and is even detailed enough to show the different elevations along the way and the meandering of the entire river throughout middle America. Memphis was interesting but not the city where I would want to live. It is often featured on the TV show COPS. On Friday 4/25 we left Memphis and headed to Little Rock.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Memphis - Graceland
Elvis has left the RV. The park we stayed in is owned by Graceland enterprises. We walked across the parking lot to buy tickets and then took a one minute ride across the street to the house. Neither of us are really Elvis fans but he has had such an enormous impact on the entire world with his music it couldn't be missed. What impressed us was how truly simple his life apparently was at Graceland and the fact that he was a major philanthropist. The tour includes the house and grounds with his actual grave, his car collection (with the pink Cadillac), his jump suits, his two airplanes, and all the souvenirs that you would ever want. The house was actually very large, with many sections and out buildings and it was very 50ish. I guess you would have to say that the house was a little gaudy, with the African living room and the pool room totally decorated with fabric etc.. Many of the building are now filled with displays of his outfits and information about all stages of his life. The entire experience enabled us to get a really good idea of his life and the his impact on the world of music. Really really cool. I will include pictures of the tour in the next two posts. Thank You, Thank You Very Much!!!
Additional Pics Nashville
The Batman Building, The Country Music Hall of Fame (where we first saw Elvis and his blue suede shoes), and the Parthenon. We also saw many of the music studios where original recording were made and learned a lot about the history of Nashville. It was a good tour.
Nashville is worth visiting.
Music City Tour
On Monday 4/22 we took the tour of Nashville. Legends Corner Bar has been the start for many of our country music greats. It is right down the block from The Ryman Auditorium which is the sight of the Original "Grand Ole Opry. This is truly a historic entertainment venue. Not just country but all types of music and entertainers. Even though they have a new building for the Grand Ole Opry out near where we are staying, they still use this marvelous old building for some shows, when there are other larger shows scheduled at the new Opry. Unfortunately the shows were already sold out on the nights we would have been able to go. The downtown tour was very interesting. This really is "Music City USA" For those of you that are not aware they have also moved the Parthenon to Nashville. Probably to keep it safe. Picture enclosed (where I can fit it in) Other pictures of our tour are in the next post. We had another great day.
Monday, April 21, 2008
These are Pics of inside the hotel. The entire place is under glass panels so these buildings are really inside the roof of the hotel. They have a boat ride around the center of the Delta Island area of the hotel. The white building in the last picture is the side of the restaurant where we had our great dinner.
The weather today is clear blue skies and low 70's. Marvelous.
Nashville and Opryland Hotel
We arrived in Nashville on Saturday afternoon after another 300 miles of bloomingRedbuds, Dogwoods, and Cherry Trees. Our campground is off of Music Valley Drive about a mile from the Opryland Hotel. If you have never been in this hotel I would recommend a visit. It has over 2700 rooms, a convention center, and numerous restaurants. the hotel itself covers 9 acres and with the grounds it is a total of 55 acres. We spent half a day walking around and having lunch. We returned last night for a marvelous dinner at The Old Hickory Steakhouse. Because we had a little time here in Nashville I also did a little deer hunting (Picture enclosed). Today we tour the area and head down town. "Life is Good" Bill and Eileen
Friday, April 18, 2008
Day 1 (4/18/2008)
We spent the past three days moving most of our worldly belongings from the house into our RV. I don't thing we will want for anything during the next 75 days.
We could not have asked for a better first day for our trip. The sky was super blue, the temperature in southwest Virginia was up to 87 degrees and Spring is in it's full glory in the Shenandoah Valley. We drove by thousands of Redbud trees in full bloom. It was a beautiful drive.
Tonight we are in Fort Chiswell Virginia. Today and tomorrow are "Boogie Days". These are days when we are just trying to get from Point A to Point B. Our first real stop is Nashville Tennessee. We will spend two full days in Nashville to get our fill country music.
A marvelous start to our trip.
We could not have asked for a better first day for our trip. The sky was super blue, the temperature in southwest Virginia was up to 87 degrees and Spring is in it's full glory in the Shenandoah Valley. We drove by thousands of Redbud trees in full bloom. It was a beautiful drive.
Tonight we are in Fort Chiswell Virginia. Today and tomorrow are "Boogie Days". These are days when we are just trying to get from Point A to Point B. Our first real stop is Nashville Tennessee. We will spend two full days in Nashville to get our fill country music.
A marvelous start to our trip.
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