The Shoals Area of Alabama

From Nashville we drove south...we had scheduled appointments for some motor home inspections, maintenance and repairs in and around Red Bay, AL.  Campsites near Red Bay were filled, so McFarland Park near Florence, AL became home base.  McFarland Park was right on the Tennessee River not far from Wilson Dam; we could sit outside and watch tugboat guided barges coming and going on the river.

We had time to visit The Shoals "Quad Cities" of Florence, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Muscle Shoals. Music history was everywhere...the Shoals sound originated here, a blend of soul, gospel, country and rock, that found its way into many popular tunes.  W.C. Handy, "Father of the Blues" was born here; the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Fame Recording Studio were close by.  We also saw Helen Keller's birthplace and Spring Park Waterfall in Tuscumbia.  In historic downtown Florence we saw Pope's Tavern site...once a country tavern, it became a hospital during the Civil War for both Confederate and Union soldiers...it is now a museum.

Nashville Tennessee

Our next destination was Nashville, TN where we parked a couple days at the KOA near Opryland. Old friends from Minnesota, now in Nashville, took us to dinner one night at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.  It was a huge place, the courtyards and various restaurants filled with plants and flowers. Waterfalls and a "river" with riverboat rides added to the scenery; balconies on interior rooms reached over the space...plus, they were adding decorations for the Christmas holidays.  We enjoyed both the dinner and the scenery.

The next day was a backstage tour of the Grand Old Opry.  We got to see the entertainers entrance, their dressing rooms and private mailboxes, the main opry stage, and Studio B where shows like Hee Haw were performed.

For a Nashville history event we went to tour The Hermitage: Home of the People's President Andrew Jackson. "Old Hickory" is probably most remembered for engineering a win over British troops in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.  His farm, home, gardens, and slave cabins are being preserved; audio tours provide information about his family and his life.

Great Smoky Mountains

After leaving Pennsylvania, we headed south on I-81across the Potomac River and the Mason Dixon Line, then through the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains.  Our destination was Sevierville, Tennessee in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. 

Great Smoky Mountain National Park, established in 1934, has become one of the country's most visited parks.  It was very crowded the day we drove through, but the scenery and vivid colors of the hardwood forests was worth the effort.

We learned that Sevierville is hometown to country music star Dolly Parton...a bronze statue on the courthouse lawn, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, and Dollywood theme park are located there.

 The towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg provide lodging, entertainment and shopping for everyone...from local arts and crafts to brand name outlets, zip-lines to zoos, and lots of live music and comedy shows, plus restaurants and cafes of every kind! 
Sevierville is also home to Bush Brothers and Company Visitor Center, where you can learn all the required steps to preparing that American standby: Bush's Baked Beans.

Fall 2015 Travels

We left Minnesota mid-October, 2015 and headed east to Pennsylvania.  It was a late fall season, so we saw lots of fall color on the trees as we drove through Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio and the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania.  We stayed about 10 days at Pine Hill RV Park, not far from Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area.  From here we could visit family and do some sightseeing.



 Lehigh Valley Zoo near Schnecksville, PA was a very kid-friendly place to roam around for part of one day. The drive there took us on winding roads surrounded by colorful leaves and small farms.
 
Another day was spent at the Easton Farmers Market, said to be the oldest continuous running open-air market in the country.  A visit to Dietrich's Meat and Country Store (just down the road from the RV park) in Krumsville, PA took us back to the meat markets we remembered from the past...lots of fresh and smoked meats plus Pennsylvania Dutch specialties like Shoo Fly Pie and fresh baked breads. Near there was a local winery with some very good Concord Grape Wine.  By the end of October we had to move on, as the campground was preparing to close for the season.

Petrified Forest National Park

As we left Arizona this spring, we stopped for a day to visit Petrified Forest National Park, located along I-40 near Holbrook, AZ.

This piece of American heritage was set aside in 1906 to protect and make available for public viewing one of the largest petrified wood deposits in the world.  Millions of years ago this area of Arizona was once a steamy, swampy, equatorial forest. The tall trees that inhabited the area eventually fell, and raging rivers washed them into the floodplains. Silt, mud, and volcanic ash covered the trees. As they were buried, silica-laden groundwater seeped into the wood fibers and changed the logs to rock.  Over the next millions of years the logs were uplifted due to shifting of the earth's underground.  Wind and water eroded the sands away and exposed the ancient logs.

Humans inhabited the area at some points in time; a large petroglyph wall called "Newspaper Rock" contains etchings from the past.   Archaeologic remains of a 100 room village built between 1250 and 1380 are located within the park.  And fossils of some of North America's earliest dinosaurs are being discover there.

In 1932 another 50,000 acres of land formations called the "Painted Desert" were added to the park. Sediment deposits from the past are now exposed as distinct colored bands in the landforms surrounding this area. 
The 28 mile drive through the park offered many overlooks and trails to give visitors a chance to stop and see the beauty of this massive area.

Oatman, Arizona

Oatman, Arizona is an old mining town between Kingman and Lake Havasu City, reached via old Route 66.  Walking Main Street is like returning to the Old West...in fact scenes from How the West Was Won were filmed there.  The Oatman Hotel, where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon in 1939, is still there, and serves as a sort of museum. Old buildings now serve as tourist shops and art galleries; gun fights between gold robbers and the sheriff still occur on Main Street (courtesy of actors who perform there); the saloons still serve drinks and food. 

However, the main attraction in town are the wild burros. These burros are thought to be descendents of burros who worked the mines, then were released when mines folded and miners left the area. Now they wander into town from the nearby hills and meander among the tourists. Hay pellets sold by several of the business folks will have these "wild burros" eating out of your hand in no time! 

Lake Havasu City and London Bridge

After leaving the RV park on April 1, we headed west to spend some time at Lake Havasu City (located in the northwest corner of Arizona along the Colorado River).  We camped two nights at Cattail Cove State Park, a small park located right on the shores of the Colorado River.  There we watched the boats launch and travel the river, sat on the white sand beach, and walked the trails along the shoreline.  From there we moved 15 miles north to an RV park in Lake Havasu City.

 London Bridge is Lake Havasu's claim to fame...originally built in 1825 in London, England, the bridge was scheduled for replacement in 1968 as it was sinking into the Thames. Havasu City founders purchased the old bridge, had it disassembled, shipped to Arizona, and rebuilt it stone for stone near the lake.  Once built, a mile long channel was dredged under the bridge to connect Lake Havasu with a nearby bay. The channel is a popular place to "cruise" with any type of watercraft, and the shoreline is lined with parked boats and sunbathers. A replica "English Village" with shops, restaurants, and pubs, was built along the shores on either side of the bridge. With abundant sunshine, warm temperatures, and plenty of beaches and water, Lake Havasu City has sometimes been called the Arizona Riviera.