Day 5 - Heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico

Early in the morning on October 2nd, we put Memphis behind us and we are following I-40 through Arkansas.  Those that are traveling with us all leave at about the same time and for the most part, we will stay together.  But, one couple has their dog with them and will stop often for it.  We are not in a hurry and since we do not need to get to Albuquerque until October 6 the others will stop for longer periods then Carmen and me.  We on the other hand are going to spend a couple of days in the Santa Fe area we plan on driving later then they will.  Therefore, when they stop we will continue driving.

The countryside is very diverse; here we can see many windmills on the butte in the distance.

We pass through Oklahoma on the Interstate 40 and parallel Route 66 as we continue our ride to Santa Fe.  Hey, maybe that's Radiator Springs in the background.

We have seen many trucks pulling trailers carrying many different items.  Here were two nice looking dune buggies.

We continue through Oklahoma and into the panhandle of Texas.  While traveling I-40 in Texas the roads are fairly flat and as you can see here you can see for quite a distance.   After about 10 - 11 hours on the road, we pulled into a rest area to rest for the night.  The plan is for an early start in the morning and Santa Fe by afternoon.

Just west outside of Amarillo, even though I saw the half buried Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch, they were on the other side of the highway and I saw them to late to get a picture.  So instead of my picture, here is Richie Diesterheft’s (Chicago, IL) photo of the brightly painted Cadillacs. 

Further down the road Carmen took this picture of an old homestead.  This fixer-upper could be yours.

Before leaving Texas we saw these Pronghorn Antelope on the other side of the highway. 

We enter New Mexico late in the morning on October 3rd.  We are having good traveling weather and little traffic.  

We continued driving on I-40 until we got to NM 285.  Then we headed north and begin getting into a more hilly countryside. 

We near the KOA campground we will be staying at while in Santa Fe.  Tomorrow our plan is to leave early and drive the Enchanted Circle with a stop at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

Day 4 - Graceland, Memphis

This is the day Carmen has been waiting for on this trip: visiting Graceland.  But first thing this morning, it was raining.  However, by around 10:30 am, when we headed out to see Graceland the rain had eased up. 

We bought our tickets, across the street from Graceland, and took one of their shuttles up to the house.  Here’s Carmen in front of Elvis’ house.  Visiting here is very exciting for her and has been one of the items on her “bucket” list.

When we begin our tour, one of the first rooms we saw was the living room and Piano room.  I thought one of the nicest things about the room was the two peacock stained glass panels between the two rooms.

The formal dining room.

The entertainment room.

The billiard room.

The Jungle Room.  I’ve always want to see this room since hearing Marc Cohn’s song “Walking in Memphis”.  And I’m “Waiting for the King down in the Jungle room”.  Well I’m here, but no ghost of Elvis.  On with the tour of the house.

We leave the house portion of the tour and are now on our way to the barn and other buildings.  Glad that it has stopped raining.  Here is a view of the back yard and the house. 

The barn and out buildings contained offices, studios, and his many awards.  There are so many gold and platinum records it is hard to count them all.  Some like this are special awards.  This one is for selling 5 million records of “Don’t be Cruel”. 

Here are some of the many record breaking awards earned by Elvis throughout the year.  Also along the walls are some of the clothes he wore either during a performance or in an movie.

There were many of the outfits he wore on stage and also in the movies.  This one he wore for his tour during his sold out concerts in 1970 which ended in Las Vegas.

Carmen was, still is, a big fan of Elvis, and coming here, like many Elvis fans, was one of the things she wanted to do.  The tour takes us around the property, including here.  She looks a little sad here standing in front of Elvis’ grave. 

On the property, the Elvis foundation, buys and keeps abused horses.  A couple of them were in this pasture.

Leaving Graceland, we were back across the street where there is a museum.  Inside in the museum are some of the cars he owned, a Rolls Royce, Continental, and other cars including this 1971 Stutz Blackhawk. 

We also purchased the extra ticket to go into and view the jets, including the Lisa Marie.  This is the dining room in one of the jets.  

In the other jet, the seating is spacious and plush,  now this is the way to fly – no more flying coach.

And now we leave Graceland, the tour of the house and property was great and I finally got to see the Jungle room.  We could have stayed longer looking at each of the records on the walls and Elvis' clothes as well as Lisa Marie's wedding gown, but everything must end and tomorrow we begin traveling west towards New Mexico.  If you are an Elvis fan or not, I think this was a great tour and would recommend it to anyone, fan or not.  Our plan is to drive through to New Mexico all at once, we'll see how that works out.

Day 3 - Memphis

This morning we left Nashville and arrived in Memphis in the early afternoon.  We have reservations at a campground almost across the street from Graceland, how great is that?  Our afternoon was free, so we are heading downtown to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks move from the fountain to the elevator.  They take the elevator to their room on the top floor. 

After setting up a red carpet and stairs and at the 5:00 pm bell, the ducks come out of the fountain.  The ducks then are escorted along the red carpet to the elevator where they head up to their room.  Yes, they have their own room in the hotel. 

The lobby is very impressive, big chandeliers and furniture with large open spaces and a mezzanine overlooking it all. 

Since it is the beginning of October, Christmas ornaments are for sale.  In this case they represent the ducks we saw earlier walking from the fountain to the elevator.  The ornament looks like a yellow marshmallow peep in a little bathtub, how cute is that?

While looking around the hotel, I came upon a number of ceramics.  I thought they look quite nice.  I’m not sure, but I think they are Chinese characters.  Some like the one on the left, hold walking sticks or canes.

Leaving the hotel on our way back to the motor home for the night, we take a route that we will pass Sun Recording Studios where Elvis recorded his first record.  It is closed for the night, so we do not stop.  We were on Marshall Ave, stopped for a red light, at the corner with Union Ave when I took this picture.  In case you ever want to visit, the address for Sun Recording Studios is 706 Union St.

Day 2 - Nashville, Tennessee

Today we are going to the RCA Victor Studio B and Country Music Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville.  We begin our day at the RCA Studio B where over 35,000 songs were recorded with over 1,000 of them becoming top ten hits.

In this studio, Elvis recorded more than half of his songs here.   Elvis used the piano in this studio for many of the his songs. 

He loved the piano in the studio so much that he wanted to take it home, but the piano was kept here on display.  

In the back, behind the piano is a piece of the cabinet that is broken.  It is said that Elvis kicked it when his favorite record player would not run.  

Next we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame.  The tour included some of the cars owned by some of the biggest country stars.  Including this 1960 Cadillac limousine once owned by Elvis Presley.

On display are many gold and platinum records by various artists.  Here is Carmen in front of one of Elvis' platinum records, Elvis' Christmas Album.  

There were many plaques depicting those inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  There are those you would think should be here including Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chris Kristoffferson, Roy Rogers, and more.  But, I was surprised to also see the Everly Brothers.  For a non-Country fan, the exhibit was pretty good.  I was amazed at the number of country artists I actually new and heard. 

After the Hall of Fame, we spent the remainder of the afternoon in downtown Nashville and all its Honky-Tonks.  We ate lunch at Jack's Bar-B-Que.  Lunch was good, and so was walking around town.

I know we are in Honky-Tonk central, because the sign said so.

Just across the river from where we are is the Tennessee Titans stadium.

On of the last bars we pass before leaving for the day is Big Shotz.  Like most of the others we have gone by some people are in the bars, music is playing, and people are, as the sign, says are having a "hell of a time".

As we were driving away, I caught this sign advertising Popcorn Sutton's whiskey.  You might remember him, if you watched, I think the discovery channel, where they followed moon-shiners.  Popcorn was caught and imprisoned.  He later died and his wife, using the money from his revenue, paid for a legal license.  This advertising sign is the result of that licensed moonshine.

Tomorrow we leave for Memphis, Tennessee.

Day 1 - Nashville, Tennessee

We begin our RV trip on Wednesday 9/26/2012 from Sebastian, Florida.  On this trip we will be driving our 24-foot class A motorhome; with it we are pulling our car.  We are on our way to the Balloon Festival (Oct 7 through Oct 11) in Albuquerque, New Mexico but first we'll make stops in Nashville and Memphis Tennessee.  

Nashville is where we will meet up with several other RVs.  On our way we drove north on I-95, west on I-10, then north on I-75 where we will stop in Georgia for an overnight.  While at the campground, the area experienced some very high winds, breaking tree branches and toppling tents and ez-ups.

The next day (9/27/2012) we left the campground early, since it will take us most of the day to get to Nashville.  By the time we reach Nashville it is later in the afternoon and check into the Two Rivers campground.  Even though it is really day 3 the first 2 days were driving to get here, hence the title indicates day 1 of our trip.

After setting up we meet with some the others that we will travel with.  Good friends Rick and Shirley Hood are pulling a 5th wheel and have traveled to Nashville from Brunswick, Maine; Shirley’s sister and husband are also in a Motor coach similar to ours and they are here from Tallahassee, FL.  There are another two couples that will accompany us on this trip.

Today 9/28/2012 we begin touring Nashville, TN and Carmen and I went to the Parthenon (a scaled copy of the original in Greece), Belle Meade Plantation, and finally after dinner at the Santa Fe Cattle Co. we end the evening at the Grand Ole Opry.  

We started the day with a visit to the Parthenon and that includes the Athena statue.  As you look at the statue of Athena, you can get a feel for its size by the smaller statue (Greek god Nike) in her right hand.  He is 6 feet 4 inches tall!  Imaging the size of her, at 42 feet, she is quite impressive.  On her chest is the magic breast plate armor that has the head of Medusa.

Once again, outside the Parthenon you can clearly see the relief depicting the Greek gods and scenes on the frieze depicting the slaying of Centaurs.  It is difficult to see, but there is a screen over the sculptures to protect them from the birds.

Next, we went to the Bell Meade Plantation.  The house is impressive with many of the original pieces that were taken or sold, being returned to the house.  This is one of the better restored and maintained plantation houses Carmen and I have seen.  

A couple of the out buildings that housed different people that worked on the plantation.  One might have been for the manager or others who lived on the grounds, but not part of the family.  

Some of the buggies that were in the bar.  Here there were also others like a sled and a cannon.  

The grounds have some nice pastures where several horses roamed.  Fencing was in very good shape and I'm glad that my entrance fee is going to good use and upkeep of the property.

And lastly, after dinner at the Santa Fe Cattle Co., which was very good, with all of the people we are on this RV trip with, we spent the evening at the Grand Ole Opry.  Outside of the Opry were a couple of giant guitars, here Carmen is in front of one of them.  

The Grand Ole Opry building.  The show format was different than I expected.  The show has four segments with a segment “host” who sings a song then turns the stage over to two other bands/singers each playing two songs and the segment finishes with the Host singing another song.  So during the evening performance we had 12 different performers (bands) playing music. 

If you are ever in Nashville, Country fan or not, I would recommend going to a performance.  We saw a number of country stars, including Little Jimmy Dickens, who was almost 92 at the time.  

Until later, Bob and Carmen