Oct 26/ 2012

Cooler AM and slight drizzle of rain. We had a bacon & egger before catching the Grayline bus for a city tour of historic downtown Nashville passing Honkytonk Row, Riverfront Park, Ft Nashborough, state capitol buildings,Bicentennial Mall, The Parthenon, the prestigious Vanderbilt University, Music Row & historic RCA Studio B, where so many famous singers recorded their music (Elvis, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton right on up to Carrie Underwood). We did a tour of the famous Ryman Auditorium, a national historic landmark and former home of the Grand Ole Opry. It is still used for live performances and hosts a large and complete museum with many video presentations by former artists. We then moved on to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, also a huge facility. So much reading and so little time. A person could easily spend the better part of a day at each of these venues. As we were caught up in heavy traffic, our driver took us on many side streets pointing out points of interest along the way, an added bonus for our tour. One place of interest was the Marathon Car Co which manufactured the beautiful old luxury cars. Nashville is nearing 2 million people and its' economy is 1) medical/health (hospitals, universities, research facilities) 2) tourism 3) financial. It is situated in the middle of the Bible belt and is home to 160 churches, many of them enormous.

Oct 25-28/ 2012

We left Memphis at 10:00 under overcast skies and 69F. There was lots of heavy truck traffic on I-40. Many acres of cotton fields -some white with cotton and others already baled and disced. We took alternate route 412 from Jackson to get onto the Natchez Trace Pkwy which commemorates the most significant highway of the Old Southwest, established as a unit of the National Park System in 1938. It is a beautiful drive, no commercial traffic, rather narrow road but wonderful colours in the trees at this time of year. We checked into Nashville Country RV park at 4:30 and were immediately invited to join in on a Southern BBQ Dinner and evening of live entertainment in the courtyard. We were served pulled pork, fried catfish, summer squash, cole slaw, potato salad, a roll, pumpkin pie and sweet tea -all for $9.00. Of course , the entertainer was a country singer with backup, and manager of a hardware store by day. An enjoyable evening all around.

Oct 26/ 2012
Took a Grayline Nashville city tour at 12:45. Firstly, we did the historic downtown, Honky Tonk Row, Riverfront Park, Ft Nashborough, the State Capitol, Bi-centennial Mall, The Parthenon (art gallery), Vanderbilt University, Music Row and historic Studio B (where Elvis cut several albums). We spent time at the Ryman Auditorium, which has acoustics second only to the Salt Lake City Mormon Tabernacle, a beautiful performance theatre, and extensive museums. It was the original Grand Ole Opry until they became too big for the facility, but still hosts great music shows. Next stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame. It is a huge building with very well presented audio/visual displays but needed several hours to do it properly. Back to the park at 6:00 more than full of information.

Oct 27/ 2012
Had a bit of a day off (did laundry) before boarding the Grayline bus at 5:15 to go to the Grand Ole Opry. What a beautiful venue. Had time to walk around the grounds and the gift shop before getting in for our 7:00 show. It is done as a live radio show which has been on the air continually for 85 years on weekends. It was done in four quarters hosted by 1) Little Jimmy Dickens (now 92 and still has it) 2) Jean Shephard 3) Riders in the Sky 4) Vince Gill. Also performing were Caanan Smith, Jimmy C. Newman, Jimmy Wayne, Alison Krauss, Opry Square Dancers, Connie Smith (just inducted into the Hall of Fame), and the Charlie Daniels Band. Great evening all around.

Oct 28/ 2012
Caught a Grayline bus tour of the Nashville Stars Homes at 12:30. We covered quite an area and had an excellent informative driver/guide. Between homes, he showed all kinds of trivia of the stars on a big screen TV. One cannot imagine the money in this city. So many huge estates and plantation homes. We didn't realize how many stars actually live here. We got back to the park at 6:00, again with a headfull of information.

Oct 22-24/ 2012

Oct 22/ 2012
Away from North Little Rock at 10:00 under overcast skies and breezy 72F. We bypassed Little Rock, passing Maybelline, L'Oreal and Remmington factories. Very flat prairie land with grain crops & cotton. We arrived at EZ Daze RV in Southaven, MS. We had been strongly advised not to stay in Memphis because of the crime rate but didn't find it uncomfortable getting around there. We travelled throuigh 3 states today -AR, TN & MS.

Oct 23/ 2012
We drove into Memphis to Graceland and took the tour of the Mansion and the grounds. We were both impressed that as wealthy as Elvis became, he lived quite plainly -big but not flashy. the Meditation Garden is so peaceful and contains the graves of Elvis (with an eternal flame), his mother, his father, his paternal grandmother and a marker of his twin brother who was still born. We also went into his 2 private jets -Lisa Marie, his home away from home and Hound Dog, his business jet. We toured his automobile museum, a collection of cadillacs, rolls royces, motorcycles & motorized toys. Other exhibits included Icon: influence of Elvis collection; Elvis on tour exhibit; Elvis through his daughters eyes; Sincerely Elvis; and Tupelo exhibit (where Elvis was born into poverty). We walked over to the Heartbreak Hotel to check it out. All-in-all one fantastic, if not tiring, day. A real trip back in time and hard to realize it has been 35 years since The King passed away. Back to the park and into the hot tub to "come down".

Oct 24/ 2012
Drove into downtown Memphis to the Tourist Info Center where we took the monorail over to Mud Island where we walked the 1/2 mile topographical cement map of the Mississippi River from Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico. Then we took a 3 1/2 hour city bus tour with Yolanda as our driver/guide. We toured downtown Memphis; the Mississippi River; Beale Street; Cotton Row; Sun Studio; The Pyramid (ex-arena just purchased by Bass Pro Outdoor shop);Victorian Village -1800s homes; Lorraine Hotel (where Martin Luther King was assassinated); A Schwab -a 120 year old general store still in operation and filled with anything you ever needed and couldn't find anywhere else !!!; St Jude's Childrens' Hospital, chapel, garden and Pavillion where Danny Thomas (founder) is entombed; the Peabody Hotel (rooms $384 per night) and the march of the ducks -from the fountain in the lobby down the red carpet and into the elevator to go to their "suite" until they come back at 11:00 AM. We stopped at The Boiling Pot on our way home for a well-deserved shrimp dinner, complete with complimentary Hush Puppies -like a tim bit but made of cornbread with jalepeno bits -simply delicious dipped in tartar sauce. Once again home to the hot tub after a very full and fun day.

Oct 21/2012

We got up at 9:00, got ready then went to Denny's for 2-for-1 "slam" Sunday brunch. After checking all the pamphlets discovered that there were no early shows of interest so went back to the RV park, got ready to roll and left the park at 2:00. The roads were so narrow getting out of the park that we had to turn right instead of left and go around the block, which turned out to be many miles and 20 minutes !! We headed off down hwy 65 through Arkansas to North Little Rock where we checked into the Trails End RV park. Wouldn't recommend this one to anyone but it is adequate and secure for overnight. Was a really hot & humid day, up to 83F when we got here at 5:45. Lots of colour in the leaves and rocks everywhere -roadsides, quarries, buildings and house fronts. Lots of flea markets and antique shops as well as antique autos in yards along the roads, and many furniture factories and stores. Very tiny houses very close to the edges of the roads in several small towns. lots of roadkill today -racoons, skunks and armadillos.

Oct 18/2012

We were up by 8:00 after a very noisey traffic night. Got away from OKC at 10:30 heading east on I-40. We stopped at the info center entering Arkansas, had lunch and picked up lots of info intending to stay at Fayetteville but decided to carry on through to Branson, Missouri. We got to Branson View RV (Passport America) at 7:15 so parked in the dark. Not a great park -hilly, tight sites, trees overhead -but fairly convient to the action. We had no idea how spread out this city is but have found it not too difficult to get around (marked coloured routes on the local maps).

Oct 19/2012
Slept in until 9:00. Had a big omelette breakfast before going into town. We went to the Oakridge Boys Theatre to pick up tickets for Sawyer Brown tonight. Went to the Bass Pro to catch the downtown trolley through Old Town then walked the entire strip of the new mall along the waterfront. There is a beautiful dancing fountain in the mall which is lit up and set to music after dark. There is music playing from the bases of the light standards all through the mall. We went for a steak & shrimp dinner at Montana Mike's on the way to our evening concert. The pre-show was really good -Luke ??, an up & coming young country star. Sawyer Brown was fantastic, but really loud. They played for one & a half hours without a break and came back on for 2 more songs. Took forever getting out of the parking lot but was a fun day.

Oct 20/2012
Slept in till 9:30 this morning (too many late nights for us oldsters). We managed to book our next park in Memphis for Monday. We went for the dinner show aboard the Showboat Branson Belle. The chicken/roast beef dinner was delicious and the entertainment was outstanding -The Showmen, 5 young men boy band who sang inspirational to rock and roll; Janice Martin, aerial violinist; comedian/ magician Christopher James; and live band Rockin' Dockers. It was a sunny day 75F on calm water so was a pleasant cruise.

Oct 16/2012

We left Amarillo at 10:15 under clear blue sky, breezy and 62F. Very flat country now into a 3 year drought. Crops are cotton,some corn, hay and sorghum. Lots of cattle. We stopped at the Oklahoma visitors center and picked up lots of information. Once again, we met up with Dale & Libby Hanson from Florida and they gave us info on a good campsite in Oklahoma City. We hit the worst piece of road (broken cement) about 40 miles west of OKC and rode it all the way into the city. Surprising as OKC is the capitol of Oklahoma with very heavy traffic. We checked into Twin Fountains RV Park at 3:45 on the north side of the city and shared happy hour with Dale & Libby.

Oct 17/ 2012
We got up at 8:00 and drove into the city center where we caught the free trolley in Bricktown. We toured Bricktown (all the large brick buildings from the early 1900s), walked the Myriad Botanical Gardens (a huge park in the middle of the city), passed the Cox Convention Center, the Coca Cola Building, Chesapeake Arena, the Devon Power Skyscraper, the ATT Bricktown Baseball Park and a glimpse of the Capitol buildings en route. We took the water taxi on the manmade canal in the Entertaiment District stopping at Toby Kieth's I Love This Bar & Grill for smoked prime rib dip sandwich lunch. This reminded us very much of the River Walk in San Antonio, TX. There are many quaint restaurants and bars and a few big name hotels along the route as well as many large bronze statues depicting the Land Run of 1889 where 10,000 people arrived in OKC overnight to try for their 160 acre homestead parcels. Discovered that the nickname for Oklahomans is "Sooners" referring to the men who arrived early for their land claims. Lastly, we went to the Alfred Murrah Building OKC National Memorial & Museum, expecting to spend a half hour which soon turned into 2 hours. Home from there after 5:00 for happy hour with Dale & Libby. Another great day.

Oct 15/ 2012

We slept in until 9:00. Today was a shopping day. We swam for an hour then caught the limo (complete with HUGE bull horns on the front) to The Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the free 72 oz steak dinner (plus 3 shrimp, baked potato, salad, roll) if you can eat the entire meal under 1 hour. If not, the cost of the meal is $72.00. There were two young fellas from 2 visiting bands attempting the meal while we were there but we left before their time was up. Three very elderly gents playing guitars & violins serenaded western style at the tables while we dined. It was a very entertaining evening before returning by limo to the park

Oct 14/2012

Up at 8:00 and after coffee with Pat & Marty Cook from Chicago, hit the road from Santa Fe down highway 285 south to I-40. Miles of flat barren land with a few short trees and sage brush and red soil and interesting red rocks. Mesalands (tabletops) and small volcanoes. Route 66 signs everywhere. Some cactus. We checked into Amarillo Ranch RV (Passport America) at 6:30 after moving ahead an hour somewhere and still 73F. Got in a few minutes of exercise in the pool before it closed then did 4 loads of laundry which took much longer than we had planned so consequently we sat down to Greek rib dinner at 11:00 PM.

Oct 13/2012

Up at 7:30 and off to Taos, 69 miles north of Santa Fe at 6967 ft. It was a beautiful scenic drive through the mountains and along the Rio Grande Gorge. The Rio Grande Rift extends from central Colorado to Southern Texas and is about 40 miles wide in places. Volcanic cones are scattered throughout the middle of the valley, forming the Taos Plateau volcanic field (180 volcanoes) inactive but still a geothermal area. After stopping at the visitors center in Taos we toured along the main street and eventually stopped for an authentic Mexican lunch at the Guadalajara Grill, plain jane but very good. Our first introduction to hibiscus juice-delicious, sweet but tart. After a bit more touring we went back to the info center and caught the 2:00 city trolley tour which took us to the Plaza, the historic center of the community beginning in the 1600s. We also took in the Taos Pueblo native community, a reserve of sorts with homes without water and power, used mainly at times of celebrations and ceremonies. There are lots of native artists and crafters who open their doors to the public anticipating sales of their goods. Then off to the Hacienda de los Martinez, circa 1804. It was closed (another tour !!) but we got some discriptive history of the place. The hacienda is a large square building consisting of 21 rooms around the perimiter with two courtyards in the center. It has 2 foot thick adobe windowless exterior walls designed to serve as a refuge for family and neighbours against possible Indian raids. It has only one entrance which is wide enough to bring in a horse drawn wagon. Then lastly, off to San Francisco di Asis Church, another ancient structure but very well preserved. We had a gret visit with Kathy & Ken, from Maryland, the only other folks on the tour. At 5:00 we headed for home via Chimaya for a fabulous New Mexican dinner, well known obviously by the number of cars in the parking lot. It is quite formal and looked expensive but turned out to be just the opposite And we left with as much as we ate (goodey-tomorrow night's dinner). Home by 8:30 with minds and bellies full of a really fun day.

Oct 11/2012
Stayed in bed late this AM as it was too windy for the Special Shapes Rodeo. We took the shuttle over to the grounds at 5:30 for the Special Shapes Glodeo, where they inflate the balloons and shoot fire into them to make them glow, however it was also too windy for this to take place so sat through until 7:30 for yet another phenominal fireworks diplay, lasting a full half hour !!

Oct 12/2012
We were up at 8:00 and over to events tent for our final continental breakfast and farewell to new friends before packing up and leaving at 10:30. It was a beautiful sunny day after it had poured rain from 6:30-8:00 AM. We checked into Santa Fe Skies by noon, a lovely big rig park on a rise overlooking the valley floor. We drove into town and had a great all-you-can-eat soup & salad lunch at the Olive Garden. We had planned to take a city trolley tour but had to change plans due to strong winds and pouring rain so instead drove around to different areas of the town and surrounding countryside. We drove down Canyon Street, famous for many galleries. Back to the bus to work on a scrapbook of collected souvenirs.

Oct 7

Oct 7/2012
Up at 6: 00 AM (48F) and caught the shuttle bus to the grounds for the mass ascension. Quite a spectacle. 550 balloons this year plus 150 special shapes,which inflated but did not lift off. Back to the bus for bacon & eggs before catching the bus at 11:00 to the Indian Cultural Center Tour. Beautiful arts, crafts, dancing, music and history. Pizza & beer get together at 5:00 then early to bed.

Oct 8/2012
Got up at 8:00 to hundreds of balloons over the bus. Went for coffee at the events tent before catching bus at 11:00 for Old Town. So many art galleries, jewellery shops, tourist junk in old houses from the late 1700s. We had an All Nations Taco on Indian fry bread at the Red feather Cafe along with iced tea and prickly pear juice. Both very interesting, good. We joined Dave & Verna Fulton from Birdle, Manitoba, very nice couple. Happy hour and dinner back in the events tent consisting of roast chicken, ribs, roast beef, mashed potatoes, beans & corn and dessert. All very good.

Oct 9/2012
Up at 8:00 in time to see yet another full sky of balloons.3 took off from our RV park. We caught the 10:00 bus to to the Acoma Pueblo Sky City Tour complete with box lunch on the bus. We toured the museum, gallery & video presentation then took the shuttle up to the village up on the mesa, where there is no power or water. There are dozens of port-o-cans along the rim of the mesa. We visited the cemetery which now has 4 layers of bodies buried. There are no coffins or cremations as they believe in leaving this life the way they came in-in a blanket. All future burials are now down at the base of the mesa. We were able to go into the mission which was built in 1629, still with a dirt floor, then we walked through the village with guide Brandon. Lots of local arts & crafts, fresh fry bread & fruit pies. After getting back we attended a margarita party with piles of nachos. We sat with Steve &  on their balloons.Gilbert from Parker, AZ -he is retired Air Force and she is an artist. Another great day.

Oct 10/2012
We got up at 5:00 at 56F. Got coffee from the event tent then caught the shuttle to the grounds to see the dawn patrol, which goes up before daylight to check conditions of the wind, etc. Then there was the morning glow, where they flare the propane into the balloons which lights them up without lifting off. At 7:00 there was the Ascension of the Flight of Nations competition where each of 19 countries had there flags flying. At 10:00 we caught the bus to Santa Fe with Ray as our driver and K.K. our guide. We did a walking tour past the New Mexico Museum or Art, through the Historic Plaza, St Francis of Assissi Cathedral (now Basilica), the Loretto Chapel with the famous spiral staircase. We went for a great New Mexican buffet lunch at the Fiesta Lounge in La Fonda on the Plaza. Excellent meal !! We meandered around many of the streets and the street vendors at the plaza before boarding the bus home at 3:00. 82F. We had our Farewell Dinner with our leaders in the tent with a fantastic New Mexican dinner - ooops 2 mex meals in one day !! The entertainment was an Indian duo who played flamenco-type music on a harp, guitar, drums and violin - really enjoyable.

Oct 6/2012
Up in the dark at 5:00 AM and caught the shuttle bus to the balloon grounds for the opening ceremonies and lift off at 7:00. Everything cancelled due to strong winds high up so back to the bus for a nap. Norm did a bunch of polishing. We went to a balloon pilot and equipment demo at the event tent at 11:00.After lunch we walked back over to the balloon museum for an hour before heading back to the field. Watched the balloons get inflated for the night glow followed by fantastic fireworks at 7:30 - 8:00

Oct 5/2012
Up early for coffee and snacks in the event tent before heading off in a lovely new A/C bus at 10:00 for the Scandia Peak Tramway. This was the longest tramway in the world (now 2nd to one in Armenia) built in1964-66 in Lucerne, Switzerland at a cost of $2,000,000  It has a horizontal length of 2.7 miles (4.46 km) and a vertical rise of 3819 ft (1163 mtrs) and travels at13.6 mph or 20 ft per second, and is over 10,000 ft in altitude. It was a gorgeous day and the views of the city and valleybottom below were breathtaking. On the back side of the mountain are the ski hills. We were treated to a fantastic lunch at the High Finance Restaurant at the top. At 2:00 we went on a bus tour of the city of Albuquerque. A very busy day for all but time left for happy hour and a very light dinner.

Oct 3-4

Oct 3/2012
Away from Caspar at 7:55 AM in sunshine and 61F. Lots of oil pumpers,dinosaur museums, windmills, and grasslands. We crossed into Colorado at 11:20. Lots of corn fields. Burrito lunch at Ft Collins Rest Area. Wind warnings for  45+MPH winds but this never materialized. Drove through Denver, close to 40 miles without a stop. Population of 558,000. Heavy security setting up for the Obama/Romney debate this PM. 82F. Went over Monument Pass at 7200 ft. Went through Colorado Springs. population of 335,000. Several military bases and universities. Crossed the New Mexico border and got to Las Vegas, NM KOA at 8:00. Park was full but lucky for us the people on #13 left and didn't return so we were given the site. Today was a 12 hour day and we drove 625 miles.

Oct 4/2012
We filled our fresh water tanks and dumped black tank in preparation for our arrival at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. We left Las Vegas at 10:00 at 53F. We fuelled at the San Filipe Travel Center (Native Casino, etc) north of Albuquerque. Cheapest diesel yet at $3.93 and we were running low so was a great find. We arrived at our parking area adjascent to the Balloon Festival Grounds by 1:00, 1847 miles from home. There are 109 rigs in our Fantasy/FMCA group. After getting parked and plugged in we went and did our registration followed by a rally orientation. Really fun meeting new friends and old. At 5:30 we were treated to a fantastic Welcome BBQ catered dinner in our huge tent. (ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken and salads). We were entertained by a duo of Marimba players, who performed then got some of our group involved in the music. The marimba is a percussion instrument from Guatamala, a mellower version of the xylophone, played with mallets, one to many per hand. A fun time was had by all and we were so glad that we made it in time for the activities, regardless of how tiring the past few days had been.

On the Road Again .....

Sept 30/2012
We left Swan Lake RV at 11:15 on a beautiful sunny 60F day. We stopped for lunch at the Rhone Rest Area before Greenwood. Afternoon temps reached 77F. Leaves just starting to turn and really vibrant in the sunshine. We checked into the Christina Lake Golf Course RV park and had a very quiet night. We were the only ones there except for the deer.

Oct 1/2012
We got away from Christina Lake at 8:30 AM (50F) and cleared the US border minutes later without incident but had to surrender 2 bags of tomatoes and 2 peppers. We had an interesting bridge crossing before Kettle Falls -no traffic over 8.5 ft wide allowed because they were paving one side of the bridge deck. We are 11 ft wide across the mirrors but went very slowly and made it across safely !! We hit Spokane at 11:00 and it took us over a half hour getting across town. We were at Post Falls, ID at noon so caught a Carl's Jr burger on the run as we fuelled up at Love's. It was a smokey drive across Montana with evidence of many graqss fires along the road. We checked into the 2 Bar Lazy H RV Park at Rocker a few miles before Butte, MN at 6:40, which immediately became 7:40 due to a missed time change. We drove 431 miles today.

Oct2/2012
Away from Butte at 8:15 at 50F. We crossed over the Continental Divide (6329 ft) east of Butte. Lots of steep grades both up and down. Prairie foothills with lots of cattle, reminding us of the Drumheller area. 77F by noon. Lots of hay and corn fields west of Billings, and coal port and many refineries and some sunflower fields.Burrito lunch stop at a rest area south of Billings. Passed the Little Big Horn Battlefield. Hundreds of small white bellied deer and windmills in the valley before Caspar, WY. Checked into Ft Caspar Campground at 6:45 (Passport America). The park was full but they gave us a spot on the river with a power cord after calling 3 other parks, also full. We drove 509 miles today.