St. Louis, Missouri - Gateway to the West

We left Ron & Shayna's house mid afternoon on Monday (Oct 27th) after getting much needed haircuts! (John was starting to look like a mad scientist...)  We didn't make it very far, stopping at Clarksville, TN for the night.  It was a pretty campground; not too full and had some nice colours.  We had to put our Air Conditioning on!!  It was 28 deg C!!  Yay!!!!!
The cats liked Clarksville.  Tawny spent a lot of time in the woods, watching the squirrels.

We pulled out early Tuesday morning (Oct 28th) and stopped for a kitty rest at Marion, IL (the 2nd time we've been in Illinois this trip!!)  It was rainy and cool all day (from A/C to heater in one day; you'd think we were in Calgary!) We drove through St. Louis, MO at rush hour... not good planning, but John did great and we got set up before dark so we could get the cats out again.  Sammy immediately went on top of one of the rental cabins, and Tawny quenched her thirst in a puddle.

Wed morning (Oct 29th) we took the cats out then headed into St. Louis.  We parked at the outskirts and took the Metro (light rail train) into downtown.  We had lunch at a mexican taqueria (lovely fish tacos!) and then we toured the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis - which was breath-taking.  There is no paint; all the murals are done with mosaics - 83,000 sq.ft. of 4.1 million mosaic tiles.  Wow.  Really something.

Those are mosaics adorning the ceiling!

More mosaics, and a Tiffany stained glass window.

We got back on the Metro and headed further east to the Mississippi River, which is the dividing point between Illinois and Missouri.  On the banks of the Mississippi stands an Arch - it's called the "Gateway Arch" because St. Louis is the "Gateway to the West".  Lewis and Clark began their expedition from here - finding a land route to the west.

The Arch, as seen from the Metro Station

The Archway was opened in 1967 and is 630 ft (192 m) high.  We rode up to the top in egg-shaped "pods" and had amazing views from the top.

The government bldgs and surrounding parks.

The "Eads" Bridge (closest) was a very optimistic endeavour
built by a fellow who had never designed a bridge before.
The arch shadow is falling across the Mississippi.

St. Louis skyline

Fall colours in the park surrounding the Arch.

We toured the Museum of Western Expansion after we finished in the Arch.  It featured great exhibits on Lewis & Clark's expedition, as well as good information on the Native American Indian conflicts with the early settlers.  As always, we were "ushered" out at closing time before we were finished... (we read everything) but not before we saw a number of "animatronics" done by the Disney people, depicting native indian and caucasian figures of the day.  A really cool museum.
We got home after dark, so another day when the kitties did not get their evening walk, but we set up Sammy's fabric cube and tunnel, and he raced around the trailer for 2 hours before finally settling down. Tawny tends to just stay out of his way when he's that cranked up... he had fun anyway.
Tomorrow we head out, bound for Kansas.

Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN

Sunday (Oct 26th), Ron had the day off, so after taking the kitties out for a walk in the very dense morning fog (which was surprisingly WARM!!), we all headed out to Fall Creek Falls State Park, about 2 hrs east of Murfreesboro.

One of many falls in the park... we visited several

We hiked down to the base of the largest falls, and Ron & John skipped stones along the pool there.

Ron, Shayna, Dawn & John

The colours along the ridge of the canyon were stunning.  We hit the autumn just perfectly in this park!

Ron drove us around to several different areas of the park, and it was wonderful to spend time outdoors, walking and visiting with both Ron and Shayna... we have spent time individually with them this trip, but not together.  We had a lovely day.

Ron and Shayna

John tossed a stone into the pond and it made the
most amazing ripple effect in the reflection of the trees

We stayed in the park until just before dark, then headed back to Murfreesboro and had an awesome dinner at Nick 'n' Jim's BBQ, where we tasted collards and black-eyed peas for the first time!  It was a good food day!  We started the morning at The Egg & I for brunch where I tasted grits for the first time ever.  We have seen "cheese & grits" on many menus, but it was the first time I found grits without cheese.  They were so good, we stopped on our way home from dinner and picked up some from the grocery store.  I like grits! (and collards and black-eyed peas...)  I guess I like southern food!

John is working on the truck and trailer today (Oct 27th), changing the oil and rotating the tires as we're over 10,000 kms (and 6 weeks) on our trip.  Then we'll head out towards St. Louis tonight.  We decided today that we're taking the shorter route home, through Missouri and Kansas, versus the optimistic route through New Orleans and Texas.  I'm bummed we won't be able to visit my cousins in Texas this trip, but we want the rest of the trip to be as enjoyable as the first 6 weeks, so we're going to take the more leisurely way home. We will be able to visit with my cousin in Kansas with this routing, so I'm excited about that!!

Nashville, Tennessee!!

Saturday morning (Oct 25th) John and I got the cats out for an early walk then headed into Nashville for the day.

Coming into Nashville - love that skyline
(There's lots of "...villes" around these parts...)

View from the pedestrian bridge near the Stadium

There are "Pedal Taverns" where you can drink and sightsee
at the same time - but you have to pedal the bar around!

We parked near the Sports stadium and walked across the pedestrian bridge into the downtown area.  The skyline is truly gorgeous with unique shaped buildings and lots of brick.

The downtown is very vibrant and reminds me of Calgary during the Stampede: full of people and the sounds of live music wafting out of bars as you walk along the sidewalks.





We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is an expansive building housing many permanent and temporary exhibits.

Me and Alan Jackson

John and Kenny Rogers

There was a really interesting temp exhibit about the Bakersfield Sound, which was a result of the different sounds of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard (the latter of whom was born in Bakersfield), among other performers in that area, and how they influenced and changed country music.

Once we got out of the museum, we walked around downtown - specifically Broadway (the main drag) and Commerce Streets.  The sights and sounds were truly amazing.  We stopped at one bar and listened to one of the performers for a couple of songs.  It's a really cool place with lots to do and see.

Honky Tonk Central

More beautiful flowers

We headed back to Ron & Shayna's place before dark so we could get the kitties out for an evening walk as they were up most of last night not having had an evening walk...

Larry, John and Ron (L to R)

Ron got home from work about 9:00 pm and we headed back into Nashville for an evening experience!  We went to the Soulshine Pizza Factory and watched Ron's keyboard buddy, Larry Van Loon, perform.  Great show!!!  Larry's been to Calgary and remembers the King Eddy...

After the show, we walked around downtown again, and it was an entirely different vibe from earlier in the day.  You would not believe how the city just keeps going and going and going... we were able to check out 2 other clubs after Larry's show!

Ron & John in front of Bourbon St. Blues Club

We got home at 2:30 in the morning, but had a FABULOUS day (and night) in Nashville.  Loved it all... what a blast.

Murfreesboro and Franklin, Tennessee

We left Sevierville/Pigeon Forge Wed morning (Oct 22nd) and stopped in Knoxville/Farragut, TN at a Costco to restock fish and veg supplies. It was yet another amazing Costco with a paved hiking/jogging trail running behind it alongside a bushy, creek area.  The cats had a great rest stop! They enjoyed being in the trailer while we did our shopping too... both of them love it when the slides are in.

We drove into Christiana, TN on Thurs (Oct 23rd) - which is about 45 min east of Nashville, and a bit south of Murfreesboro (pronounced "Murphy's Burrow") to visit our friends, Ron Vaughn & Shayna Perkins.  We are parked on their property and it's very lovely with lots of grass & trees for the cats to explore.  They have better walks here than most campgrounds.

Shayna is a photographer, specializing in women's photos, and she won 2nd place in the Murfreesboro competition, which had its reception that night. Check out her work - it's gorgeous... http://southerngirlphotography.net/

Sam continues his quest to be in trees.  He is really very good at climbing up.  He just can't seem to navigate his way down, that's all.

Woodstock, Ron & Shayna's lab/shepherd pup, was surprised to find 2 kitties in his backyard when he came outside to do his business.  He chased Sam, who moved faster than I've ever seen him move (!) and John got another opportunity to help Sam out of a tree. There was no argument from Sam that time...


Friday (Oct 24th) Shayna, John & I headed to Franklin, TN, which is about 1/2 an hour away from Christiana.  We toured the Carnton Plantation, which became a field hospital during the bloody Battle of Franklin in the Civil War.  The owners, the McGavocks, took in over 300 of the wounded in the aftermath of the battle, and Carrie McGavock became a living legend of generosity & empathy.  The McGavocks designated two acres of land adjacent to their family cemetery as a final burial place for nearly 1,500 of the Confederate soldiers killed during the battle.  The McGavock Confederate Cemetery is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation.

The grounds of the plantation were absolutely beautiful, with many plants still flowering! We are a bit ahead of autumn in some parts of this area; there is still an abundance of colour - it's just not always in the trees.












We then drove to the northern entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway, near Franklin, TN and walked along the incredible Arched Bridge.  It is 479m (1,572ft) long, and is 44m (145ft) high, carrying the Natchez Trace parkway over Hwy 96.

View from the bridge

Best pic of us this whole trip.
(and the only one taken by a professional photographer!)

 We next drove in to the town of Franklin, and toured the historic downtown area, with lovely old buildings (lots of brick, like I like) and gorgeous late 18th century and early 19th century homes.

John with Shayna

One of the many beautiful Georgian homes.

We met Ron in town after he got off work, and had a lovely dinner at Puckett's Boathouse.  I highly recommend the catfish!!