Nashville, Tenessee

 After our nasty experience of Memphis, we actually considered skipping Nashville, but eventually decided that we would stop over there, seeing that we were in the area – and were we glad we did!! Two Rivers Campround was great, sites level, pull-through, and trees, alive with the song of the cicadas that had made their 14-yearly appearance just prior to our arrival, and we decided to stop for two days, which eventually extended to five.

 On the day we arrived there we had the pleasure of meeting a South African couple about our own age, who actually live in the park – Pieter and Margie du Toit were generous with their time, showing us around places in Nashville we would never have found on our own. We also spent some time chatting to Judy, my friend met in the laundry room at the Park,  and when we left we felt that we were saying goodbye to old friends!

Nashville is a beautiful city, full of trees, with the Tenessee river winding around it, and two years ago it  was badly flooded, with the RV campground next door to where we were, completely flooded out, big rigs covered up to roof level. The same flood drowned the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville’s famous Country Music hall, and the magnificent Gaylord Opryland hotel that is in the same grounds, and the damage ran into millions of dollars. The folk of Nashville rallied with amazing resilience, and rebuilt their city, and when we went to the Grand Ole Opry on Thursday evening there was no sign of the damage – in true showmanship style, the performance was polished and most entertaining, with various well-known Country Music stars appearing, and by the response from the full house, they are much loved! We also had the pleasure of going twice to the Nashville Night Life Supper Club, right next door to the RV Park, where the ticket included a delicious, true Southern-style meal and a music show, really rocking, with the artists chatting to everyone in the lobby after the show. The Country Music artists are nowhere near as sad as their songs would have one believe – they are lovely warm, friendly folk, and we were privileged to make the acquaintance of the entertainers at the supper club, and were made to feel really welcome.

Our new South African friends took us on a tour of the Gaylord Opryland hotel, a well-known Nashville landmark, and we could not believe that it had been flooded only two years ago – the opulence and splendor of the place is breathtaking – it covers something like nine acres under cover, and the whole hotel is a giant terrarium under a glass roof seven stories high, with controlled temperature and humidity and its own river, gardens and musical fountains. We spent two hours wandering through, amazed and fascinated by the sights and sounds we experienced there.

The weather continued to be extreme, with daily temperatures soaring to 103’F (39’C) and only dropping a few degrees in the evening, with the humidity at 106%, but this  did nothing to deter the enthusiasm or the influx of visitors to the RV parks and the city in general, in preparation for the annual CMA music extravaganza, when all the famous Country & Western artists return to Nashville to perform in their home town and mingle with their fans. We watched the preparations, with barge-stages being built in the river and streets closed off for free street concerts, and were sorry that the park was fully booked, so we were unable to stay and left the day it all began. Nonetheless, we left with our ears ringing with country and western songs and our hearts warmed by the friendly hospitality and joyfulness of Nashville!

Memphis

 Our stop-over spot on the way to Memphis was the town of Little Rock, Arkansas, and we arrived in extreme heat and spent the afternoon in the clear, cool waters of the pool before getting back on the road the next day for Memphis.

And then there was Memphis – hot, humid, run-down and unfriendly. Despite all this, we walked down to Graceland about a block away from where we were camped, intending to stroll through Elvis’ famous home or even just the grounds, to take some pictures. Well, that was not to be. The entrance fee was a staggering $30 each (about R210 each) and then the only access was via a shuttle bus. Change of plan – we would cross over and see what we could see through the gates, so we waited for the pedestrian sign before crossing the road at the light. Imagine our horror when, halfway across the road, we looked up to see a shuttle bus bearing down on us from the Graceland gateway!! I could not believe that it would not stop, called out to it, but on it came – at the last minute my disbelief gave way to action and I leapt out of its path, as it brushed by within inches of me. Sid ran over to confront the driver, who apologized and said she had been chatting to her passengers and didn’t see us!

We never did get to see Graceland. We caught a passing bus downtown, and spent about an hour looking round there, but the shock of near catastrophe hung on and was really difficult to overcome, so after a short trolley-bus ride around the river area, we headed home, hot, tired and shaken. Memphis, for us, was a place best left as soon as possible.

Dallas

Wichita Falls, on the way to Dallas, was lovely. The park is on the banks of the river, with trees, birds, and the friendliest camp hosts imaginable. The only downside was that we spent the afternoon and evening nervously studying the weather reports, as we were on a tornado watch for 9 hours! We had instructions as to where to shelter in the event of the sirens sounding, as they apparently do when the tornado watch becomes a tornado warning (which means that one is on its way!!) We don’t often live in other lives, and at times like this, I was really glad about that!

Driving to Dallas was pleasant – no steep hills, and the countryside became pretty and pastoral, trees and rivers and green grass, a lovely change from the desert scenery. We were looking forward to seeing Sharon Nel, (one of my Grey Junior Library Moms) , and her family, who moved to Dallas Texas 7 years ago, and what a wonderful welcome we had.

 The whole family hosted us with Texan generosity and kindness, and we spent a really special few days with them, seeing more of the lovely city of Dallas than many of the locals!  We went sight-seeing, amazed to learn that there is a network of shops and restaurants beneath the streets of Dallas, as it is just too hot to be outdoors in summer, when the daily temperatures soar to 104’F (40’C) regularly.

 We met a number of other South Africans who now live there too, and were treated to real (enormous) Texan Ribeye Steaks, grilled to perfection out under the wide night sky, a meal that left us hardly able to stagger to our beds!! We were sad to leave our friends when the time came, but have memories that will entertain us for many a long year

Albuquerque

Our trip between Cortez and Albuquerque on the Highway of the Ancients was long and dusty, punctuated by strange rock outcrops in the otherwise undulating desert landscape. We booked in to the RV park, and the next morning saw us setting our Garmin and Tom-Tom for the Sandia Peak Tramway.

 This cableway is reputed to be the longest in the world, and takes passengers 4.46km (2.7 miles) up the mountain, from the base station at 1999 meters (6559 ft) to the upper terminal, which is 3153 meters (10 378 ft). This breathtaking ride takes 15 minutes, and is an absolute joy, though the rapid change in altitude takes a few minutes to get used to. The view was amazing, Albuquerque  in the distance in one direction, and the mountains of New Mexico in another, enough to make us forget that we had totally miscalculated the weather, warm at the camp, but snowy and really cold at 10 300 ft! As we reflected on the day over a glass of great Californian red wine and barbecued spare rib, we once again concluded with gratitude that life is good, in fact, it does not get much better than this!

Mesa Verde

The Pueblo Indians, for reasons that are not altogether clear, moved from their farms on the tops of the mountains, and with remarkable skill, they built their homes in the cliffs below the summit, using every crack and crevice to make stores and living quarters.

They moved on, leaving these amazing cliff dwellings for bemused farmers to discover, centuries later, while looking for lost cattle in a blizzard. This fascinating history drew us there, and was the reason that we stopped in Cortez, Colorado, to explore the area.
 The road up into the Mesa Verde National Park wound upwards in steep hairpins with spectacular views, and we were thoroughly enjoying the drive until we noticed the clouds that were covering the sun and looking increasingly threatening. The Parks department has done a wonderful job of marking out paths to the overlooks where one has a clear view of the cliff dwellings – we decided that we would not take any of the tours on offer, which come with health warnings for folk with any type of problem, as the sites are very high (approximately 10 000 ft) and the tours entail much hiking and clambering up ladders on cliff-faces, definitely not an attractive thought to my mind!!

 We had just completed a walk along the first overlook, and were happily comparing our pictures, when the rain came down, and a very cold rain it was too. We decided to go on the circular drive anyway, in case the dwellings were visible from the road, and, of course, we ended up running to the lookout points in the rain (thank goodness for the wonderful rain jackets we bought in London!), taking photos and then charging back to our truck again to dry glasses and cameras in preparation for the next foray!

   And each time we decided that there would be no more foolish running in the rain, something even more interesting became visible, and out we went again! Eventually the rain dampened our enthusiasm, in a manner of speaking, and we gave up and headed for home – only to see the rain changing into small hail, and then to a full-blown snowstorm! Visibility decreased to nil, and the drive down the mountain took a hair-raising hour and a half, slip-sliding on the ice, peering through the snow and dodging the snow plow that came charging up the road clearing some of the obstruction. What an adventure!

Although we stayed on in Cortez another day in the hope that the weather would clear so that we could have another look at the Mesa, the forecast remained bleak and we left on Friday morning having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite rain, wind and snow, and hoping that some day we will be able to go back to this fascinating park in more favorable weather.

The Arches

Our drive from Cannonville to Mesa Verde, near Cortez, Colorado, was punctuated by interesting interludes. Near the town of Boulder (the terrain was made up of enormous rocks, no guesses as to why the town was named Boulder!) we were able to view a number of petroglyphs – pictures etched high into the canyon walls by ancient inhabitants of the area and still clearly visible today. After a stopover at Green River, where we spent the night in the A-OK RV Park and met a fascinating man called Steven, who sees healing as his mission and lives in an old RV parked in the RV Park, we arrived in Moab, where, we were told, the Arches National Park is a spot not to be missed. 

 It was only an hour’s drive from Green River to Moab, so we parked our Huisie at Portal RV Park and headed for the Arches. Once again, it was spectacular. This park is sandstone, and has the highest concentration of natural arches in one place, in the world. The sheer size of the rock formations is overwhelming, even after having seen the other impressive parks, and we enjoyed a happy afternoon of camera work and amazement!

 On many of the photos, people can be seen walking, dwarfed by these mighty stone towers.

Kodachrome Basin.

 After a few nights in Glendale, we decided that it made sense to move our camp nearer to the next attractions, instead of back-tracking after a day out, so we left bright and early, relieved to get out of the mud! The Cannonville KOA is a small park just beyond Bryce  Canyon, with lovely views of the surrounding cliffs, and well situated for forays in various directions.

 We set up camp, and spent the rest of the day at Bryce Canyon National Park, 12 miles away, as our ticket, bought on a snowy day, was valid for a week. We were fortunate to have  beautiful, sunny weather, which allowed us to complete our photos of this spectacular canyon in good light.

 Kodachrome Basin is a geological formation very close to where we were staying, so we packed a picnic and set off to see what we could find. After the spectacular sights of Bryce and Zion, we did not believe that there could be anything quite as impressive further on – we were wrong! Although the area is small, the rock formations are impressive – the hoodoos jut many meters up into the sky, out of the relatively flat surroundings

 It is easy to understand why the early inhabitants thought that spirits inhabited these areas – the rock formations are so unlikely that it is difficult to believe they are real.

 Kodachrome Basin is not one of the really popular tourist destinations, so it was quiet, and we had a wonderful day driving on dirt roads, following pointers to places of interest and walking halfway up a mountain to see a natural bridge in the rock. We arrived home sunburnt and exhausted, but well pleased with our day’s explorations!