The Volunteer State - part 1

Tennessee

(Sightseeing)

December 18, 2017 to December 28, 2017

From the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky we drove to Nashville, home of country music.  We stayed at a small camping area on the grounds of the Tennessee State Fair, not far from downtown.

Our first objective was to see the one and only Grand Ole Opry.  We got to the area with no problem but trying to find where to park (that didn't cost $30 a day) and where the Opry was actually located proved to be challenging.  We did finally sort things out though and trudged through the rain to the building.

This is the performers entrance.  No red carpet, no special parking places.  Parking is first come first serve.
Even the stars have to go through a security check station before they are allowed into the dressing room area.

Every current member of the Opry has a mailbox...

...and all members have a name plaque in the lobby behind stage.

Some members (e.g. Minnie Pearl) have special tributes in this area.

 

There are 18 themed dressing rooms for performers.  All beautifully and uniquely appointed.  Only 3 or 4 of them have private bathrooms!  Each one has a name on the door as shown below.

Here's a look at the dressing rooms that correspond to the signs above.

It Takes Two

Friends and Neighbors

Welcome to the Family

Cousin Minnie (this room has a private bathroom through the door at the end)

The "Green" room where the performers gather before going on stage.
The room is actually about 3 times this size.

Some pictures of the back stage area.

Audience seating area. 
When the Opry first started they used old church pews for seating and they have continued that tradition.

Laura, about to perform centerstage at the Opry!

The state from the back of the auditorium.

Lobby of The Grand Ole Opry 

 Our next stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Lobby of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame consists of a large circular room.
In the center is the bottom portion of the large antenna that originally was originally used to broadcast The Grand Ole Opry.

"The Sources of Country Music"
Painting by Thomas Hart Benton
This painting is directly across the room from the entrance door.

Each member of the Hall of Fame has a plaque hung somewhere in one of the sections around the outer edge of the circle.

New members are elected annually by an anonymous panel of industry leaders chosen by the Country Music Association. No set number of people are elected each year. In 1963 no new members were elected while in 2001, 12 members were elected.  On average 1 - 3 people are elected each year.

Begun in 1961, there are currently 133 musicians who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  To name a few you might recognize:

Hank Williams - 1961
Tex Ritter - 1964
Red Foley - 1967
Gene Autry - 1969
Patsy Cline - 1973
Minnie Pearl - 1975
Johnny Cash - 1980
Loretta Lynn - 1988
Roy Rogers - 1988
Tennessee Ernie Ford - 1990
Willie Nelson - 1993
Merle Haggard - 1994
Roger Miller - 1995
Brenda Lee - 1997
Elvis Presley - 1998
Tammy Wynette - 1998
Dolly Parton - 1999
Everly Brothers - 2001
Waylon Jennings - 2001
Kris Kristofferson - 2004
Glen Campbell - 2005
Vince Gill - 2007
Emmylou Harris - 2008
Roy Clark - 2009
Jimmy Dean - 2010
Reba McEntire - 2011
Garth Brooks - 2012
Kenny Rogers - 2013
Randy Travis - 2016
Alan Jackson - 2017

The museum portion of the facility is an extensive look at the many artists that have made country music what it is today.  Many of it's exhibits are frequently changed in order to showcase specific artists.  During our visit there were exhibits on "Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and the Nashville Cats,"
Shania Twain, Loretta Lynn and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

There is so much to see here it's a bit overwhelming.  I'll just give you some of the things that caught my eye.

Unusual band names:

Fancy cowboy boots:

Tributes to famous names:

Over the top outfits:

 Beautiful Musical Instruments:

Lyrics often begin as words scribbled on notebook paper or blank sheets of paper:

I personally can't begin to understand how music or lyrics come to be written. 
It's not in my DNA so my brain just can't conceive of how it happens.
My hat is off to the people who can do these things and thus bring us so much pleasure.
Be it classical, blues, jazz, country, pop, rock, alternative, whatever - they all bring pleasure to their audience.

The studio musicians:

I found this area to be especially interesting and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of each musician. Although some have become famous in their own right, they are often the unsung heroes playing backup on someone else's song.  Each "booth" had 6 songs listed on which the featured musician played.  Regardless of the instrument they play they You could listen to each song by pushing the corresponding button.  I loved that the museum featured these musicians in this way as they contribute so much to the songs we love.

If you get to Nashville, this museum is a must see. We didn't rush through yet I could easily have spent more time there.  It's a fascinating place!

Our last stop in Nashville was The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson both before and after he became president.

Front of the main house.

No pictures were allowed of the inside of the home which is unfortunate as the furnishings are quite beautiful.  Much of it is exactly the way it was in Jackson's day.  It's a large home, about 8000 sq. feet if I recall correctly.  As you tour through the house you are met by costumed interpreters who tell you about life at the Hermitage.  You can then walk around the grounds at your leisure, listening to an audio device describe what you are seeing.

View from the front of the house.

Back of the house.  The kitchen protrudes from the back of the right side.  Behind it is the smoke house.

Slave cabins

Slavery was very much a part of Jackson's life.
This particular slave cabin was once the home of Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel as you'll see below.

View of the back of the mansion from the slave cabins.  Originally, there would have been many more slave cabins between here and the house but they did not survive through the years.

Spring House.  All the water used on the farm was hauled from this spring.

Jackson raised cotton on his farm.  It was planted, tended and picked by his slaves.

Close up of (wet) cotton.
Picking cotton is very hard on a person's hands.  Although the cotton fiber itself is very soft, the boll (i.e. the protective case around the seeds) is very tough and coarse.  In addition the seeds had to be removed from the cotton fiber, a a slow and painstaking process until the Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin (gin is short for engine) which automated the process of removing the seeds from the cotton fibers.

In 1804 Jackson purchased 425 acres of land in Tennessee which included this two story log home.  He and his wife Rachel lived in this home until 1821.  It had all the luxuries a rich man could afford: French wall paper, painted trim, fine dishes and beautiful furniture.  During that time he gradually increased his acreage and in 1819 he began to build the mansion we know today as The Hermitage.  When it was completed in 1821 the Jackson's moved from the cabin into the mansion.  Jackson converted his former 2 story log home into a single story slave cabin but not by removing the second floor.  As you can see from these two pictures, he removed the first floor and lowered the second floor to ground level.

By the time Andrew Jackson died in 1845, he owned 1000 acres of land around his mansion.

Andrew Jackson remains a controversial person for two reasons.  He himself owned slaves and supported the institution of slavery, never freeing his own slaves.  Perhaps even more controversial was his belief that Indian tribes should be removed from the eastern U.S. to areas west of the Mississippi.  The Indian Removal Act of 1831 was approved during his first 4 years as President.  It wasn't completed until two years after his second term of office.

The forceful removal of the Indian tribes along with inadequate supplies and the actions of corrupt government officials lead to the death of many Native Americans along the route which today is referred to as "The Trail of Tears."  Not only is it a black mark on Jackson's presidency it remains a black mark in our history as a nation.

From Nashville we drove along the Tennessee portion of the Natchez Trace, a 444 mile scenic drive through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. The route runs roughly along a historic travel corridor between Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee.  This corridor has been used for centuries by animals, Native Americans, settlers, traders, etc.

A portion of the actual old trace.

The Natchez Trace of today as seen from one of the many interesting stops along it's length.

Monument to Meriwether Lewis

We've been to numerous spots where the Lewis and Clark expedition camped or passed by.  The story of their exploits has always interested us.  That Meriwether Lewis, age 36, died under mysterious circumstances a mere 3 years after completing this expedition is immensely sad.

We camped near the town of Hohenwald, Tennessee at one of our Thousand Trails Campgrounds.  It was intended as a rest stop where I could catch up on the blog but we barely had phone service much less internet service so that idea went up in smoke.  We did venture out to see the area and in Lawrenceburg we found a lovely town square with a pergola type bandstand - the epitome of small towns of old.

We don't have any idea if a band or any other type of musical group ever plays here but it looks like the perfect place for it.

Right behind me as I took this picture is a memorial to Davy Crockett.  I recall desperately wanting and receiving a Davy Crockett Coonskin cap for Christmas.  It was a very big deal.

Some of you may have seen a segment on CBS news about a friendship between an elephant and a dog.  If not here's a link to a story that is worth watching: Tarra and Bella  Tarra and Bella both lived at the Elephant Sanctuary and we actually had no idea the the Elephant Sanctuary was in Hohenwald until we read about their educational center in the AAA Tour guide.  They do not allow visitors at the sanctuary itself because they want the elephants to live their lives as naturally as possible but they are in the process of building an educational center in the center of town.  It's not yet complete but it's coming along and if you love elephants, you must go and see it.  (Note: you can watch the elephants at the sanctuary at the following link:  Elephant Sanctuary)

This map of 1/2 of the world (shown in light gray against the white background) shows the original range of elephants (in black) in Africa, and Asia vs. their current range (in green).  It's shocking how much territory they have lost to "civilization."

Some interesting facts about elephants.

A comparison of Asian and the two types of African elephants.
The information is hard to read so there are the facts:

Asian elephant:

• males 11.5 feet tall, females 8 feet tall on average
• are tallest at the arch of their back
• forehead has two bumps
• have a single "finger" on tip of trunk
• weigh 4,500 to 12,000 lbs.

African Savanna elephant: 

• males 12 feet tall, females 8.5 feet tall on average (13 feet is largest on record)
• are tallest at their shoulder
• have two "fingers" on the tip of their trunk
• weigh 5,000 to 14,000 lbs.

African Forest elephant: 

• males 8 feet tall, females 6.5 feet tall on average
• tallest at their shoulder
• have long straight tusks
• weigh 4,000 to 10,000 lbs.

This elephant made of all sorts of old tires was made by an artist from Nashville.
Isn't it wonderful!

You can see we were bundled up because...

...it got very cold in Hohenwald.  Brrrrr.  Luckly the elephants have heated barns!

Laura tries to wash the car's windshield!