A Day on the Ranch by Six Degrees

From Nashville I came over to eastern Tennessee to meet my old neighbor Kelly's best friend Alex from California who is also on a RV adventure with her boyfriend Michael and they are staying on Alex's sisters ranch. Get all that? Is that six degrees of separation? It's a very nice 40 acre horse range. They rehab and train horses as well as riding schools.

See the two horses?

     

Ranch house and arena.

Ranch ? RV park

Tack room.

A couple of the horses.

Sunset over the ranch.

Alex and I went looking for a nearby swimming hole she found online to escape the 100° plus temperature. Check out swimmingholes.info About a half hour drive away we found the Horse Creek campground in the Cherokee National Forest. At the end of a mile dirt road we came to a parking full of cars and lots of people and kids camping. Clearly a local hit spot. Right behind the camp ground everyone was in the swimming hole and hanging around the edges. We decided to explore the trails a little and after a short walk found what we where looking for. A small clearing with a waterfall and a swimming hole to cool off in. No kids screaming just the sound of the water. All along the bank of the stream was a forest of rhododendron most of which had just finished blooming. The pictures say the rest. I'm glad the people in the park didn't take the five minute walk upstream.

Heading upstream.

One of the remaining rhody blooms.

You can see to the bottom.

It was refreshing!

And peaceful.

Be Careful What You Ask For...

It may come true. When I was getting ready for this tip one in the things I was looking forward to was sunshine and warmer temperatures then Seattle. Well I've got what I've asked for. Yesterday's high was 108°. It is like being in an oven. You sweat just sitting there. My air conditioner on the engine seems to work but just blows cooler hot air and the RV AC starting tripping the circuit breaker in the house I was plugged into. Even the generator seems to be overheating. It runs a little while and just shuts down. So keeping the fans going and windows covered. At night it gets down to mid 70's. I'm not sure it will help but it's time to head north and for the hills. Or maybe the ocean! One benefit of being on wheels is I get to move on.

Despite the heat I've been able to sleep well and doing my best to stay hydrated and eat well. Today's breakfast. Coffee. Mixed fresh fruit with soy yogurt and granola.

Miles driven: 250
High temp: 108°
Music: CB radio, Qwyneth Paltrow mix
Temp in WalMart parking lot: 133°
Cheapest gas: $2.93
Temp inside the RV at 9am: 85°

Quote from the truckers on the CB. "Why do men always win arguments? Because when the women starts talking again it's just to start a new argument. "

Gabriel Kelley and Neal Cappellino

Lucky timing for me with this visit was that Linnae and her husband (Neal Cappellino) who is a Grammy wining recording engineer (another one this year for Alison Krauss album) was having a record release party and concert. It has been a collaboration with the artist Gabriel Kelley. Gabe has been involved with other projects and groups but this is his first solo album as well as the first under their own label. The band was at the house the night before for a dinner after the rehearsal and I met them with their families. The concert last night was at a warehouse venue in Nashville call the Mercy Lounge. Gabe's patents came from Georgia and also stayed here for a couple of days. The band included many well played musicians and the show was great. Linnae herself is also a singer song writer with some recent songs and a past album you can hear on iTunes.

Hanging out after dinner.

The band on stage.

Poster for the show.

A sample of the show.

Nashville Rolling / Natchez Trace

First impression of Nashville driving into town was it looked similar to Seattle. A skyline of building and bike lanes on many of the streets. There are various neighborhoods and urban areas. My friends house was built in 1905 and could be in Ballard. Seems this area was developed during the same time. You can get out to older areas and still see HUGH plantation homes.

On day I went for a bicycle tour to the new Grand Ole Opry. They have a bike path along the river in a green belt much like the Burke Gillman.

Another trip I took the motorcycle for a ride around town. At the south end starts the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's the beginning of a 444 mile road the goes from Nashville to Natchez, Mississippi. It's follows a 10,000 year old path used by buffalo, Indians and settlers. There are waterways and mineral deposits and feeding grounds. It's called a "trace" because the Indians would trace the route of the game and buffalo. The trail rolls along the tops of the hills and twist and turns. I'll be back to explore more of it.

Start of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Covered with dust after driving through Arkansas.

TCB ⚡

If you've been to Graceland or are an Elvis fan the you know the meaning of TCB ⚡. It was Elvis's trademark symbol in the 70's. It's on the tail of his plane and around different places. It stands for "Taking Care of Business in a Flash". So today I visited Graceland for the first time. It's a bit of a packaged experience but probably has to be that way with so many visitors. I walked thought his two planes, saw his cars and did the house tour. It was like going back in time to the 70's.

I remember him mostly from his movies and later performances and fun to see his costumes. I always thought the Jungle room was in the basement but it's on the first floor off the kitchen.

The other surprise was that I didn't know he was buried on the grounds. Just assumed he was someplace else.

I'm in Nashville for a few days to visit a friend and see some sights.

Miles driven: TBD
Music list: Elvis (of course). Simon and Garfunkel (Going to Graceland of course), Dixie Chicks.
Admission to Graceland: $15 parking. $36 tour.
Elvis ghost sittings: zero
Miles travelled: 323

34°38.6'44"N / 91°3.2'12.8" W

Those are the coordinates of the initial site that was used to survey the land from the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In 1815 two guys set out and determined a Nourth-South line and an East-West line. Those two lines cross in Arkansas and there is a State Park and National Historic Landmark that preserves that location. From that point the survey began. It is located out in the middle of an Arkansas headwater swamp. Luckily they built a raised boardwalk to get out to it.

After that visit I went east to another State Park for the night and the place is awesome. They just finished it and situated on a lake near the Mississippi river. The sites are huge and spread out and are out in a wooded peninsula in the middle of a lake. Took the kayak out for a paddle. Saw birds, fish, turtles, snakes and a couple of raccoons looking for dinner. Since its a new park there are not many signs up and I almost gave up and went to the Graceland RV park. I'm glad I persisted and found the lake.

Sunset on the lake.

GBH looking for dinner.

Raccoon looking for dinner.

Camp site.

Looking at my site from the water.  The RV is hiding in the shade.

Usual shot.

Stone marking the starting point.

Arkansas swamp.

Bauxite Sphere

Bauxite is a rock that is found in Arkansas and is the official state mineral. It is of significance because it is a source of aluminum. There are mines around Arkansas and appears to be abundant but the process to extral the aluminum is costly. I found it at a mineral / rock shop and bought some to make a sphere. Thanks to a friends grandpa George's hand grinding stone it went pretty quick and I'm really happy with the way it turned out after just a couple of hours work. The red stone sphere is one I bought and is Arkansas Jasper.

Raw stone and finished sphere.

Sphere before polishing.

Using Grandpa Georges hand grinder.

Close up of the Bauxite.

Raw Bauxite, Jasper Sphere, and Bauxite Sphere.

"Caution and Supervision of Children"

Today's sign of the times. I have seen this one a few different places today. Do children in Arkansas misbehave? Or do parents not watch their children? The good news is it says nothing about adults so I'm off the hook and do what I want ! Wohoo!!!





Started the day with a 4 1/2 mile trail run/hike in the Seven Hollows Trail on Petit Jean State Park. The sign said allow 4 hours. John time was 1 hour 45 minutes including a visit to the grotto. Lots of varied terrain and rock feature and changes in vegetation at the different elevations and micro climates.

Grotto.

Natural Bridge on Seven Hollows Trail.

View of Arkansas River from Petit Jean.

Afterwards a visit to the local pool for a swim and some practice laps.

Next stop Mount Magazine. The highest point in Arkansas at 2753 feet above sea level. In the last few years Arkansas has spent a lot of money and effort building up and repairing its state park system. There are a lot of new lodges and visitor centers. They have a huge one at the top of the mountain with views over the valley below. I hiked up to the actual high point. It's well marked but no view because it's flat and below the trees.

View from the Lodge looking south.

On the trip I decided I had the time to learn an instrument and before I left Seattle I bought a wooden flute from Dusty Strings in Fremont.  I wanted something to play without musical knowledge and would be easy to carry around.  Here is my first song learned and recorded.

"Day is Done" (Taps)

Mt Magazine on summer solstice/first day of summer May 21, 2012