Saturday September 21st
Today and tomorrow are travel days in route to Memphis.
Monday
Our first stop on our exploration of Memphis was the Peabody Hotel to see the famous Duck Walk. But we arrived 20 minutes late after they took up residence in their favorite fountain. Oh well, that was close enough for us. The hotel lobby is gorgeous!
Our next activity was a stroll down...
Of course, it was the wrong time of day but we got to see it! We stopped at Central BBQ for lunch. Their pulled pork sandwich was voted the “Best in Memphis” and it was delicious!
The Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was shot was across the street from our lunch spot. It is now preserved as part of the National Civil Rights Museum dedicated to his life’s work!
Memphis has done a wonderful job making the downtown a walker’s paradise with a long section of Main Street reserved for people and the Main Street Trolley!
Our final stop on our walking tour was the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid. It is an impressive building with the store, a hotel, a restaurant and an Observation deck. Standing in the store inside, you can look up 322 feet to the point of the pyramid!
View of Memphis and Mississippi River from Pyramid.
We’re going to Graceland, Graceland, Graceland, Tennessee...just like Paul and in honor of Priscilla’s love of Elvis!
The mansion is not that big by today’s standards. And the decor is quite eclectic and
perhaps a bit garish!
However, Elvis added several rooms to the mansion and the estate covered 14 acres, providing a beautiful setting for the Presley’s love of horses! We are really glad we took the Mansion Tour. You’re given an iPAD that tells you about the house and the family and plays a different Elvis tune in each area...pretty cool and enjoyable!
Tuesday
Gretchen hasn’t been to Hot Springs National Park so we decided to stop on this trip. We had a delightful time, touring Bath House Row,
exploring the Fordyce Bathhouse that is now the Park Visitors Center,
taking in the scenery along the Park roads,
feeling the hot spring water,
and taking a stroll along the Prominade!
We ended our visit at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery, the only brewery in a National Park and they use the 144 degree hot springs water to brew their beers! We loved the beers we tasted!
Wednesday
We are going to Oklahoma City but decided to take a more rural route via the Ouachita National Forest. It was mostly mountain scenery and range land. The largest hamlet we went through had a population of 3,000 and the only grocery store we saw in 2 1/2 hours of driving. Once we crossed into Oklahoma on Interstate 40, we saw a cowgirl on horse back herding cattle in a field. First time we have ever seen that along an Interstate!
Thursday
We’ve been tourist trapped in Amarillo! After setting up our KOA campsite, we headed to the Cadillac Ranch. It’s a art installation created by burying 10 Caddy’s nose down in a field! We didn’t know it but the tradition is to spray paint your “tag” on a car! Luckily, two kind ladies let us use their gold paint. Now, “VA T G” is part of Cadillac #2’s decor!
Our next stop was the The Big Texan Steak Ranch, a Route 66 tradition; home of the free 72 ounce steak dinner...,if you can eat it all in one hour! Otherwise, it costs $72.00. We opted for the 21 ounce sirloin for two and a sampling of their beers. After all, it is the only brewery in the Panhandle!
Friday
The scenery changed from farms, to range land, to mesas and buttes, to mountains on our drive to Santa Fe today. We arrived in time to set up camp and then go to a local farmers market!
Saturday
Touring Santa Fe was our agenda for today. We stopped by San Miguel, the oldest church structure in the USA, built in 1610.
We found the oldest house in USA next to the church; hard to believe since the date on the sign is 1646!
So the Loretto Chapel has a “miracle staircase.” In 1878, the nuns needed a staircase to go up to the choir loft because it was not proper for women to use a ladder. So, they prayed to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the 9th day of prayer, a man appeared. He built the spiral staircase (sans railing) with no visible means of support, then left without notice or payment! The nuns proceeded to use the spiral stairs for over 100 years!
Next we walked around the Plaza which was buzzing with activity on this Saturday morning and stopped by the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi before having lunch at The Shed. Gretchen loved her entree of pablano peppers filled with cheese!
We wanted to see the High Road from Santa Fe to Taos and we know when we go to Taos with the camper we can’t use that route. So, this afternoon we drove about half of it. The scenery is outstanding, all it’s hyped up to be!
Given Mary’s (Joe Chavez’s daughter) recommendations, we did two wine tastings today, one at Gruet Winery and the other at Black Mesa Winery. IOHO, the Gruet Grand Rose is absolutely devine!
Sunday
Today we went to the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and hiked the slot canyon trail to the top...up there where you see the rock!
It is an absolutely gorgeous, scenic, unique hike! I will let the photos convey the adventure.
And we made it to the top!
We left the Monument and went to Lake Cochiti to take a picture. Why? It is by far the biggest dam (1 of 10 largest earthen dams in US, 5 miles across, 250 high) with the smallest lake behind it we have ever seen! It is a Corps of Engineers flood control project on the Rio Grand River.
We retuned to our campground via the Turquoise Trail, the old road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Along the way we went through Madrid, a funky town where all the region’s hippies must have settled!
Monday
Today, we traveled to Bandelier NM, parked in the amphitheater parking lot and hiked the Frey Trail into Frijoles Canyon.
The trail drops into the canyon in the middle of the ruins loop via a series of steep switchbacks. We loved this trail and highly recommend it as the best way to enter the canyon!
Typical sites along the ruins loop.
Then we just had to climb up to the Alcove House, known as the ceremonial cave. It is 140 feet above the canyon floor and was home to 25 ancestral Pueblo people.
Finally, we walked back to the visitor’s center and hopped the shuttle bus back to our car.
Can you imagine a very large cattle ranch that is located in the caldera of a collapsed volcano? That is Valles Caldera National Preserve, a bit further up the road from Bandelier.
It is a breathtaking site, frankly beyond what an iPhone camera can capture and maybe beyond what any camera can capture! Of course, we had to check out the cabin that was Sheriff Longmier’s home! 😎
He had a beautiful view from his front porch. And yes, the wooded hill is an ancient lava dome!
Tuesday
We drove north to Abiquiu to figure out how long it would take to get there since we have scheduled O’Keeffe tours on Thursday. Then we were going to Taos via the Carson NF when we came across this field with funky houses.
It was an Earthship Biotecture community of eco-friendly, off-the-grid homes. Water is collected from the roof, power and heat from solar. There are over 2000 homes worldwide and it was pretty nice inside (earthshipglobal.com).
Just down the road is the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, the second highest bridge on the U.S. Highway System, looming 650 feet over the river.
Wednesday
Albuquerque bound to see where we need to be at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday for the Balloon Festival. It was a really good idea to check it out in advance!
Next, we rode the tram up Sandia Peak. The tram rises 3,819 feet over 2.7 miles to an elevation of 10,378 feet.
Next, we stopped at the historic Old Town. San Felipe de Neri church has anchored the corner of the plaza for over 300 years!
Thursday
For us, this day was dedicated to visiting Georgia O’KEEFFE’s homes that inspired her paintings. First, we went on a tour of her winter home in Abiquiu which she bought in ruins from the Catholic Church in 1945. When she saw the door below in the patio, she said she had to own the house.
It’s sort of a weird tour because you can only see most of the rooms through windows, and no photography is allowed of the rooms. But the house is preserved just as she left it in 1984 when she was 96 years old, so it gives you a good idea of her life style.
View to the north west from her studio.
After a surprisingly wonderful lunch at Bode’s General Store in Abiquiu, we drove 13 miles west to Ghost Ranch where O’Keeffe owned a summer home. We took a delightful tour where the guide showed us a painting while we stood in front of the landscape feature that inspired it!
Friday
It’s a rainy day so we did our camping chores this morning. This afternoon we walked along Canyon Road visiting the art galleries. There certainly is a range of art forms and a range of prices!
And we did find a real rocking chair!
Saturday
We arose at 3:00 a.m. and were on our way to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. We arrived at the park by 5:45 a.m. The first thing you see is the “morning glow” as balloons inflate before sunrise.
You can walk anywhere on the grounds, right up to the balloons as they are preparing to launch.
The opening ceremony consisted of the national anthem, a military jet fly by and launching of the Festival and Sponsor balloons.
Only about 10 balloons lifted off, heavy ground fog prevented the mass ascension! But there were colorful balloons everywhere (547 registered); it was really neat!
By 10 a.m., we had already logged 10,000 steps, saw hundreds of colorful balloons and throughly enjoyed our time at the Festival! By 1:00 p.m., we were back at our camper looking forward to a very relaxed afternoon!
Sunday
Today is our last day in Santa Fe. We got in the habit of visiting gardens on a trip many years ago. So we thought the Botanical Gardens here would be interesting due to the dry climate.
There is one section of native plants and one of non-native plants that do well in this climate.
We learned the pretty yellow sage brush type plant we’ve seen in bloom is the Chamisa or Rubber Rabbitbrush.
Another walk around the historic plaza and another stop at the Gruet Winery for a glass of their Grand Rose ended our time in Santa Fe....a great place to visit!
Monday
We drove to Taos today expecting to stay 3 nights at a campground. But the manager had assigned us a campsite we literally could not use! So, we decided to head for home since the only other decent campground in the area closed for the winter on October first! On our way to Las Vegas (NM) where we’re camping tonight, we drove through the Carson NF. In the higher elevations, bright yellow leafed aspens dotted the dark green pine forests. It was eye candy, soothing to the soul and a fitting way to leave this region which has so much to offer visitors in any season!
Stops in OK, AR, TN, and VA will have us arriving in Lynchburg on Saturday; bringing to an end this wonderful adventure!
Thursday
We’ll, we’re sick of driving, so inspired by Ken Burns Country Music Documentary, we decided to stop in Nashville. We went downtown Friday afternoon and toured the Country Hall of Fame...very busy and overwhelming.
Following a great dinner at Martin’s Barbecue, we went to see Home Free at the Ryman Auditorium. They are a country A cappella group from Minnesota. The concert was wonderful, the sounds they make with just their voices are unbelievable! So glad we stopped in Nashville.
