Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Grand Ole RV Park

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It was a long day driving from Alton to Nashville. After about 6 hours, we arrived at the Grand Ole RV Park. I chose this park due to its low price. It was located about 15 miles north of Nashville in a suburb called Goodlettsville. The park was adequate with full hook ups and other amenities. The owners also had free entertainment under a large party tent, with local musicians and gospel singers performing and hoping get their name out there. The owners were very friendly and helpful. The only real down side was that the night before a horrendous storm went through the area and there was flooding in some of the low lying parts of town. This RV Park was very wet and muddy, despite the gravel roads and grassy areas. We found our site and got setup in the rain and wet ground. At this point, I just gave up trying to get my clan to not track mud and water into the RV. Oh well, it will get really cleaned up when we get home. We were very tired from driving so long and stayed inside the rest of the evening to have dinner and relax. It rained lightly most of the evening and night, so we really had no choice.

We had planned to only stay one night, but after looking into the activities that we wanted to do (we were able to get tickets to the Grand Old Opry), so we would have to stay one more night. That was fine, as it would be impossible to see most of the things we wanted to in one day. Kurt had never attended the Grand Ole Opry, so I wanted him to experience this. Back in the mid-1990’s, I was able to attend this event while in Nashville on business. However; when I went, the show was at the Ryman Theatre, which is the original auditorium for the Opry. A new Opry House had been built later and the Ryman is only used in performances during the winter. Anyway, I was excited that we were able to get the tickets; the main performers for the evening were Larry Gatlin, Craig Campbell and lastly Carrie Underwood. The tickets were selling fast, so we had to get two seats that were not together, but they were one row and four seats apart. The second night we would attend the Opry.

The next morning, we headed into Nashville to look around and see downtown and the special places. We went down to the riverfront and saw that the Cumberland River was several feet higher than normal. The main street area was filled with bars, souvenir shops, retail stores and restaurants. We also saw the Ryman Theatre, but did not take the inside tour (which cost more money). We scoped out the Honky Tonk Row and decided to come back later in the evening when it was really hopping. After leaving downtown, we drove to “Music Valley”, where the Opry house is and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  I had also visited the hotel when I was there on business, but I wanted Kurt to see the amazing interior, which is a huge atrium filled with fountains, gardens, streams, waterfalls and a shopping village. It’s so beautiful to walk through, you feel like you are outside. When I went there years ago, it was three weeks before Christmas and the whole place was decked out in Christmas lights and flowers like I have never seen in my life. It was truly amazing. After touring the hotel, we stopped by the Opry auditorium to pick up the tickets I had ordered online. We didn’t want to have to wait in line the next night to get them (turned out to be the best idea). We then headed back to the RV to get some dinner and change for the evening in downtown. We drove back downtown and found a city parking garage that was reasonably priced. We headed down Honky Tonk Row and visited four different bars. They all have country music playing all day and night. There was no cover charge, but the pricey drinks made up for that. We really had a great time and the music was really good. There are so many talented musicians in Nashville looking for their big break. The places were packed, as it was Friday night and there were many visitors and locals. We finally left downtown around 11pm to get some rest for the next day.

We awoke early the next morning to get ready to head to Lynchburg, Tennessee. This was an 85 mile one-way trip, but it was worth it to us. The Jack Daniel’s Distillery offers a free, full tour of the distillery. We chose to take the Sampling Tour, which cost $10 and we were able to sample the Old No.7 and Gentleman Jack spirits. It was an amazing tour and the tour guide was quite knowledgeable and humorous too. He showed us the whole process in producing Jack Daniel’s whiskey. Jack Daniel uses an uncommon process of filtering the liquor through charcoal. This mellows the flavor and enhances the oak and vanilla flavors. Jack Daniel’s is still made with the same process used since the beginning, over 100 years ago. It’s so hard to believe that all Jack Daniel’s whiskey is made right in Lynchburg Tennessee and it distributed throughout the whole world! After the tour, we visited Lynchburg Square and shopped. Kurt bought a Jack Daniel t-shirt. There were so many amazing JD souvenirs, but most of them were very expensive. For example, there were Adirondack chairs made with the used whiskey barrels, so many cool items made with repurposed materials. (They only use the whiskey barrels once, and then they are sold for many other purposes.) After the trip back to the campground, we relaxed for awhile and then got ready to go to the Opry.

We made our way to the Opry theatre. The parking lot was very full, as there was a 7pm show before ours. After finally getting into the theatre, the show started about 20 minutes late and the Opry began. This program has always been broadcast on live radio and is more like a variety show. There are commercial breaks and emcees change every 30 minutes or so. We saw several classic country artists, who also emceed. A newer artist, Craig Campbell, sang a couple of his songs that are becoming big hits. Then Larry Gatlin hosted the next segment. The classic singer/artists are quite amazing, some well into their 70’s and 80’s. Then finally Carrie Underwood performed. There were a lot of very young ladies in the audience who really got into her performance. But they seemed to be disappointed that she only sang three songs. But that is the Opry! It was a very enjoyable evening and it was a great way to spend our last night in Nashville. I would love to go back there again someday and spend some more time; would love to see some of the museums and learn more about the history of the city.

The next morning we prepared to leave in the rain and drove out through rain storms. It was another long day of driving to get to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina.

Badlands National Park & Alton Illinois

Badlands National Park & Ft. Thompson, S. Dakota
Army Corps of Engineers C.G. – Missouri River

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South Dakota is 380 miles from west to east. The Black Hills are on the west side, so our drive through the state would take more hours than we wanted to drive in one day. We decided to stop about half-way across the state and rest for a couple of days. I had found an Army Corps of Engineers campground right on the Missouri River, a little over half way across the state. Along the way, we took the scenic drive through The Badlands National Park. We knew this would take a couple of hours, so our plan would work out great. The Badlands is located in southwestern South Dakota and includes 242,756 acres of eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. It’s so odd to see extreme desert lands and lush grasslands side by side. The 42 mile Hwy 240 is The Badlands Loop Road and the best way to see The Badlands by vehicle. There were several lookouts and parking areas. These were great opportunities to take awesome pictures of the scenery. Kirby and Kody were able to get out of the truck at many of the stops. We even had lunch at one of the picnic areas. The weather was good that day, so we enjoyed the ride.

After driving about 150 more miles, we arrived at the campground. This campground is at the dam on the Big Bend area of the Missouri River and the nearest town is about 17 miles away. A large part of the area north of the river is an Indian Reservation. The campground was very nice, as has been our experience with ACOE facilities. It was right on the water, downstream of the dam. The sites were spacious and very well designed. There was nice grass around each site, which the dogs enjoyed, since many places we have stayed were dirt or gravel. There was a concrete slab for the picnic table and a wind-break on the windward side of the table. We stayed there two nights, to relax and rest up a little. The second day we drove north along a scenic drive that followed the Missouri River. It also went through the Indian Reservation. We also both completed some maintenance chores and were ready to move on. Other than that, there was not much to do at this campground, unless you had a fishing boat. Otherwise, we enjoyed our time there and were able to relax (even Kurt).

Alton, Illinois

Pere Marquette State Park

We left the next morning to head toward my former home of Alton, Illinois. It would be a long drive, so we decided to do a Walmart stop over for one night to get us half way there. We stayed in the parking lot of a Walmart in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It was a little noisy, as we have found at 24 hour Walmarts, but worth the price (free).

The next day we drove along the Missouri River and followed a scenic drive. The road went through mostly farmlands, where there were enormous fields of corn and soy beans. We later found out that these crops are grown mostly for ethanol and bio-diesel fuels. We finally arrived at Pere Marquette State Park in Grafton, Illinois. My family used to camp at this park, as it was near the Army Missile Base where my father worked during our time there. The RV campground was very nice and spacious. We were able to pick our site and got setup quickly. It was later in the day, so we relaxed and prepared dinner.

The next morning we drove into Alton, first through the town of Grafton along the Mississippi River. Grafton used to be a tiny town with only some homes and a few restaurants/bars. It was a hangout for the soldiers that worked at the Nike Hercules Missile Base on the State Park property. The convergence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers is just at the south end of Grafton. We noticed right away that this little town was now a riverside, tourist resort area. We later found out that in 1994, there was a major flood of the Mississippi River that destroyed the Grafton riverfront, pretty much everything in the lower two roads was flooded. The town picked up, dried off and reinvented itself. Grafton is now a riverfront getaway tourist community. There are new restaurants, wineries, breweries, shops, antique stores, marinas, vacation rentals and bed & breakfasts. It doesn’t look the same. Some of the original buildings are still there (if there were brick or stone) and have been remodeled. We went to a marina bar/restaurant on the last night we were there for drinks and appetizers. It was quiet, but they told us that on the weekends, the town is filled with mostly people from St.Louis there for the weekend.

We continued our drive into Alton to see how the city had changed and also to look at my out stomping grounds; where we went to school and the house we lived in. We spent most of the day driving around Alton and Godfrey. In Godfrey we went by what used to be North Junior High School (my former junior high school), which is now North Elementary School. Also, Alton High School (where I spent my sophomore year and part of my junior year) is now Alton Middle School. Downtown Alton looks much the same, but the riverfront has been revamped with a beautiful park, amphitheater and a casino boat. The old bridge has been replaced with a modern suspension bridge. That part looks so different. Next we drove north through Godfrey. There is a new major highway crossing through town just south of where our neighborhood was. Our old house looks the same, other than the trees are large and overgrown. The whole neighborhood looks very nice; it seems that everyone has kept up their property. There are several new neighborhoods nearby our old one, and also some newer industrial areas. The Steiner family farm that was on the Godfrey road is now part of the Lewis & Clark Community College. I remember I dated one of the Steiner boys (Regan) that lived on the farm. It was wonderful to see one of the places that I lived, as we moved around the country following my Father’s Army career. My Father, Bruce, worked in the Nike Hercules Missile Systems during most of his time in the Army. During the time we lived in Alton, he was part of the team that was dismantling the bases, as the missile was being replaced by the Patriot Missile anti-ballistic system. He was very proud of the work that he did to help protect our country.

What a difference 45 years makes! This is the only former home that I have ever visited, other than those that are in Florida. It was worth the time to relive some old memories and share them with my sisters. The last night there, we went into Grafton for drinks and some food. The nostalgia tour of this area was over and it was wonderful to see it all.

Black Hills - Custer, S. Dakota

Black Hills S. Dakota

Custer’s Gulch RV Park

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The drive from Keyhole State Park to the Black Hills area was mostly on I-90, until we got to Spearfish, S. Dakota. This town is on the northern edge of the Black Hills National Forest. We stopped there for our Walmart shopping, then headed south on the Spearfish Canyon scenic byway. This road traversed through a canyon area, with many rocky outcroppings.

During this drive we began to notice the abundance of motorcycle riders. It was then that we realized that the Sturgis Rally was coming up later in the week. The next area we drove through was the towns of Lead (site of the huge gold mine that started the rush in S. Dakota) and then Hill City and finally Custer City. The RV campground was just east of Custer City right before the entrance to Custer State Park. The town of Custer was another one of the typical western towns, with many historic buildings and nestled in a valley. When we arrived at Custer’s Gulch RV Park, we found a very spacious campground that had all the amenities that we would want. This RV park was in a valley that was the site of Custer’s 1874 Expedition camp. This whole area is just filled with historical significance. The valley was beautiful and surrounded by Custer State Park on the east side, the Norbeck Wildlife Preserve and the Black Hills National Forest.  After getting the RV setup, we relaxed for the evening. Kurt took the dogs for a walk back into the woods surrounding the park. There were small, rocky hills right behind our campsite. The boys loved it.

The next morning, we drove north through the Black Hills on the “Needles Highway”. This is a winding, narrow mountain road, with many tight switchbacks. The views of the rocky Needles were amazing! We stopped at many overlooks to get great pictures. Also, there were motorcycles everywhere. They were really enjoying the mountain roads, but many of them drive way too close to the center line! Here we are in a large pickup truck and had to dodge them many times, almost running our tires off the road. We really don’t understand this mentality, since they are much smaller vehicles and should keep in the center of their lane. Anyway, most of them drove safely; it was just the minority that “hogged” the road. During this drive, there were two tunnels that we had to drive through. The tunnels were very narrow and low height, one being only 8’4” wide and 12’ high. We had to roll in our side mirrors so they didn’t touch the rock walls. The traffic had to take turns going though the one lane, rocky tunnels. It was fun and exciting!

At one point, we came to Sylvan Lake. We had found a hike there that we wanted to do. It was called Sunday Gulch, a 4 mile loop trail. The trail began in rocky outcroppings, headed down to a meadow valley, then back up into a rocky canyon. Wow, this part of the trail was so difficult that they installed some areas with concrete stairs and then metal handrails through some big, rocky climbs. It was a real challenge, but we really enjoyed this hike.

On the northern part of the drive, we came across Mt. Rushmore and pulled into that park to view the “heads”. The park was free entry, but the parking pass was $11.00, which was good until the end of the year. Upon entering the monument, there was a large visitors center and the amphitheater. There were some trails around the base of the Presidential carvings, but we chose not to hike them as the day was getting late. We went through the museum to view the historical story of this monument. After gazing and picture taking, we proceeded on our way. We then headed south through the “Iron Mountain” road. We drove most of this road and it was getting late, so we took a short cut road back to our campground. This was our 19^th anniversary and we had decided to go out for dinner in Custer City. I had found a nice restaurant online that had excellent reviews. We got ready and dressed for dinner then headed into town. After walking around awhile and taking some pictures, we went into the Sage Creek Grill. Wow! The dinner was wonderful, and the service was excellent! We truly had a nice anniversary dinner and enjoyed the evening.

The third morning, we headed back up to the Iron Mountain road, to complete that drive southward. This area of the road was more rocky outcroppings, but not like the Needles. There were also spectacular views. There were three more of the rocky tunnels that we had to pass through along this drive. One was particularly narrow; we could barely get the truck through this one. After completing this drive, we headed back to camp to get the dogs. We had another hike we wanted to do and take the dogs. We packed a picnic lunch, grabbed the dogs and headed to  Lovers Leap trail. This trail inside Custer State Park was supposed to be 3.2 miles, but ended up really being 4.5 miles. We found that in this park, the trail length estimates were always more than what they quoted. The trail headed up a fairly steep path until it reached the peak. This is where legend says that a young Indian couple leaped to their deaths from the cliffs. Not sure why though. The trail then went back downhill through more rocky areas, then into a small valley along a creek. As we ended the trail, it passed through a campground, where we came upon a lone bison sitting in a dirt volleyball court. It was very weird, and Kody ran right up to the bison before we even saw it. He backed off quickly when Kurt called him off. The bison just sat there calmly looking at the little dog! Wow, I startled us but not the animals. We continued back to the truck. From that point, we headed south in Custer S.P. to drive the large wildlife loop. It was very scenic, but we saw no wildlife, other than the wild donkeys that are in the park. We stopped at a couple of places and took some pictures. The donkeys were very tame and had obviously been given food by visitors! It always amazes me that people feed the wildlife, even with signs right there that says it’s unlawful. As we have seen, it’s usually children feeding them with their parents watching! After the drive, we headed back to camp. The dogs and I relaxed while Kurt took his kayak to nearby Stockade Lake and did an evening paddle. When he returned, we headed into Custer City to have some drinks and experience the local bars. One bar we went into, the lady owner offered me a “special” drink, as I was looking for a lemonade type of drive. When she brought it to me, I tasted it and it was yummy. She then told me it was Raspberry moonshine mixed with Sprite. Awesome! And quite strong. We headed back to camp to have some dinner and relax for the evening.

On the fourth day, we took our bicycles into Custer and parked near the Mickelson Trail. This is a 109 mile rail trail that ends in Custer City. We rode north about 5 miles, and then turned to go back. It was a nice paved trail that went through some industrial areas near town and also through rural properties and farmlands. On the way back, Kurt wanted to ride the spur trail that went out right past our campground. I drove back to camp and he called me a short while later to say he didn’t know where he was. I looked at the trail map and discovered he had not turned off on the spur trail, but was heading north.  I told him I would come and pick him up, as the weather was looking nasty and was beginning to rain. He said he could make it back, so he rode back in the rain. After he returned and got dried out, we took off to drive back to Mt. Rushmore for the night lighting program. We stopped and picked up some to-go Mexican food. We stopped along the road at a lake picnic area and ate our dinner. We arrived at Mt. Rushmore about an hour before dark, so we picked our seats in the amphitheater and relaxed until the show started. The program began with a ranger telling the story of the carvings, the history of the development and history of the Presidents involved. They played patriotic music and the whole program was very emotional. At dark, the lights came on to illuminate the faces. It was pretty spectacular and moving. We enjoyed this presentation and the history behind the mountain. As we drove home, a major rain storm started and involved horrible lightning and thunder. We made it back safely, but at about 3 am all hell broke loose! The storms got worse, the lightning went on constantly for about 30 minutes, and then it began to hail. We nervously laid in bed wondering what kind of damage we would find the next morning. When dawn finally came, we went outside to find large piles of hail, about moth ball sized. It looked like we had snowfall. Fortunately, there was no damage to our truck or RV. That was the most frightening nights we’ve spent in the RV.

We still had so much we wanted to do; so we decided to stay another night. So on our last day here, Kurt went on a hike that was on the Needles Highway, called Cathedral Spires, which also connected to another trail which lead up to Harney Peak. This peak is the highest peak in the US, east of the Rockies. The hike was beautiful, even in the early morning when there was still fog. The views were wonderful and the trail was challenging. While he was hiking, I had my usual “down day” of laundry and housekeeping. At the end of the day, we prepared for our move eastward in S. Dakota. We were going to make a short overnight stop as we make our way across S. Dakota.