TN

There’s no school like Old School Rock N Roll!

Queen has been rocking the house since the ’70s and they know how to put on a darn fine show. I haven’t seen a concert this good since … well, the ’70’s. Big sound, big talent, big show.  And they played every head-banging Queen song you’d want to hear.  

French Broad River

Sevierville & Pigeon Forge
Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

Along Route 66 in Tennessee there’s a 20 mile strip of rides, restaurants, shopping and shows. Nestled in the Smoky Mountains, this long road of tourist attractions runs from Sevierville, through Pigeon Forge, and ends in Gatlinburg. You can’t see it all in one week, but we tried our best!

American Museum of Science & Energy
Oak Ridge, Tennessee

It’s all about splitting atoms in Oak Ridge, TN.  This is the birthplace of atomic energy and Oak Ridge was a vital part of the super secret Manhattan Project back in WWII. While the science for the atom bomb was developed in Los Alamos, the first nuclear weapon was actually put together here in Oak Ridge.

At the American Museum of Science and Energy we learned all about the history of atomic power and how Oak Ridge continues to play a key part in the advancement of energy science.

Windrock Park
Oliver Springs, Tennessee
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The Windrock brochure boasts that it’s the South’s Largest Off-Road Park, and that’s probably right. Windrock has over 72,000 acres and 300 miles of ATV trails spread out over several mountains.

We came here with our tricked-out four-wheeler to compete in the Black Death Cliff Event. It’s a whole afternoon of throttle-wide-open jumping and we came in second place.

Just kidding! There’s no Black Death Event and no way we’d jump off a cliff with an ATV!  But we did rent a four-wheeler to drive around Windrock for a day  – at a nice slow geezer speed with the seat belts fastened.

If you’re a guitar player there’s no better way to spend your birthday than a shopping trip to Music City. Nashville has a full score of music shops and we visited about thirty of them.

Back when Kentucky was the western frontier (circa 1800) and before the steamboat was invented, adventurous men would deliver trade goods down the Mississippi River on rafts to sell their wares in New Orleans. These wild frontiersmen, called Kain-Tucks, would then walk all the way home, some 500 miles. They traveled along Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian trails, wore the ground smooth, and reached Nashville a month later. 

Loretta Lynn’s Ranch
Hurricane Mills, Tennessee
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There’s not many singer/songwriters who have flourished over 60 years. Music tastes change, artists become irrelevant or burn out. The small handful that can sustain a career over half a century are rare indeed. I can think of only a few – Tony Bennett, Frankie Valli, Rolling Stones. And to this rarified company you can add the Queen of Country, Loretta Lynn. She is still writing songs, recording, and performing. And she’s 84.

Back in 1962 Loretta Lynn and her husband Mooney bought a large piece of property just west of Nashville. Actually they bought the whole town, Hurricane Mills. It had a general store, post office, and a pre-civil war mansion. With a lot of improvements Loretta made this place a home, and still lives here today when she’s not on tour.

The tiny town has been reconfigured as a tourist attraction. The old grist mill is a souvenir shop and buildings from Loretta’s childhood have been recreated, like her log cabin from Butcher Holler and a simulated coal mine tunnel. Even the mansion that was her home for many years is available for tours – frozen in time with her 1970’s decor. (Loretta now lives in a bungalow behind the mansion.)

Much of the film Coal Miners Daughter was shot on location here and you can take a guided tour of all the buildings for a hefty $25. Because some of buildings were used in the movie the interiors are “copyrighted” and photographs aren’t allowed. I snuck a few shots anyway. The walls of the mansion are lined with her album covers and photos of her children. Cast iron skillets are hung in the avocado kitchen. On the floor of her pink bedroom lie a pair of Patsy Cline’s slippers.

Artifacts of Loretta’s early life are on display and our tour guide diligently pointed each out: her daddy’s lunch bucket, her mama’s treadle sewing machine, Loretta’s only church dress. Loretta Lynn saved everything from her career and it’s all on display in the main museum: her cars, costumes, awards, and guitars. Even her original tour bus is parked inside.

Overall Loretta Lynn’s Ranch has a lot going for it. This is a big property with much to see and do, and the campground was pretty good. But as a destination resort the list of disappointments kept growing, such as the camp store being closed for three days. They seem mighty short-staffed for the height of the summer season.

Golf carts were supposed to be available for rent to cruise around the ranch. In fact we counted on that and didn’t bring the motorcycle with us. But the gals at the office issued so many ridiculous excuses that I just gave up trying to rent one. They said the following, practically in the same breath: There are no golf carts anymore. They are all rented out. They are all broken. Housekeeping is using them. You are the first on the list. We don’t take lists.

So instead of an easy golf cart ride we had to pack everything up, unplug the coach each morning and drive the RV two miles down the hill to the Western town where all the attractions are located.

I had the same luck with canoe/tube rentals. Hurricane Creek flows lazily around the ranch and I was looking forward to a nice cool float in the heat of the afternoon. But I was told, again in the same breath, We don’t have tubes for rent. Nobody has the key to unlock the shed where they are stored. The maintenance guys are too busy. We’ll call you when the tubes are ready. Of course they didn’t call. And the big inviting swimming pool near the campground was padlocked all week, too. So we just napped in the coach during the hot, sweaty afternoons and waited for the heat index to drop below 100.

Oddly feral cats were everywhere – slinking around the Western town, lolling on the mansion porch, and skittering through the campground. And while that usually wouldn’t bother me, there was an expired kitty down in the Coal Mine. Our tour guide nearly cried.

And speaking of odd, here’s weird news:

Armadillos have migrated into northern Tennessee! I wouldn’t have believed it but Tim saw a family of three ‘dillos ambling through the campground.

Overall, we did have fun at the Ranch. And I’d be willing to return if they can pony up their game.