Raccoon Valley RV Park north of Knoxville, Tennessee has always been one of our favorite parks. It is one of the Escapees Club's Rainbow parks and is always full of friendly people. The last time we stayed there the park was bustling with activities - pot-lucks, pancake breakfasts, ice cream socials, daily happy hours, outings to restaurants, craft classes, jam sessions, etc. The last time we were there we stayed so busy we only left the park two times in ten days. Well, this stay was different. The people were still friendly but there were very few activities. We hope that is not a trend of the Escapees Rainbow Parks.

The first two weeks we stayed busy cleaning out the motorhome and it is amazing how much "stuff" we accumulated in nearly six years of traveling fulltime. After emptying the basement and sorting items we made several trips to the dumpster and rearranged the basement. Inside the motorhome we went through every drawer, cabinet, closet, under the sofas and under the bed. Again we made several trips to the dumpster. Escapees parks have an exchange table where campers can leave items and take items of equal value. People who want something from the table and have nothing to leave are encouraged to leave a cash donation. We took so many items to the table we filled it and left many items on the floor. A general rule with fulltimers is if something is not used within the last year - out it goes. We donated a portable satellite dish on a tripod, a DeLorme GPS unit, a laser printer, flashlights and a lantern, a cook stove, clothing, motorhome parts and cleaning supplies, computer software and adapters and many other items. All together we donated about a thousand dollars worth of "stuff."

During our stay at Raccoon Valley we saw many of our RVing friends including Doug and Ann Craw, Reed and Margaret Moser, Bob and Nancy Colbert, Stan and Betty Bober and Rich and Diane Emond. It is always nice running into friends.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the system and receives over twice as many visitors each year as the next most visited park. The park is very large with 521,490 acres and 384 miles of mountain roads. We have visited the Smokies many times and try to concentrate on a different section each time. When we arrived in southeastern Tennessee trees had not yet budded but within days dogwoods and redbuds were displaying their full glory and a few days later hardwood trees were fully leafed. It is amazing how fast bare trees "bud" and grow their leaves and this year it took about ten days.

This year we focused on Cades Cove in the Smokies. From the tourist town of Gatlinburg we drove a scenic river road about 28 miles to Cades Cove where an eleven mile loop takes visitors around the cove. Settler migrated to the cove area in the early 1800s and built log cabins, barns, churches and schools. The cabins were built where the park road goes today and land in the middle of the loop was cleared to grow crops. In 1934 the national park was formed and modern structures were removed but the original cabins and other buildings were left in place and have been restored. The eleven mile loop takes about two hours to drive by car and can also be biked or hiked. Depending on the season the views and scenery will differ so if you have visited the cove before go back in another season and enjoy it again.

Nashville

Nashville is a city we always drove through heading south or north, east or west, but we had never stopped to see her. I remember my first drive through Nashville in 1963 when construction had begun on interstate I-65. The new road did not go through the city so driving city streets was necessary. Since then we have driven through the city at least fifty times and have always been delayed by road construction. Well, this is 42 years later and Nashville's roads are still under construction with no end in sight.

We decided to stay at Two Rivers Campground and that was a good decision. The campground is less than two miles from Opryland and near shopping and restaurants. Two Rivers has level full hookup sites, a store, laundry, courtesy phones and modem hookups, free WiFi, free hot coffee and they sell tickets to all Nashville events with tour busses stopping at the campground. Some nights there is free country music and singing on the office's back porch.

Before arriving we laid out a plan for sightseeing as there is much to see and do in Nashville and decided we needed a full week. But we arrived in rain and it rained the first five days. Actually we did not have rain, we had floods for five days with thunder and lightening, winds and cold temperatures. Driving and sightseeing during severe weather warnings is not fun so we stayed home most days, but we ventured out enough to see Nashville's highlights.

The Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974, was built in 1892 by Captain Thomas Ryman for the Rev. Samuel P. Jones and served as a church many years. It was constructed for $100,000 and was renovated in 1993-1994 at a cost of over $8.5 million. (How's that for inflation.) Many country music stars graced its stage during the old Opry days and since its rebirth it hosts many concerts and events and the Grand Ole Opry in the winter.

One block from the Ryman on Broadway we found Nashville's "honky-tonks" - saloons, pubs, restaurants and record stores, each emitting live country music and songs. Entertainers not fortunate enough to perform inside, were performing on the street with cups for donations. One block from Broadway is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Here the history of country music is explained with videos, displays and sounds. Often country music stars are there performing, signing autographs and shaking hands. Before leaving downtown we toured the Tennessee State Capitol where the legislature was in session creating a crowded and confusing environment. After a twenty minute self-guided tour we left the building and visited the grave of President James K. Polk. The building was constructed between 1845-1855 mostly by slaves and convict labor and unlike many state capitols, every room in the building is still used for the government's business.


Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center is an impressive place. (Hint: Parking is $10.00, plus 93 cents Tennessee sales tax, but parking is free in the RV parking lot across the street. You can even spend the night free in your RV.) The Opryland Center complex consists of 2,881 hotel rooms, seven restaurants (prices from expensive to very expensive to "if you have to ask you shouldn't be here), three lounges, twenty-five specialty shops, a 600,000 sq. ft. convention center, eighty-five meeting rooms, ballrooms and three spectacular atriums under glass. The atriums are The Garden Conservatory with foliage, lush gardens and sparkling fountains; The Cascades with stately columns and indoor waterfalls; and The Delta, a quaint town with boats plying waterways and an antebellum mansion. What is impressive is everything mentioned above, rooms, restaurants, convention center, shops, gardens, boats, etc., are all under one roof.

Grand Ole Opry

A visit to Nashville is not complete without attending the Grand Ole Opry which seats 4,400 people. The Opry is on radio station WSM and cable TV and is the longest running live radio show in the world. Each performance is different depending on which country stars show up. The night we attended we were entertained by Porter Wagoner, Mel Daniels, Jean Shepard, Jack Greene, Pam Tillis, Hank Locklin, The Osborne Brothers, Jim Ed Brown, The Whites, Jimmy C. Newman, Eddy Raven and several others. The show lasted 2.5 hours including commercials and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute until the show was over and it was time to leave.

Remember I had mentioned rain? We parked a five minute walk from the Opry building and walked to the show in a light rain, but when we exited the building it was raining so hard we could only see a short distance. Umbrellas were useless as wind could rip them from one's grip and hurl them across the city. Wearing rain jackets with hoods we began fighting wind and rain, walking in deep water, and finally found our Honda CR-V. Our faces were dripping and we were soaked from waist down, but our shirts were dry. The two mile drive home was a challenge because we could not see the road through heavy rain and we honestly relied on our GPS unit (like radar) to show us where to turn. It continued to rain like that all night and continued to rain one more day to make five days of almost continuous rain, with skies so dark we needed daytime lights to see and the temperatures ran 15-20 degrees below normal.

The Hermitage

Andrew Jackson is best remembered as the seventh president of the United States (1829-1837), but in his years before the White House he was know as the Hero of New Orleans in the War of 1812. The Hermitage, Jackson's home south of Nashville, was built between 1819 and 1821 and was remodeled in 1831. A fire destroyed the house in 1834 and it was reconstructed and enlarged in 1836. Jackson was in Washington during this time and only visited The Hermitage four times in eight years. His adopted son Andrew Jackson Junior ran the plantation and oversaw the building of the mansion. At Jackson's death in 1845 the plantation covered 1,000 acres and was run by 140 slaves. Jackson also had land holdings in other states.

Jackson and his wife Rachel Donelson had no children but adopted two sons and helped raise possibly another fifteen children. Much of Jackson's life was controversial. As a young man he killed anther man in a duel and he married Rachel before the divorce of her first husband was complete. The eve before Andrew Jackson and Rachel had planned to leave for Washington after his first election as president, Rachel became suddenly ill and died.

After Jackson's death in 1845 The Hermitage was the home of Jackson's heirs until it was deeded to the state of Tennessee. Since 1889 the Ladies Hermitage Association has preserved the house, other building and grounds. Since the Jackson family was the only occupants of the house it stands today with most of the original furnishings. Beautiful wallpaper from France, installed in 1836, still grace the walls and Jackson's pipe and his newspapers still lay in his office.

Andrew Jackson and Rachel are buried under a memorial in the beautiful garden near the house. The original 1,000 acre plantation, still intact, contains many original buildings, an educational museum with a video, gift shop and restaurant. We have visited many homes of presidents and The Hermitage is one of the most impressive.

Stones River

The Battle of Stones River, at Murfreesboro, was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. On December 30, 1862, 43,000 Union troops camped one half mile from 38,000 Confederate troops anticipating battle the next day. The opposing troops were so close they could hear the other side and both had bands playing. When one band started playing "Home Sweet Home" the opposing band joined in and all troops became quiet and listened to the music. Early the next morning the battle began with thousands of troops from both sides being killed or injured. The Confederates claimed victory in the day's fighting and both sides took the next day off to regroup.

January 2, 1863, saw the battle renew with troops only feet apart shooting in one place later named The Slaughter Pen. In the afternoon the Union's artillery placed 58 guns on a ridge overlooking Stones River because they knew the Confederates would be crossing there. As the troops started crossing the river the Union opened fire and in 45 minutes killed and wounded 1,800 Confederates. (That was 40 per minute.) The battle was over with the Union claiming victory but there were no winners, only losers. The Union had 13,249 casualties and the Confederates had 10,266 casualties. Out of approximately 81,000 troops who entered the two day battle only about 57,500 walked away. A cemetery on the battlefield is the final resting place for many of those killed.