Monument Valley

April 29, 2011
States/Territories:  NJ, DE, MD, VA, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, UT
Miles Driven:  3,084

After leaving Winslow, AZ we headed west and then north.  Just after the Arizona, Utah border is Monument Valley.  You've seen it in the old western films but you have to see it in person.  Memorizing, beautiful, breathtaking are just a few adjectives that do not begin to really describe this place.  Hope you enjoy this small sample of pictures that I took.

Painted Desert & Petrified Forest

April 28, 2011
States/Territories:  NJ, DE, MD, VA, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ
Miles Driven:  2,689

We left Santa Fe this morning and continued to head west.  Our next destination was the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest.  What a marvelous place.  The colors, the land sculpture and the tree trunks that have turned into stone are just amazing.  After going through the 28 mile drive, we continued west and stayed in Winslow, Arizona at a restored hotel that was built around 1930.  This place was really neat.  Such stars, politicians and well knowns that stayed here were Cary Grant, Einstein, FDR, Jimmy Stewart, just to name a few.
So many pictures.,  Here are just a few.  Enjoy.

Santa Fe - Day 3

What a glorious day.  It is Sue's birthday and the sky is bright blue and the temperature is in the high 50's without any wind.  Today we took a drive to Bandelier National Monument.  This is an one hour drive north of Santa Fe where Ancestral Pueblo People from approx. 10,000 years ago started to gather.  The dwellings were carved into the cliffs.  They also extended out from these cliffs to make adobe housing.  We took a 2 1/2 mile walk up the cliffs and down along the valley.  We saw the dwellings, petroglyphs and amazing wild life.  The pictures of the bears were taken from approx. 20 yards away.

Santa Fe - Day 1 & 2

April 26, 2011
States/Territories:  NJ, DE, MD, VA, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM
Miles Driven: 2,215

Well it's been a very interesting trip since we left Memphis.  After leaving Memphis on the 24th of April, where the weather was warm and comfortable, we drove 2 hours to Little Rock, AR to visit the Clinton Presidential Library.  The weather was still warm and comfortable.  The museum was very interesting.  We had a guided tour and there was a lot of interactive exhibits.  It was nice to reminisce.

We left Little Rock around 3:00 pm and headed for Oklahoma City.  As soon as we hit Oklahoma, the weather turned dramatically.  It started to get really dark and then heavy rain.  There were times that every one slowed down and put on their flashers.  This continued for most of the trip to Oklahoma City.  The Interstate we have been traveling on since Tennessee has been I-40.  Up until Oklahoma, it has been a well maintained road.  Then there is the I-40 Oklahoma stretch.  We've driven a lot of roads in the US and Europe and it is sad to say that the roads in Slovenia were 1,000,000% better than this road.  Cracked concrete and the slight heaving of the slabs of concrete gave us a constant thumping sound and worst of all, a constant up and down motion.  This combined with the deluge of rain did not give us a great feeling about Oklahoma.  Luckily, when we arrived in Oklahoma City around 8:30pm, it had stopped raining.  Temperature was in the low 50's.  We left the next morning at 7:30am in a light fog, which continued until we hit the Texas border.  To borrow a phrase from my son-in-law, Phil  "Oklahoma - they're more than an hour behind".

We arrived in Santa Fe around 2:30 pm, mountain time yesterday.  Temps were in the low 60's.  We went into town for dinner and strolled around the main square.  When we went out this morning, it was very cold and cloudy.  When we left the restaurant the sun came out and it warmed up.  We walked over to Canyon Road, where all of the art galleries are located.  The weather here is extremely changeable.  Initially it was sunny, then it turned cloudy, then it started to hail and then snow.  No accumulation but a little on the cold side.  It is shoulder season here and not many people around.  It is a beautiful city and we had a great time visiting the galleries and talking with the gallery owners.  It was interesting to learn that none of the gallery owners were native New Mexicans.  They were from New York City, upstate New York, Morocco and France.

See the snow!!!

The snow stopped.  Just enjoying the uniqueness of it all.

A view from town at the snow covered mountains.

Memphis - Day 2

Today we went to Graceland.  That's right, Elvis's home.  It was interesting, albeit touristy.  Considering his wealth, the home is not huge or over-the-top.

The Living Room

The Kitchen

The ultimate was a tribute to Elvis by Mr. Potato Head.

We then went to Sun Music Studio, really considered the birthplace of Rock and Roll.  The vast majority of early Rock and Roll superstars cut their records here.  Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and B.B. King, just to name a few.

We then went to the Civil Rights Museum which is located at the former site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was shot.  This was quite moving and hard to believe that this happened in the "Land of the Free".

Memphis

Date:  April 22, 2011
States/Territories:  NJ DE MD VA TN
Miles Driven:  1129

We left Nashville this morning for Memphis.  Only 3 hours away and dramatically different in temperature.  It is in the low 80's with no humidity, but breezy.
We went to Mud Island which is accessible by a tram.  The island has a museum of the Mississippi and a very nice walk along the Mighty Mississippi.

 
  Afterward we went to the Peabody Hotel to see the daily duck walk.  What started out as a prank has become internationally renowned.  They have 5 ducks in the fountain of the hotel lobby and everyday at 5:00 pm the ducks march out of the fountain, across a red carpet, up the elevator to their "duck palace" on the roof of the hotel.  What an amazing marketing idea.  Everyday people gather for drinks and crowd the lobby to watch the duck walk.

At the top of the Peabody Hotel

We then strolled down to Beale St., home of the Blues, and Honky Tonks.  We enjoyed this area more than Nashville's downtown area.  For dinner, we went to the "famous" Rendezvous restaurant for Memphis-style ribs. 

Beale Street

In addition to "No shirt, No shoes, No service, they have one more "NO" down here.

Nashville - Day 2

Today we visited the Belle Meade Plantation.  This is an extremely well maintained and originally furnished mansion which dates back to 1853.  The plantation, which consisted of 5,400 acres, was not a typical plantation that we would expect (cotton, tobacco, etc.).  This plantation bred racing horses.  In fact Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Smarty Jones, Giacomo and Barbarro are just some of the Thoroughbreds that trace their bloodlines back to Belle Meade. In addition, the woman who guided the tour was most informative and very, very amusing.

The Belle Meade Mansion

Fully restored sleigh.  Quite the fancy mode of transportation in its time.

 After we left the plantation we visited downtown Nashville and ran into some old friend.

 We had a great lunch and had BBQ.  What else would you expect.  After strolling the Honky Tonk strip of town with all of the bars and wanna be stars, we stopped by the Ryman Auditorium where the Original Grand Ole Opry started out and then went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  This was really quite interesting and enjoyable.  We spent about 3 1/2 hours there, which is 3 hours more than we spent at the Louvre in Paris.  And we are not even huge fans of country music.

Honky Tonk area.

View from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum