LAST BLOG ! WE ARE HOME

Okay, our Big Trip is over now....we have arrived in Atlanta and are ready to begin the adjustment back to our lives.  Its a strange feeling, not like you have when you are gone for a week or two.  We have been living in and calling our RV home for 3 months. We are settled into new routines, new clothes hampers, we are used to sharing a single PC, we take TV when we can get it and we take showers in new places every few days.  It will be a new world where I can do as many loads of laundry as I want without worrying about how many quarters I have or if I will have a dryer available when I need it.  I think I can quickly get back into using my dishwasher and my electric toothbrush. I could go on and on, but I think you can get the picture....its just been different and we will need to re-acclimate ourselves to what is our real normal. 

Want to know some of our trip statistics?  Okay, we have some of those....Joe kept up with all of it:  Total mileage: 6,237 on the RV alone. Total Trip Stops was 30.  Total States we visited is 19.  Highest Gas Price (in RV) was $4.09.  Lowest Gas Price was $3.29.  (Note: we only paid over $4.00 one time !)  Highest Altitude: 9,336 in Yellowstone.   

So, here is the last picture....our map on the door of the Moose Lodge.

Thanks for coming with us on this journey !  Where should we go next?  XXOO TML

SEE RUBY FALLS !

We arrived into Chattanooga around noon today, had an easy trip from Clarksville and we quickly set up so that we could head over to Ruby Falls.  Yep, I did it again....I took yet another trip into a mountain cavern and this elevator ride was 230 feet down and then we walked around in the mountain to reach the famous Ruby Falls.  Sounds simple enough but I was a train wreck the entire way....skinny little cave hallways and we were ducking under these boulders and walking through slits in the mountain.  I had a really hard time with this one....I think Carlsbad was much, much easier !!  But, I did make it and Joe got some nice pictures.  Take a look....

The next three are of Ruby Falls....they really play it up, lights and beautiful music.  It really is pretty neat and Joe walked under the falls too !  I just clung to a wall. 

We went to the Lookout Mountain Tower and took these pictures of Chattanooga.  Nice view !

So, tonight is our last one in our RV and our trip will officially end tomorrow.  We are looking forward to our bed at home and we are sure our house will seem HUGE to us....it will be good to be home, although I still think I could make a right turn and do the loop around the USA once again ! I think I will miss blogging !  xxoo TML

Wilma Rudolph, Olympian

Today we learned about Wilma Rudolph, US Gold and Bronze medalist who came from Clarksville, Tennessee.  She was the 20th of 22 children born and she was stricken with scarlet fever and polio so she wore a brace on her left leg until she was 11.  She wanted to be a basketball player and while she was on the team she was never allowed to play.  The coach created a running camp to get the basketball team more in shape and that is where Wilma found out she could run, she could run really fast.  She found herself !

She was on the US Track team and won a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

In 1960 she returned to the Olympics in Rome, Italy and she won 3 Gold Medals there.

She returned from Italy and refused to attend the welcoming ceremony if it was segregated.  It was the first desegregated parade and banquet in Clarksvilles history.  Retired from running, Wilma went back to school and got an Educational degree.  She had a successful business career and she also was a national spokesperson for various consumer products. 

Clarksville has honored Wilma with a historical marker on Wilma Rudolph Blvd, a street named for her.....

 and a bronze statue of Wilma can be found on Cumberland River.

 In November of 1994, at the age of 54, Wilma died from brain cancer. She is buried in Clarksville.

We really enjoyed learning about Wilma today....she has a huge presence in this town and rightly so.  xxoo TML

Kickin' it in Nashville !

We had the best day in Nashville....check it out !

RYMAN AUDITORIUM
This is where the Grand Ole Opry was originated and a stage that all the old and current country western stars have stood on.  Of course, the Opry is now broadcast from a new complex outside of downtown, but the Ryman is still in use and is said to have the 2nd best acoustics next to the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.  Its pretty impressive this building, especially when you walk down the grand staircase from the upper lobby....it would be impossible to not make a grand exit on that staircase if you were in a gown....well that is what went through my mind at the time !  Here is the Ryman...

BROADWAY STREET

This is the place to go if you want to hear excellent music and have a great meal.  Literally every restaurant also features a band and its here that many future greats started out !  We had lunch at Rippy's Ribs and BBQ.... YUM ! 

Elvis is everywhere !!

This was on the street corner !

RCA STUDIO B

This studio is where all the greats recorded and where today's country music stars still record.  Elvis, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Jim Reeves, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and the list goes on and on.

This piano was played by Elvis on numerous occasions....he liked to come in late at night and the first thing he would do was to sit down and start his session by playing this piano.  Today it is still in use, along with an organ, saloon piano and other instruments that are staples in this studio !

COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME

This place is really awesome.....so much to see and the music, of course, just makes you stomp your feet.  They were featuring Hank Williams and so they had a lot to see in that area.  They had some really awesome films to see too....it took us all of 2 1/2 hours to just walk around and see it all.  We could have easily spent more time but it was late afternoon and closing time was at 5PM.  Anyway, take a look....

BOCEFUS' Boots !

The 3 Entertainer Of The Year Awards of George Straight !  How cool is that?

We had a great day in Nashville !!  xxoo TML

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA !

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY !

This is Louis, he is in the US ARMY and I obtained him at a flea market held at a VFW Lodge in St. Louis.  I am just crazy about this little guy, he plays Queen's "We Will Rock You!".  Anyway, Louis, Joe and I hope everyone has a wonderful Independence Day !

DUNBAR CAVE STATE PARK
Today we put on our hiking boots, loaded up the backpack, and headed out to Dunbar Cave State Park, not far from our campground. Our plan was to hike but before we hit the trails we got to have a really nice talk with the ranger and learned that the cave is currently closed because they found one of the bats to be diseased, with a disease passed on by a human.  In an effort to protect the bats, they are shielding them from humans....now that's a switch !  Anyway, it was a really nice hike and here are a few pictures from Dunbar Cave State Park.

These geese did not migrate out of Tennessee this year, as they should have.  They sure have made a mess of the sidewalks !

This is one of two openings to the cave.  When you get near it, you can feel the cool air at the entrance. 

The smaller opening is in the corner of this covered area.  The larger opening, which is barricaded off, is on the top of the covered area and it also has a very cool temperature at the mouth.

GEO CACHE FIND !

Joe and I picked up a coin in Mississippi that included instructions to remove it from its current location and move it to another location, logging the moves on the GeoCache website.  The coin was introduced by a lady in California and she wants to see where it goes.  Today we got to place the coin in a cache we found in Clarksville, Tennessee. 

We found the cache at the end of a large corn field and just off a back road about 9 miles from Dunbar Cave State Park.  It is always a thrill to find the cache....some times you just cannot find it at all or it has been removed when you get there !  Anyway, today we were successful and so here is a picture of our find !

 Opening the cache is always fun...this one contained a variety of lapel pins.  We always sign the log too.

This is where the cache is hidden....you really have to look hard to find these treasures ! 

So, we are back to dealing with weather but tomorrow we will head to Nashville for the day !  xxoo TML