From Shenandoah to Big Bend

We left Shenandoah National Park on December 1, 1996. We headed south parallel to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped at the Natural Bridge along the way, it's supposed to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world, but it cost $9.00 each to see it so we decided it wasn't worth it to see. We headed south and entered Tennessee. Just across the border we took a lot of side roads and reached Bays Mountain Park, in Kingsport. Inside was a museum that includes mounted species of animals, extinct and existing, and prehistoric, from all over the world. Also exhibits on space science, and earlier cultures, and aquariums. The surrounding grounds encompassed different mammals. It was sad to see animals behind cages, especially deer which we had just seen all fall running loose. But it was interesting to watch the wolves, and the river otters kept us entertained.

From there we drove to the Cherokee Indian Reservation and to Smoky Mountain National Park along the Tennessee and North Carolina border. As we entered the park, we took a wrong turn and ended up traveling for miles on a unpaved, narrow, twisting, uphill road. We went for mile after mile, seeing no sign of civilization. Then we rounded a bend and came upon a restaurant called Mountain Mama's. We stopped in, relieved that we had reached somewhere. This restaurant was a popular stop along the Appalachian Trail for hikers.

The Appalachian Trail leads from Maine to Georgia. It follows along Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Smoky Mountain National Park. This restaurant had a sign-in book for hikers of the Appalachian Trail. We read a lot of random pages from this book, just reading random comments from these hikers. What a way to spend about 3 months of your life, hiking from Maine to Georgia! A lot of people just got tired of their current situations in life and "dropped out" and hiked the Appalachian Trail to clear their minds.

We found our way out and spent the night near the park and reservation. The following day we reentered the park and did some exploring, then we went into South Carolina to visit some of Mary's relatives.

From South Carolina we went to Georgia. We stopped in Atlanta and visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Museum. The museum reminded us of the Holocaust Museum in D.C. Both reminded us of how in recent human history man has been so blind in following hatred for fellow beings. The museum is emotional and educational. From there we saw his grave and did some reflecting on values and perspectives.

From Atlanta we drove into Alabama, through Montgomery, and to Evergreen, in southern Alabama to visit more of Mary's relatives. After a few days we traveled a few hours to my grandmothers in northern Florida in Crestview. I recovered there from poison oak that I caught in Alabama. It was good to see Grandma and to look through family pictures and visit the relatives of the south.

From the panhandle of Florida we drove to New Orleans. We got a motel room that just happened to be the same one that I had stayed in two years prior, then we headed out to the streets. This was around December 18. The streets were bare, and the air was cold. We walked around and went bar hopping, having plenty of hurricanes (a local favorite drink). We took a taxi back to the hotel, feeling fine, and used their hot tub at the motel.

The next morning we headed back out to the city and we went to the shore of the Mississippi where a large boat had rammed into the shore stores and was still stuck there. Then we went to the aquarium. The aquarium was wonderful, and we spent hours there mesmerized by the aquatic life.

From New Orleans, Louisiana we drove straight north, cutting right through the middle of Mississippi, then entering Tennessee (once more), but now at Memphis. So while in Memphis, we had to see Graceland, home of the late Elvis Presley. We toured the house and grounds, ate a snack at a 50's style restaurant (singing Elvis) than we headed out. On the way out I made myself a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich (Elvis's favorite). We drove through Arkansas, Oklahoma, the top of Texas, and into the middle of New Mexico, then we cut north, passing through Santa Fe and Taos. Aunt Berty lives just north of Taos. Berty lives in a straw-adobe house that she built (and is still building) herself. We spent Christmas here and also helped her mud the walls. We went to a Christmas ceremony at the Pueblo Indian Reservation in Taos. It was an educational experience for me to be sharing a celebration with a culture I had just met.

From Berty's we headed straight south, again through New Mexico, into west Texas "west of the Pecos" to Big Bend. We had just entered the park at 12:00 on January 1, 1997.