Southern : Taos - Santa Fe - Austin - San Antonio - Lafayette - New Orleans - Clarksdale - Memphis - Nashville - Asheville
28 September - 18 October 2017
28 - 29 September - Taos - Santa Fe, NM
Sad to be leaving some of the most beautiful places on earth but the southern states with their food & music beckon.
We started by driving halfway across New Mexico, past hundreds of gas wells (coal or shale) and gas storage depots in a beautiful valley, to the high altitudes of Taos. America's highest ski slope and the Rio Grande (river) famous in cowboy movies are nearby. Kit Carson is a famous son of the town.
Taos is a picturesque town with lots of adobe buildings.We had dinner at the Stage Brush Inn and ate delicious tacos to the sound of a very good blues singer/guitarist. We stayed overnight in the Tourist Office carpark.
Next day we drove to the bridge across the mighty Rio Grande and then enjoyed wandering round town while we waited for visiting hours at one of the oldest Spanish mission churches in the US - built 1772-1812. We then took the scenic route to Sante Fe stopping for lunch in a cute cantina near Penasco. We also visited the catholic pilgrimage site El Santuario de Chimayo with its healing dirt.
That night we stayed in Black Canyon; a leafy but damp free-camp 8 miles outside Santa Fe.
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| One of many gas storage depots servicing dozens of wells | Heading towards the snow country again | Taos main street |
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| Blues artist at Sage Brush Inn in Taos | Walked across the mighty Rio Grande | Taos street scenes |
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| One of the finest (& oldest) Spanish mission churches | Lunch at a cantina near Penasco on back road to Santa Fe | |
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| The grounds of El Sanctuario de Chimayo | Near where we stayed outside Santa Fe |
30 Sep - Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe is again a very cute place but much bigger than Taos. It is said to be the most livable place in the USA. There is a lot of adobe achitecture and the Plaza (its central park) is very pretty. Our first stop was the large Santa Fe Railyard Artisan market.
We visited the cathedral and were lucky enough to see a wedding party emerge with mariachi band in full swing. Great moment - joy abounding
We then headed early to Canyon Rd where bars & boutiques flourish. We stopped at El Faro (the cities oldest bar) to try to get tickets for the weekly flamenco show that night but they were sold out. When we told them that we were Ozzie tourists there for the day they booked us standing room any way - so nice.
We spent the afternoon at Canyon Rd browsing eating & drinking. When we returned for the show that night they insisted on giving us a table.
We returned to Black Canyon for the night.
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| Outside Santa Fe artisan market | Mariachi band leading the wedding party & guests to the cathedral | San Miguel chapel - oldest in USA (1710) |
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| Lunch at Canyon Rd with Marguerita | Dinner & excellent flamenco at El Faro |
1 - 4 October - to & in Austin, TX
Long drive today but couldn't resist a sign saying "Quakers meeting all welcome". We went into the house & were warmly welcomed by the small group. We all sat in a circle and prayed silently but there was no quaking. No talking allowed. We left silently after 45 minutes.
We drove for the rest of tha day through the Texas panhandle & overnighted roadside in tiny Lamesa. The constant flow of extraordinarily long trains every few minutes in the open countryside was the only thing of interest.
After leaving Lamesa we were again struck by the large number of gas extraction wells, storage tanks and oil pumps. As a sign of change we also drove through a number of massive wind farms. We drove all day to a truck stop outside Kerrville (with its giant cross on the hill) - almost to Fredericksburg.
Fredericksburg is a delightful old German town - beautifully maintained as you'd expect. Outside town Steve noticed a dammed creek beside the main road so took the opportunity to wash the sweat & grime off. Soon after, we saw a rural gun shop so wandered in for a chat. A very strange conversation ensued - full of contradictions in support of legalisng automatic weapons & silencers.
After driving along 6th St (the entertainment hub) in Austin we checked out our chosen free camp next to the river in town. Perfect; so Steve had a swim/wash then we went out to the Broken Spoke - a famous Texan honky tonk - to eat, drink and enjoy some Texan music. Brilliant! The old venue, the music , the crowd, the dancing - all great. We headed back late to our riverside stop.
Next morning we did a guided tour of the Texan Capitol building. We learnt heaps and forgot most. Being now of a cultured mindset we visited the Texas Uni museum and saw a reeeeeally old bible amongst other things.
That night we hit another classic music joint - the Continental Club. Great place - dilapidated, full of atmosphere. Apparently these original venues are not subject to fire & other safety regulations as it would be too expensive to make them compliant. Late that night we returned to our riverside spot.
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| One of the prolific, super-long container-carrying trains | The old (oil pump) and the new (windfarm) juxtaposed | Fredericksburg shop |
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| Fredericksburg Main St | Impromptu bath time | Another impromptu visit |
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| 6th St - the music & bar centre of Austin | The Broken Spoke honky tonk bar | Overnight free camp (twice) in Austin |
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| 2 views of the central atrium of the State Capitol | Robbie loved this Blue Jay in the park surrounding the Capitol | Robbie with St Jerome's bible (15th century) at Texas Uni |
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| Inside the Continental |
5 Oct - Lockhart & Gruene, TX
First stop for an early lunch was the famous Black's bar-b-que at Lockhart. We enjoyed pulled brisket - whatever that is - in a classic old dive.
Next stop was Gruene Music & wine festival. Really quaint town & the festival was excellent. It started with music outdoor under water misters and ended up in the classic Gruene Hall for a dance. This is Roy Orbisons home town so we heard a bit of his music that night.
We stayed overnight in another beautiful free-camp spot next to the river outside town. We managed a swim/bath therein.
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| Dinner stop in Gruene | Amazing general store. The afternoon outdoors concert | Gruene Hall waiting for dancers |
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| Gruene Hall bar waiting for drinkers | Gruene Hall in full flight | This is our idyllic overnight free camp |
6 Oct - San Antonio, TX
What a lovely surprise is San Antonio. It's the Brugge of America as it has a large canal system all developed for dining & entertainment.
It was very hot so we spent some time walking along the canals before diverting for a visit to the Alamo. We quickly returned to the canal though for refreshments.
That night we headed out of town to see Willie Nelson play at the legendary John T Floors Country store. We didn't know what to expect of either the octogenerian playing or the really old venue. We got there early to beat the rush as there is only street-side parking. We parked right outside & had a nanna nap.
We had a great time. Even the long queue time was fun as the people around us were very friendly (seems normal for Texans). As we were near the front of the long queue we got to stand at the front of the back (standing room) and got a great view. All outdoors of course as it rarely rains. The sellout crowd just adored their home town hero but musically he's past it.
After the show we slept where we'd parked, outside. Thankfully the large crowd dissipated quickly leaving us in peace.
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| San Antonio canals | ||
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| Tour barge with guide | Lunch & marguarita by the canal | The Alamo |
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| Nearly first into the show with our new queue friends | Everyone in front sitting for the support act | Not for the 'real thing' though |
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| The man himself | The bar at the show |
7 - 8 Oct - Lafayette, LA
We loved Texas and Texans so were sad to leave but Louisianna is a pretty good lure. It was a long drive so we started before dawn as we needed to be in Lafayette for dinner. During the drive we had confirmed to us that things are big in Texas for instance servos, flyovers, rivers, freeways.
First stop in Louisiana was Randals in Lafayette for some southern vittals, Cajun/Zydeco music and southern dancing. We loved it and free-camped nearby in a beautiful park with heaps of hanging moss.
Next day we attended a massive conservative, pentecostal church then headed to Vermillionville - a restored Arcadian/Creole village. It was good and we even met a young Cajun who is the last young'un to learn the language, so it's dying out. However we really were there for the regular Sunday afternoon dance and cajun music.
To finish the day well we drove to the Blue Dog for more music & dance, another run down honky tonk. The lady at the door wouldn't let us pay as we were Aussies, who she loves. The music was great and the locals even showed Robbie some dance moves. Great night. We loved Lafayette.
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| Big Houston servos | Big Houston flyovers | Big Houston freeways |
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| Big river | A feast at Randals | Followed by dancing at Randals |
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| Memorial to a murdered policeman | Our free camp in a Lafayette park | Church on Sunday |
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| Vermillionville | The famous Sunday arvo dance at Vermillionville | Music at the Blue Dog |
9 - 11 Oct - New Orleans via the delta plantations
We took the long road to New Orleans through the southern delta area - via New Iberia. Part of the reason was to go on a boat ride through the bayou but we found out on the way that it was cancelled.
The whole area seems pretty poor with lots of trailer homes and it seemed incongruous to see large ex-plantation antebellum homes.
New Orleans was of course great for music. We stayed 2 nights at a van park (for security) - one night for Bourbon St and the other for Frencham St.
We went to the Cafe du Monde for baignettes (as you do) and were captivated by father & son buskers outside. We only had one full day there and spent that in Willie May's Scotch House (fried chicken), beautiful City Park and riding trams around the Gardens area.
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| Crossing the Mississippi | All cemeteries here are above ground | Antebellum glory |
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| Evergreen plantation | The bright lights of raucous Bourbon St in NOLA | A brilliant soul band in a Bourbon St bar |
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| Leftover skeletons, etc from Halloween litter this mansion's lawn | Charles St tram | City park |
12 Oct - Clarksdale, MS
We left NOLA via the 20km long Lake Pontchartrain causeway on a 7 hour drive through the Mississippi delta to Clarksdale. We're leaving Louisiana for Mississippi. No hills, lots of waterways and cotton was the order of the day.
Clarksdale is falling down. You expect tumbleweeds to blow past. But the musical heritage lives on. We went to Ground Zero blues club - a really old, decrepit place full of atmosphere - now part owned, hence salvaged, by Morgan Freeman.
Driving into the hill country & leaving the flat delta area was nice as we haven't seen hills since Texas. Cooler too.
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| Cotton harvesting | Dined at Abe's at The Crossroads, delicious pulled pork rolls | Ground Zero blues club |
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| Where Robert Johnson sold his soul to be the best | Inside club zero |
13 - 14 Oct - Memphis, TN
At Memphis we went straight to Elvis Presley's mansion & museum, and were underwhelmed. That night more then compensated as we went to Beale St. This is the best community of music joints we've seen. It is closed to traffic every night, like Bourbon St but not as seedy, with a tremendous range of music.
We overnighted in a park then went on a heart wrenching tour of The National Civil Rights museum, built beside the motel where King was murdered by a sniper. It was fascinating in a bleak way as it highlighted so much persecution. Besides the impact of the preserved murder scene, the attached museum was very moving & informative.
We then went to Stax Museum of Soul Music. This place started soul (ie secular gospel) music and was the most influential label after Motown. Its incredibly rich cooperation between black & white musos was shattered though with the murder of King. It houses many momentos along with the original recording studios. Not wasting any time we then went to the Memphis Tigers college football game. Huge crowd, great fun with not as much action as any of our footy codes. We sampled the traditional junk food.
Of course, that night we returned to Beale St for another bout of great venues & music. We overnighted in a residential street near Al Green's church and the next morning went to the morning service & pre-service bible study. Al is the archetypal black pentecostal preacher.
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| Elvis preley's house in Memphis | Elvis' Cadillac | Fabulous Beale St, Memphis |
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| Dinner in Beale St | Our favourite act on night 1 - at Coyote Ugly bar | The lifebuoy marks where Marting Luther King was murdered |
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| The gold cadillac of Isaac Hayes at Stax Museum | Memphis Tigers college game | Another night, another venue in Beale St |
15 Oct - Nashville, TN
We arrived in Nashville late arvo so went straight to the entertainment hub - Broadway. Great place but as it is a wide street with much traffic it lacked the feel of Memphis or New Orleans. Enjoyed venue hopping but definitely need to spend more time next time as we were here just one night.
Next day we did a tour of the Grand Ole Oprey which was excellent. We left immediately for Asheville in North Carolina on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway
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| Where we heard the Redneck song | In the green room at the Grand Ole Oprey | Grand Ole Oprey |
16 - 18 Oct - Asheville, NC
As we arrived late in this stronghold of Bluegrass music we went straight to dinner and some trad bluegrass. The format was unexpected as the jammers sat in a circle facing inward & totally ignored the audience. That night we parked beside a softball ground in the 'burbs'. It was cold in those Appalachians .
Next day we drove down to a lovely park by the river and cleaned the van, rested and talked to a literally crazy, bible wielding theist. Steve braved the cold river for a swim/wash.
That night we enjoyed a really good bluegrass band at Isis Music Hall and returned to the softbal ground to sleep.
Next day we spent driving much of the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The colours were just starting to change & some of the mountain scenery was nice but it was not particularly interesting.
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| Checking the menu while the band plays on | This was more like it | Blue Ridge Parkway |