AN UNBELIEVABLE TWO DAYS

We rolled into Nashville, Tennessee, about 2 in the afternoon after driving most of the morning in a pouring rain. This was exactly the duplicate of last Saturday when we were coming through Atalanta, GA. Our GPS took us directly to the parking lot of the Grand Ole Opry which was our goal. We had purchased tickets the night before using the internet. We asked the security guard about parking and he said it was no problem to park there as long as we had tickets to the performance, but that we would have to leave there after the show. Marlene settled down with her book and I went to work on an update of our blog.

All the while we kept one eye on the TV watching the storm develop on a line that went directly over Nashville. I spent part of the afternoon walking through the rain to find the entrance to the theater and to pick up our tickets at will-call. Don't ask me why we decided to attend. Neither of us is a fan of country western music, but this show is a national icon. This is the 85th anniversary year. We thought it would be something we'd never get another chance to do, considering timing, distance, and everything else.

By show time, the rain had let up enough that we could walk the 10 minutes from our rig to the door. This was a huge parking lot full of cars.

The entrance is beautiful. The show was not at all what we expected. First of all the crowd is very casual. People were dressed in everything from suits to jeans and tee shirts. Many wore cowboy hats and boots. Once the show started, people were free and encouraged to take as many pictures as they wanted. We were encouraged to come down front and snap away as long as we didn't block someone else's view. Also, people would come and go from the theater to get beer, mixed drinks, snacks and whatever so there was a lot of activity going on all the time.

The show itself is a live radio broadcast that goes out over AM as well as Sirius Radio. It has always been a live radio broadcast. What that means is that the show was broken into 4 one half hour segments. Each segment had a sponsor and there would be a break in the show for the announcer to read a commercial about every 7 minutes. We would hear each commercial as it was read and during these breaks there was lots of activity on stage while instruments were hooked to amps and performers changed places. We enjoyed the experience if not all the music. What we liked best was the instrument groups playing blue grass.

The rain had stopped by the time the show ended, but started again after we reached the motor home. We moved from the lot to a spot by a vacant real estate office to hunker down for the night. We checked the weather broadcast and found there were tornado watches for the area along with severe thunderstorms and heavy rain. There were several areas of flash flooding in the city and traffic was snarled.

We woke in the morning to a heavy deluge. Inside the motor home it was a roar. I couldn't see out the front. Again, we turned on the weather channel and again there were tornado watches and severe storm warnings. Motorists were encouraged to stay home unless it was absolutely necessary. The storm band was 50 miles wide, centered directly over Nashville and extended several hundred miles from SW to NE. It was moving at 5 mph in an easterly direction. That meant we would be under heavy rain for at least 5 more hours. Already the area had received 6 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. We decided to risk leaving because flooding would only get worse if we stayed. Our route would get us out from under the storm in about an hour.

When we hit the by pass, Briley Pkwy, it was vacant. After about 5 miles a police car was parked cross ways in the lanes and we were directed off the highway onto local streets. I asked the officer if I-24 was open going north and he said 'yes just hang a right at the top and you will join up later".

After cresting the first hill we were confronted by water across the road. This one looked shallow, so we continued. There was not much else we could do.

The next one we encountered was worse. It was deeper, longer, and flowing faster. The car ahead of us made it through, so I figured we'd have no problem.

With about a half mile to go to the interchange to join I-24 we hit the worst spot. At this point a state trooper passed me as I waited to see what happened to the car in front of us.

The trooper made it and so we proceeded. During this stretch we saw one Corvette off the road, submerged over the top with only the tail lights showing. We made it safely to the interstate, offered thanks, and proceeded north.

We left the interstate at Clarksville, and headed west to drive through the "Land Between the Lakes", a National Recreation Area. The rain finally let up and it was here that we began to spot quilt blocks on the side of buildings. This was one of many we saw that were part of the National Civil War Quilt Trail.

The parkway between the lakes was like a low land Blue Ridge Parkway. No traffic and very picturesque.

By mid afternoon the sun was coming through as we crossed the Tennessee River.

Our route took us across the Ohio River, the Mississippi River and into Missouri. We were amazed that in one hour we passed from Tennessee into Kentucky, then into Illinois, and finally Missouri. Without planning it, we ended up at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers where Louis and Clark started their journey.

Tonight we are snuggly settled into a spot in a small RV park near Charleston, Missouri. We have water, 50 amp service, sewer, Verizon and At&t, and it's all for $12 a night. Some days you just get lucky.