The Craft Begins

When Felix left for Afghanistan, I was faced with the long drive back from Savannah to Denver all alone.  I usually like road trips but it’s been a while since I attempted one solo.  Faced with many possibilities, I decided to take my time and take the long way back, through the sort of southern-middle of the country.  What you would probably call the Bible Belt.  It was interesting, to say the least, but I got to see and do a lot of things that I might not get to otherwise.   Here’s a quick recap of some of my trip!

In Georgia, I stumbled upon one of the oldest archaeological sites in the United States.  The people were mound builders, and you’re actually allowed to go inside and have a look around!  That is rather unheard of.  As a bonus, their visitor’s center was a shining example of Art Deco architecture.

It seemed like the middle road was also the Elvis Highway.  To get my journey started, I had to swing by the house where Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.  It was an amazingly tiny shotgun shack tucked into a small neighborhood just off of the highway.  Next came Memphis and of course, Graceland.  Now, I admire and appreciate Elvis, but I’m definitely not what you would consider a die-hard fan.  The tour of his mansion was interesting above and beyond the Elvis connection, as it was a time capsule of over-the-top 1970′s style.  Who else had a jungle room, or a den that was covered in 350-400 yards of fabric?  And the costumes, oh, the costumes.  It’s like seeing Vegas’ glory days in person.

A quick jaunt over the bridge (little known fact – I am obsessed with driving over bridges.  For just a moment, it feels like you could just drive off into the sky) and I was on my way to Little Rock.  I had a lovely breakfast with a local policeman (this always seems to happen to me) and made a point of stopping by Little Rock Central High School where segregation history was made.  I was struck by how beautiful the building was!  Puts my crappy brick high school to shame.  I also drove by the Clinton Presidential library, which is an odd piece of modernist architecture jutting out over the river.

Neck stop was the Ozarks and Hot Springs National Park.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but the town was really sort of charming!  Very vacation destination with a 1920′s flair.  They also have natural springs and spigots all over town where you can fill up on some of the nicest water I’ve ever tasted.  The most interesting part of the town was the bathhouses, however.  They lined the main street in their early 20th century glory, beckoning vacationers in for a soak and a massage.

The park service has preserved one of these old buildings for tours, and it was a fun place to run around and take lots of pictures.  There were amazing stained glass panels all over the building, as well as many of the original bath house features.  That part got a little scary.  It looked like it could be the setting for a horror film with some creative lighting.

That’s all for today – tomorrow, part II!

There’s a beautiful old cemetery in Savannah that’s covered in gravestones crawling with moss and old age.  It’s down by the river, so the ground is mostly sand and I swear a few times I thought I was going to put my foot in the wrong place and go plunging into a grave.  It really is beautiful, with all of the moss draping around the grand old trees.  I had a good time on a little photo expedition today before the mosquitoes got to me.