2008 09 23 Chattanooga, TN

We are spending a few days in Chattanooga taking in Ruby Falls, Look-out Mountain and Rock City. This area has a number of historic Civil War Battlegrounds. It is a tragic reminder of the thousands of men killed during the War, on both sides - especially those who died over months and months on Look-out Mountain alone What a tragedy.

We hiked from Point Park to Chambers House and back. The mountain has incredible rock outcroppings - you could envision soldiers perched atop and behind those boulders holding their positions - a riveting thought.

It is disturbing, however, to see the SMOG hang in the air. Yes, they're part of the Smokey Mountains, but this is not humidity or oil vapor from the trees folks - it's dirty air from the coal burning power plants that drift to this area that hangs up in the mountains. Let's hope environmental changes come soon or there won't be seeing 7 states, not to mention there won't be any trees left!

2008 09 19 John Hiatt & The Ageless Beauties

This is a record for us - 4 concerts in a week!

Tivoli Theatre - Chattanooga, TN

Let's see, Boz - Levon - the Americana Awards - now John! We were sitting around the bus Friday afternoon watching the crash of the American Financial System on CNBC and thought about what to have for dinner......

Joe is flittering around on the internet and asks "How far away is Chattanooga from Nashville?" Before we could blink we were in the car heading East for a dash to the ticket office to see one of our favorites - John Hiatt. We felt like Dead Heads! The Tivoli Theater is an intimate setting that has been completely restored to it's former beauty - and a beauty it is. John and his band are as great as ever and he played song, after song, after song - all the greats we love.

What an amazing week we've had - words escape me.

2008 09 18 Americana Music Awards

We didn't go to Nashville for an awards show but thought since we we're here - we would check it out.

A 3 three hour awards program with lots of music talent was far better than we imagined. The program was hosted by two-time Americana Honors & Awards and Grammy recipient Jim Lauderdale. Award winner Buddy Miller also returned as the band leader. Special guests during the evening were Ryan Bingham, Joe Ely, The Sam Bush Band, Kane, Welch and Kaplan, The SteelDrivers, Tift Merritt, Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer, Justin Townes Earle, James McMurtry, Miller and Robert Plant, and Steve Earle and Alison Moorer.

The Awards were broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio and amazon.com. BBC 2 Radio will also broadcast the show at a later date. This was the 7th Annual Honors & Awards show and is part of the four day and night annual Americana Festival and Conference.

Winners were: Album of the Year: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant — “Raising Sand” ; Artist of the Year: Levon Helm;Duo/Group of the Year: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant; Instrumentalist of the Year: Buddy Miller; New Emerging Artist of the Year: Mike Farris; Song of the Year: “She Left Me for Jesus” by Hayes Carll and Brian Keane; Additional Lifetime Achievement Honors were given to: Spirit of Americana Free Speech in Music - Joan Baez; and Lifetime Achievement — Songwriting - to one of our favorites - John Hiatt. Jack Emerson Lifetime Achievement — Executive - Terry Lickona; Lifetime Achievement — Performance - Jason & The Scorchers
Presidents Award - Jerry Garcia; Lifetime Achievement — Instrumentalist - Larry Campbell
Trailblazer — Nanci Griffith; Lifetime Achievement — Producer / Engineer - Tony Brown.

Clearly we didn't recognize a lot of these people but all were highly admired by their fellow artists.

This was a fun evening, with lots of great music - and it's always a treat to get turned onto new music.

2008 09 17 Levon Helm at the Mother Church

This performance was as close to the infamous “Midnight Ramble” at Levon's Barn as you'll get. It was definitely a blowout at the Mother Church of country music. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, John Hiatt, Steve Earle and Delbert McClinton showed. Levon's great band, (lead guitarist Larry Campbell (ex-Dylan) and keyboardist Brian Williams,) Buddy Miller and Sam Bush.

One quote on the internet was "It was “The Last Waltz” without Canadians. "

We love Levon and really enjoyed hearing “Ophelia” and “Got Me a Woman." Levon's voice got raspier with every song but “Anna Lee,” with beautiful harmonies from Amy (Levon's daughter) and Teresa Williams was terrific.

The crowd was in complete shock when Robert Plant and Allison Krauss made an appearance for one song - we really hoped to hear more than one. Sheryl Crow performed a duet with Levon on “Evangeline” that was amazing. Another highlight was 80-year-old bluesman Little Sammy Davis, a regular at Levon's "Midnight Ramble" in his barn near Woodstock, N.Y.

On leaving the show folks were talking about what they’d just witnessed - one fella said it best -this performance was the closest we were ever gonna get to seeing the Band.

2009 09 14 Boz Scaggs at the Ryman Auditorium

Last night was another great evening with Boz. How many times have we enjoyed his music, and there was no better place to hear him live than the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Yes, they play all genres of music there, and it is hallowed ground to all musicians, and it was to Boz too.

We can hardly wait until Thursday when we get to hear Levon Helm. Wow!

2008 09 10 Mammoth Cave National Park Hike and Driving Tour

We enjoyed spectacular weather today - beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures with low humidity.

Here's a bit of information about Mammoth Cave National Park - it's located just 85 miles from both Nashville and Louisville. It is of course a National Park, a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve. The cave system has over 350 miles of surveyed passageways and is more than twice as long as any known cave. It continues to be explored for new passages.

The park is quite peaceful this time of year as crowds are non-existent and we practically have it to ourselves. Wild turkey and deer are in abundance as there are virtually no predators in the Park. Due to over population the deer are extremely thin.


After the cave tour yesterday, we decided that today we'd take a road tour and do a bit of exploring around the Park. As we headed North on Green River Ferry Road we enjoyed the scerenity of having the highway to ourselves. Our route took us across 2 river crossings - our first use of the river ferry systems (one at Green River, the other at Houchins to the West.) Dense forests of hickory, ash and oak blanket this area that is in desperate need of rain.

We then took a hike along the Green River Bluffs trail which has lots of rock outcroppings. There were all the wild turkey calls along the way to keep us entertained.

Later in the day we met with a Park Ranger for a surface tour of Flint Ridge. We found out how the park accessed its water from 3 springs that converge on Flint Ridge and how the water was then hauled by wagon to the Park hotel back in 1925.

We visited Sand Cave where amateur caver Floyd Collins captured national attention in 1925. Floyd was pinned by a boulder 60 feet below the surface of the entrance for 16 days. Floyd had been exploring the cave alone, as he had done numerous times before. As he was making his way out, his foot was trapped by a boulder. It was 2 days before his son found him, but was unsuccessful in his attempts to free him. News of his entrapment spread quickly and within a few days 10,000 people made their way to Sand Cave - most of them intoxicated - attempting to free him. Floyd's rescue was unsuccessful as he succumbed to exposure. Floyd's body remained in Sand Cave and visitors were given the option of lifing the coffin lid to take a peek at poor Floyd during their tour. Rumor has it no one ever turned down a chance to look.

The publicity surrounding Collins' death was one of the factors Mammoth Cave became a National Park. It is quite a story, and a book written about the event can be purchased at the park gift shop. It's rumored that Billy Bob Thorton is considering making a movie about Collins' life. We visited his grave site a Mammoth Cave Baptist Church. You see, when Sand Cave was connected to Mammoth Cave in 1986, the government no longer wanted to be responsible for his body, so his family had his properly burried in the cemetery at the church.

2008 09 09 Mammoth Cave, KY

A few of our photos from the Grand Avenue Tour at Mammoth Cave.

The Park Service brochure calls this tour physically demanding - but we didn't find it to be the case. It was, however, a great walk!

The tour brought us up close with amazing Gypsum-flower-encrusted walls. We also found the Frozen Niagara and Snowball Room to be pretty amazing. Huge domes and incredible open spaces underground are very unusual.

If you plan to take the Mammoth Cave tours, be sure to bring a jacket as the temperature remains a constant 54 degrees farenheight . A flashlight is also helpful - not so much to see where you're going, but to highlight the ceiling and walls of the cave as you go beyond the lighted areas.

While on the Grand Avenue tour, you will walk 4 miles over a 4 and a half hour time period. There will be a lot of narration from your guide - some interesting facts, but I would have preferred a bit more information on the geological formations. It is a great place to explore and the tour is quite comfortable.