TENNESSEE

.....starts with Memphis, or ends with it, depending on which way you're headed. I love it that they built a pyramid. It fits, if you know that Memphis was a major city in ancient Egypt.

If you're going east, Jackson is a good place to stop. It has a railroad history, and a number of good and a couple of quaint hotels. Mostly it's cheaper than staying in Memphis, depending on where you stop. I-40 is the interstate, and it carries amazing traffic: my favorite in our private Weird Load contest is the time we ended up behind a flatbed carrying a navy gun turret. Drive carefully on this highway. You're surrounded by such behemoths. And carry a map. If someone overturns a truck, it may be a very good idea to have an idea where you can exit the superhighway and two-lane it for a few miles. Getting lost in the outback of Tennessee is not a good thing. Trust me on this.

Nashville has a copy of the Parthenon I've always wanted to see, but am always in the wrong lane, because I'm often going to Chattanooga. And the drive down past the lakes there is gorgeous.

Chattanooga is another place with, of course, railroad history---but it also has a very lovely set of attractions, from the aquarium to the often-advertised---see it on every fencepost and barn---Rock City and Ruby Falls. This is up on the heights of the mountain that overlooks the city, which was a Civil War battle site. The Read House, a major downtown hotel, has murals in the lobby and a fascinating history going back to this period. It's worth a stay...and does pretty good barbecue of the Tennessee style. I do recommend falling into the tourist trap on the hill---it's gorgeous, so bring a camera. The rock garden up there offers a spectacular view and so does the bottom of the cave in which Ruby Falls is located. It's the same temperature year round, like all caves. It's walkable, no crawling, no damage to the clothes.

The eastern end of the state is rife with caves, too, including underground lakes, and other really exotic sights.

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