When we wear our hair in braids it represents our ties to the
Earth and the tangible world. When we wear our hair free, we connect our Spiritual Essences to the Spirits that ride on the Wind.
Our connections to all living things are stong when we honor the truth in each part of Creation and respect the rights of all life forms to create life abundant.
West Tennessee
The land between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers is a stage rich with natural, historical and cultural drama. The biggest earthquake in American history, an 1811-12 show-stopper gave us Reelfoot Lake near Dyersburg. In West Tennessee, David Crockett lost a Congressional election and left for the Alamo in Texas. The Civil War took its toll at Shiloh, the scene of the first major battle in the
Western theater of the war. The blues may not have been born here, but the minute they learned to walk, they found their way to Beale Street in Memphis. West Tennessee was the stage for black and white musicians who turned the world on its ear. The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum chronicles this amazing story. Graceland offers an insiders look at the life of Elvis, and Soulsville reveals Stax Records’ greats like Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding.
Now it’s your turn to take the stage in West Tennessee. Walk to the National Civil Rights Museum. See the microphone Elvis sang into at Sun Studio. Take a road trip to Alex Haley’s home in Henning, where Roots began. Reel in a monster catfish at Birdsong Resort in Camden or Pickwick Landing State Park. Make a whistle-stop at Casey Jones Village in Jackson before going to La Grange, home to the best antebellum homes in the state. West Tennessee invites you to be swept away by the land between the rivers.
Middle Tennessee
You really want to get at the heart of Middle Tennessee? Then hop in the car, grab a map and just listen for the music. You’ll hear country, blues, rock… you'd expect that. But there's so much more to hear when you take the time to listen.
Like the creak of floorboards in pre-Civil War mansions along the Antebellum Trail. Or an anvil ringing at 1700s Mansker's Station in Goodlettsville. Amid the murmurs of excited antique shoppers in downtown Franklin, the faint echo of Civil War battlefields still haunt the breeze, including at Franklin’s Carter House as well as the Carnton Plantation, setting for the New York Times bestseller, Widow of the South. In quaint small towns like Pulaski and Murfreesboro, the wind carries whispers of history through museums, courthouses and recreated pioneer villages. Clopping hooves and braying mules punctuate the song of Columbia's Mule Day festival, while impromptu proclamations of love for a little chocolate and marshmallow cake are the beat of Bell Buckle's Moon Pie Festival. Head down the road to Lynchburg, where the trickle of a natural spring yields up some of Mr. Jack Daniel's world-famous sour mash whiskey.
Have a hankering for more natural music? Tennessee's got you covered with the sound of world-record bass, jumping in the placid waters of Dale Hollow Lake and Center Hill Lakes, named by USA Today in the “Top Ten Best Places to Float Your Houseboat.”
When the sun goes down, the notes flow from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium as well as the more than 100 live music clubs throughout the city, including Exit In, Bluebird Café, City Hall, Mercy Lounge, the Cannery, 3rd & Lindsley and B.B. King’s Blues Club, which showcase the talents of up and coming artists. Nashville is also home to countless major record labels, music publishers and recording studios. Fall brings the whirling lights and the screams of delight from children and adults alike at more than 50 county fairs including Wilson and Williamson and at the Tennessee State Fair in Nashville. The heart of Tennessee is singing to you just down the road, too. Can you hear it?
East Tennessee
There’s no doubt about it, East Tennessee is singing your song down from the 6,000-foot ridges in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited destination in the country’s national park system, to the shaded gorges of the Tennessee, Nolichucky and Holston rivers. Here, settlers living in rustic log cabins, worked hard and created ballads from the heart. Visitors today are welcome to tour some of their restored homesteads as they listen for the echoes of fiddles and dulcimers still ringing through the hills. Appalachian music abounds, along with rock, gospel, country and bluegrass at the 20+ live music shows featured at Dollywood, Tennessee’s premiere amusement park in Pigeon Forge. There’s music in wood craft, too, in towns, like Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, the official “Honeymoon Capital of the South,” where quality mountain crafts abound. Hear the songs of laughter as families enjoy Riply’s Aquarium and fabulous outlet shopping at Tanger’s Mall. Join with the thousands who attend shows in one of the dozens of musical theatres in East Tennessee. Dolly Parton’s home town of Sevierville even showcases 100 years of aviation history at The Tennessee Museum of Aviation or you can create your own high-flying memories in helicopter rides above the clouds. Enjoy a unique hike in the mountains with Smoky Mountain Llama Treks, where the llama's carry your stuff while you enjoy the fantastic mountain views. East Tennessee’s urban areas are diverse. Knoxville features a vibrant Volunteer waterfront district on the banks of the Tennessee River and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. In the fall, feel the energy of Tennessee Football as UT fans come alive to support our state’s favorite college pastime.
Chattanooga is ripe with attractions and adventure from the Tennessee Aquarium, the world’s largest fresh-water aquarium, to the
legendary natural wonders of Rock City and Ruby Falls. Oak Ridge brings a history all its own as the Secret City of the Manhattan Project, and now is Tennessee’s “City of Energy”. The bustling Tri-Cities area - Bristol, Johnson City and Kingsport is known as “America’s First Frontier”. Park your car at a quaint B&B in Jonesborough and listen to tall tales from our colonial past or celebrate NASCAR at the Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway where fans can even take a cruising tour down Thunder Valley, the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” track.
Outdoor enthusiasts can hear the wind sing as they hang-glide at Raccoon Mountain and thrill to the churn of white water as they raft or kayak the Olympic-quality Ocoee River in the Tennessee Overhill. For the novice, outdoor adventures include hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail, canoeing the Hiwassee or drifting over the landscape in a colorful hot-air balloon. For the avid golfer, Tennessee offers five Bear Trace courses designed by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.
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