- Well it had to happen once at least, right?
I forgot to hit record on my GoPro,
so you missed the ride here.
I'm staying at this RV park,
I'll put the name somewhere down here,
near Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
And it's horribly cold today and it's kind of an ugly day
so I think I'm gonna do all the touring,
most of the touring of Muscle Shoals and Florence
and this area tomorrow.
It's particularly cold when you get that breeze,
you know like ugh, it goes into your bones.
Very nice folks here at the RV park.
Full hookups, very clean.
And (groans)
and I got a bunch of literature from the office, you know.
Alabama Music Hall of Fame
and 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama
and of course here we have nearby
the Natchez Trace Parkway.
So I might do a little drive on that.
The Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Sheffield, Tuscumbia.
I don't know, more music.
This is a very music town.
And there's that movie, Muscle Shoals that I haven't watched
but they have free wifi, so maybe tonight I can watch it
and visit the sites tomorrow.
We'll see.
Anyways, this is my view.
Of course one of those RV parks
where your view is the sewer hose of your neighbor.
But it is what it is.
By the way, relatively cheap with my Good Sam membership.
Full hookups, back-in for $30 even.
That's what I paid.
♪ I'm riding, riding, riding ♪
♪ Riding in my RV, my RV ♪
♪ Wherever I want to be ♪
♪ Because I'm free in my RV, yeah ♪
Well good morning.
It is 25 degrees and it feels like 18.
When did I teleport to Minnesota?
This is supposed to be the south.
Look at my car.
It is all full of ice.
Okay we're gonna wait until it thaws a little to go out.
Okay, northerners, laugh all you want,
but this south Florida man is finding this very amusing.
Not to mention unusual.
Well according to the car it's 27 degrees.
But we're starting to defrost here.
So, let's check out the Muscle Shoals.
Muscle Shoals here is the site
of two great recording studios dating back to the 1960s.
The first one was FAME.
And after 1969 the Muscle Shoals Studio.
Actually founded by FAME's original rhythm section.
Nicknamed the Swampers.
Here we are, FAME.
But they are not open yet.
So let's go across the bridge into the town of Florence.
It is remarkable
how much music actually came out of this little town
in this quiet corner of Alabama.
Some say it came from the incredible talent
of the Swampers and FAME's founder, Rick Hall.
Others point to the Cherokee belief
that a muse lived in the Tennessee River and sang to them.
They even called it Unashay, the Singing River.
In any case, lots of great music
has come out of this unlikely place.
AS we'll soon find out.
(upbeat music)
Let's go back.
Let's go back to Muscle Shoals.
FAME Studio should be open by now.
Apparently there's only one tour at 9:00 a.m.
So you know it would have been cool to show you guys,
but if they don't allow video,
it kinda defeats the purpose of being here.
So I'm gonna go to the other studio
and then we'll go somewhere else.
There are only two tours offered at this other place.
There's the Muscle Shoals Studios.
- [GPS] Your destination is on the left.
- [Robert] Oh, I think the entrance was over there.
(pop music)
Well yeah, it is obviously a working studio
and they do have a session later today,
so they are closing at three.
Hello, anybody home?
Oh I guess the main entrance is through the front.
Can you believe they left that back door open?
Someone could have gone in and stolen something,
I mean back in Miami that wouldn't fly.
But anyways, let's check out this Airstream here.
Mmm, nothing to see.
(upbeat music)
Of course they didn't allow me to video inside,
but I made this nifty slide show for you guys.
This here is the lobby area,
which is, by the way, all reconstructed, the whole studio.
The studio remained closed for over 10 years
and it was recently reopened as a tourist attraction
and a working studio as well.
This is apparently an area
where the musicians used to hang out and watch movies
on this old U-matic machine.
(retro music)
- [Woman] And so the sound was horrible and so they had to
insulate it to get the sound better.
So being four young men in their 20s,
they went to the local fabric store
and bought all the burlap they could find
and put every batting and everything up there.
And insulated the ceiling.
And then they went to the utility department
and these styrofoam things
are what your meter comes packed in.
So those were free.
So they were tickled to death.
This is all exactly like it was in 1969.
Same color, same carpet, this is it.
Because they had lots of pictures.
David made tons of pictures.
Dick Cooper from The Times.
- [Robert] And here's the toilet,
the famous toilet where Mick Jagger
of The Rolling Stones composed Wild Horses.
Many, many famous hits were played on this very piano.
- [Woman] Here, when the guys first opened,
there was no sign on the front of the building.
And when Cher released her album, she had her art department
do a sign because she wanted it to be
where she recorded her first solo album.
So when the guys saw the sign on the album,
they called and asked her could they use it.
And she said sure.
So that's how we got our 3614 Jackson Highway sign.
- Interesting. - Yeah, thanks to Cher.
(upbeat music)
- Well that was a cool tour
here of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
Still lots of anecdotes
and they mentioned the FAME Studio as well.
Which I didn't know,
it stands for Florence Alabama Music Enterprise
if memory serves.
A lot of information.
I tried to take some notes, but anyways,
let's go over the bridge again now towards Florence.
And check out the town.
(upbeat music)
The guide at the studio recommended Gun Runners Hotel
as a landmark to visit here in town.
And I think this is it.
It's supposed to be a famous boutique hotel here.
The Gun Runners.
I haven't found the hotel
but I found this very nice coffee shop.
Well that was a really good latte for sure.
I'm still looking for the aforementioned hotel lobby.
I mean this should be it.
But it's not.
Well that was a cool coffee shop.
The lady at the museum described it as a hotel.
But maybe I'm doing it wrong, I don't know.
Okay, I give up.
The other major tourist attraction here
seems to be an old railroad bridge, so let's do that.
Beautiful views of the Tennessee River from here.
And here's looking towards Florence
on the other bank of the river.
Alright, let's go under the bridge.
There's a pedestrian trail down there.
According to the sign, the old railroad bridge
dates back to 1840.
Alright, let's do it.
I can use the exercise.
(jazzy music)
Well, made it to the end.
Almost frozen to death here, but made it to the end.
Check that out.
It's the underwear tree.
Well there are shoes too.
I wonder, would this be considered art?
Happy Mardi Gras.
(jazzy music)
Well it's very cold out here.
Let's see what my phone says.
In Florence, 36 degrees Fahrenheit.
Feels like 27.
And it certainly does.
There's a little bit of wind chill.
And oh boy,
my nose, I can't feel my nose.
Alright, that was pretty cool.
The old railroad bridge.
And they even have a mural here.
(pensive techno music)
Next we are going to
the Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall.
And here we are.
But it is private property.
So let me find parking outside.
This wall, 30 years in the making is a work of love
by Tom Hendrix in memory
of his great-great grandmother's journey.
Her journey began when she and her sister
were sent to the Indian territory of Oklahoma
as part of the removal of native people from the southeast.
Her tribe, called the Tennessee River the Singing River
because they believed a woman who lived in the river
sang to them.
When she arrived in Oklahoma she said that
the rivers didn't sing to her.
And after spending one winter there,
she made the perilous trek home to the Singing River.
As things shall pass, only the stones will remain.
And here they are, to honor her journey.
(thoughtful music)
Alright.
(upbeat music)
We're gonna go for a ride on the Natchez Trace Parkway,
one of the most famous scenic drives in America
with 10,000 years of history.
And it is part of the National Park Service.
Which means no drone flying.
(pensive techno music)
Hmm, the Sunken Trace.
The Natchez Trace has been a historic travel corridor
used by American Indians, Kaintucks, European settlers,
slave traders, soldiers and future presidents.
It goes from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee.
And today we're just gonna do a very small section here
where it goes through the northwestern corner of Alabama.
What do you say, we'll do a quick hike here,
stretch our legs.
This is called Rock Springs Trail.
Rock Spring Trail.
Should have brought my hiking shoes.
Have you noticed I always forget to bring my hiking shoes?
There's a little creek.
Okay, this is gonna be a lot easier than High Shoals Falls.
Okay.
Compared to the other day this is nothing.
Well, go back.
Yeah, not much of a hike, was it?
I'm just gonna head back.
In any case, it was a nice break from driving.
Let's get back to the car.
(upbeat music)
We are about to cross the longest bridge
on the Natchez Trace, which spans the Tennessee River.
And I thought I was gonna be able
to make it all the way to Mississippi today,
but time's running out.
Here we are.
Here's a view of the bridge.
It is called Colbert Ferry Park.
Very nice.
Very nice indeed.
(bluesy music)
Well I was gonna continue but, time's up.
You know time flies on the Natchez Parkway.
And I have to get back.
Unfortunately this time of the year
it gets dark at 4:30 p.m. and it's 3:10.
- [GPS] Head north toward Mt. Hester Road, Sutton Hill Road.
Continue on Natchez Trace Parkway for seven miles.
- I'm,
yeah I'm gonna go back.
I'm gonna fly the drone once
and then
I'm gonna make me some late lunch, early dinner.
(pensive techno music)
Check it out.
They have a campground back here
at McFarland Park in Florence.
This would have been much nicer, but hey,
live to learn.
And that's all for today.
On the next video we'll visit Selma, Alabama
and the state's capitol, Montgomery.
(jazzy music)