Atlanta to Nashville
A journey of less than 250 miles, so an easy day’s drive. Head north west on Interstate 75 past the rust-coloured soil of Red Top Mountain State Park, up through the Chattahoochee National Forest and down into Tennessee and the charming riverside town of Chattanooga. Glen Miller sang about the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, and now the town’s glorious station is a hotel and the trains are bedrooms
Riverside walks through the art district atop a bluff and Civil War battle monuments atop Lookout Mountain. From here take I-24 over Mont Eagle Mountain straight to Nashville or take a detour along the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains to find Pigeon Forge, America’s factory outlet mall capital and home to Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s family fun park. Drive up to Newfound Gap for the classic hazy, purple-tinged view of the Smokies, the most popular National Park in the US. Point your car west on Interstate 40 for the 180-mile cruise to Nashville.
Nashville to
New Orleans
From Nashville take I-40 west for the pleasant, tree-lined 210-mile drive to Memphis. Stop in the city to gaze at the wide, serene Mississippi, listen to the blues as you walk down bustling Beale Street and visit the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum. But whatever you do, don’t miss Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home.
South from Memphis can either mean the fast, straight I-55, just under 400 miles to New Orleans, or the slower, meandering Highway 61, the River Road, shadowing the river on its journey south through the cotton fields of Mississippi…the legendary Mississippi Delta. Stop at little Clarksdale, home of the blues where Muddy Waters used to play on street corners, birthplace of John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner and Sam Cooke.
Visit Vicksburg’s Civil War memorials then call in at pretty Natchez, sitting on a bluff above a bend in the river. Cross over into Louisiana and visit Baton Rouge, the state capital. From there it’s an easy drive down I-10 past the bayous and swamps to the heart of the city.
New Orleans to Atlanta
From New Orleans head east, swiftly passing into Mississippi. I-10 takes you along the sultry coast for less than 100 miles, past evocative Gulfport and Biloxi, before crossing into Alabama, for a 30-mile hop up to Mobile, a busy port and one of the state’s oldest cities. Take a 50-mile detour east and you’re in Florida at the historic seaside resort of Pensacola. Back to Mobile then I-65 takes you across Alabama, past Montgomery, about a 250 mile run, before reaching Georgia.
American Trails music editor Donivan Berube and photographer Robert Lindholm took a 7-day road trip through the historic recording studios and musical tool sheds of Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans in search of residence in Southern rhythm. Read the article on americantrailsmag.com.