Whether or not these kinds of country bars are “your scene,” there is one thing that can be said for certain about Nashville’s Honky Tonks: they are the genuine artifact. Almost anywhere else you would encounter this kind of atmosphere, it would be a rip-off of something else. But THESE bars are the O.G.s. It was here that the “Father of Country Music” Jimmy Rogers started playing at bars almost a century ago in the 1930s. The area has gone through some ups and downs over the past 100 years, but today Broadway is enjoying multiple consecutive decades of economic growth.
Yes, if the articles on the Internet are to be believed, Music City is the place to be! Over the past few years, it has become an oft-recited fun fact that more than ~100 people are moving to Nashville each day. I can guarantee you that almost every single one of these people knows Nashville’s nickname, ‘Music City,’ and will visit Broadway—and maybe even the nearby Country Music Hall of Fame—in the first 6 months of living here.
However, very few of them will have ever heard of the other side of this coin: Jefferson Street.
With a population of only ~25,000, Newport might be better described as a “town” than a “city.” Whatever it is, it’s one of the prettiest New England places I’ve ever seen! It’s like if Boston was only Beacon Hill. Founded all the way back in 1639, it completely embodies the best of this region, with historic buildings, charming local shops, cobblestone streets, and all sorts of plaques and details on each street to remind passersby of its seafaring, colonial past. I think this place becomes quite the tourist destination in the summer, but on this cold spring day, we could walk these city streets in relative anonymity.
Founded all the way back in 1636, Providence is one of the oldest cities in America. It was founded by puritan exiles from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and would ultimately become one of America’s original 13 colonies. So, Providence is one of the O.G.s.
What is Providence like today? Well, it turns out that being the “most populous city” in the smallest state in the US doesn’t mean much in terms of population. Boston, which is less than 2 hours away, absolutely dwarfs Providence, whose population is even less than that of Worcester (“wus-tah”), MA. So, Providence is a relatively small place. However, it still manages to play an active role as a regional hub, boasting 8 major universities, including Brown, RISD, and Johnson & Wales University.
Here’s the thing about State College: it’s in the middle of goddamn nowhere. It’s notable because it’s the college town corresponding Penn State, which is one of the biggest universities in the country. And what is Penn State close to? Nothing. It’s the place that other things are close to. So we had to fly to Pittsburgh and then drive 3 hours in a rental car to get here. All that sounded like a huge hassle to me, until we got off the plane and promptly entered fall paradise. The trip turned out to be the biggest and best dose of autumn that I have gotten in a LONG time. Here are a few snapshots of the nice fall weekend that was to come.
When I arrived in Minneapolis, the one thing that I knew I 100% wanted to go see was the famous, original George Floyd mural. Ya’ll know I love street art. This is arguably the most famous mural in the world right now, so I had to make the pilgrimage. I had some vague awareness that there would be some remnants from the protests around it… but I was not prepared for what I found here.
George Floyd Square was one of the most powerful places I have ever visited. I’m not sure how long it will stay in its current form… but I hope some sort of city ordinance intervenes to preserve it this way forever. Let me show you what I saw here.
I think this post takes the cake for the farthest total distance traveled within a single street art post. These murals were SPREAD OUT. The Twin Cities is a massive place. And on this particular weekend, it was hotter than the devil’s butt crack. I hope you are reading this in a nice climate-controlled space because when I think back on this weekend… I feel sweaty.
Well, I won’t bury the lead. Let’s see some STREET ART, EH?
The Welshman Gareth Bale has been one of the most notable players in the world since the late 2000s when he transferred from Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur. This was before my days of fandom, but I think he really became a star after his 2013 transfer to Real Madrid. His is a name that American kids grew up knowing, mostly likely, thanks to the FIFA video games. He’s a big deal. But he’s getting older now and hadn’t been playing much at Real Madrid anymore, so ahead of his appearance in the 2022 World Cup, he made a surprise transfer to LAFC. Honestly, the golden age of Gareth Bale was a bit before the start of my fandom, but this was a huge “get” for MLS! You can find his insane highlight reel here.
Chush Falls (pronounced “shoosh”) is actually nestled right up against the Sisters Mountains and Broken Top. The drive to get to this trailhead was about an hour from Tam McArthur Rim, all over gravel roads. Oh, and it was absolutely STUNNING. Honestly, even if you don’t do this hike, the drive is still well worth the effort. This was already bringing me closer to these mountains than I had yet been. Looking up at the snowy slopes, I could see every little rock and wisp of cloud clearly and was able to even capture some of this with my camera. And, miraculously, the weather really was clearer over here.
This many mountains is just insane to me. Prior to this trip, this was not what I pictured when I thought of Oregon. This was downright RUGGED! And it was gorgeous. The three mountains in closest proximity to Black Butte, and to one another are the Three Sisters for which this area is named: Middle Sister, North Sister, and South Sister. All three of these mountains are sleeping volcanoes. The North and Middle Sister last erupted ~14,000 years ago and scientists think it’s unlikely that they’ll ever erupt again. However, the South Sister erupted as recently as 2,000 years ago, and could feasibly erupt again. There have been sporadic reports of volcanic rumblings deep within South Sister since 1866, and there have been a couple of minor scares since the late 1980s. Nothing has ever happened, but there is a big pot of magma a few miles beneath the peak of South Sister. Did I mention that South Sister is also the easiest of these mountains to climb? Sign me up for that!! 😵
Making our way out of the Cascades, winding through these forests was very cool, but to really understand why this region is so jaw-droppingly gorgeous, you have to zoom out. I don’t know what I expected to find out here, but it sure as hell was not a bunch of majestic snow-capped mountains! I had heard of the “3 Sisters” mountains before, but I had no idea just how large they loom over this area. Also, they’re not alone. There are a whole bunch of other peaks around them that make Central Oregon feel like a high-altitude fortress. THIS is where the Wild West still exists. Eastern Oregon/Washington, Northern Nevada, Idaho, Montana… there’s a whole lot of empty space out here. As somebody who has never lived west of the Mississippi River, it kind of blows my mind that all of this exists in the same country I live in. In the next 2 articles, we are going to get out into these mountains, so I am not going to explain much more of this right now. For now, the following gallery will have to be as mysterious to you as it was to me when I first arrived here.
