A Southern Music & Ribs Road Trip! (Part II)
Leaving Memphis we were bound for Shiloh National Military Park. The first epic battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh was a bloodbath that opened the eyes of both sides to the brutality of what they were facing. The outcome of Shiloh dispensed with the old glorified view of war, and brought to bare on the opponents the reality that war was hell, and they were all walking right into it. Shiloh itself is nothing more than the location of a church in the rural hills of southern Tennessee. Both forces were racing to get to the town of Corinth, Mississippi, which at the time was a vital rail connection for the Confederates. Both sides met on April 6th, 1862, with the Union forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant, and the Confederates under the command of Albert Sydney Johnston. The Battle of Shiloh was the deadliest battle in American history up to that point, and would be remembered for history as the end to any hope of a peaceful reconciliation. Shiloh Battlefield is not really near anywhere. You have to be going there to get there, if that makes sense. You turn down some very rural backroads and eventually discover the park. To get there from Corinth you will drive up TN-22, which will bring you within about a mile of the park. When we went the Tennessee River was having an epic flood, so some of the roads there were and in the park were cut off, but the park was still open. The battlefield is enormous. Next to the visitor center is a cemetery for many of the men who died in battle there, along with veterans of other wars. Drive down to the river and see the same spot where Union forces landed to begin this invasion. Inside the center they have an informational video that is honestly one of the best I've ever seen at a park. It looks like it had a big budget, and professional actors. They also have a high-quality museum. The park itself is free, so don't worry about paying for anything. The rest of the park is a driving or biking tour. Over the thousands of acres that make up the park there are dozens of canons, monuments, statues, and memorials to honor the men who fought there. They are oddly specific monuments, like to specific detachments within a state's militia that came to fight from Iowa. Throughout the park you will also see signs describing how the fighting occurred in that specific location. Some of the signs are way deep in the woods and look forgotten to time. Drive around to sites like the Hornet's Nest, the site of the heaviest fighting in the battle. You can also see the site where Albert Sydney Johnston was killed, a death that eventually led to the turning of the tide away from the Confederates. Be careful when you are driving around, the entire park is completely full of deer. Some fields we saw had packs of deer by the hundreds, and they seemed to have grown numb to human sounds. When you are done take just a minute and reflect on what it must have been like to be a young man in your late teens or twenties fighting there. No matter the side, both groups fought bravely, which makes this a sacred site for all Americans. Leaving Shiloh we crossed through some of the worst flooding I've ever seen. Entire homes were covered in water, and I can't imagine how they would recover. For lunch we stopped in to one of the best small town restaurants we've ever visited, Lloyd's Harper Road Cafe in Corinth. One of the few restaurants that still doesn't have a website, the lunch was amazing. They had a meat and three vegetables plate that was $6, and in any major city would have been $20. I was so full, and the people were so friendly, I wanted to drive around for the day just to come back for dinner.
Leaving Shiloh, we headed towards Florence, Alabama. If you've never heard of Florence, you may have heard the area referred to by another name, The Shoals. During the late 1960's and early 1970's, this corner of Alabama became the epicenter for music around the world. Two of the most famous sound studios in the world, FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, brought in world famous acts like The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, Cher, and many more. These studios, both of which still operate today, are also open for tours throughout the day. By far the busier of the two studios in modern times is FAME. It still records on a daily basis and tours happen early in the morning. You have to reserve a spot on the tour, so call ahead to make sure they have room. The studio itself is nothing to look at, but to think of the great musicians who have wandered through the halls is impressive. The tour itself was underwhelming. The tour guide arrived late, he had little to say, and it was over in 15 minutes. That being said, it meant a lot to me as a lifelong Allman Brothers fan because this is where Gregg Allman recorded his last album shortly before dying in 2017. What made FAME legendary was the sound the house band put out. Known as The Swampers, they eventually decided to leave and create their own studio, and took many of the big name acts with them to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Located outside of town on a rural road, this small building only has one studio, but has some big history. Do you want to see where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded their original demo versions of Free Bird, Simple Man, and other songs? Well it happened at Muscle Shoals. Do you want to see where Bob Seger recorded his famous Night Moves album? It happened in the exact same spot with the exact same house band. This site is run by a trust that intends to keep the history of the music made there alive. The tour was professional, timely, and the guide answered all questions. When you are done there, drive around both Florence and Muscle Shoals. Another unique place to visit in Florence is the home of W.C. Handy, the legendary "Father of the Blues." I know, you are scratching your head in confusion because I told you we already visited his home in Memphis, and that's true. Handy apparently grew up in northern Alabama, but moved to Memphis as a grown man to have a bigger city for his music. Unfortunately while we were there the museum was closed for renovations, but if you ever have a chance to go I hope it adds to your musical adventures.
Florence was one of the coolest college towns I've ever seen. The streets are lined with restaurants and bars, all filled with live music as this area still serves as a mecca to local musicians. One of the cool places we ate in Florence was The Pie Factory. A wonderful pizza place with dozens of beers on tap, they also had live music and great service. I had a beer there before I had never heard of, a white stout. I decided to give it a shot, and I'll tell you that a white stout is a lager with a fancy name. This may have been the one dinner we had throughout the nine days that was not ribs. We did find some delicious barbecue too, ribs of course. Located on the side of the road in a small building with no more than five tables, Bunyan's Bar-B-Que was just about a block from the W.C. Handy Home, and would make a great way to end a visit. We headed home from there, but back in the land of white barbecue sauce, we added one more stop at the famous Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. These ribs were outstanding too, and capped off our week of music and ribs well. From there we headed home and found our way to bed. After about two days of a meat induced coma, we awoke to immediately go to the gym. If you haven't been able to tell from the articles, we needed to work out for an hour or twelve.
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