Heeding the Call of the Prairie Chickens

March 30, 2014

Day 1

Savannah to Clarksville, TN

We are on our way to the Prairie Chicken Festival in Nebraska, but hoping there will be a few adventures along the road to spark up a very long drive. 

With 550 miles behind us, we stopped in Clarksville, Tennessee, boasting a population somewhere over 140,000 and anchoring the second fastest growing metropolitan area in the country.

 

 

Our search for a few geocaches took us on a walking tour through the small scenic downtown historic district.  The Montgomery County Courthouse looked to be in amazingly pristine condition for a building built in a pre-1900s style, we thought.  A historic marker out front told the story--this star-crossed building has been rebuilt over and over again since its cornerstone was first laid in 1879.  A tornado ripped off the roof in 1884, and it was rebuilt; a fire destroyed the upper floors and clock tower in 1900, and the extensive damage was repaired; and a tornado virtually destroyed the whole thing in 1999, but four years later--on the anniversary of the tornado--the rebuilt courthouse was rededicated.  

This beautiful mural captures Clarksville’s primary landmarks. 

 

 

We dined at the Blackhorse Pub and Brewery, a popular downtown restaurant where for just $3.75 we got a beautifully presented wooden tray of generously poured samples of seven of the microbrewery’s beers--each one labeled with a brass plaque, so we could keep track of our favorites.  

  

 

Dick’s favorite was the Vanilla Cream Ale, brewed with natural vanilla bean, so that it had a distinct aroma and flavor of vanilla.  Dick described it as “alcoholic cream soda,” and my descriptor was “beer with training wheels.”  My favorite was a Black and Tan made by mixing the Vanilla Cream and a very heavy Coalminer’s Stout (which no doubt got its name from being black as coal).  There was an amazing depth of flavor stuffed into that little glass.

We have enjoyed many wine tasting flights over the years (one just this past week, in fact), but this is the first time we have ever had a beer flight tasting experience.   So, here we are, our trip has just begun, and already we have had a new adventure!