NOV. 11, Tuesday, to Natchez Trace Parkway and Corinth, Mississippi
It rained overnight and it’s still threatening. We were on the road by 09:25 a.m. We drove south on I-65 then 155 to Hwy 70 where we turned West and it eventually went into Hwy 100. We then turned south on the “Natchez Trace Parkway” and the adventure began. There wasn’t much to the beginning which is actually the end of the trail. All literature say to start at Natchez, MS. Anyway, the highway was superb and the scenery awesome. Our first stop was at the Old Trace Trail where we walked the trail and lived history. It was so serene and beautiful. We could have gone on but the rest of the trail called. Our next stop was the Tennessee Divide where in the 1800’s this was the end of the USA and the beginning of the Chickasaw Indian territory. We had an overlook of the valley which was picture perfect.
Our next stop was an old Phosphate Mine where we saw an old abandoned mine shaft and a rail track bed called a “DINKEY LINE” in those days. Tucker loved all these little walks especially since he was running free. We then stopped at the MERIWETHER LEWIS Memorial and burying ground. He died here in a mysterious way in this lonely but serene and beautiful place. There is a monument for him and his body is buried below it. He was part of the LEWIS & CLARK Expedition to the West Coast.
We then stopped at the Steeler Iron Works where pig iron was manufactured in the 1820’s We went by the “McGlamery Stand”. “Stand” meant an Inn in those days. Then we stopped at the “Sunken Trace” where mud was really bad when it rained so the pioneers built different routes to circumvent this and which we could see to this day.
We finally entered Alabama, crossed the Tennessee River and stopped at the “Colbert Ferry Crossing” where Chief George Colbert of the Chickasaw Indians ran the ferry to cross the river. This was considered the worst place on the trail as Chief George was a real robber and charged exorbitant prices to cross the river. He had total control over the ferry and the only one on the trail. He was half Indian and half Scots…what a combo!
Our final stop was the Buzzard Roost Spring where we saw a pretty little water source coming out of a hillside. It was a favorite waterhole in the days of the Trail.
We exited the Natchez Trace at Hwy 72, Alabama, drove West to Corinth, Mississippi, where we fuelled @ $2.97/Gal and then stopped for the night at Corinth RV and Gun Club, a P.A. park and paid $15 for the night. We will be back on the Trace next Saturday. Now it’s time to see Graceland.
I have started a new folder in my Picasa link call: “#28 NATCHEZ TRACE” Check it out!
NOV. 12, Wednesday, to Memphis, Tennessee
It is raining this morning and it looks like it’s going to last all day. We really can’t complain as this is the first day of rain we have since leaving Quebec on Oct. 20
We packed and left around 10:30 a.m. and by then the rain had stopped. We drove on Hwy 72, a 4 lanes highway. The scenery was mainly farm fields and rolling hills. The hwy took us slowly north-east to Memphis. We crossed into Tennessee about an hour and half later and arrived at our campsite a half hour later. We are actually in Germantown, a suburb of Memphis and are staying at the Memphis Agri-Centre RV Park. Cost is $25 per night, full hook-up and WI-FI. We are here for 3 nights. There is a farmer’s market here, open on week-ends and the Centre is having an auto show this week-end. We won’t be here to see those however.
After setting up, we drove to the Wal-Mart, a mile from here, and got some groceries. As we drove home, it began raining again and it poured all evening long. I had to take Tucker in that stuff to do his “thing”. Thank goodness for umbrella but the poor little guy got soaked. He didn’t seem to mind though!?
N 35* 07’ 36”
W 089* 48’ 06”
Alt: 305 feet
Av. Speed 46 MPH
Dist. Today 123 KM
NOV. 13, Thursday Graceland
It is foggy this morning and it pretty well stayed like that all day. We went to Graceland today. We drove to the West side of Memphis and got off on Elvis Presley Blvd from I-55. We stopped at an Info Centre and met a really neat senior lady with tons of information. She was quite spunky for her age with a very nice sense of humour. We left there and drove to Graceland a couple miles down the road.
Graceland was quite a neat place but really touristy and commercialize. We parked across the street from Graceland, bought our tickets and went on the bus that took us across and to the house. From there, we went in and toured the place. We basically saw everywhere except the upstairs which is private. We went outside on the grounds and saw the building where his father had his office and also the building which used to be a racquetball court but turned into a museum after his death.
We also saw his burial place including his parents and his stillborn brother. It was very well done. It made us reflect on life and his life and what it all meant to each of us. It was touching.
We returned to the main area across the street, had lunch then visited the other 3 museum which included his car collection, his stage suits & movies and his career in the army.
From here, we drove west to the Mississippi River and visited the Chucalissa Museum which is an archeological site of an Indian village dating back to 1000 A.D. The museum contained artifacts from that era and we also were able to visit the laboratory which was really interesting. There were stones, bones and tools and vases they found on the site.
Outside, there is a huge mound which was a place where they built their village. The whole place is run by local Indians who were more than happy to share their knowledge. It also helped that we were the only one there at that hour (4;45 p.m;)
You can see all the pictures in folder # 29 Graceland (136 pictures) and #30 named Memphis which is all the pictures not taking at Graceland. Enjoy them!
NOV. 14, Friday, to Memphis city
Today is Vanessa’s Birthday, my grand-daughter. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS! We called them but the only person at home was Graeme, my grand-son who was just walking out the door and heading for a show in Vancouver. What a busy life they lead. We will call back later
Anyway, today was cloudy all day but warm. I got up early and took the truck to Dobb’s Ford dealership to have the throttle switch looked at again as it was acting up again and was much worse this morning. Almost three hours later, I drove out of there with a new Throttle switch which was under warranty so no cost to me. Came back home and noted that it ran much better. We went to downtown Memphis in the afternoon and visited Beale Street where Blues and Rock & Roll was born. The whole street was alive with music and lots of bars and clubs.
We parked by the visitor centre near the Mississippi River and took a trolley into town. We bought a day pass for $3.00 and had a wonderful time. We had lunch at BB King club then walked Beale street and lived the atmosphere.
We took the trolley further into town and walked some more then came back to our truck and came home without any further glitches. Miss daisy took us a different route which was Ok but sure glad we didn’t have “Q” hooked up at the back. Makes me wonder how she really functions!?? Anyway, the scenery was good and we enjoyed a different way home.
Tomorrow, we move out back to the Natchez trace Parkway and Topelo. Looking forward to that.
As stated before, all the pictures have been downloaded to folder 29 GRACELAND and folder 30 MEMPHIS. Enjoy!!
No comments:
Post a Comment