Tennessee Waltz

We crossed the mighty, muddy Mississippi last Thursday and settled in at a lovely site in T.O.Fuller State Park in Memphis. Since they had raised their rates and eliminated the senior discount, we stayed two nights instead of three, but we packed a lot into those two days.

First we ran down to Tunica, MS to check out the big casinos in the middle of nowhere. They were having their 15 year anniversary and I was sure I was there more than 15 years ago. I guess not. The Hollywood is my favorite with all the movie memorabilia. It did seem a bit dustier than the last time. My favorite was the sinking Titanic.

We tried to find a cheap buffet, but they're only for people who actually gamble. Oh, well.

Then I dragged Ron to one of my all-time favorite tourist attractions. It took me three trips through Memphis before I finally saw it a few years ago. Once, it was closed for the season, once it was on a Monday when they're closed, and the third time was the charm.

The adventure begins with a monorail ride from downtown, across the Wolf River, to Mud Island.


The trip takes less than two minutes!


Then for map lovers like me, the 'piece de resistance,' a half-mile long topo model of the Mississippi River. I just love this and, fortunately, Ron liked it too.


For those inquiring minds, here is the sign explaining this wonderful Mississippi Riverwalk. In short, the scale is 30 inches to the mile with a vertical scale of 1 inch to 8 feet. There are lots of signs explaining points of interest along the way.


The major cities along the river are also depicted. Here's Memphis.


And here's the Mississippi Delta and the Gulf of Mexico which seems to be populated with dragons.

Oh, and they also have a very nice Mississippi River Museum. You get all this for the very reasonable price of $8 ($6 for seniors)!!!!! Surely one of the best bargains today.

The same cannot be said of Graceland. We decided to pass on seeing that after checking out the prices. First of all, it's $10 to park. Then the tickets start at $28 just to see the house and go up to $69 for the works. And for another $15 you can also tour the stables. What a ripoff!

I saw it years ago and must say it was pretty entertaining. I'm not the biggest Elvis fan, but the 70's decor is really something. I think my favorite was the pool room which had dizzying material all over the walls and gathered on the ceiling. You just don't see that anymore.


After Memphis, we moved on to Jackson, TN, home of the legendary Casey Jones. Everyone has heard the story about how Casey Jones died a hero trying to stop his train before it hit a stopped train in his path. I always wondered why he didn't just jump to safety like his fireman did - after all, it was just a train. Well, what I never heard was that he was running a passenger train and he managed to slow the train enough that his was the only life lost in the accident. That truly was heroic.

At the Casey Jones Museum is a replica of Casey's engine on that fateful night.


Near Jackson is Pinson Mounds State Archeological Park, the site of prehistoric mounds built almost 2000 years ago. Believed to be ceremonial, this is the second highest mound in the United States. Because of the huge trees, it doesn't look 72 feet tall.


Until you climb all the steps to the top.

Because it was built before shovels, Native Americans probably used the shoulder blades of deer to scoop dirt into a woven basket which they carried to the mound. It is estimated that the dirt required to build this mound would fill a line of average-sized dump trucks stretching over 26 miles. Wow!

Today we moved to Paris, TN where we saw the Eiffel Tower. Funny, I thought it was bigger.


And visited the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge at Kentucky Lake. Today's big sighting was a pair of Summer Tanagers and, on a less happy note, our first ticks of the year.