Jess and I drove all day from Austin to Memphis on Saturday to break up our drive to Chattanooga. Neither of us had ever been to Tennessee and we didn't have much for expectations. We crossed the Mississippi into Memphis at the perfect time. We parked right next to the river and wandered around a few of the river walk/park areas and watched the sun go down. There were great breezes, lots of people out n' about, and a nice sunset. After the sun went down we walked over to Beale Street and got a nice little taste of their live music scene and had some bar food. We didn't plan our lodging ahead of time but thankfully airbnb pulled through for us with a nice little room on a moment's notice at 10:30 pm.
I decided not to post a picture of the ridiculously gaudy Bass Pro Shop pyramid but we were told there was a good view from the top. We went inside first thing in the morning and it was just a glorified retail store with a hotel overlooking the fake swamp setting inside. You had to pay $10 to go up the elevator but thanks anyways! We decided to check out the Mud Island River Walk which is a humongous, yet miniature scale model of the Mississippi River. It was a free exhibit but you could pay for a little suspended rail car to take you to the peninsula if you didn't want to walk across the bridge. Are you kidding me!? We ended up finding a huge school of fish by walking the bridge. Definitely worth it. The exhibit ended up being super cool and I'd recommend it to anyone. It's a must see if you appreciate watersheds and hydrology. Before we walked back across the bridge I had one little epiphany where I looked across the Mississippi River and imagined that the river I was seeing was the model version and that I was merely the size of ant and could imagine giants bounding across the landscape like I had done over the model.
Some friends of mine (Wander Like Water) just started a bike tour to share the story of water along the entire Mississippi. I knew there was no way they'd pass up the river walk exhibit so I decided to cache a treasure under a rock for them to retrieve when they make their way down in a month or two. Let's hope it's still there when they show up!!
Some friends of mine (Wander Like Water) just started a bike tour to share the story of water along the entire Mississippi. I knew there was no way they'd pass up the river walk exhibit so I decided to cache a treasure under a rock for them to retrieve when they make their way down in a month or two. Let's hope it's still there when they show up!!
We read great reviews about the civil rights museum and decided to head there after the river walk. Jess and I both had a moment of shock when we walked up and quickly realized that this museum is located at the motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I recognized the balcony instantly and it was pretty eerie. There is an energy surrounding that place. There is so much to see and experience at the museum and you really need a lot of time to thoroughly enjoy it all.
For lunch we went down the street to an oyster bar where Jess treated me to my first raw oysters. It was quite an experience to say the least! After lunch we drove to Montgomery Bell State Park to spend the night. Driving into the park was gorgeous. It was our first chance to take in the beautiful forests of the southeast. We set up camp and found time for an after hours dip in the lake. That evening there was a pair of owls calling and perching right above our campsite! I'm pretty sure they were barred owls but they were making some screeching sounds I had never heard before. Hot dogs on the grill for dinner and day 2 of our trip was a great success!
For lunch we went down the street to an oyster bar where Jess treated me to my first raw oysters. It was quite an experience to say the least! After lunch we drove to Montgomery Bell State Park to spend the night. Driving into the park was gorgeous. It was our first chance to take in the beautiful forests of the southeast. We set up camp and found time for an after hours dip in the lake. That evening there was a pair of owls calling and perching right above our campsite! I'm pretty sure they were barred owls but they were making some screeching sounds I had never heard before. Hot dogs on the grill for dinner and day 2 of our trip was a great success!