The Other Side

The entire downtown is being redeveloped but the trolleys are staying

Rollin' on the river

A great art museum with a complete collection

While Memphis is a raunchy, “happening” city at night, it does have another side. Memphis’ Brooks Museum of Art is one of only 3 US venues to present the "Pissarro – Creating the Impressionist Landscape exhibit". This touring exhibit explores Pissarro’s transformation from his early works to the development of his Impressionist style and, is very well done. The museum is located in a leafy neighbourhood of palatial homes on wide boulevards, all surrounded by the Galloway Golf Course, an established, rolling terrain, unique in the flatlands of Memphis. No blues musicians (or BBQ) for miles!

Cruising the Mississippi, one is taken by the 8 knot current and the huge rafts of barges plying the waterway. Some of the largest “tow boats” on the lower Mississippi (which oddly enough PUSH the rafts) can have engines to 10,000 horsepower and handle up to a maximum of 60 barges rafted together. One barge can hold 1500 tons of cargo or, the equivalent of 60 tractor trailers. If you do the math, a very large tow boat can propel the equivalent of 3600 tractor trailers or, a bumper-to-bumper line of trucks 35 miles long. Now THAT’S efficient!

Memphis has an interesting history full of triumph and disaster. In addition to all the Civil War stories, there was the decade long Yellow Fever epidemic of the 1870’s which killed ¼ of the citizens; the formation of the NAACP in Memphis; the automation of many cotton growing and processing techniques; several horrific floods and; the sinking of the “Sultana” which, contrary to popular opinion, was the single largest loss of life in a maritime disaster …….. ever. (Move over Titanic and Lusitania). The Sultana was a Mississippi paddlewheeler, designed to carry 376 people, but loaded with approximately 2,000, mostly freed Union soldiers liberated from Confederate prisoner-of-war camps. A boiler blew up just north of Memphis causing the loss of about 1,700 lives. A terrible tragedy then; an interesting trivia fact today.

After a bit of a “snow delay” in Denver, we flew back to Salt Lake City to find everything as it was left. It’s time to start seriously heading south!

Ground Zero

Around Clarksdale, the fields are "littered" with 1000's of bales (called modules) of cotton, each the size of a tractor trailer

Ground Zero Club - outside / very classy!!!

Ground Zero Club - inside / fried catfish with turnip greens and fried ocra ........ when in Rome ......

Beale Street - Friday night - Can't you just FEEL the LOVE

One cannot "walk the street" without a "traveller"

More blues performers have come from the Mississippi delta than all other states combined. The crossroads of the Mississippi blues scene is Clarksdale, home to the “Ground Zero” blues club and, where legend has it that blues superstar Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in order to play the blues. The Ground Zero club is now owned and actively managed by actor Morgan Freeman and, to his credit, he hasn’t touched a thing. To say that this club is a “dive” is giving it far more prestige than it deserves but …………… it’s where it all started! The early blues performers honed their skills around Clarksdale then headed off to Memphis, Chicago or New York to record and seek fame and fortune.

Returning to Memphis, we drove into the town of Tunica, Mississippi, population 10,000. Tunica benefits economically from the many Mississippi casinos scattered around the area but, for a Brockvillian, the draw is Tunica River Park. This Mississippi River interpretive centre (any of our Brockville friends beginning to “get it?”) is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! It is precisely what the planned “Tall Ships” project in Brockville could be ……….. with tons of money! The audio / video presentations are particularly well done. In one, we descended (virtually) to the bottom of the Mississippi in an antique diving bell. Considering we were looking at 3 A/V projections, the sensation was remarkable. Have a look at http://www.tunicariverpark.com/ and, trust me ………….. the centre is far better than the web site. On the web site, take the “360 Tour” and click on the “Go” signs allowing a 360° tour of the interior.

Then there was Friday night on Beale Street – what we came for! One must see it to believe it; blues bands everywhere, in the clubs, down alleys and in the parks. And, the people-watching is better than anywhere! Friday is THE night in Memphis.

Back to the Blues (Cheating again too!)

We have now seen where Martin Luther King was born, lived and died. An amazing man; an amazing life!

Even the Smithsonian thinks this stuff is important. We visited their Memphis Rock & Soul Museum last year

It's either Beale Street or a neon convention

Man ....... THIS is what it's all about!!

The Lorraine Motel, scene of the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has become, with significant additions, the National Civil Rights Museum. Dr. King was in Memphis in support of the Sanitation Workers strike and, was gunned down by James Earl Ray at the motel. To this day, controversy surrounds Ray as to whether he acted alone or not. This museum is a “must see” for anyone visiting Memphis. Very powerful!

The Stax Records Museum outlines the history of the first integrated R&B record label and, their numerous recording stars. Together with Sun Records, they made Memphis the centre of Blues and R&B music recording. There are amazing parallels between the growing civil rights movement and the acceptance, by mainstream America, of “black music” in fact, the death of Martin Luther King also became the death knell for the “black recording industry” in Memphis. By 1975 Stax Records was out of business. But, the music lives on!

We flew to Memphis, which is not exactly on the way to Salt Lake City but, what the hell, you only turn 60 once and, I wanted to return after spending a few days here last year. Brenda thoughtfully agreed. We’re actually getting quite good at NOT using the RV on our RV trip. (I think Brenda secretly likes the Blues as much as I do). The same acts are playing the same clubs on Beale Street so, life is good.

When you consider that Memphis is the most dangerous city in North America, measured by crime per capita, we have found it to be very friendly. When we were walking down a back street, looking very “touristy”, seeking an alley down which is to be found the best BBQ restaurant in town, a parking lot attendant saw us coming ½ block away, stood up, and pointed down the alley. He knew where we were going! Not so scary!!

This city has many areas much like Detroit, with skeletal buildings and slum accommodations however, there is a vibe to the place that even the cab drivers seem to sense. Much investment is being made in refurbishing entire neighbourhoods and, although the downtown has a way to go, pedestrian malls and antique trolleys are being employed to bring the people back. I definitely want to return in 5 – 10 years. Maybe NOW is the time to invest in real estate……….. hmmmmm ………. possibly a nice little blues club!

One Great Drive

Maybe leave the 12' 9" tall RV at home

Slow driving is required for 2 reasons: the road is twisty and, so you don't hit all the wildlife

Mount Rushmore is perfectly framed in one of the tiny tunnels on the road

They're called Pigtail Bridges and they are used to climb hillsides employing 360+ degree turns and wooden trestle bridges allowing the road to cross back over itself

Herds of wild marauding mules begging for cookies (only good stuff please!)

The end of the road!

The Iron Mountain Road is only about 17 miles long but, it takes approximately 45 minutes to drive. It is rated as one of the “Ten Top Drives” in the US. The road twists and turns over the Black Hills from Custer State Park to the town of Keystone at the base of Mount Rushmore. Along the way one is subjected to vistas looking out over the Black Hills but, there is so much more. We took the road to have one last view of Mount Rushmore in the morning light (the best time) on our way to the airport. The only way to indicate why this road is so highly rated is with pictures. Have a look.

By the way …………… we’re home. We’ll pick this back up in a couple of weeks!!

Cheating!!

Brenda gets to Mount Rushmore

No developers will be digging basements here anytime soon!

There are herds of Mule Deer and Pronghorns everywhere .......... and these guys!

Grasslands to the horizon

Brenda has always wanted to see Mount Rushmore although, after living with a “blockhead” for 36 years, one wonders why? But, I wasn’t crazy about driving all the way east to South Dakota and then angling south from there. That would likely add close to 1000 miles to our trip and possibly subject us to some significant snow in some significant mountains. So after asking ourselves, “what would Dr. Phil do?” (if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale), we decided to compromise. To fly home we have to fly right over South Dakota consequently, we decided to pop down for a couple of days, see Mount Rushmore and the Dakota badlands and continue the flight home on Wednesday. It’s not the same as taking the RV there but …….. it’ll do. Everybody wins!!

After seeing “the heads” at Mount Rushmore, we arrived at the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota (are you sensing a theme here?), an historic, old, “woodsy” hotel, often frequented by past Presidents and, once used as Calvin Coolidge’s summer White House. Lot’s of ties to the past. This is the land of Custer, Crazy Horse, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane; all local heroes. And, the town of Deadwood, the last gold rush mining town in North America, is mere miles away.

South Dakotans claim that their badlands are badder’n those in North Dakota. We’ll have to take their word for it. The badlands have an almost lunar feel to them. They are beautiful in a stark and inhospitable kind of way ……. if that makes any sense. We have decided that, as tourists go, we are two easy marks. We love it all!! South Dakota is so uniquely different from anything else we have seen, it will be a memorable part of our trip, even if we cheated to get here!

Rainy Day

When we wake up in the morning we see that the snow has been inching its way down the mountains

Homework .......... at my age???

It is actually nice to have a quiet day once in a while. We do love to be moving and exploring but, when the weather says “take a break”, we listen. Some days we have been out early and back late. Not yesterday! Strong winds, which blew up dust storms out in the dry lake bed areas, were a precursor to a weather change which brought an “all-day” rain, sorely needed in the area. Today is back to sun, warmth and exploring.

Because we are traveling we are not immune from the requirements of “home life”; paying bills, washing clothes, etc. Yesterday was the day. Also, I have enrolled in a distance learning program in Viticulture from UC – Davis. The odd rainy day allows me to stay on top of that. Meanwhile, I think Brenda has memorized every word of “1000 Places to See Before You Die”. Rainy days have their place.

Tomorrow, we are heading to South Dakota on the way home.

Salt Lake City

A great view at lunch - The LDS temple (with spires) in the foreground constructed between 1853 - 1893 with the domed Tabernacle in the background (built in 1867). I suspect that the shiny metal roof is a modern embellishment

One of Brigham Young's 2 homes. Not too shabby for someone who just crossed half the continent in an Ox cart.

Since I left my camera at home, I had to grab this picture of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from the Internet. It's exactly what we saw.................. and heard!

Remember those smog inversions I mentioned a few days ago?

Salt Lake’s downtown is dominated by LDS church buildings, all with a unique and artful architecture, creating a homogeneous, open, airy city, surrounded by mountains ……… very “visual”. The Mormon history and their accomplishments since arriving in Utah are admirable and, much celebrated. I wouldn’t mind having the men’s “white shirt” franchise for Salt Lake City ….. everyone is in a white shirt!

We were fortunate to be in SLC on a Thursday as we were able to attend the Thursday concert of the 360 member Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with the President and a delegation from the Czech Republic. We’ve seen the choir on TV and, heard their recordings but nothing could prepare us for seeing them live, in front of that booming organ, in what appeared to be the perfect acoustics of the Tabernacle. They sang both religious and secular music, stirring the audience with each song and, ended with a rousing Battle Hymn of the Republic. As you might imagine that got a long, standing ovation from “the red, white and blue set”! It WAS amazing. The concert was far too short. I foolishly thought that cameras would not be allowed into the Tabernacle and, left mine at home. Not only were cameras allowed but, people were walking back and forth all through the concert! Then there were the ubiquitous “backwards” baseball caps. Don’t get me started. I’m getting old!!!

Being in Utah during the Warren Jeffs trial and reading local newspaper articles on the case is interesting (to say the least)!! Not quite as much outrage as elsewhere.

Brigham Young’s two houses in SLC are both very large, ornate homes with almost dormitory looking wings to house his many wives and children. Wives with children and childless wives lived apart from each other within the homes. (My witty editorial comments have been censored!!!)

Ski towns without snow are just towns but, the drive up to Park City and Deer Valley was well worth the effort. There is a small amount of snow at the summits however the autumn foliage made the trip worthwhile. It won’t be long!!! Our ski-boarding waitress at lunch said that many of her friends have been climbing to the north facing valleys off the peaks to get in those first few runs in September. Oh to be young again!