I drove into Little Rock on my way to Memphis. It was a super beautiful morning drive. I passed by a lake called Lake Maumelle, and it was super picturesque. Arkansas really is a very beautiful state. I can see why Jeff H. wants to call this home.
The drive to Memphis took about 3hrs, not including several hrs of stoppage time for the shower and blog. The interstates are so pretty in this part of the country. It keeps crossing my mind that I35 is ugly as hell...it is the worst road in the world.
 |
| From Leaving home |
My first stop in Memphis was Gus' Fried Chicken. My friend Mara had recommended it, and I had a small plate for lunch. It was pretty tasty, although admittedly, I am not the biggest chicken coniseur.
Next I headed to Beale St. I had wanted to check out the Stax Museum of Soul Music, but unfortnately, I didnt have enough time to make it worthwile. Instead I spent my two hours on Beale. Beale St is a touristy district that is blocked off to traffic. It is lined with bars or "juke joints". Most of these places appear to be authentically worn (not the faux antiqued look).
The decision of which bar to go to first was not hard. There was only one with music, and it was so loud, I could hear it from pretty far away. A band was playing the blues, and it was pretty good. These oldtimers have been doing this their whole lives probably, and they were good at it. I got suckered into buying their CD. Extra music for the road cant hurt.
At one point in the set, the lead guitarist walked off stage with his wireless pickup, and had a little crowd interaction. He slung his guitar around people in the crowd and played from behind them. It was kinda funny, and I was a little surprised the first lady wasnt upcomfortable with it. The real show stopper was when the guitarist (Sonny Mac) walked from the stage to the street in front of the bar. He found a 4-5 year old kid and did the play from behind guitar bit. This time he actually put the pick in the kids hand and moved it for him! It will without a doubt be the best blues this kid will play in his whole life! I am sure this will be a special memory for that kid. He also got to keep the pick.
After all the crowd interaction, the band went on break. I walked down the street to the next juke joint that had music pouring from it. This one had a harmonica, horns, and piano, so I went right in. These guys were awesome too. A lot more players and a really upbeat soulful sound. This particular bar had a door that led to a different section of the bar with more of a restaurant feel. This place was packed, but the section with the music was almost empty. What the heck?! It was pretty loud, but why else would you be in this bar. You can grab a drink anywhere. Why come to Memphis to sit quietly with a beer? One other thing that was cool: as it was early on a Friday evening, all the musicians were arriving with their instruments. They all seemed to know each other, and it was cool to watch the interaction between them as they all showed up to work.
What would a trip to Memphis be without Elvis. My very last stop was the visitors center. It is right along the Mississippi River and right next to Mud Island which has a giant ampitheater. I could hear a sound check going on, and after investigation, I discovered Steely Dan was plaing. I hate Steely Dan. Yeah "reelin in the years" is a good song, but that is really all they got going for them. I found their sound particularly annoying. I digress......
I took a picture of Elvis for Grandma
After Memphis, I headed towars Oxford, MS. I wanted to stop by and see Ole Miss while I was in the area, and I was lucky enough that my travels landed on a gameday. For tonight, I am camping at Puskus Lake in the Holly Springs National Forest. Its about 10mi and 30min outside of Oxford. Along the drive, I passed so many picturesque farms along the way. It is pretty hard to get good pictures of these because the highway has no shoulder. I figured that I was only seeing a cross section of the farmland, and there must be more farms further back. I pulled off a side road to see how people in these parts live. They are livin good! A pond. Acres of green manicured grass. Stately houses with large patios. So beautiful. Maybe one day....
I found a campsite with near panoramic view of the lake, and arrived right at sunset.
I couldnt figure out how to wake up this tree.
One intersting thing in the wilderness is the sounds. Everyone talks about the peace and quiet of nature, but it is actuallyl pretty noisy! Last night, I could hear owls chirping as they swooped pretty close to my tent (if I wasnt such a tough guy, it might have been a pretty creepy sound). Also, as soon as the sun goes down there are very loud calls of some sort in the distance. I can hear them echoing off all the hillsides. I wonder what can make a noise that loud? Is it a squatch? (Stephen C, thats for you). Other than that, there is the relentless chatter of cicadas, crickets, and frogs. Peace and quiet my ass.
Tomorrow: tailgaiting at the grove, aggie game with the Gilmores, and Nashville sounds!
ever tell you about the time Jim and I went camping over to the Delaware Water gap in New Jersey when we were living in NYC? It was so loud with frogs - that just happened to never croak in synchrony- that I couldn't sleep.
ReplyDelete