ROLLING ON THE RIVER...

On Wednesday (Halloween) morning, we left Nashville.  Next stop...Memphis, the Blues City.  We booked two nights at Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis AR, and opted for a site 'along the river.'  The Mississippi River is low because of this years drought but tugboats seemed to have no problem pushing large barges up the river. 

Dry river bank showing
 

 

How do they navigate ten or twelve barges??
 

 

We had hoped to take a cruise on a riverboat, but when I called I was told that this was the last weekday cruise for the year, and there was no way we were going to make it today.  So, we spent the evening talking with other travelers at the campground and watching the barges.

Thursday, we headed to Graceland and then the Blues City Tours for a tour of the city.  We really enjoyed seeing Graceland, Elvis Presley's home for over twenty years.  They said that he bought it from a local doctor for $113,000.  Then a few years later, he spent $200,000 to add a racquetball/exercise building on the grounds.  The room decor was very bold and very 60's.  But, the "Jungle Room" wasn't as wild as I expected...animal skin chair coverings and wood-carved animals as chair backs and arm rests.  After his death, Elvis was buried at nearby Forest Hills cemetery, but fans kept trying to 'steal' the coffin, so his father had it moved to Graceland. 

The Living Room
 

The tour took us to Sun Studios where Elvis recorded his first 'released' song called "That's All Right (Mama)," Riverfront Park, Beale Street Historic District, and then to the Peabody Hotel at 5 pm to watch the 'Peabody Duck March.'  The Duck March ceremony has been taking place for 80 years and the "Duckmaster" said that he is just the fifth to hold the title since it began.

At 11 am every day, the ducks leave their rooms on the roof of the hotel, take the elevator to the lobby, walk the red carpet and jump into the fountain in the center of the lobby.  Every evening, they reverse the ceremony returning to their rooms.