Walking in Memphis

The next stop for our family was Memphis, TN. We actually stayed in an RV park in West Memphis, AR - Tom Sawyer RV Park, right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.

After settling in, we drove over to Memphis and had to see Beale St. If you haven't muted the music from our playlist, you can hear the song recorded in the early 90's that mentions several landmarks and famous artists from Memphis - and appropriately, we were touring in the rain!The downtown portion of Beale is blocked for vehicles and reminds us of 6th Street in Austin, TX. We thought it probably is mostly for night crowds, but we were glad to check it out.While downtown, we also couldn't miss the huge Pyramid (as tall as the Statue of Liberty). An auditorium that is owned by the city, it's sad to discover that this structure is abandoned for now. Originally built as a venue for sporting events, it has been displaced by newer and grander facilities in town. Similar to Memorial Coliseum in our old Corpus Christi stomping grounds - everyone's scratching their heads to determine the best use. The architectural theme was driven by the name of the city as the home of pyramids in Ancient Egypt. Thus, the statue of Rameses in the front.On to older structures in town, the Sun Studios where Rock-n-Roll was born in the '50s still stands and has been used by contemporary artists, such as U2 and John Mellencamp. Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl Lewis and many others recorded here before the music industry expanded to other studios around the country.And, speaking of Elvis, we had to stop by Graceland. Bypassing the formal tour, however, we were happy to snap a photo of the mansion from the street (Elvis Presley Blvd).All along the street were businesses such as this one....We couldn't resist driving into the Graceland RV park...note the street signs (Heartbreak Lane and Jailhouse Drive).Here's Shook Up Lane...Others included Teddy Bear Lane, Don't Be Cruel Lane, Blue Suede Lane and Hound Dog Way.

And what did we find at the end of Lonely Street?Heartbreak Hotel, of course!We were amused while the kids were baffled. Since they were born long after the Elvis era, a lot of these things were lost on them - although we did make them listen to the Elvis station on our XM radio while we drove around.

We returned to the RV park about dark and about an hour later, snow started...again! A light dusting for this round. Here's a view of the Mississippi River with the light snow on the banks the following morning.