When you are dealt lemons make lemonade. Last month we received a truck load of lemons, so we tried to make the best of it. Fortunately Memphis turns out to be not so bad a place to be based. From Memphis, it is only a short drive into Arkansas or Mississippi. And within 2 1/2 hours or less you can drive to Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois or Alabama. We tried to take advantage of this location and explore areas that were new or unusual to us.
Last month ended with an ER visit in Branson. We had to leave there after only 2 days to get back for another doctor’s visit in Memphis. We have now been in and out of Memphis so many times that it is starting to feel like home.
Our next road trip was to Arkansas, into the mountains west of Little Rock to Petit Jean State Park. This park is their most popular park due to the unusual geological formations found there. In addition to bluffs, canyons, waterfalls and grottos; the turtle rocks are there. After a couple days of hiking there we headed farther west to Mt Nebo. Both of these parks were initially developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the 1930’s and their beautiful lodges and well worn trails are a testament to the quality of their manual labor. On the way back to Memphis we spent 2 nights at Village Creek State Park. Here we hiked on sections of the Old Military Road; better know as the Trail of Tears, used by the Creek, Chickasaw and Cherokees tribes forced to move west.
After another stay in Memphis, we headed east into northern Alabama, near Muscle Shoals. Due to heavy rains we sought out some museums. First stop was the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Nat King Cole, Lionel Richey, Hank Williams and others were featured. Pat wanted to see Helen Keller’s birthplace and a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, so we ran out of time and didn’t get to visit the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard. (The bird dog museum is in TN). We headed southwest into Mississippi, and for two days we traveled the middle section of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 440 mile road between Nashville, TN and Natchez MS. The original trace started out as Indian hunting trails. By 1810 it was the most heavily traveled road in the Old Southwest. Soon afterwards, steamboats provided safer and quicker transportation and the trace was abandoned. The Parkway parallels the original trace and there are many historical points of interest along the road.
Corinth MS, in 1862, was the strategic crossroads of 2 Confederate rail supply lines. This set the stage for the Battle of Shiloh. Here C.S.A. Gen. Johnson attacked Grant’s army by surprise before the Union army could march on Corinth. In two days of fighting, there were 23,746 casualties. After our battlefield tour, we returned to Memphis and visited the STAX Museum of American Soul Music, (Otis Redding, Booker T and others) and the Pink Palace, a regional history museum. With more time between doctor’s visits we were able to head into SE Missouri to visit the parks and springs around the Mark Twain NF. We ended the month with a 14 mile canoe trip on the scenic St François River. Health-wise I’m doing fine. No hospital visits this month, just a lot of blood tests.
Last month ended with an ER visit in Branson. We had to leave there after only 2 days to get back for another doctor’s visit in Memphis. We have now been in and out of Memphis so many times that it is starting to feel like home.
Our next road trip was to Arkansas, into the mountains west of Little Rock to Petit Jean State Park. This park is their most popular park due to the unusual geological formations found there. In addition to bluffs, canyons, waterfalls and grottos; the turtle rocks are there. After a couple days of hiking there we headed farther west to Mt Nebo. Both of these parks were initially developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps back in the 1930’s and their beautiful lodges and well worn trails are a testament to the quality of their manual labor. On the way back to Memphis we spent 2 nights at Village Creek State Park. Here we hiked on sections of the Old Military Road; better know as the Trail of Tears, used by the Creek, Chickasaw and Cherokees tribes forced to move west.
After another stay in Memphis, we headed east into northern Alabama, near Muscle Shoals. Due to heavy rains we sought out some museums. First stop was the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Nat King Cole, Lionel Richey, Hank Williams and others were featured. Pat wanted to see Helen Keller’s birthplace and a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, so we ran out of time and didn’t get to visit the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard. (The bird dog museum is in TN). We headed southwest into Mississippi, and for two days we traveled the middle section of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 440 mile road between Nashville, TN and Natchez MS. The original trace started out as Indian hunting trails. By 1810 it was the most heavily traveled road in the Old Southwest. Soon afterwards, steamboats provided safer and quicker transportation and the trace was abandoned. The Parkway parallels the original trace and there are many historical points of interest along the road.
Corinth MS, in 1862, was the strategic crossroads of 2 Confederate rail supply lines. This set the stage for the Battle of Shiloh. Here C.S.A. Gen. Johnson attacked Grant’s army by surprise before the Union army could march on Corinth. In two days of fighting, there were 23,746 casualties. After our battlefield tour, we returned to Memphis and visited the STAX Museum of American Soul Music, (Otis Redding, Booker T and others) and the Pink Palace, a regional history museum. With more time between doctor’s visits we were able to head into SE Missouri to visit the parks and springs around the Mark Twain NF. We ended the month with a 14 mile canoe trip on the scenic St François River. Health-wise I’m doing fine. No hospital visits this month, just a lot of blood tests.
