We spent Thanksgiving week in Memphis, Tennessee.
We wanted to find a fairly nice RV park with good access to the city, so we stayed at... Graceland (I mean, how could you not?).
That meant that we could literally walk to one of Memphis' premier attractions, which we did the day after Thanksgiving. We toured the mansion (which Elvis bought from a doctor when he was only 22 years old). It was decked out for the holidays including his 70s-era state-of-the-art basement "man cave." Elvis is buried on the grounds of Graceland, along with his parents and his twin brother (who was stillborn).
Across the street, we also were able to see Elvis' car collection, an exhibit on his time in the Army, and his many gold records and stage costumes (which Jeannette swears were given a bit of a nip and a tuck so as to not to display his later-in-life girth expansion).
Needless to say, we had the total Elvis immersion experience that day.
But it wasn't all-Elvis-all-the-time during our week. We spent some time outdoors, including hiking from Tennessee to Arkansas and back across the Mississippi River, and biking along the Mississippi (Memphis has an extensive bike share network).
We also visited Mud Island, which sits right by downtown and which has a half-long mile topographic model of the lower Mississippi River (from its junction with the Ohio River to the delta south of New Orleans). In summer, the model flows with water, but that was all emptied out during our winter visit.
One day, we visited Sun Studios, where a young Elvis Presley recorded his first records. Sam Phillips, Sun's owner, also recorded such soon-to-be stars as B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Although the studio is small, it's still in use in the evenings for recording - U2 used it recently. During our tour, Doug tried out the original mike (minus hip gyrations) used by Elvis and many others. We were even treated to a a very rare, recently re-discovered, recording featuring Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis (the Million Dollar Quarter). The recording was made surreptitiously while the artists were just fooling around the studio. Doug even sat at the piano Elvis used during that session!
In addition to downing some delicious BBQ during our week, we also spent time at the National Civil Rights Museum, built into the facade of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. A very moving and comprehensive museum - one we would recommend to anyone visiting Memphis.
After our week in Memphis, we headed north to St. Louis, Missouri, the last midwest city we'd be visiting during this phase of our trip.
We camped at an RV park in East St. Louis, Illinois, close to the river and across from downtown St. Louis. We had a great view of the Arch.
As has been our practice in other cities, we decided to visit some specialty museums. One was a very small but interesting museum about the economy at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. They even gave out free samples at the end!
Right around the corner was the National Blues Museum, which did a very nice job tracing blues music from African origins through ragtime, rock and roll, and even rap music. There were interactive exhibits where you could create your own blues song as well as play along with a jug band. There was also a special exhibit on "cigar box guitars" - guitars built from a wide range of re-purposed items.
Another day we visited the 150-year-old Missouri Botanical Garden. Although the outdoor gardens were bare in early December, the indoor conservatories (including the Climatron dome - one of the first geodesic domes in the world) were spectacular. The Garden also features a selection of glass sculptures from Dale Chihuly. The multi-story hanging one pictured below was shipped in individual pieces and re-assembled on site. Annually they take it completely apart to clean it!
Like many outdoor gardens, the MBG was covered with Christmas lights and had a fun display of the 12 days of Christmas for night tours (our favorites included 6 geese a'laying and 4 calling birds).
Later that day, we visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, an imposing structure built in the 20th century that is completely covered with mosaics on the inside (there is not a drop of paint used in the entire structure). It is the largest collection of mosaic tile art in the world.
Continuing our collection of unusual museums, we spent half a day at the very eclectic City Museum, which advertises itself as being for "kids of all ages." It is like the Industrial Age meets jungle gym. The entire thing was built with donated materials from old factories, engine parts, boilers, and tools from the construction trade. There were lots of climbing structures (which we left to the kids), many multi story sliding boards (which we tested out with our inner child), a multi-story cave, and preserved terra cotta ornamentation from old buildings that had been torn down. It was great fun, and something we would recommend you do if you're ever in the St. Louis area.
One evening we visited Powell Hall (home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra) for a holiday concert with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz Orchestra of Lincoln Center.
Another day, we visited the Ulysses S. Grant National Historical Site, showcasing the house where he first met his wife, and lived in for six years right before the Civil War. The Park Service has a museum about Grant's life in the old barn.
That afternoon we visited one of the Usonian homes (homes for everyday people) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It's one of the best preserved and includes just about all of the furniture that Wright designed for the house (unfortunately we could not take pictures inside). The home design (including the furniture) is based on parallelograms. There are only two right angles in the whole house - it was a contractor's nightmare to build!
We also visited the St. Louis Zoo, which includes some animals you don't normally see at other zoos such as grizzly bears, hyenas, and the world's largest rodent, the capybara.
Finally, no visit to St. Louis would be complete without a visit to Gateway Arch National Park. Many people don't know that you can actually travel to the top of the arch in a specially-designed tram system where you travel in small cylindrical pods. The windows at the top of the arch are only 9 inches high, but offer great views of downtown St. Louis on one-side, and the Mississippi River on the other.
After our week in St. Louis, it was time to head home for the holidays. It would be the Ciaowagen's first return to Virginia since we left last April. To break up our 1,000-mile ride, we spent a day at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, and did two ranger-led tours in different parts of the cave system, which is the longest in the world (400+ miles mapped so far with more being discovered every year).
When we get on the road again in January 2020, we'll be headed south to Florida and the Gulf Coast for the winter months. More about that in our next blog entry.
In the meantime, we send along our best wishes for a happy and wonder-filled 2020!
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