Over the river and through the woods......back to Mississippi.... this time Tunica. Our plan was to visit Memphis and originally selected Graceland RV Park as our destination. My research changed those plans, so we decided on Tunica, Ms. which is about 30 mins south of Memphis. It's a newer area away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Tunica is home to many big name casinos, most with hotels, some with RV parks and all allow overnighters. Names like Harrahs, Sam's Town, Resorts, Hollywood, Fitzgeralds, Gold Strike etc. There are three RV parks here, with Harrah's RV Resort being the nicest. 24 hour security, large pull thru sites, full hookups, pool, grass, clubhouse etc., all for less than $15/night. The kids were also flying into Memphis to drop off one of our grandsons who travels with us for his summer vacation.
After setting up the coach, we decided to drive into Memphis for a quick look around with a more detailed adventure scheduled when the kids arrived. Our day trip took us from Mississippi, into Tennessee, then Arkansas and back to Mississippi! (That can be accomplished simply by crossing two bridges!) For those visiting Memphis, the first stop should be the BB King/Elvis Presley welcome center. You can park there all day for free and catch the trolley into town to explore. There is a museum on Mud Island across the river from the welcome center....
Here's our site at Harrahs, Tunica, Ms. For those looking for site information, the name of the park is Mid South RV Resort. There are several first class golf courses with two miles of this resort.
Our first night's sunset from the front door of our coach.
First stop in Memphis is the Elvis Presley welcome center on Riverside drive across from Mud Island River Park. Take this tram over to the park or you can walk across using the platform above. Make this a must see if visiting Memphis. Mud River Island Park
No, this isn't where we stayed.... This is the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. On the balcony of this hotel, outside room 306 on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The motel was bought at a bankruptcy sale and made into a museum for civil rights. Room 306 was preserved as it was in'68.
There are several bridges that cross the Mississippi River in Memphis. Crossing this one takes you into Arkansas and West Memphis.
No trip to Memphis would be complete without a stop at Graceland, Elvis Presley's home and where he died in 1977. We visited this home and I'll put some pictures in my next post. Interesting place and a peek inside the hidden life of the "King of Rock and Roll".
Memphis is known as "Soul City". Many of the blues rhythm style music started here, as did the Rock and Roll era. Beale Street, downtown, was where many musicians were able to showcase their talents. Today, after renovations Beale Street still offers street musicians the opportunity to play for the tourists.
Sun Studios in Memphis. Here, in June, 1954 a 19 yr old singer with the name Elvis, recorded his first hit single, "That's All Right". In 1956, it hosted a jam session with four musicians later deemed the "Millionaire Quartet"...Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and of course, Elvis.
Since we were visitors to his area of the country, this little guy decided he would visit us, since we were "in his space" and he was hungry.
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