Trail 2 -- Part 2: Memphis and the Blues Trail

This phase of our trip began May 22nd when we left the Natchez Trace Parkway at about 225 miles of its 444 mile total length (it ends in Nashville, TN) in favor of visiting Tulepo, MI -- brithplace of Elvis Presley. It then extended up to Memphis and down the Mississippi along the famous Hwy 61 Blues Trail. Tupelo was well worth the visit and a great start to our Blues Trail (did not do the tourist haven of Graceland later in Memphis!). As many know, it was Elvis more than any single other singer who bridged between the blues and what became the birth of rock music. His birth and early years were mighty humble in a 3 room house in Tulepo. There is plenty to see at his birthplace -- they have even moved the church to his birthplace that he sang bible songs in during his early years. [Some photos of this and the rest of this Blues segment of our trip -- click here and then backspace to return.]

Went from Tupelo to Oxford, MI (only a few miles), the birthplace and home of Ole Miss. Great university and the first and oldest in the south. Looked up William Faulkner's house of over 30 years and visited his grave [Some photos -- click here and then backspace to return.]

Stayed in an RV park between Oxford and Holly Springs or the night and then headed for Holly Springs the next day -- on the path to Memphis. Wonderful place Holly Springs. Many contributions to the blues there. But we found the Phillips Grocery to be the heart of the place. http://www.roadfood.com/ lists the Phillips Grocery as one of the best hamburger places in America. We went and sampled to see for ourselves. Burgers were outstanding and the atmosphere (old 1800's building at a railhead famous leading up to the Civil War) provided great backdrop. And there were nothing but simple locals mixed with an occasional tourist (like us) who had heard of the place and come by for a famous burger. [Some photos in earlier link.]

From Holly Springs we headed into Memphis for what turned out to be 2-1/2 days of sightseeing, eating and music. Had their famous pork ribs both ways (dry and wet -- I liked wet better), Beal Street for the Blues (BB King's place among others), and the famous duck march at the Peabody Hotel. [Yes, some pics in the link above to prove this!]

First stop for formal touring was the RocknSoul Museum (http://www.memphisrocknsoul.org/home.htm) -- 3 hours went by quickly -- in part driven by what seemed like over 100 recordings of the blues that you could select and listen to at various exbibits that traversed the history of the Blues. Then it was the National Civil Rights Museum -- another 3 hours -- this time among a huge crowd that moved slowly through over 100 exhibits. This museum has an awesome website that captures each of the exhibits -- http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/home.htm. The most dramatic of these is the room Martin Luther King stayed at regularly at the Lorraine Hotel -- and which became the site first of his assassination and then of the current National Museum. The museum is literally built around and through the Lorraine Hotel room. We finished the day having dinner at Alfreds on Beal Street and taking in live Blues at BB King's place on Beal Street. [Some photos in the link above.]

We headed out of Memphis via famous Route 61 for the drive down the Blues Trail -- this road that follows the Mississippi River starting at Tunica and then through Lula on the way to famous Clarksdale and beyond. It is the path that the early and greatest blues artists traveled as they migrated into Memphis during the late 1800's and early7 1900's, bringing their brand of blues music out of the Mississippi delta and up to Memphis -- from which it spread to Chicago, Detroit and other cities in the north. And of course it was Memphis (and the areas such as Tupelo, Oxford, Holly Springs) where it melded and morphed into rocknroll. We followed a great website [http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues_trail/] in our journey -- looking for the various plaques along the way and taking in the museums and famous old stores that remain in operation at various places along the trail.

Turned out that the Mississippi was heavily flooded during our travels so we wound up staying in Arkansas west of Greenville, MI for one night -- before heading on to Greenville and then across to Leland. These are very historical sites and have great blues museums which we also toured. After doing these, things trickled off so we set sail for Lake Conroe and drove hard til we got home. GREAT TRIP and great old recordings of the Blues added to our collection.