Mississippi Memphis Blues

October 18, 2018

Hi Blog!

On our way south, we plan to explore the Natchez Trace. However, we couldn't leave Tennessee without stopping for a quick visit to Memphis. Back in the 90s, we came to Memphis for a convention. We have fond memories of visiting Sun Records, Mud Island, Graceland, the Lorraine Motel, MLK Museum and Beale Street for Blues. Of all the things we experienced, we decided it would be fun to revisit Mud Island and Beale Street.

One of the most impressive and unique pieces of the Mud Island River Park is the Riverwalk - an exact scale model of the Lower Mississippi River. Merging with the Ohio River, flowing through Cairo, Illinois and zig zagging 954 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico, this replica passes 20 major cities and watersheds. Designed by the Corps of Engineers, the Riverwalk is composed of over 1,700 concrete pieces and runs 30 inches for each mile of river. It's a half mile walk from Cairo, Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico.

Memphis is a regional center for commerce, education, media, art, and entertainment. The city has long had a prominent music scene, with historic blues clubs on Beale Street originating the unique Memphis blues sound during early 20th century. The city's music has continued to be shaped by a mix of African-American and White influences across the blues, country, rock n' roll, soul, and hip-hop genres.

This historic downtown is right next to Mud Island. Mud Island (not actually an island) is a small peninsula, surrounded by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River Harbor to the east. Mud Island River Park, located on the south end of the island, opened to the public in 1982. It houses a museum, riverwalk, restaurants, and an amphitheater.

All along the riverwalk model were information plaques pointing out historic events that happened in that section of the river.  For example, have you ever heard of the New Madrid Earthquakes? Beginning on December 16, 1811, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 rocked the town of New Madrid, then part of the Louisianna Territory. There were three major quakes and several aftershocks. They remain the most powerful earthquakes to hit the contiguous United States east of the Rocky Mountains in recorded history. It destroyed towns and changed the course of the Mississippi River. At one point the river bottom dropped, causing water to flow back upstream!

The rivers that feed the Mississippi are highlighted in relief along the outer walls.

Over 1,200,000 gallons of water flows through the system.

In U.S. history, Natchez is recognized particularly for its role in the development of the Old Southwest during the first half of the nineteenth century. It was the southern terminus of the historic Natchez Trace, with the northern terminus being Nashville, Tennessee. After unloading their cargoes in Natchez, many pilots and crew of flatboats and keelboats traveled by the Trace overland to their homes in the Ohio River Valley .

New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinct music, Creole cuisine, unique dialect, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. The city has been described as the "most unique" in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. We will miss New Orleans this time, but there is always "Next Time"!

Keelboats were similar to riverboats, but like other barges were unpowered and were typically propelled and steered with oars or poles. Most of keelboats were 50 to 80 feet long and 15 feet wide. They usually had a cabin in the middle or at the rear, but were sometimes constructed with an open deck. Mike Fink is probably the most noted keelboater in history.

Here is a replica of a typical keelboat, named, "Angela's Ark." 

Angela's Ark arrived in Memphis several years ago bearing a rag-tag group of re-enactors re-tracing Meriwether Lewis’ final journey, which was a downstream expedition to Memphis from St. Louis.  From Memphis, Lewis, the depressed leader of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, went by horseback to the Natchez Trace toting all of his uncompleted journals, and either committed suicide or was murdered at a tavern along the Trace in October 1809.  Fortunately for history, the journals were saved and later assembled for publication.

Today, cargo is moved upstream in large barges pushed by heavy duty pusher boats also known as towboats. Multiple barges lashed together, or a boat and any barges lashed to it, are referred to as a "tow" and can have dozens of barges. Many of these vessels, especially the long distance, or long haul, boats, include living quarters for the crew. The barges make the semi-truck on the bridge look tiny.

As we climbed up toward the pedestrian bridge into town, we could look down and see the mini-Mississippi meandering on its way south.

The pedestrian bridge dropped us at the Civic Center. We had a lovely stroll down Main Street as we worked our way toward Beale Street - Home of the  Blues!

Since it was a Thursday afternoon, we had our pick of places for lunch. As we had already been to B.B.King's place the last time we were in town, we decided on Rum Boogie Cafe - mainly for its gator gumbo and its blues music.  Here's a photo of the interior where we sat:

After some pecan beer, gator gumbo and fried green tomatoes, we slowly meandered our way back to Mud Island. All we had to do was follow the yellow brick road.

On the way out of Memphis, we passed the famous Memphis Pyramid. The Memphis Pyramid was originally built in 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena located in downtown Memphis. Its structure plays on the city's namesake in Egypt, known for its ancient pyramids. The Memphis Pyramid has not been regularly used as a sports or entertainment venue since 2004. In 2015, the Pyramid re-opened as a Bass Pro Shops "megastore", which includes shopping, a hotel, restaurants, a bowling alley, and an archery range, with an outdoor observation deck adjacent to its apex. So, if you ever wanted to stay in a Pyramid, here's your chance.

We have one more day near Memphis. We hope to explore some of this history of the area. Stay tuned.