The King's Birthplace

We are settled in our new camping spot for the next week so can now do some sightseeing in the area.

Today we ventured north making a stop in the next town/state about three miles down the road at a flea market store where I found a couple of books (like I need a few more to add to my full container in the bay).  We then proceeded on to the Natchez Trace Parkway going south toward Tupelo.  We had originally planned to cover this area when we left Vicksburg a month ago, but weather and a leaky roof prevented it.

Shortly after entering the Parkway, I snapped this picture and it wasn't until I saw it on the computer that I realized there is a lock showing up in the middle of the picture.  It turns out this is one of 10 locks on the Tennessee -Tombigbee Waterway which we had crossed.   The Waterway is an alternative route to the Gulf of Mexico extending 200 miles in eastern Mississippi where it connects with the Tennessee River. Interesting.

We stopped at several points of interest along the Parkway and were especially intrigued with the Pharr Mounds  which date back 1,800 to 2,000 years.  Indians in the area made these mounds and used them for burial sites.

There was a Visitor Center further on and we stopped there to listen to a 15 minute video regarding the Parkway which is really not a parkway but a National Park 800 feet wide running 444 miles long through three states (Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee).  The road through this Park is very smooth and is not only treed lined with many interesting points of interest, but also filled with cultivated farmland.  An RV can easily navigate this Parkway but there are some points of interest which cannot be accessed.

Leaving the Parkway, we drove into Tupelo which is the birthplace of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.  Below is a picture of the home he grew up in as well as a statue of him at 13 and the Assembly of God church where he first sang gospel music.  Long live the King.

Leaving Tupelo, we drove back to I-78 but left it again a few miles east to find a place for lunch in Mooreville which it turns out is one of those many small back woods places that hardly exist.  However, we decided we would take this back road through the countryside to the interstate and luckily we found a family owned restaurant called "Comers" which at 2 p.m. was still open and serving lunch.  The place was very clean and the only eating establishment in the area.  There were about twenty tables with only a couple occupied.  This changed quite rapidly after we were seated when numerous other people arrived.  Our lunch was good and the prices very inexpensive.

We crossed this rusty old bridge hoping it would hold together for one more car, ours.

Returned home to Red Bay and a quiet evening.  More adventures tomorrow.