“Sean I’d say the best one came from Tupelo, Mississippi…” The Proclaimers
After leaving Columbus-Belmont State Park in Kentucky, Betty & I had a pleasant drive through western Tennessee, and have spent the last few days in the State of Mississippi. Interstates and back roads have all been in good shape, and we are most happy that our old coach has provided a smooth ride with no mechanical issues. Yeah!. The weather has been great, without a hint of rain (or snow!) along the way. As the Proclaimers earlier highlighted – We are truly on our way from misery to happiness today!
Keeping with songs from The Proclaimers“Sunshine on Leith” album, Betty & I had to check if the best one really did come from Tupelo, Mississippi. We found a pleasant campsite (#17) in nearby Tombigbee State Park and set out for Elvis Presley’s birthplace. Here’s a little of what we found:
This small State Park is a short drive from Tupelo, MississippiOur full-service site (#17) provided a restful night.The main purpose of our visit was to check out the birthplace of “The King of Rock & Roll”.This humble two-room home actually looks a lot better than it did when Elvis lived there.Here is a pic of the young Elvis, with the rundown shack in the background.Betty couldn’t resist giving the young crooner a pec.We drove past the downtown Tupelo hardware store where Elvis got his first guitar. He wanted a gun, but his mother thought it would be too dangerous.While driving around downtown Tupelo, we were stopped at a red light when a train whistle started to blow. Lights flashed but no security arms dropped to block traffic. I wish I had gotten a pic of the locomotives crossing diagonally over the busy intersection, but we were too shocked at the time! While waiting for the train to pass, I did get this pic of a “Canadian Pacific” car (far right), although the logo is hard to read. In the end, the train came to a stop – blocking the intersection, and we turned our Smart around and took another route back to our campground.
For those who watch HGTV’s Home Town series, we couldn’t help but make our next stop Laurel, Mississippi. Our first free night there was spent at a Harvest Host site – Panels Up Solar, with our second free night at the Veterans Memorial Museum, another Harvest Host participantin Laurel.
Betty & I had a nice walk around downtown Laurel. We saw no high-rise buildings in the town.And had an enjoyable dinner at Cafe La Fleur, in preparation for our upcoming visit to The Big Easy.While we didn’t see Erin & Ben, we did drive by many of the houses they might have renovated. I say “might have” because we were too cheap to pay for a guided tour of homes featured on the show. lol. The town is much larger than we had imagined, with many attractive homes that would have predated the HGTV home renovation series.We did get a pic of one of the local signs designed by Erin, and actually paid for ice cream from the Laurel Creamery, across the street from this pic.Our motorhome clock showed the temperature at 32c (the outside reading of 29c was from a guage in storage) so we were justified in buying the ice cream. lol.As mentioned, our second free night in Laurel was spent in the parking lot of the Veterans Memorial Museum, where we felt very safe and welcome.I’m sure our veteran friends and former campground neighbours – Brian & Henny – would have appreciated the large collection of military artifacts on display.Before we left, Betty said Tanks!
We are now about as far south in Mississippi as one can go, without falling into the Gulf of Mexico. Betty & I are staying six nights in beautiful Buccaneer State Park, with the intention of catching some rest, resolving previously mentioned communication and banking issues (my cell phone is now working; we have good internet connections; and the bank says it has re-activated my debit card), spending some time in nearby New Orleans, and finishing off our Mississippi River trek by driving to the point where the “Mighty Mississip” enters the Gulf of Mexico.
The road taken followed the edge of the Gulf, before we turned into our campground.We are surprised to find the Park almost deserted. Maybe others know something about the upcoming weather we don’t?We have a large site (#9) with nice shade trees.Betty and Charlie have been able to relax and restore in this well kept, quiet state park.
Whether or not you think the best one came from Tupelo, Mississippi, Betty & I have enjoyed our visit to this state, and hope you are also having an enjoyable time, wherever life finds you!
“I’m on my way from misery to happiness today, aha, aha, aha, aha…” The Proclaimers
In some ways, every day is a day of discovery. Unless one has an all-seeing crystal ball, one never really knows what the future will bring. While it can be comforting to stay cocooned at home, not until we get out of the box can we more fully discover and experience the beauty and complexity of our world. This post is about Betty and my current out-of-the-box adventure.
It must be said that our present travels are not without trepidations. It has been almost exactly a year since my last post. Health issues sidelined us, requiring the rental of an apartment in Winnipeg to rest, recuperate, and undertake many medical appointments. Our wonderful adult children donated back enough furniture so we could live comfortably, and we were most fortunate for support in finding a well-maintained, quiet, friendly building for the recovery period.
Our apartment has mostly hand-me-back, as opposed to hand-me-down furniture. lol. Its walls are covered by pics taken by us on previous trips.A snowy view from our balcony last winter.
My oncologist, rheumatologist, and family doctor have all given the green light for our travels, but on the road we will still discover whether I can sustain the rigours of our planned adventure. My most recent bone scan, CT scan, numerous blood tests, and colonoscopy were all encouraging (although I wouldn’t encourage anyone to have the latter unless absolutely necessary – LOL). The docs have prescribed enough medications (with the exception of a new arthritis drug) to last for the next six months. However, because of our missing crystal ball we have chosen to maintain our wonderful, furnished apartment, in case I need to curtail travels and make a speedy trip back to the cocoon.
Health is not the only marker on our road to discovery. Readers of this blog may recall that our old motorhome gave us quite a bit of grief on our last few adventures. A number of times we lost substantial power going through the Rocky Mountains, and spent many thousands of dollars to keep it roadworthy. Over the past summer we finally got our three slide-outs functioning properly (yeah!!) and had our fuel pump replaced. Our friend Gordie at Town & Country campground replaced the motor connected to our automatic steps so they fully extend and retract. It could have been catastrophic if we tried to drive off when they hadn’t retracted. We are so thankful for Gordie’s expert ability to replace and repair a number of issues with the motorhome and Smart car.
Just as we don’t fully test our own limits until we get out in the world, Betty & I took our motorhome on a couple of short trips during the summer to check its performance. It had been parked for over a year, so we ventured out for an enjoyable weekend at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park, and to a Family Motor Coach Association rally in Austin, Manitoba. One of our hydraulic levelers failed to retract at the Austin campground, and a fellow FMCA member was able to get it working again. That is exactly the kind of problem you don’t want to discover when on the road!
We had a pleasant stay at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park this summer.
Another issue to discover relates to our ability to communicate. No, I’m not talking about Betty and my deliberations – that is a lifelong journey! LOL. While in Winnipeg we reduced our cellular service, as we had good wi-fi at both the apartment and the campground. But on the road we would need extended coverage. Betty & I upgraded to Canada-U.S. cell phone plans, with the hopes we could effectively communicate with family and friends while away. So far we have discovered that Betty’s cell service is connecting, but unfortunately my newer phone is not connecting to the cell service. That, and a number of other electronic bugs are still to be resolved.
We transferred some funds in our bank account from Canadian to U.S. currency, and topped up our U.S. bank account. However, Betty’s U.S. updated debit card didn’t arrive until after we left, and mine didn’t seem to work when I tested it at a U.S. atm. So that’s another issue that will need addressing when I get cell service again. In the meantime, our U.S. Mastercard seems to be working just fine…
Since most of us have become so reliant on Internet access, we stopped at a Verizon store in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and reactivated our Verizon jetpack. It provides 100 GB/ month so we can map out our route and Google possible campgrounds and other points of interest along our journey. When it comes time to prepare blog posts, I transfer pictures from Betty & my cell phones to add to the shots taken with my Nikon camera. This works fine in most places, but we are currently situated in a very picturesque but isolated Kentucky State Park, with little to no cell service, and definitely no Internet access. Having grown up without such conveniences, it’s not the end of the world – but it means that this post won’t be uploaded until we re-enter civilization again. LOL.
Our travels have been most enjoyable to date. We left Winnipeg on Oct. 14/23 and had an uneventful border crossing (thank goodness, as one never knows what the focus will be!) After restocking our fridge with fruit and vegetables, we had a quiet night in the Grand Forks Walmart parking lot. Yes, this was only a short drive south, but we have decided that a three hour drive each day is just fine. Why rush, we’re retired!
Charlie still had his winter coat on at our first overnight stop. He is never without his squeaky chicken, on the right of this pic. lol.
From North Dakota Betty & I made our way to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, at Minnesota’s Itasca State Park. Our plan had been to more or less follow the river down to its mouth at New Orleans, where it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. But there are no roads that exactly parallel the river. We had written away and received maps of the Great River Road – “a National Scenic Byway Along the Mississippi River”. For most of the way, the river forms the boundary between 10 states along its path. A green “Pilot’s Wheel” designates the featured roads. All have points of contact with the river, but most are also minor routes that significantly diverge from the waterway. Each state provides information about points of interest along the river.
On the left is Lake Itasca. On this side of the rocks is the start of the Mississippi River.
Obviously, taking a boat would be the best way to discover this mighty geographical feature. We found the roads on either side to be generally well maintained, but after a few days the twists and turns, ups and downs, deceleration into small towns and acceleration after, became a little tiresome. For sure it is far more scenic than our previous Interstate trips straight south from Winnipeg to South Padre Island – our winter destination. But it became a much longer journey with a little more stress on our old bodies and coach. As a result, we have cheated a bit (don’t tell anyone – LOL) and have sought pleasant, non-Interstate, but more direct routes south.
A sign in Itasca State Park commemorates the search for the river’s source.Betty found the river, but it’s no more than a small stream at this point.An interpretive centre has been built at the river’s headwaters.These stones mark the divide between Lake Itasca and the Mississippi headwaters.Our campsite in the park was $35. + $7. park fee + $8. for firewood.
From Itasca State Park we drove 3 hours to a Sauk Rapids, Minnesota Walmart, and the next day on to Nelson Landing RV Park in Wisconsin.
We stayed a free quiet night in a freshly asphalted new Sauk Rapids, Minnesota Walmart parking lot.As we made our way south, the trees shifted from leafless, to fall colours, to green.We criss-crossed the Mississippi River many times, as it also made its way south.We took more pics of the river, as we crossed over it, than one would want to see in a post. lol.The next night we stayed at an unintentionally free Nelson’s Landing Wisconsin campground. It is a beautiful, well-maintained spot with level, full-service sites. We couldn’t find a campground office anywhere; there was no-one around during our visit; and we called the phone number listed on-line. The voice-mail was full, with a message saying “If you’re calling about the campground, call someone else”. But it didn’t give a phone number for anyone else… Weird!
Our next segment took us to the Mystique Casino parking lot (another free stay) at Dubuque, Iowa, and then the next day to free overnight parking at a Litchfield, Illinois Walmart. From there we made another 3 hour drive to the beautiful Arrowhead Lake Campground in Johnston City, Illinois.
Arrowhead Lake is a well-kept municipal park with our large site (L111 at $35. total for 2 nights) on the side of a lake.Bet, Charlie & I appreciated the warm days relaxing by the lake.
Betty and I are now enjoying Columbus-Belmont State Park on the extreme west side of Kentucky (our state number 44. Yeah!!). Our site overlooks the Mississippi River, and we can relax here for four days, before heading out on the next phase of our adventure.
Here’s our little toad in Kentucky, with the Mississippi River in the background.We have been fortunate to stay in this western Kentucky State Park, with a view of the mighty Mississippi from our full-service campsite. (Site 031)The well-maintained park has swings and benches to watch the boats go by.This picture shows a barge going up the river, which seems to be particularly low, despite the fact the Ohio River joins it just a few miles upstream.A grounded barge can be seen on the far shore of the river. The trees are just showing their fall colours around our motorhome at Columbus-Belmont State Park.Bet was finally able to add Kentucky (state #44) to our sticker map. Yeah!
Betty & I are still in the early stages of this overlandish odyssey – on our road to discovery. But so far we are happy to sing along with the Proclaimers: “We are on our way from misery to happiness today – aha, aha, aha, aha.”
