Days 117 & 118 - Friday & Saturday, March 29 & 30 - Exploring

 Friday - I went to McDonalds for breakfast and spent an hour on their WiFi. The Iuka McDonalds is 11 miles south of where I am parked. I downloaded some a couple of episodes of a TV series and a movie. The J. P. Coleman State Park is only a little over a mile from where I am parked. Kathy and I have driven through it previously. It is a nice park. It is right on the Tennessee River. I drove down to it to see if it might be worth getting my bike out and doing some riding. No way! It seemed like it was all downhill getting to the park and there was no way I would be able to ride back up the hill. When I got to the park the roads were more hilly than I remembered. It was a nice day for a short drive around the park. On the way  in and out I noticed the trunk of this tree that had fallen over. If the people in the mobile home were home when it happened I bet it was quite exciting.

I didn't do much the remainder of the beautiful day.

Saturday - I went back to McDonalds for breakfast and WiFi access. Again I was there at least an hour. When I parked I noticed a guy in a car parked diagonally over from me. He was working on some type of handheld device. When I left he was still working on it, probably he was also taking advantage of the WiFi access.

After breakfast I drove up to Pickwick Dam in Tennessee, It's 21 miles from McDonalds and 17 miles from where I am parked. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. 

The first several photos show the upstream side of the dam. The dam is 7,715' long and 113' high. The water behind the dam is about 85' deep. It was built by the TVA in 1935-38. The hydroelectric plant started commercial generation of power in 1942. There are 6 generating units that produce 247 megawatts. On the far side are two locks; one 110'x600' and the other 110'x1,000'.

This is one of the original carbon steel turbines. They were replaced during a 1982 upgrade. The blades are 24' in diameter and it is 13' tall. It weighs 125 tons.

I drove around to the downstream side and was amazed at all the people fishing. Standing where I was I counted over 70 people fishing from the bank and 13 boats. Before I walked away 6 more people were walking down to fish.

They were pulling fish in regularly. The guy in photo below had two hooks on his line and I saw him pull in two fish several times.

This guy also was fishing with two hooks. I was told they were catching "shipjacks". 

There were more people along the shore well down past the bend in the river.

I walked down the upper area of the riverbank until I saw a "path" leading down to the water.

Looking back up.

I'm not sure why someone cut up these fish but they took a filet off the side of one of them. There were people with grills set up. Maybe they cleaned the fish down at the water and took them up to cook for lunch.

More people fishing along the bank.

Once I was back up top I continued walking towards the campground. What a nice place.

This unit was parked in a handicapped slot. It was on a concrete pad and there was a sidewalk to the nearby restroom and shower facility.

I was surprised that there were vacant sites. The rock/gravel sites were 70' deep with lots of space between them. The sites had water and electricity but no sewer. At the entry to the campground there was a dump station. The two lanes were set up so that you could dump your tanks on the way in and then on the way out.

I was over a mile from the car at this point and did not walk down to look at more of the campsites.

Driving back home I saw a sign for a marina and drove down to take a look. This is one of dozens of marinas in the area.

There must be thousands of boats with 15 miles of where I am parked. I also bet that more of them cost over $100,000 than cost less than $10,000.

After I left the marina I drove by a boat storage place. It had a rack storage building, open on one side, that had boats stacked 5 high. I was driving and the road was winding. I didn't go back to look to get an idea of the length of the building. Where do people get the money for them? This place is over 2 hours and 125 miles from Memphis, 2.5 hours and 150 miles from Birmingham, AL. almost 3 hours and 160 miles from Nashville & 3.5 hours and 210 miles from Chattanooga.

Back home I fixed myself a nice salad for lunch. I sat outside some while I did a couple of loads of laundry. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 115 & 116 - Wednesday & Thursday, March 27 & 28 - West Memphis, AR

 Wednesday - Kathy, Kelsey, Lydia & Nolan went to the Memphis Zoo for the day. They had a great time. I stayed at the coach. I stayed home and went grocery shopping. Well...I had instructions to get milk, eggs and see if I could find more Eckrich Smok-Y Links. Original, not the fake Lil Smokies, Smok-Y Links are a breakfast treat that I have enjoyed since I was a kid in Michigan. Sadly, there aren't that many places where you can still buy them. I tried both Kroger & Wal-Mart stores in West Memphis with no success.  

Thursday - The original plan was for Kelsey to return home today while the kids rode home with us, over two days. That plan changed during Tuesday(?) nights heavy rain in West Memphis. The new seals on our dining room slide still leaked. They were replaced when we were at Lakeshore (Iuka, MS) a few days ago. We did not notice them leaking during an all afternoon rain while in Corinth, MS, but the heavy rain and 20-25 mph winds caused them to leak. 

We decided that I would go back to Lakeshore and Kathy would ride back to Centertown with Kelsey and the kids. They left this morning and made it back home okay, after some traffic delays. My solo 140 mile trip back to Iuka went fine. It may be the furthest I've driven this coach in one day. It's tough being old and thinking a 140 mile solo trip is an achievement 😀 In the fall of 2012 I drove our Dutch Star over 700 miles to near Hearne, TX (Messiah's Ranch - I spent 6 weeks there volunteering) in two days. I did almost 500 miles the first day, pushing to make my way into Texas on the first day.

Parked near Lakeshore Custom RV

My appointment is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2nd. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 114 - Tuesday, March 26 - Boat Ride on Mississippi

 We hung around the campground in the morning. We did walk down to the other end of the campground so that the kids could climb up to the treehouse again. This unit was down by the tree house.

There were some vehicles parked on the cobblestone "beach", but we couldn't find a way to get down to it. We ended up parking at Bass Pro and taking a side by side shuttle to the dock. It's to bad I didn't get a photo of us piled on the side by side. Another couple was already on it when the 5 of us piled on. Eight of us with the driver.

This must be a retired WWII ship. It passed the campground yesterday and tied up just upstream of the campground overnight. As we were going downstream it passed us on its way upstream. There were several people on the deck, all of whom looked like they were in civilian clothes.

I can't help but write something about this trio of bridges we crossed under. The center one is the Frisco Bridge. The 770' clear navigation span was the longest of any bridge in the US when it opened to rail traffic in 1892. One of the requirements before the city OK'd a permit was that it also be able to accommodate horse and buggy traffic. Trains took priority but if there were no trains in the area two way horse and buggy traffic was allowed. As you can see it is still in service. A train was crossing the river as we passed under it. The furthest away bridge is the Hanrahan Bridge, it is also a railroad bridge. It was completed in 1916. The bridge we were under when I took the photo is the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge which carries I55 across the river, as well as US61, US64, US 70, US78, & US 79. It was opened in 1949.

Returning to the dock after our 90 minute cruise.

After the cruise we went to Central BBQ for an early supper.

We did drive around Memphis a little after supper but not much. Memphis crime is almost as bad as St. Louis crime.

It rained last night and the wind blew hard. The seals around our kitchen slide leaked again, after having them replaced last week. Our travel plans have changed. Kathy is going back to Missouri with Kelsey, Lydia & Nolan when they leave Thursday morning. I have an April 2nd appointment back at Lakeshore Custom RV to have them work on the seals again. I trust the guys at Lakeshore. They will get the pesky leak fixed.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 113 - Monday, March 25 - A Day at the Memphis Bass Pro Pyramid

 First we took a morning walk over to look at the tree houses by the river. One of them had a rickety stair tower for access.

Lydia is on her way up, Nolan had decided the stair tower is to unstable.

Lydia made it to the top. Nolan is giving it another try.

Then it was across the river to Bass Pro. Lydia and Nolan did some target shooting, the arcade type shooting gallery is right inside the front door. Then it was up the tallest free standing elevator in North American, 300'.

On the way to the elevator we saw this lady cleaning one of the aquariums.

Then it was up the elevator and out onto the balcony. The balcony floor is concrete up next to the wall of the pyramid, then it is glass. You can see through all the glass floor panels but most have dark stripes across them. The panel that looks dark in the photo below is one of the clear panels.

The care you can barely see through the glass is 300' below.

Nolan and I got our picture taken while we were standing on the glass.

A view of the I40 bridge over the Mississippi, from the balcony.

Lunch at the top of the Pyramid. Note the scratched up table and no table cloth. This level of ambience and a catfish Po Boy with fries was $22. Lunch was $120 after spending $42 to ride the elevator up to the restaurant. Take lots of money if you plan on checking out the Memphis Bass Pro.

Then it was back down to the main floor from some bowling.

The big TV screens were playing different sports events.

Weather wasn't good today. Temperatures were in the low 60's and the winds were 20-25 mph with gusts of up to 50 mph. While out  on the balcony at times the gusts would blow you over a couple of steps.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 112 - Sunday, March 24 - Corinth, MS to West Memphis, AR

 We left Cross City RV Park at 11AM and arrived at Tom Sawyer RV Park a little after 1PM. 

After we got set up I took a 2.7 mile bike ride. I rode out of the campground up on the dike. There is a rocked path along the top of the dike but it was to rough for me to enjoy riding on it, so I rode back home and took a nap. Kathy watched the NASCAR race and made vegetable soup. I think she napped some.

Kelsey, Lydia & Nolan arrived shortly before 7 PM. We walked over and watched a barge tow heading up the river. As it was getting dark the kids and I walked over and looked at the condemned (I think) tree houses at the park, see them in my December 3, 2023 post.

I think I forgot to include these photos. While driving through Corinth we saw a sign for Joe's Pork Rinds. This was the store. We bought some, they are okay.

The PVC tube hold different lawn mower blades, $10 each. A guy who was in there must have looked at every tube. He bought an assortment of 9 blades.

Day 111 - Saturday, March 23 - Corinth

 Below are some photos of Cross City RV Park. Corinth has a nick name of Cross City, because of its important location during the War Between the States. The Mobile & Ohio and the the Memphis & Charleston tracks crossed in Corinth. The tracks were critical for Confederate troop movement and supply lines. The Mobile & Ohio ran from Mobile, AL to Columbus, KY, freight was then transferred to steamboats which carried it to the Illinois Central in Cairo, IL The Memphis & Charleston ran from Stevenson, AL (the Atlantic Ocean) to Memphis, TN (the Mississippi River). 

During the Siege of Corinth, Apr 29-May 30, 1862 Yankees drove the Rebels forces from the city, an estimated 1,000 died on each side. On Oct 3&4, 1862 Confederate soldiers unsuccessfully tried to take it back. 2,359 Yankee troops died during the battle as did 4,838 Rebels, 16% of those who fought. 

We didn't go again this year but previously we went up on a hill south of Iuka. The hill overlooks a Sept 19, 1862 battlefield. 782 Yankees and 700 Rebels were killed during that battle, 19% of those who fought.

Below are some photos of downtown Corinth. The Alcorn County Courthouse

Borroum's Drug Store, across the street from the Courthouse.

Inside Borroum's Drug Store, where we had lunch. We walked in and found an empty table. Before we ordered a line had formed, waiting for a table. There was still a line when we left. The service was good, the sandwiches were good, but the fountain Cokes (syrup mixed onsite with CO2) were disappointing, to little fizz.

The Woke crowd isn't in control of Corinth, Mississippi. This statue of a Texan officer who fought for the Confederacy during the Battle of Corinth is on the courthouse square. There is an inscription honoring the brave Rebels who fought for their freedom. Freedom from a corrupt federal government that refused to honor our Constitution. I'm trying my best not to get on a rant 😀

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.