Advertisement
Travels with Snowbirds Tuesday July 2 2013 Talladega AL to Campground at Barnes Crossing Tupelo MS
All about Elvis.
Today was one of the best days ever.
Up early, still have not adjusted to the time change, but that’s ok. A few long check in/check up on Mommy phone calls later I was on the road by 8:30 headed north and west towards Tupelo, MS. I said goodbye to I20 in Birmingham and headed on another new road, in some places I22, in others the same road has the US78 Designation. Going thru Birmingham, it was a larger town than I thought of, it had a few tall buildings, more than Wilmington, that’s for sure. Just west of Birmingham the topography changed. The rolling hills were still there, but longer and steeper, if that makes any sense. I checked my Elevation App and was about 700 feet above sea level……the things you do when you need a distraction. The dirt changed from red to reddish brown. But, one thing for sure, there are more mimosa trees here than I have ever seen anywhere. I wonder if that’s because I notice them because they are all in bloom? Their
flowers are 3 colors, dark pink, medium pink, and pale pink. I also noticed that something has hit what I call scrub pines, those short stubby looking things. There were many laying on the ground or standing upright and dead. I stopped at the Rest Stop/Visitor Center at the border and picked up some maps and brochures. (Note to JD – no MS, OK, NM or TX maps in your AAA packet) The road surface changed as well. Near Birmingham I20 had many cabinet rattling potholes, and was a dark gray/black asphalt surface. As soon as I crossed into MS the surface was brownish and cement, and much smoother!!!!. The area along the side of the roads is also kept pruned for about 30 yards in most places in MS, whereas in AL it was about 10 yards. Interesting. I also passed what I thought was a nuclear power plant, but I stood corrected on 4Square and it was a coal fired steam plant!
Only did about 200 miles today to Tupelo, MS. I knew there was a Cracker Barrel right near the campground and I headed for it. Tuesday meatloaf special was awesome. All my clocks have different
times, and I had miscalculated the actual time and it was an hour earlier than I thought. I knew I had plenty of time to do the Elvis Birthplace today, so I headed to it, about 5 miles away. (This frees me up for tomorrow morning to do something I have always wanted to do……..not going to share, you will have to read). What a lovely place! The house stands pretty much where it was when Elvis was born. To make a long story short, when Elvis returned to Tupelo as a richer man, he went to visit his birth house. It and the 15 acres around it were for sale. He bought it and donated it to the city. The preservation society has done an amazing job restoring the house, moving a church, building a museum and theatre. Everyone needs to visit this place!!! I was entranced by the movie in the church. I never suspected when I sat down for my ‘movie’ with me as the only person in the audience, that when the docent started talking, 3 HUGE screens would drop from the ceiling, left, front, right, with 3 projection machines putting a re-creation movie on these
3 screens as if I was sitting in the middle of the religious service. Congregants on the left, Pastor in the front, Congregants on the right. Lots of singing, lots of Amen and Alleluias, but not too too overboard. It was very impressive. Next on to the museum, all exhibits were based on Elvis - The Early Years, to differentiate it from Graceland. After the museum, another re-created movie, Elvis’ early years, with the same actors as the Church movie; very well done, I loved it. I bought a sticker in the gift shop and was back in Moya in 1.5 hours. Winston survived with the generator and a/c on just fine, and I don’t think he barked that much.
On to the campground and what a find this place is!!! Campground at Barnes Crossing, Tupelo, MS. This just reinforces my old adage; you get what you pay for. $32 Good Sam discounted price. HUGE bluestone gravel level site with BRAND NEW water/electric/cable hookup, with BRAND NEW picnic table…..I think this whole little section is new. I spent a few minutes talking to worker Linda, an old lady like me who noticed my ring, and showed me hers, and
we just hit it off. She asked if there was anything she could do for me, and I told her I wanted a fluffy drink with an umbrella and she laughed. I have yet to explore, but the internet signal is so strong, I put GH on my ipad, immediately followed by the Bachelorette, and uploaded my pictures to yesterdays blog (GO LOOK AT THEM IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, THERE REALLY ARE SOME GOOD ONES!))
As the sun started to go down and the heat lessened, I took a walk around the campground, and this truly is an amazing place. I am right next door to a horse farm, complete with horse hanging over the fence waiting to be pet (didn’t go near due to Winston) and manure smell. The part of the campground I am in is all newly renovated sites. Get this….all sites, yes ALL sites have a bird feeder, full of food! (There are 54 sites). Some of the sites are what I would call ‘family’ sites – you can fit 3 big Class As nose to tail in them, each having their own power/sewer set up. Nice. Each site has some flowers, I have seen
Caladium, Sunflower, Hibiscus, Hydrangea, and not too many of those mimosa trees, which is good as the flowers are messy and eat into auto paint. I definitely will be sad to move on, but I am anxious to continue my trip. Since I got done with the Elvis Experience tomorrow, I am going to divert just a little bit. My campground for the next 2 nights is about 150 miles away – a Thousand Trails park in Middleton TN, just east of Memphis. I am going to go out of my way about 20 miles and experience something I have always wanted to do………You will have to read tomorrow night’s blog to see what it is. Tee Hee. I am going to enjoy my super duper cable and internet while it lasts.
Kat Out
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0501s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 5;
; mem: 1mb